Ben Linfoot reports back from his third day at Keeneland as preparations for the Breeders' Cup go up another notch on a busy morning at the track.
Keeneland training track, 7.15 a.m. It’s pitch black, the clocks don’t go back here until Saturday, and as I walk by the rail I can hear the pounding of hooves coming.
“He’s a doggy, alright!” is the excited shout from the work rider, who I can’t make out in the pale floodlights. I’ve no idea who the horse is, either, and I’m also not sure if being "a doggy" is a good or a bad thing for a racehorse being put through his paces in the dark.
Then silence. Hush. It all feels a bit like going to see Seabiscuit bell training ahead of his match with War Admiral. All it needed was Tom Smith to emerge from the shadows with a fire bell under his arm.
Back in reality the next horse to emerge from the quarantine barns was a familiar face. Highfield Princess, unmistakable with her white crest on her head, trotted out and did a few gentle circuits, a mere leg stretch, under Jason Hart.
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