Heiropolis

Haven't had much time to post anything the last couple days as we've been on the move and are currently on the Aegean Sea in the city of Kusadasi.

Yesterday before our agricultural visits we were able to visit the ancient city of Heiropolis near the modern city of Pamukkale. Pictures show the main thoroughfare of the ancient city which sits atop a ridge covered in white calcium deposits.

Antalya

So if it hadn't quite sunk in that I was in Turkey, it did this morning when I woke up at 5:30am and thought I could catch the end of the Super Bowl (which I wasn't watching for the first time in about 35 years). I wasn't able to find a broadcast of the game but did find the winning score on the internet about the time that the call to morning prayer at the nearby mosque, blared from loudspeakers and echoed through the city.

I had slept well after a busy day and a half without sleep. After arriving the previous (Sunday) morning and checking into the hotel our guides took us on a walking tour of Antalya, a city of about 1 million. Like many cities, it has a rich history with Roman and other influences. The photos below are of the view from the hotel balcony, the arch to the old city and views of the Mediterranean and the sheltered harbor surrounded by cliffs that first attracted settlers to this area.

Aspendos

Our agricultural visits today brought us near the ancient city of Aspendos, about 45 minutes East of Antalya. Though the city's origins predate the Roman period, (it, like much of modern Turkey was part of the Roman empire at one time) it is one of the best preserved Roman theaters in the world, built about 160 to 200 AD.

Unbelievably well preserved, our guide says it holds 15-20,000 people though that estimate seems a little high unless the ancient Romans were tiny. They still hold opera and ballet performances there.

We also visited the nearby ruins of an aqueduct from the same period which brought water from the nearby mountains to Aspendos' acropolis. Not nearly as well preserved, it's still impressive how they brought the water down from the mountains through the valley and up to the city on the hill.

Turkey Time Warp

Arrived safely here in Istanbul at a little after 6 am local time Sunday - 11 pm (Saturday) on the East Coast, after about a nine hour flight.

Ours was not a usual "redeye" over night flight. It was more of a "faux" redeye. We left early afternoon and were given dinner at about 4 PM and after the lights were dimmed for a few hours, were served breakfast at 9 PM (eastern) before landing. Not anyone's typical daily schedule. I suppose it is meant to get us adjusted to the local time zone.

So as a result not many people slept much on the plane (including myself) since many (including myself) would just be going to bed about the time the flight landed. Not complaining mind you, and I'm thankful that the travel has gone smoothly so far.

Anyway this post is intended as a trial run to make sure I can post entries from the road. This also allows me to get some of my logistical observations out of the way. I don't plan to focus on them in my future blog posts about the trip. I may lose my faithful readers if I start talking about the tour bus and what kind of plane we flew from Istanbul to Antalya :-) (don't know yet, btw). More to come!

Turkey prep

And no I don't mean one to eat, I mean the country! Just trying to get my mobile devices ready for the trip.

Derby Picks 2012

So many horses and so many ways to handicap them, and through the years, I’ve taken many angles for making my Derby picks.  With the best 3 year olds from across the country, you could make a case for almost any one of the 20 horses in the field.  In fact, the last time I posted my picks two years ago, I did just that. 

This year I’m taking a different approach, dividing the field into four groups and picking one from each – those with singe digit morning line (“ML”) odds (4), those with double digit ML odds, but less than 20-1 (6), those with ML odds of 20-1 or 30-1 (5)  and those with odds of 50-1 (5 -- I’m leaving out My Adonis, who’s in the Also Eligible category). 

Anyone who bets wants to win, but as an occasional bettor, I want to cash a ticket that buys more than one mint julep, which is why I often look beyond the favorites.   So with this approach I’m trying to identify the best choice at each comparable level of betting risk.        

Before I get to the picks, a shout out to Bourbon Trail racing and Bourbon Courage for a game effort in the Derby Trial – I look forward to seeing him back on the track. 

The favorites --  (Bodemiester, Union Rags, Gemologist and Dullahan)

With a field of 20, anything can happen, but the top of the field seems to be strong this year.  In its lead story today, DRF.com’s headline reads “The big two leave little room at the top.”  I disagree, as I think you have to put Gemologist right there with Union Rags and Bodemiester. 

Though he’s coming off a solid win in the Blue Grass, I’m ruling out Dullahan as I’m not a big fan of horses moving over from the poly, which was a good theory until Animal Kingdom disproved it last year (good thing I didn’t publish my picks!). 

Hard to put aside Union Rags for his third in the Florida Derby, but you have to make the call somehow.  Harder still to not pick Bodemiester after winning impressively in the Arkansas Derby, and posting a gaudy Beyer of 108, but I’m going with Gemologist.  I like his connections, his 5 for 5 lifetime record, including a gritty win last time out in the Wood, and two previous wins at Churchill.  

Value plays – (Hansen, I’ll Have Another, Creative Cause, Take Charge Indy, Daddy Nose Best, Alpha)

This group is almost as hard to pick as the last one and proves what a great race the Derby is when the value plays include the winners of the Santa Anita Derby and the Florida Derby.  The six horses in this group collectively had three firsts and three seconds (by less than a combined two lengths) in their last starts.  You wouldn’t go wrong with any of them, and if the ML odds hold, you’ll be able to buy more than a mint julep with a  winning ticket.

I’m going to give Creative Cause a slight nod over Calvin Borel and Florida Derby winner, Take Charge Indy among this group.  With his solid second in the Santa Anita last time out and a big effort in winning the San Felipe two back, Creative Cause has never missed the board in 8 lifetime starts, and ran a solid third in the Breeders Cup Juvenile at Churchill last year. 

True, Creative Cause was beaten in the Juvenile by Hansen, who came in second in the Blue Grass his last race, and was beaten by a nose by I’ll Have Another in the Santa Anita, but that’s why it’s a tough race to handicap.   Also tough to overlook Alpha who ran second to Gemologist in the Wood and Daddy Nose Best, who posted a nice Beyer in  winning the Sunland Derby, the unconventional route that seems more conventional ever since the race produced 2009 Derby winner Mine That Bird.    

Longshots – (El Padrino, Went the Day Well, Prospective, Daddy Long Legs, Sabercat)

There’s a bigger drop off between this group and the last one, though each of them owns at least one graded stakes win. 

A little easier for me to pick this group, as I’m taking Daddy Long Legs over Went the Day Well.  Admittedly, I’m putting a lot of stock in DLL’s victory in the U.A.E. Derby in his last time race choosing to ignore his tough draw in the number one post and his 12th place finish in the Juvenile last time at Churchill, but that’s why his morning line is 30-1.  Went the Day Well merits consideration as he tries to duplicate Animal Kingdom’s path to the Derby coming off a March win in the Spiral Stakes at Turfway.    

Bombers – (Optimizer, Rousing Sermon, Trinniberg, Done Talking, Liason)

Another dropoff in this group, but still interesting that all but Optimizer have graded stake wins, and two of them have wins in their last starts. 

My head says that if I had to pick one from this group, I’d go with D. Wayne and Optimizer, throwing out his Arkansas Derby performance and focusing on his second in the Rebel at Oaklawn the previous outing.  My heart tells me to go with Done Talking, winner of the Illinois Derby last time out.  Seems like that prep race has gone down market the last few years, but Done Talking would be a sentimental choice as this year is the 10th anniversary of Illinois Derby winner War Emblem donning the blanket of roses en route to winning two-thirds of the triple crown. 

Instead I’ll go with Trinniberg, on the strength of two strong wins in his last two starts.  The “experts” would scoff at that notion given his front running style and that 7 furlongs is the longest he’s gone, and they’re probably right.  It would take something crazy happening, but then that’s what we’re talking about here. 

So there you have it, a horse for all rungs of the pari-mutuel ladder.  Of course, it’s always interesting to see how the betting public ranks them compared to oddsmaker Mike Battaglia, as some of the horses may jump up or down a rung.  Whether you’re shooting to simply cash a ticket to buy yourself a mint julep, or hit the superfecta and buy them for the whole bar, good luck and enjoy the race!  

February 22nd

"Everything that matters is having a strong heart." My 6-year old son Will, February 17, 2011.

Some dates stand out in everyone's mind. December 25th, September 11th, and March 17th stand out in every one's mind for obvious, though disparate reasons.

Other stand out dates are personal. For me, August 11th is one of them. My birthday is August 10th, and my Mom passed away the day after my 25th birthday. On the first anniversary of her death, my Uncle Peter's wife Fran died of cancer, my cousin's four year old daughter died in a car accident and my nephew Tommy was born, all on the same day. February 22nd will be added to that list this year and for similar reasons, wonderful, sad and tragic.

February 22nd was already a notable day for me, primarily because it's the birthday of my dear friend Howie. He likes to remind everyone that it is the date of the "Miracle on Ice", when the US Olympic team beat the USSR's vaunted Red Army team in the 1980 olympics, a game my brother Michael attended. Every year I send Howie an email, usually copying my cousin Mark Montano who's one of his biggest fans. The notes fall somewhere on the continuum between sentimentality and ridicule, commenting on those with whom he shares a birthday (George Washington of course, but also less obvious connections like Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the boy scouts, which is appropriate as Howie was an Eagle Scout).

After February 22nd, 2011, the date will no longer just be Howie's birthday, where I'll send him a sassy email and remember the party we threw for his 23rd birthday 20 years ago now, a month after we'd moved to Washington D.C. together. The guest lists' female to male ratio was about 8:1. God bless our friend Jen Curley who called us young bachelors out on trying to stack the deck in our favor.

No, next year I'll think back about how the date dramatically changed things in the lives of people I know. I will stick with the sequencing in terms of how I found out about the events of the day since that's how they reside in my mind, starting with the tragic, as one of my colleagues was found dead in the parking lot of our office, from an apparent suicide.

I found out several hours after the fact because I'd taken the week off and was not in the office when Gary was found. I was checking email mid-morning to track something down when I started seeing the subject lines of the emails that had piled up during the morning, "Police in the parking lot" and "No outgoing phone calls until further notice."

I didn't know Gary very well, as we worked in different parts of the organization, but we had a connection in that we are, or were, the only two in the office from Longmeadow. We'd traded $20's this past year supporting each other's school related fundraisers and would sometimes compare notes on the goings on in town. He was always quick with a smile and was a genuinely nice person. It breaks my heart to think of the wife and three boys he leaves behind, the oldest of which nonetheless competed in the state wrestling championships this weekend finishing as the silver medalist in the 140 lb. weight class.

The second piece of this year's February 22nd news was 180 degrees from the first. My cousin Jim who is the similarly aged brother I never had (my own brothers are 8, 10 and 14 years older than me while Jim is one year younger) and his wife welcomed their daughter, Eileen on the 22nd. Appropriately, I found out via email from Howie who had seen the news in a facebook posting from Jim's sister Beth, which is ironic since Jim eschews Facebook and technology in general. I'm pretty sure he was the last person under 45 to get a cell phone.

At 41, Jim's had a long road to fatherhood and I couldn't be happier for him and Heather. Eileen is named for Jim's Mom, my father's sister, who passed away in 1990. Aunt Eileen was a caring soul, a nurse by training, who I remember as having a youthful silliness about her. But though she was quick to laugh, I also remember her having the strength and resolve that comes with raising seven children.

On such a joyous occasion as Eileen's birth, I resist but can't help but recall the time around her namesake's death. Jim was studying in Vienna for a semester while his Mom battled a fast advancing cancer, and he didn't find out until she was very sick. Many of us believe that she hung on just long enough to say goodbye to her youngest child, and she died soon after he came home early from his semester abroad. I was a senior at Cornell and remember borrowing my fraternity brother Lee Winters' car to go back for the funeral, even though I hadn't planned to attend. I remember Jim getting up at the service, struggling to share some memories as he was overcome with emotion.

The last piece of news that arrived February 22nd was sad, but not tragic. While Gary's death and Eileen's birth felt close to home, the death of Jen's brother-in-law's Mom, Mary Ann Watson felt more removed for me, but in some way ties the two events together.

Jen's big-hearted younger sister Gabrielle is married to E.C. Watson, a laid back techiee who loves spicy food, music and soccer. E.C. is a few years old than Jen and me and is the youngest son of a preacher. I only met his mother Mary Anne once, at Gabrielle and E.C.'s wedding, which his father performed at he and Mary Anne's house in rural Elgin, SC outside of Columbia.

I was often struck by the generational shift in their family. With E.C. starting a family later in life, (their kids are 9, 7 and 5) and he being the youngest in his family, it was a strange circumstance for E.C.'s elderly parents to have such young grandchildren, as I recall many of their other grandchildren are well into adulthood. Gabrielle said Mary Anne still relished spending time with her young grandchildren despite being well into her eighties.

E.C.'s father passed away within the last year or two and I heard that Mary Anne's health was failing a bit, yet still lived as independently as possible at their home in Elgin. So it probably wasn't a major shock when she passed away peacefully on the 22nd, though no matter the circumstances, it's always hard to say good-bye.

As I finish this post, I'm struggling to summon the will to attend Gary's calling hours this afternoon. We all know our lives our finite and that thought comes closer to the surface in times like this. And we all know that we have to say good bye at some point to those we love, unless they have to say good-bye to us first. But you don't expect that the family of a 50 year old man's family and friends have to do that, especially knowing that he took his own life.

After welcoming their first child this week, those thoughts couldn't be further from the minds of Jim and Heather right now. In the sleep deprived haze of joy, worry and love, I'm certain they find moments to imagine the great possibilities for their daughter and the expectant wonder of watching her grow and learn, even though right now they're just trying to make it to her next nap and aren't sure what day it is.

And then I think of Mary Anne Watson, who's family has to say good-bye this week. I'm sure there's sadness in their hearts, but they're comforted of the thought she's been reunited with her husband. Not really knowing her or what her life was like, I don't feel entitled to say she led a full and happy life, but from what I know from E.C. and Gabrielle, she did. Mary Anne made it to 87, and along with my Aunt Eileen who was only about 60 when she died, they lived as long and as best as they could until it was their time.

My prayer today is for Eileen to have a long and fulfilling life and that Jim and Heather get to see as much of it as possible and to never know the retching sorrow that must have burdened Gary. I pray for Gary and his family, that his burden is finally lifted and for his family to have the strength to carry on. And I pray for Mary Anne, that she rest in peace and that her family can be comforted through the celebration of a long life well-lived.

That mystifying humility that comes with not knowing when it will be our time should keep us focused on the present and appreciate the time and moments we have, and as Jen said to me the other day, to live in the now. Just as I try to remember August 11th is my nephew's birthday instead of the day my Mom died, I'm going to try to think of February 22nd, as my friend and baby cousin's birthday and appreciate the great memories and wondrous possibilities it represents.