As a hardcore race fan who knows the ins and outs of the game, I was impressed with the treatment versus last year. The flip side of that, of course, is that someone with a more novice knowledge of the game could feel lost, and that's what happened to my wife.
The plight of Kristin Mulhall trying to sneak her homebred maiden through a claiming race was somewhat insider baseball. I related to it and enjoyed the drama the producers created from it, but my wife was somewhat lost trying to follow that particular story line: the secret workouts, why'd they sell the horse, and the difference in class between races in which horses are for sale versus those who aren't.
For those interested, Bullybullybully has run twice since his debut win, running second and fourth at Hollywood Park. The gelding by Speed Jaro (Fr) has not raced since July 11.
The producers also struck a chord by casting Corey Nakatani as the bad boy, a reality archetype if there ever was one. The riding infraction the stewards called him in for looked very minor to me, but my wife was flipping out about why a rider would endanger his brethren like that.
Iggy Puglisi looks like he'll be a great addition to the cast—the veteran journeyman who does OK but never really "made it."
Judging by the previews, it looks as if the Derby-related episodes will be the most interesting, and the season premiere didn't really talk much Derby, so that gives me some optimism for the rest of the season.
3 comments:
That's funny, my wife and I had similar reactions. She loved the first season because it focused a lot on inter-personal relationships between the jockeys; especially the Mike Smith and Chantal Sutherland thing. I was kind of bored by all that; I wanted more insight into the actual races and tactics. In episode 1 of season 2 she was bored with the educational stuff about claiming races. The main thing she took away from the recent episode was that Nakatani is a real a-hole who carelessly jeopardizes other riders and the horses. I'm not saying this is a true statement, but that was her general impression.
I couldn't buy into Mulhall trying to hide Bullybullybully during the morning workouts. The whole time, I was thinking to myself "wouldn't the fact that they're following this horse around with cameras draw attention and defeat the purpose of trying to hide him?"
Even if they use the excuse they were just following around Chantal, anyone worth their stopwatch would keep an eye on the horse.
I agree Mid-bred; If Mulhall's horse was so fast she wouldn't risk it in the claiming race vs. running in a MSW. I thought the producers were playing up the melodrama but that's what they are supposed to do I guess.
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