The Quarter Inch
A Derby Delight! Horses, the Latest on Dobbs, &c.
A quick housekeeping note. The Quarter Inch has previously been published as its own independent Substack newsletter because until recently that was the only way to do it. Now I am able to bring together many newsletter “sections” under the single publication, The Square Inch. Many of you had independently subscribed to two separate newsletters, but now that isn’t necessary. The old Quarter Inch will be shuttered shortly and it will continue on here.
Dear Friends,
In my early teens we owned horses for a short, but incredibly idyllic, period of time. We had a few acres overlooking the Yellowstone River outside of Billings, and decided to try our hands at those magnificent animals. Misty was a Morgan. She was jet black with a white star on her forehead, and she was the gentlest horse I’ve ever known. On hot summer days I’d head down the hill with Sabre, our German Shepherd, and I’d throw a bridle on her and hop on with no saddle.
We’d make our way to a wonderfully deep river backchannel that was so calm it was essentially a swimming hole. It was completely private. I don’t think I ever saw another human being at the swimming hole the entire time we lived there. I’d strip down to the nothings (yes, really) and off we’d go. Misty, Sabre, and I would splash out into the water until not even Misty could touch bottom. It was like I was riding a jet ski, only it was an enormous, powerful animal. I loved feeling her strength as she swam.
After a fine, cool swim, I’d lay on the shore and throw a stick into the water for Sabre while Misty grazed on the long, tall grass.
If all that sounds pretty Norman Rockwell, that’s because it was.
It’s difficult to not be romantic about horses. I am currently reading up on the Anglo-Saxons, particularly their poetry, and I’m learning about their veritable worship of horses. They even called their boats horses: “Sea-steeds” and “Wave-mares.” The Anglo-Saxons were Tolkien’s inspiration for the Rohirrim, the people of Rohan, the horse lords. And as I get further into reading the Anglo-Saxons, I see just how deeply Tolkien shares their sensibilities.
Who doesn’t love a great horse movie? One of the finest ever made, in my opinion, is Francis Ford Coppola’s The Black Stallion. Ostensibly a “kids” movie, it really isn’t. It is a cinematic masterpiece that makes (author) Walter Farley’s credulous and childish “cheese” entirely believable.
Almost all horse movies inspire me. I say “almost” because a couple of weeks ago my youngest daughter was begging me to watch Black Beauty with her. Neither of us had ever seen it. But when we went to find it streaming, all we could find is the brand-new Disney remake of the classic, and it was quite possibly the worst film I have ever seen. Even Mary told me to shut it off halfway through. Don’t bother.
Aside from that: Seabiscuit? (Book is better, but still a wonderful film.) Secretariat? (Not quite as inspiring a story as Seabiscuit, but, wow, you hardly get more inspiring than that 26-length Belmont victory!) War Horse was enjoyable, even though I didn’t think Spielberg’s fake horse head for the closeups really worked. And—oh, yes! The Man From Snowy River. Even Return To Snowy River was great, even though Kirk Douglas got replaced by Brian Dennehy.
I’m thinking about all this because something film-worthy happened at Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. Rich Strike, a horse everybody expected to finish dead last, the second longest odds in Derby history (80-1), a horse that didn’t even get into the race until the last moment when another horse scratched, a horse whose owner or jockey have (from what I gather) no prior experience or relationship with the Derby (not a well-heeled, legacy stable), completely shocked the racing world.
Maybe horse racing isn’t your thing. But I defy anybody to watch the overhead drone footage of the final stretch of the Derby and not experience a thrill.
A few things I love. Yes, the comeback distance is jaw-dropping. But I love watching it closely and focusing just on Rich Strike. The acceleration and power and closing speed takes my breath away. Those front horses are the finest Thoroughbreds on the planet, and he just destroys them. I love how essentially the first time Rich Strike’s name is mentioned in the entire race is two seconds before the finish line, and that the announcer (isn’t he wonderful?) doesn’t even have time to describe what is happening. “Oh My Goodness!” is all he can say. Speechless. If somebody was only listening on the radio they would have been dumbfounded. Who? What!? When!? How!? Why!?
If you read enough or watch enough horse movies, you know that horses have… feelings, after their fashion. There’s a reason the Anglo-Saxons revered them. I do not believe that Rich Strike was just running as an instinctive matter as fast as he could— you know, because that’s just what horses do. Nor was he running, as PETA would have it, just because his jockey was giving his backside a swat with his crop. No, his maneuvering shows terrific intelligence; his eruption of striving and speed at the end shows passion and desire.
He was a long shot for the ages. His owner found a very rich strike, indeed. Well-done, you wonderful horse!
Here’s the whole race, if you’d like to see it:
Waiting on Dobbs
It seems that somebody at the Supreme Court is still talking to Politico. On Tuesday they published a follow-up piece to their recent bombshell report on the Court’s possible ruling striking down Roe v. Wade.
A few intriguing tidbits.
The report is that there has been no opinion other than Alito’s circulated, nor have any justices circulated any dissenting opinions. That is surprising. The end of the term is just a few weeks away, and if there was to be any horse-trading or back-and-forth on the matter, I would have thought it would be in full swing by now.
The report also maintains that the five-member majority is still set on overruling Roe, and it then engages in some speculation about Chief Justice Roberts having lost his “control” of the Court. That’s always an overstated thing—the Chief never “controls” the Court—but there’s an interesting note anyway. The article gives the sense that Roberts might have really lost a lot of credibility with his fellow conservatives because of his semi-frequent “swing vote” surprises. His aim to compromise and find narrow rulings as a way of preserving the “integrity” of the Court has tended to hang his colleagues out to dry. For example, Justice Alito’s magisterial opinion in Fulton v. Philadelphia last year was originally written as a majority opinion, only to have the Chief flake off at the last moment. And that might have blown his chance to find such a compromise on this watershed case. In other words, his knee-jerk commitment to institutionalism rather than the rule of law—sometimes those two cannot be meshed—might’ve backfired on him. If so, you won’t find me crying.
I might add that the more I’ve thought about it I just don’t see who among the conservative justices would be wobbly on Roe. Thomas? No. Alito? We know what he thinks. Barrett, the Catholic mother of seven? No. A lot of people seem worried about Kavanaugh, but in the oral arguments Justice Kavanaugh’s questions strongly suggested his own opinion: the Court needs to get out of the abortion business (because, in his view, the Constitution never allows it into the abortion business). And that leaves Gorsuch as the wild card. He was wobbly (read: wrong) on the Title IX transgender case, but he’s otherwise known as pretty committed originalist. And Roe is so outlandish on any originalist analysis it seems to me highly unlikely Gorsuch wobbles. Take my reading of the tea leaves for what it’s worth; which is not much. We won’t know until we know.
Last, if they haven’t even been circulating responses and dissents (that is, if the report is accurate), then we probably won’t get the Dobbs ruling until the end of the term in June. So stay tuned, and keep praying.
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Enjoyed the horse talk.
If you like "Black Stallion" you should like the rest of Carroll Ballard's ouvre. Fly Away Home; Never Cry Wolf; Duma, et. all.