Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, November 4, 2017

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2017 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2017 
SECTION B 


AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY 
PREVIEW OF THE BREEDERS CUP 2017 


By Joan Schmidt

The days leading to the Breeders Cup have manyexciting Media events. Monday’s first event was thePost Position Draw at the Barn at Powerhouse Park, 
Del Mar. What a venue! 

The Pavilion is on a hill; you step outside to abreathtaking ocean view. Inside was a great buffet, barservice and a meeting of old Media friends who hadtraveled from Washington, Canada and Germany! Itwas great to see them again!

Every year Mike Smith, Victor Espinosa andAaron Gryder attend. Victor and I discussed seafoodpreferences. Aaron was happy to attend and to beback on the West Coast, which provides more visitswith his fast-growing kids!

Laffit Pincay III was a Commentator and his 
special lady, Sonia, gave me an update on her son 
Jacob. (Please visit eye on Jacob foundation and 
consider making a contribution for further research 
on Usher Syndrome) I also met up with Kent 
Desormeaux , wife Rosie Higgins and wished Kent 
well in the races. 

My highlight of the evening was the Filly and MareSprint Division draw. Princess Karen got #13; I wasdisappointed but was told that she liked to leave thegate from there. Her rider will be Julian Leparoux;
Karen Norton explained that Julian is excellent in thegate and knows how to settle horses down. PrincessKaren’s rival is Unique Bella-she is gorgeous andhuge; Mike Smith is her rider. I also had the pleasureof meeting Jeff Bonde, the Princess’ trainer.

I spoke with Sherry D’Amato for a while. Herhubby is trainer, Phil D’Amato and her daughterJesse, an exercise rider. I hope to do “It’s All in theFamily” !

Tuesday A.M .brought a visit to Del Mar stables,
and previewing awesome Breeder Cup entries,
including Arrogate, Collected, Bolt D’Oro and ourFAVORITE, Princess Karen- she has the friendliest 
personality and licked Bob and me to death. We loveher! 

Wednesday A.M. was a neat interview day.
Trainers are positioned around the room. Theyincluded Steve Asmussen (Gun Rubber), SimonCallaghan (Moonshine Memories), Matk Casse(World Approval), Peter Eurton (Champagne Room,
Great Expectations), Brian Lynch (Heart to Heart, 


Oscar Performance), Aidan O’Brien (Highland Reef,
Churchill, War Emblem, Roly Poly), Mark Ruiz (BoltD’Oro), Dale Romans (Free Drop Billy), John Sadler(Stellar Wind), Dallas Stewart (Forever Unbridled),
Antonio Sano (Gunnevera), and Chad Summers )
Mind Your Biscuits.) Jockey Jose Oriz (Elate, OscarPerformance and Separationofpowers) was alsothere and I met his wife, a former jockey and babydaughter.

I first spoke with England’s Simon Callaghan. Hisfather Neville is a top trainer there; that’s how Simonlearned the trade. Simon came to America in 2009 
and established a racing stable at Santa Anita.

Trainer Brian Lunch hails from Australia. He came 
to America in 1986 and rode bulls in the rodeo circuit! 
He later began training quarter horses. In 1992, hetook out his thoroughbred license and became anassistant to trainer Bobby Frankel in southern CA.
Lynch traveled to Woodbine and at worked Frankel’sbarn there. In 2006, Lynch began training on hisown and now divides his time between Canada and 
Florida. He will send Julien Leparoux on Heart toHeart to Heart. 

Thank you so much to Breeders’ Cup and JimGluckson for this great opportunity to attend somany exciting events during which I learned somuch! I can wait to see the races! 

and how overwhelming and stressful this must 
have been. Not being able to reach her insurance 
agent or insurance company or anyone to help her 
at that hour must have been upsetting.
In my experience, most homeowners do not 
know what to do when emergencies happen. They 
don’t know who to call or who they can trust. In 
searching the internet to find good contractors, you 
quickly realize it takes a lot of time to call, schedule 
and coordinate plumbing, water restoration, mold 
removal and repair contractors. Making sure 
they do things properly and that they stick to the 
repair schedule so that your home and life are 
back to normal in the shortest time possible can 
be daunting. There is also the added fear of being a 
victim of a contractor scam. (See our prior article: 
http:mtnviewsnews.com/v11/htm/n39/p13.htm) 
Wouldn’t it have been nice if my mother had 
been able to join us as we made the best of our 
unscheduled play day, sliding down our hallway, 
fully-enjoying ourselves? Get in line mom!
Jenee’ Child is CEO of SOS Solutions, Inc. which offers 
a free service to home and building owners in callingand scheduling vetted contractors and managing andoverseeing your entire repair project. (www.TrustSOS.
Solutions/Home-Help) “When your home is in distress,
trust SOS. With just one call, SOS will handle it all.” 
1-888-589-1868. 
PLAY DAY OR DAY OF INSANITY? 


By Jenee’ Child

When we are young and care-free, with our active 
imaginations, we see the world differently. My 
mother grew up in Alaska carving igloos out of 
the snow. Having grown up in California, I always 
dreamed of skipping school because of a “snow 
day”. 

Which is why I was so ecstatic the day I jumped 
out of bed to find my feet ankle-deep in water. My 
mother was overcome that our water heater had 
burst during the night and flooded our home. All 
I could think of was that my own personal “snow 
day” had finally arrived! 

Of course, I didn’t understand then why my 
mother didn’t share my excitement. She spent 
most of her day making phone calls and frantically 
running around. Oblivious to what she was going 
through, my siblings and I quickly formed a single-
file line. We took turns running down our hallway, 
with our arms clasped straight overhead, as we 
flung ourselves face down onto our own indoor 
slip and slide!

The look of frustration on my mother’s face as 
she watched us run up and down the hallway in 
water-soaked pajamas, squealing like we had just 
passed the entry gates at Disneyland, is still a vivid 
memory. My “snow day” was her worst nightmare. 
In looking back, I can only imagine how she must 
have felt waking up to find our home under water 


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