Ahead of next month's 2012 Belmont Stakes I was reading some wire reports on I'll Have Another, and I was reminded pleasantly of just how alike all sports figures are, human or equine: Even in the I'll Have Another camp, they speak human sports-cliche. Crash Davis would be proud. He "looks great, fantastic," according to people who have a vested interest in the horse looking great and fantastic.
I've yet to manage to score an exclusive interview from I'll Have Another for SB Nation St. Louis—I'm still working all my sources—but I did get this statement from one of my horse correspondents, from a conference call he conducted after the race.
"I gave it 110% out there, and just tried to leave it all on the track. You know, my competitors are all great—Bodemeister, he's the best. But I gave it my all, and I just have to give it all up to Horse-God, for getting me through this race. We'll see about the Belmont Stakes, I'm just going one day at a time."