Aug 16 2008
Attention, All T-Breds: You Have Been Phelpsed
Apparently you would do well to be coached by, owned by, or even bumped into by Bob Bowman, who coaches mega-Olympian, apparent Visa user, and Grand Lord of All That is Golden, Michael Phelps.
Bowman, as it happens, not only stands by the pool and claps as Phelps splashes by… he stands by the rails and claps, too, as his horse, Vanderkaay, runs past. Vanderkaay, of course, won the Dancing Count Stakes at this past Februrary at Pimlico. No word on whether or not Vanderkaay’s dam was in the stands, jumping up and down next to Chris Collinsworth.
And Bowman totally crosses his sports: Vanderkaay is named for four (human) brothers who train with Phelps. (The horse wasn’t named for Phelps because “…Number 1, that’s a lot of pressure to put on a horse,” Bowman told Sports Illustrated. “And Number 2, this horse is too nice. The one that bites me I’ll name Michael.”)
Bowman owns eight other horses, and trains them his own self. “The horses have taught me to be a better observer,” he said, “because they can’t tell you what they’re feeling.”
Somebody ask this guy and his Empire of Awesomeness to do the homestretch reaching for you the next time you place a bet.
