loose horse | Horse Racing Free Tips

2-Year-Old Filly Escapes Ellis for Interstate

In a bizarre incident Saturday at Ellis Park, 2-year-old filly Bold and Bossy (Strong Mandate) got loose in the post parade prior to the first race after unseating rider Miguel Mena, ran off the track, and went on a merry tour of U.S. 41N, Interstate 69, and Veterans Memorial Parkway. She made it quite a distance, crossing state lines from Kentucky into Indiana, before being caught and returned via horse ambulance to the Ellis Park barn area, where the state veterinarian immediately began administering fluids and additional treatment.

In spite of being dehydrated and tying up, as well as missing a few shoes and grabbing a quarter, Bold and Bossy was reported by owner-trainer Michael Ann Ewing from her Lexington base to be doing well.

“She's not lame. No [broken] bones or stitches needed,” said Ewing. “Probably traumatized mentally, but she's going to be fine. We'll have our own vets check her out and monitor her, and after a few days to make sure everything is good I'll probably give her some time on the farm. But thank God she's fine.”

Trainers Wes Hawley and Jack Hancock were instrumental in catching the loose filly, who was due to make her racing debut, first trying to apprehend her in the barn area and then on the public roads. Click for a brief video of the filly's escapade taken by a driver.

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Catch Me If You Can: How To Capture a Loose Horse

There's nothing quite like the feeling that comes on when hearing cries of “loose horse!” on a sale ground, horse show, farm or trail. EQUUS magazine recently offered readers a few tips on what to do — and what not to — to help safely recover a loose horse.

Never chase a horse; this will only cause him to run faster. Stand still when he first gets loose to see if he will return to you on his own. If you're out with other riders, ask them to either stay still nearby or move slowly in one direction as a group. This may encourage him to rejoin his “herd.”

A loose horse on a trail ride often heads for home, whether that's his actual barn or where his trailer is parked. If the horse isn't readily found, a call to 911 is imperative if the horse is anywhere near a busy road. Loose horses often head to open, grassy areas. They also tend to go uphill and follow a trail or path.

If the horse still can't be located, call police and sheriff departments and file a report. Notifying any park or facility authorities and local animal shelters is also helpful. A coordinated search effort may be necessary, including using search-and-rescue groups. Putting up posters of the loose horse and contacting farms even many miles from where you think the horse may be can also prove fruitful.

Wet Your Whistle Avoids Loose Horse, Wins Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational

David Palmer's Wet Your Whistle had already registered a Grade 1 win on the grass in addition to a stakes win on a synthetic surface. On Sunday, the versatile 5-year-old again produced a professional effort, powering home a 3 1/4-length winner in the Grade 3, $150,000 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Out of the gate, Backtohisroots stumbled and unseated rider Jose Lezcano running loose at the front of the pack. Under jockey Jose Ortiz, Wet Your Whistle was still forwardly placed, staying in second position behind Battle Station before taking command with the opening quarter-mile in 22.47 seconds on the firm outer turf. Ortiz kept pressing his charge, with the half-mile going in 45.15.

The Michael Trombetta trainee maintained the edge out of the turn, with five furlongs going in 56.03, before outkicking Chewing Gum to complete the six-furlong course in a 1:07.87 final time.

“The loose horse broke and kind of kept the two speed horses, Big Wonder and Battle Station, way out on the track,” Ortiz said. “My horse broke very sharp out of the gate, so I just played it by ear. I'm just really glad it worked out.

“He was doing it very nicely the first half-mile, he was just on the beat,” he added. “Past the quarter pole, I asked him to go and had the loose horse right next to me and he just engaged with him. He started running. I think 1:07 and 4 is pretty fast for this kind of track. It's been a little heavy all day.”

Wet Your Whistle did not make his first graded stakes start until his 4-year-old campaign, when he won in his first attempt in the 2019 Grade 1 Highlander at Woodbine. Off an 11-month break, the gelded son of Stroll won the Karl Boyes over the synthetic track at Presque Isle Downs in August in his seasonal bow.

After an off-the-board finish in the Laurel Dash last month, he won his first race at Belmont in three tries.

“He had been training well. When I ran him last time the turf was soft, and he just didn't enjoy it at all,” Trombetta said. “He jumped on the bridle and had a little bit of a target. Jose took advantage of the situation. A lot of times in these races, you want to try to get the best trip possible. One thing about putting them up there, is your either good enough or you aren't.”

Off at 8-1, Wet Your Whistle returned $19 on a $2 win bet and increased his career earnings to $420,653.

“When Mike Trombetta ships here, he doesn't come here to play games,” Ortiz said. “His horses are 100 percent ready.”

Wet Your Whistle could potentially target the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint on November 7 at Keeneland, though Trombetta did not commit to that spot yet.

“I'll have to talk to the owner and see what's involved. In these kinds of races, especially the turf sprinters, it's a select group that all run against each other and all beat each other here and there,” Trombetta said. “If you're going to take a chance, these are the kind of horses to do it with.”

Chewing Gum, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, edged Archidust by a nose in his first start since running off the board in the Grade 1 Fourstardave on August 22 at Saratoga Race Course.

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, who rode Chewing Gum, was second in all three of Belmont's graded stakes races, with Caldee the runner-up in the Grade 2 Miss Grillo in Race 7 and Point of Honor in the Grade 2 Beldame in Race 8.

“I had a beautiful trip,” Castellano said. “I have no complaints. I felt like they didn't go that fast because everyone was screaming 'Loose horse' and everyone had to control their race and take a hold. I wish there could've been more pace, but it is what it is. We still finished up strong and well.”

Fog of War, Holiday Stone, Battle Station and Big Wonder completed the order of finish. Pulsate was scratched, as was main-track only entrant Chateau. Lezcano, aboard Backtohisroots, said he was in good order following evaluation by EMS after the race. Backtohisroots was apprehended by the outrider and walked home under his own power.

Live racing will resume Thursday at Belmont with a 10-race card. First post is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

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