Battle of the Ex’s Goes to Smith

Walking to the paddock Chantal Sutherland and Mike Smith were greeted by a mixed bag of good-natured boo’s and cheer’s though it was clear Chantal fans were the most enthusiastic. 

As they took their mounts and walked through the paddock to the track, the male-dominant Mike Smith fans let out a boisterous boo as Chantal ducked into the shadow of the paddock tunnel.

The riders went through their respective warm ups with no apparent exchange.  As they loaded into the gate, both riders looked straight ahead focused on the task at hand.  As the gates opened, Mike Smith roused his horse, Joker Face, with the flap of the reins and took the immediate lead.  Chantal moved Parable to within a length of Joker Face and stayed there just to the outside through moderate fractions of 23 4/5 and 47 3/5.  “I tried to take it wide and get her to drop inside, but she rode it smart.  She didn’t fall for my trap,” quipped Mike Smith.

As they made their way up the backstretch, Mike Smith urged Joker Face opening up by a two lengths as they headed into the final turn.  By mid-turn it was clear Chantal had her work cut out for her and she had no choice but to starting riding her mount.  “When we go to the half-mile pole and Mike started pulling away, I said Oh, God, I’m in trouble.”

As they came down the stretch, Mike Smith got to work a bit with some left handed urging and continued to apply steady handling late.  Chantal closed the gap a bit but it was to no avail.  They finished the race in 1:36 3/5. In what was truly a classless move, Mike Smith, triple-pumped his right fist just before the wire in full view of his rival. 

As always, Chantal exuded class as she was first to be interviewed graciously thanking the fans for their support and congratulating her ex.  In an attempt to show there were no hard feelings, Mike Smith hugged and kissed Chantal and the expression on her face, as seen through my binoculars, was priceless.  The caption would have read “awkward!”…”To be honest, I’m glad it is over”, said Chantal with a sigh of relief.

On a side note, Joker Face returned to the winner’s circle bleeding from the mouth having bit his tongue just prior to the start of the race.  Hmmm…what was Joker Face trying to say about this match race?  I’ll let you draw your own conclusions…