Levy Trail

 I was halfway through the Levy Trail 5K this morning when I remembered, "Oh, yeah. Elaine called yesterday to ask if I would join the Geezers for a Levy Trail walk." Maybe three minutes later, here they came. After Elaine took the requisite Facebook mug shot, I walked with a handful of Geezer women for another fifteen minutes or so. ...I did not plan to publish results of the Mammal Game today, but the appearance of a rabbit changed my mind. Dogs won the day, with three. I also saw one cat and, of course, the rabbit.

Levy Trail Loop

 I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 35:48.

Levy Trail South

I walked Levy Trail South through cool dampness this morning in 30:43. 

Levy Trail Loop

 I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 31:28. My legs felt somewhat lively. My right hip is back to one-hundred percent. ...I understand no one cares about anyone's NCAA Men's Tournament bracket or fantasy football team but their own. Nevertheless, my bracket comes down to this: Duke will play North Carolina in the Final Four. Villanova will play Kansas. I will win if Villanova wins or Duke loses in their semifinal games. I will lose if Duke wins and Villanova loses. Despite my current seemingly colossal lead, I will need at least one upset in the semifinals, mainly because Villanova lost its second-leading scorer in the quarterfinal round to a torn Achilles tendon.

Maple Street Loop

 I walked the Maple Street Loop at lunchtime today in 33:58. ...For the moment, my Hash bracket entry stands at 770 points, or in the top 99.7 percent worldwide in a game set up by ESPN. I am ranked 21,236th out of 17,355,791. Second place among Hashers has 620 points. I am the only of 15 entrants to have not lost the team they picked to win the tournament.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 34:36. The Mammal Game count was 15 today, with a first-ever tie: dogs 7, squirrels 7, cats 1.

PETE PERKINS

HOT SPRINGS — Sometimes with racehorses, beauty and speed are correlated.

As an example, look to Marylou Whitney Stables’ Pretty Birdie, winner of the $150,000 6-furlong Purple Martin Stakes for three-year-old fillies before a crowd of 31,000 at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort on Saturday.

Pretty Birdie won under the ride of Oaklawn’s leading jockey David Cabrera in 1:09.01. Second-place Hypersport, under jockey Tiago Pereira, finished 2 3/4 length behind the winner and a nose in front of third-place Wicked Halo, the 2-1 favorite ridden by Ramon Vazquez. Verylittlecents, ridden by Jon Court, finished fourth, 9 1/4 lengths behind Pretty Birdie.

On the runway to the paddock, before the Purple Martin field of six had jogged back to the wire, the trainer of Mike Waters’ Hypersport, Ingrid Mason, said Pretty Birdie had drawn her attention as the fillies were saddled in the infield before the race.

“I saw [Pretty Birdie in the infield],” Mason said. “I had never noticed that horse before, and I told Mike that the horse looked fabulous. I mean, I knew we had to race today.”

Pretty Birdie’s trainer Norm Casse knew of which Mason had spoken.

“She’s a beautiful horse,” Casse said. “She’s really well made. She’s got a beautiful stride and a beautiful walk, and I think that speaks to why she’s so athletic, but I think, ultimately, the real important thing is she’s fast.”

Casse is the son of Mark Casse, the multiple-graded-stakes-winning trainer who trained Sir Winston and War of Will to wins in the 2019 Belmont Stakes and Preakness Stakes, respectively.

“You can see the way my horse looks,” Cabrera said. “She looks big. She’s got a really nice stride on her. What else can you ask for?”

Pretty Birdie took the lead out of the gate in the Purple Martin, just as she had in her last start, a fifth-place finish in Oaklawn’s 6-furlong Dixie Belle Stakes on Feb. 19.

Cabrera said Casse had prepared Pretty Birdie for any circumstance.

“We came into the race thinking that if we break on top, we’ll take it, but if we break from behind, we’ll try to get her to relax behind horses,” Cabrera said. “We were also pretty confident about that, but she broke so sharp, and I thought, ‘You know what, I’m just going to let her take it,’ and that’s what she did.”

Casse and Cabrera clearly had similar thoughts.

“We want her to have speed, but we don’t want it to be all-out or reckless all the time,” Casse said. “We spent a lot of time the last month teaching her to relax coming off horses. Although she didn’t have to do that today, she was much more reserved early on in the race, and it paid dividends.”

Pretty Birdie led Hypersport by one length through an opening quarter-mile in 21.63. Wicked Halo, from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, was in fourth, two lengths off the lead and 1 1/2 lengths behind third-place Verylittlesense, ridden by Jon Court and trained by Randy Morse.

Pretty Birdie remained a length in front of Hypersport through the half in 45.07. Wicked Halo ran third, a head in front of Randy Patterson’s Verylittlecents in fourth.

The order would remain the same through the wire, though Pretty Birdie gradually expanded her lead 0ver Hypersport, who battled to hold off a late surge from Winchell Thoroughbred’s Wicked Halo.

“[Hypersport] ran good,” Mason said. “I’m happy with the ride. [Pereira] rode him perfect. We’ll get them next time, right? Hopefully, we won't have to run against [Pretty Birdie] again.”

Pereira said he wished Pretty Birdie had felt more pressure after the opening quarter.

“The winner didn’t have to fight in front,” he said. “She got an easy pace, but she finished strong, so congratulations to her.”

None were more affected by Pretty Birdie’s speed — and perhaps beauty — than Casse.

“It’s always exciting to have a nice horse in the barn where you can pick out some big-time races,” Casse said. “I don’t know where we’ll go next, but she’s starting to reveal what we’ve been seeing all along.”

Levy

 Red (aka Sammy) made her first appearance for me since Dec. 26, 2020. Surprisingly dead legs limited my walk to 21:08, during which I made the Red loop on the north side of 47th Street. Red has put on a bit of weight and is not nearly as sociable as she was at her peak. Nevertheless, I miss her already. Dogs won the Mammal Game, 5-1 over Red. ...It's amazing how quickly a live bunch of late-round selections can turn around a bracket. I went from sixth to kicking butt in the Hash's bracket pool with a mere two wins last night. My total is 570. Second place is at 520. I rank in the top 99.7 percent of the national ESPN pool. I am tied for 55,145th of 17,355,791. I do, however, expect to fall apart. Go, Villanova.

Levy Trail Loop

 I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 34:13. My right hip is back to nearly one-hundred percent. The Mammal Game count was eight, with four squirrels, three dogs, and one cat.

Hash

 I walked for a total of 14:28 out-and-back to and north along, and then south and home from the Levy Trail. I turned around at 7:30. My hip feels much better. What's cool, I found a perfectly sound, ancient full-size child's red wagon abandoned on the trail. It is now in my garage as ideal dry-weather lawn equipment. ...On Sunday, I was out for 14:42 with the Little Rock Hash House Harriers on a trail near the Fraternal Order of (North Little Rock) Police hut at the eastern end of the River Trail. My right hip was too tender to go further. ...Pam's ghost struggled with its bracket picks through the second round of the NCAA Tournament and is now tied for sixth. It still could possibly win if Villanova is the tournament champion. We will see.

Orange Street

 I didn't write this yesterday. One of the things that slowed my walk, other than legs deader than tank drivers from Russia and pregnant women from Ukraine, was what I thought was a slight groin strain. By lunchtime, I knew I had somehow hurt my right hip. Maybe with an overnight fall or misstep.  This morning,  I walked a half-mile in 14:04, mostly on Willow St. ...Pam is in a two-way tie for second, two picks behind the leader in our bracket contest. After the first round, we have fifteen Sweet-16 teams still in play and all of our Elite 8 and forward. We are in the top 95.4 percent of the millions playing this ESPN game.

Levy Trail Loop

 My legs were deader than a southwest Texas college golf team this morning as I walked the Levy Trail Loop in 36:38. ...I had to let Joe out. He seems fine. I'm not so sure about his wound. It will be stitched up until a week from Monday. He hates the medicine Dr. Weiner gave him. ...There was another upset in the Mammal Game. I counted eight, with 4 cats, 2 dogs, and 2 squirrels. Joe was involved in the score for the first time. He kind of ran it up when he walked out to greet me at the end of our driveway. ...I am in a three-way tie for second in the Hash bracket pool. I was 13-3 on Day 1 for 130 points. St. Mary's was an impressive first-round winner.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South this morning 32:39. ...Joe apparently got into a knife fight with a raccoon or cat last night. Dr. Weiner said I can pick him up from surgery at 1 p.m. today. ...Joe is home and miserable, which is a good thing, long term. I'll bet he doesn't beg to go out for at least a day or two. All the fucker can do is walk lopsided in a circle. ...The squirrels earned their first Mammal Game victory this morning, 7-6 over the dogs. It was a longshot effort, kind of what I hope for out of St. Mary's in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. St. Mary's out of the West Coast Conference, not Mount St. Mary from the Arkansas 7A Central (though some of those Mount St. Mary teams would have been manlier than most teams in this year's NCAA). The ghost of Pam and I have St. Mary's losing in the championship game to Villanova, 77-73. If that happens, Joe, Jr., and I will be able to retire about eight minutes earlier than we initially hoped. ...By the way, we're playing against other Little Rock Hash House Harriers, not other newspapermen. The paper hasn't had a bracket pool since 2018.

Levy Trail Loop

 I walked the Levy Trail Loop this morning in 32:02. My Mammal Game count reached 8, with 3 dogs, 3 squirrels, and 2 cats. It included a German Shephard some broad on 34th Street had to hold back from eating me.

Levy Trail South

 I jogged for a total of four minutes and otherwise walked Levy Trail South this morning in 29:25.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South at lunchtime today in 29:48. Then I watched Gunsmoke and drove to Oaklawn to report on the Azeri Stakes:

PETE PERKINS

HOT SPRINGS — Two turns were almost too easy for Ce Ce.

Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza said Bo Hirsch’s champion sprinter Ce Ce lost interest late but responded in time to win the Grade III $350,000 1-mile-and-1/16th Azeri Stakes for fillies and mares four years old and up in 1:43.55 before an estimated crowd of 30,000 at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort on Saturday.

“Sometimes, I think, she does things so easy, she just gets bored and wants to do some silly things,” Espinoza said. “She heard a little noise, and then she says, ‘Hey, we’re happy,’ and everything worked out.” 

Ce Ce, trained by Mike McCarthy, won by 3/4 lengths over second-place Pauline’s Pearl, ridden from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen by Joel Rosario. Shedaresthedevil, winner of last season’s Azeri and the 2020 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, led from the gate through the final turn under rider Florent Geroux but finished third, 1 3/4 lengths behind the winner and 2 3/4 lengths in front of fourth-place She’s All Wolfe, ridden by Francisco Arrieta and trained by Donnie Von Hemel in the field of seven.

Lavender and Super Quick scratched.

Racetrack stars shined across the Azeri field. It included a cluster of Eclipse Award winners and two members of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Espinoza was named to the Hall of Fame in 2017, two years after he rode American Pharoah to the Triple Crown, the first in racing since 1978. Ce Ce won the 2021 Grade I 7-furlong Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 6 and was named the 2021 Eclipse female sprinter of the year.

Rosario is the 2021 Eclipse-winning jockey of the year. Asmussen won the Eclipse as trainer of the year in 2008 and 2009. He has trained 9,659 winners in his career, more than any other horseman, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2016.

Brad Cox, trainer of Flurry Racing Stables,' Qatar Racing Limited’s, and Whisper Hill Farm’s Shedaresthedevil, won the Eclipse as trainer of the year in 2020 and 2021.

“There were three great fillies in front of [She’s All Wolfe],” Von Hemel said. “Coming into the meet, to see her run this well in a graded stakes is a pleasant surprise.”

Shedaresthedevil led through the opening quarter-mile in 23.44. Golden Curl and Lady Mystify were second and third, respectively, with Ce Ce fourth, two lengths off the lead.

Shedaresthedevil remained a length in front of second-place Golden Curl and two lengths up on third-place Lady Mystify through the half in the 47.53.

Golden Curl would finish sixth, 19 lengths behind the winner, and 5 1/4 lengths in front of last-place Lady Mystify.

At three-quarters of a mile, Ce Ce had moved into second, a length behind Shedaresthedevil. Pauline’s Pearl, the 5-2 third-choice, was fourth, 1 1/2 lengths behind the leader.

It was Ce Ce’s second start at Oaklawn. Before she became a one-turn champion, Ce Ce won Oaklawn’s 2020 Grade I 1-mile-and-1/16th Apple Blossom Stakes.

“[Shedaresthedevil] ran pretty regular fractions,” Geroux said. “There was nothing out of the ordinary. The [mare] that beat me is a pretty nice [mare], too, you know. Ce Ce won the Apple Blossom two years ago, so we know she liked the track. She’s a tough customer.”

The Azeri was Shedaresthedevil’s first race in more than four months.

“Hopefully, we got the rust out of her, and she’ll be tough the next time,” Geroux said. 

As they turned for home, Ce Ce, off at 8-5, put a nose in front of Shedaresthedevil, who ran just off the rail, and seemed geared to pull away. Stonestreet Stables’ Pauline’s Pearl also appeared full of momentum, 1 1/2 lengths off Ce Ce’s right flank.

Ce Ce was a length in front of Shedaresthedevil at the 1/8th pole and had begun to open up. Pauline’s Pearl was two lengths back in third but seemed full of run.

“I thought she was going to win by many lengths, but suddenly everything changed,” Espinoza said.

For a moment, Pauline’s Pearl seemed a likely winner, but Ce Ce dug in through the final strides to hold on.

“I thought for a second we were going to win big,” Rosario said. “But [Ce Ce] broke again and kind of got a jump on me, but [Pauline’s Pearl] ran hard. Like I said, she ran well.”

McCarthy was in California and said he watched the Azeri on his smartphone.

“It was hard to see,” McCarthy said. “I watched it on my phone, so I really couldn’t tell whether she lost interest or not. I’m just glad she was able to kind of re-rally and get herself in the game.”

Next up for the winner is likely the Apple Blossom, scheduled for April 23.

“We’ll have to take a long, hard look at it, for sure,” McCarthy said. “We’ll see how she looks over the next 24 to 48 hours and go from there.”

Levy Trail Loop

 My legs felt rather springy as I walked the Levy Trail Loop at lunchtime today in 31:54. My Mammal-Game count was 13, with seven dogs and six squirrels. By the way, Joe counts in this game but has yet to contribute. He was inside for this round. ...My last two pizza attempts have fallen short of the first three. I will give it another whirl this afternoon. The crust should have risen adequately by about two p.m. ...I still think it's funny that someone went on national television two days ago with a positive thought about saying, "Women in sports have transcended the cultural narrative."  I will apologize if I learn it just spontaneously popped into her head as she spoke of some new professional women's soccer league. 

Levy Trail North/River Trail

 I walked Levy Trail North this morning in 35:09. It seemed likely this route wouldn't make for much of a mammal game, and it didn't. I saw one dog. Even Joe failed to make an appearance on my return. ...On Tuesday morning, I walked for 62:10 with the Geezers on the River Trail from Cooks Landing.

OVERHEARD. ..."Women in sports have transcended the cultural narrative." — woman on CBS this morning who said women in sports have transcended the cultural narrative with a straight face

Daisy Bates, Blvd.-Central High/Levy Loop

 I walked the Levy Loop this morning in 34:07. ...Yesterday morning, while waiting for the frontrunners to reach the halfway point of the Little Rock Marathon, I walked on Daisy Bates Blvd. to Central High. For the first time, I examined the backside of the building and was fascinated by the detail. What a structure.

Levy Ghetto Cat Loop

 I walked the Levy Ghetto Cat Loop this morning in 33:44. ...I counted six mammals: four dogs and two cats.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South this morning in 35:51 and counted thirteen mammals: twelve dogs and one squirrel.

Levy Trail South

 I walked Levy Trail South at lunchtime today in 33:49. ...I have a new game played to the rules of the Car Game. This one's called the Mammal Game. I count dogs, cats, squirrels, rabbits, and, I guess, any other mammal, though I believe those four are the only I have seen on the Levy Trail. No. Wait. I have seen a few deer closer to Camp Robinson. Today, I saw eight mammals. Seven dogs and one squirrel. I think that's about the most I have seen on a two-mile walk. ...Mid-afternoon today, I made what might have been the best pizza I have eaten, not counting those from my early childhood, when every pizza was the best. It is sausage and mushroom with a thin but airy, crispier-than-two-motherfuckers crust. Man, my sauce is fantastic, as is this crust. I can't wait for a pretty woman to eat this pizza, which I suspect will only get better. She will almost certainly beg me to marry her. I'm confident I will get all embarrassed as she absolutely debases herself over this pie.