Alabama's ''I'm in A Hurry to get things done'' had to be written about the rat race to the Kentucky Derby.
Young horses are asked so much more nowadays.
Starts with their prepping for sales, and then two-year-old sales, then pushed hard for their debut, multiple gate works, and expectation to win first out, wait that's only the start.
"Oh, I hear a voice
That says I'm running behind
I better pick up my pace
It's a race and there ain't
No room for someone in second place"
These young horses are thrown immediately to the wolves, as Bob Baffert said in a recent interview, 'the second start of a lifetime [vs winners] is the hardest one for young horses'', but "we're in a hurry to get things done, rush and rush..."
As soon as a horse, specifically from high profile connections, wins, you get ''he's on the Derby Trail''.
We have learned as an industry to expect, that colt, to go to a Graded Stakes next out, for every Justify and Mage, there is a road littered with horses careers ruined by being in a hurry, and for every Justify and Mage there is that connection that dreams to follow in those hoof-prints, just like Florida-Georgia line remake of "I'm in A Hurry...'.
Florida-Georgia line did a fantastic job in re-recording the Alabama classic, but with horses is not as simple, you live and die with the specimen you have in front of you, some horses can take it, most can't.
There is a hurry to copycat what someone else accomplishes, just like the rest of the world, a desire to achieve success using someone else's blueprints, what could go wrong?
Those who push for horses to go from maidens to stakes for the Triple Crown, or Kentucky Derby, are the same who complain about horses retiring too soon, but they are all in for pitting fillies against the boys, going from maiden to Grade 1s, cheering on horses going 9.3 at the 2yo in training sales, they want to see all of that, but don't accept the consequences.
Next weekend, February 3, we have 4 Derby preps, the Southwest at Oaklawn, the Withers at Aqueduct, the Robert B Lewis at Santa Anita, and the Holy Bull at Gulfstream.
You will be in hurry to decide which lightly raced, or even once raced maiden or maiden winner is ready to take the next step.
I absolutely despise having a first time out winner, in a grueling debut, coming back in less than 30 days. That's a tall ask even for a young' Secretariat like runner.
I discount lone front running, wire to wire winners who had not a straw in its path receiving a gratifying figure. Horses behave differently when facing pressure, and pressure is the equalizer.
We do this every year, and expect a different result. Shaking my head!
So, lets keep rushing, rushing to get things done, but most of the time you are left with nothing to hold on to.