Pics from this morning (Rachel, Quality Road, etc)

[Railbird]

Nice morning to be at the track.

Rachel giving me the "what are YOU looking at."
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Pancho is a big attention whore and was especially needy this morning. He seemed determined to eat a camera (that's him taking a shot at Barbara Livingston's) and he knocked over at least one tripod. Then got very angry at me when I didn't have a doughnut to split with him this morning.
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Dashing Debby (the Medaglia d'Oro filly Jess bought after she broke her maiden at Calder).
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Jess Jackson's two Medaglia d'Oro girls
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Another of Debby, practicing her own winners' circle posing
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Probably the best bunch of photos I have ever taken of Rachel. She stood very quietly and was checking us all out, and for once in her life, didn't have her tongue hanging out
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Quality Road and Johnny V
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Munnings (he was walking right in the sunlight and made shooting difficult)
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Take The Points gallops
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Vineyard Haven works (I had turned the camera off to save battery. By the time I realized it was him coming and got it turned on, he was half gone. I will probably crop and enhance the pic a bit)
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Quality Road (outside) works in company with Unbridled Belle
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Munnings
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Quality Road back at the barn
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[mariasmon]

Hey, you must've had a busy morning there, Railbird! I haven't always been the biggest Quality Road fan, but he's growing on me. He's definitely very nice looking. Vineyard Haven appears to have had quite a growth spurt since we last saw him. And it's truly a toss-up between Debby and Rachel as to which one is uglier. My oh my, what homely heads. Poncho is my favorite thing in the Asmussen operation. He has no clue that he's not the star of the show.

[FlowerEssence]

WOW! Thank you, Railbird!!!

[Surfside]

Gorgeous photos all, Railbird, but that Rachel headshot is like gold. It looks like a Fred Stone painting. Perfect.

[Surfside]

PS - on Rachel - that massive shoulder---wow!

Damn, Quality Road is big and beautiful, isn't he?

They're all beautiful, but I have a particular fondness for Dashing Debby.

[tg1003]

What awesome pics.

[Bandinifan]

Great pics! I really like Debbie! Two very nice fillies Isn't Munnings a pretty boy? and Quality Road is such a handsome guy! Thanks for sharing the pics!

[charisfanmatic]

Thanks for posting the photos...especially of that gorgeous boy Munnings (I especially love the one of him in stride)!

[ManOTaz]

Great shots -- quite jealous!

Thanks for sharing. :grin:

[Foggy Note]

Beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing! How lucky you are to be able to be so close to these horses!

Rachel and Debby both look stellar, and have perfectly LOVELY heads - nothing wrong with either of them. Rachel, especially has quite a sweet face and kind eye.

Munnings is quite flashy.

Quality Road while I admire his talent, he appears a little plain, and underwhelming. Great pics, nonetheless!

[TBird]

Wonderful pictures, Railbird! Thank you for posting them. :smiley:

[moonwalker]

Excellent pictures! Love the one of Pancho trying to eat Barbara L's camera.

From bottle in the corner of the first pic... do horses get washed with dish soap?

Mary MMM

[TBird]

[quote author=moonwalker link=topic=36685.msg792449#msg792449 date=1251300704]

From bottle in the corner of the first pic... do horses get washed with dish soap?

[/quote]

Horses get washed with all sorts of different things, and mild dish soap (I always use Ivory) makes a great all-purpose shampoo.

[Mr Ed]

why do you always take pictures of RA getting a bath ?

great pics..

how is it you get to spend the whole meet in toga.. don't you have to work ?

[SecretariatForever]

shame to whoever said Quality Road is boring looking! :tongue: He's gorgeous! What a big boy! Though I have a thing for bays. He looks like such a professional. Him and Zenyatta I have noticed both have that look of complete confidence and maturity.

[Lovebigred]

WOW,

You are so lucky..

Thanks for sharing.

About Rachel's shoulder: DARN! She does have a big shoulder.

[moonwalker]

[quote author=TBird link=topic=36685.msg792502#msg792502 date=1251304370]
[quote author=moonwalker link=topic=36685.msg792449#msg792449 date=1251300704]

From bottle in the corner of the first pic... do horses get washed with dish soap?

[/quote]

Horses get washed with all sorts of different things, and mild dish soap (I always use Ivory) makes a great all-purpose shampoo.
[/quote]

Maybe Rachel Alexandra could do a commercial for Ivory -- "Ivory Dish Soap doesn't give me dishpan hooves!" If the product name was on the bottle, you could use the first picture.

Mary MMM

[Bold Ruler]

you gave me the idea for a new product, a horse shampoo, just for horses..

you could have a spokes horse have live commercials on tvg..lol..put his picture on the bottle. tehehehe

{horse in background getting washed }

{trainer speaks} "i never race a horse without afterwards washing them with "sponsors horse name here" shampoo,
its refeshing and makes the whole race day worthwhile for them"

{horse shakes head from side to side , spewing water about in background }"

{then the trainer could hold up the bottle for the camera.}

[Foggy Note]

[quote author=Secretariat Forever link=topic=36685.msg792659#msg792659 date=1251318157]
shame to whoever said Quality Road is boring looking! :tongue: He's gorgeous! What a big boy! Though I have a thing for bays. He looks like such a professional. Him and Zenyatta I have noticed both have that look of complete confidence and maturity.
[/quote]

I guess you are referring to me, but I did not say he looked boring. And no shame to me, thank you very much - I'll pass that along to the people around here who like to be nasty just for fun. (And no, I'm not referring to you.)

[Railbird]

Wow, thanks for all the compliments everyone! So happy to share. I'm a writer, not a professional photographer; I shoot pictures for fun, and to jog my memory while writing later. So I'm absurdly happy when I get a good shot. The lighting was really good, which is important since I use a smaller camera and obviously never a flash (the week before, when it was overcast and foggy? forgedaboudit!). And Rachel decided not to have her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth for once :P So pure luck.

Both Asmussen girls are definitely somewhat plain--relatively speaking. Keep in mind that two of my ALL-TIME favorite fillies were Rags to Riches and Three Ring; I am a SUCKER for chestnuts with those big blazed faces and chrome (hence, the reason I adore Munnings). But Rachel's face has totally grown on me; doesn't that blaze look like an upside-down exclamation point? Both horses have great personalities, too. Rachel, it's clear that she loves what she does; she goes to the track quietly, but when she is first jogging before breaking off for her work, she will bounce along and kick out. Always totally efficient and focused when she gallops; stretches right out, no weaving or looking around. I've only ever seen her act up once at the barn in all these weeks (and that was when someone else was acting up and bothering everyone). She's alert and checks out everyone standing around without preening or acting like a princess. Mostly, she just has this lovely, quiet confidence about her. Debby usually goes to the track when Rachel is just coming back, so the two wind up walking the shedrow or getting a bath at the same time. Debby hasn't figured out yet that all the attention isn't for her. Sometimes she will look at everyone kind of big-eyed, like ***? And sometimes she'll hold her head up and prick her ears, like "cheeeeese!"

And yep, as mariasmon said, Pancho TOTALLY thinks he's the star of the show. If you get within five feet of him, he's all over you for attention, expensive equipment be damned. They tie him next to where Rachel's getting a bath; he'll prick his ears and look at all the photographers, and you can almost hear him thinking, "Rachel, Rachel, Rachel! Look HERE!" Dakota is quieter and more businesslike. He almost reminds me of a very tolerant older brother.

Quality Road is definitely plain-looking from a distance. Nothing WRONG with him, just if you were 100 yards away, he probably wouldn't catch your eye. But up close or in motion, he's extremely impressive. He's not bulky or Quarter-Horse-looking, but just reminds me of a bodybuilder. All muscle and totally graceful. And he never puts a foot wrong; he had to wait in the middle of a big pack of horses to get on the track after the break, and a 2YO was losing its mind right in front of him, and he just stood there quiet as could be.

And for whoever asked, I live in Saratoga and write sports for a newspaper. Job perks include spending as much time as possible around amazing horses I pinch myself every day.