Maginot Line

Euro-Disney is being asked to close its doors. Apparently, when they have their Friday night fireworks celebration, the military garrison down the road keeps surrendering.

I love ripping on the French. Some might say that it's about as challenging as running Forego against a maiden claimer but what are you gonna do?

Zarkava made her presence felt in two races yesterday.

Our Roquefort eating racing brethren, held their premier racing event and the three year old filly toyed with the field en route to a two length victory.

The day, however, was marred by the "running" of the five furlong, GI Prix de L'Abbaye.

The race, originally run at 1415 local time, was re-run over four hours later in the Autumn gloaming. The first time around, the gate of Fleeting Spirit failed to open and there was confusion and malaise in getting the false start signal out to the jockeys.

Overdose, a modestly bred, Hungarian owned, undefeated sprinter, won the race just a fraction off the track record. Unfortunately, the effort did not count and the stewards decided to hold the race after the remainder of the card. Freddie Head, the trainer of Marchand D'Or, wanted the race to be held immediately afterward but that would have pushed the remaining races further back and affected the global broadcast schedule of the Arc.

So instead of running the race within a few weeks, the stewards tacked it on to the end of the day, like an overnight stakes, and Marchand D'Or won. Overdose and two others scratched from the second heat after having spent themselves during the first race.

It seems to me, that this rule the French have, that requires 115lb. men to restrain a 1200lb animal, taught to GO when the gate opens, could use revision. Declare the horse a non-starter and leave the rest alone. Once the gate opens all bets are off.

Isn't that why we have that expression?