By Gordon Waterstone

What an unbelievably gorgeous Monday (Oct. 2) morning we had in Lexington! Nary a cloud in the sky, an expected high of 82 degrees, a lead-in to the rest of the week where the highs are expected to be 85-86. What a perfect morning in the Bluegrass on opening night of the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale at Fasig-Tipton.

I spent a nice, leisurely Sunday as I wanted to regenerate myself for this second week of major stakes racing at Red Mile as well as the yearling sale. Joe Holloway texted me late Sunday morning that he was having brunch on the Merrick Inn patio with his son, Chris, and invited me to join them. Other than that, I pretty much watched football all day.

Taking a quick look back at Saturday afternoon at Red Mile, I failed earlier to mention that I had also had a chance to talk briefly to Trottin Trevor Ritchie. Always great to see him. As I noted early, Chasity and me rode in the starting car to watch Sylvia Hanover win her Bluegrass division, and we sat briefly in the JB Racing apron box with Jenn Bongiorno and Marty Byrd. Marty Byrd actually has a “girlfriend” as he and Marcus Melander’s young daughter, Hailey, seem to be in love as they watched the races together.

Also on Saturday, I received a text message from Bob Wingfield, telling me he was enjoying reading this year’s Backstretch in HRU. Bob actually texted me from Israel, where he and his wife, Barb, have been traveling. He told me that that they had been invited to join friends on a cruise to Egypt and Israel, and I’ve also seen photos they took in Greece. He also told me he wasn’t sure if brothers Tom or Charley would be making the trip to Lexington for this year’s festivities. It will be a lot different this week if the Wingfields aren’t in their usual spot on the main floor of the grandstand.

I had dinner Saturday night at Malone’s with Moira Fanning, Tom Charters, Randy Manges and Derick Giwner. Great conversation and Giwner gave me a lesson about the sports betting apps. Boss Kathy — actually, I need to start calling her Ex-Boss Kathy — was supposed to join us along with her husband, Trackman Dan, but she canceled. Ex-Boss Kathy texted me that it was because Dan had to go talk dirty somewhere. I thought that was pretty strange at first, and then I re-read the text and she had simply said he had to go talk dirt with his brother Greg. BTW, I’m not the only one to call her Boss Kathy as I saw Bryan Owen referred to her as such in a Facebook comment.

Bruce Riegle’s daughter, Taylor, is a server at Malone’s, but we did not sit in her section. Taylor heard we were there so she came over to say hello, which was nice considering she just had a group of 20 seated. We learned later that the group included Karsten Bonsdorf.

As I said earlier, I passed on going to the Stable of Memories fundraiser and instead watched football on Sunday. And that included the nighttime Chiefs/Jets game. And as you see in the photo provided by Tim Bojarski, The Meadowlands GM Jason Settlemoir was able to wangle his way into the suite where Taylor Swift — alongside some friends like Blake Lively and Sophie Turner — was watching boyfriend Travis Kelce play. And now I’ve heard Mike Wilder — who is a huge Swiftie — is jealous of Settlemoir so he plans on skipping the Kentucky Futurity on Sunday and traveling to Minnesota where the Chiefs play the Vikings in hopes of meeting Swift.

Speaking of football, I would have lost my Garnet Barnsdale bet as I would have taken the under on eight posts of his winning tickets. I don’t know why he has a real job with all the wagers he cashes.

I felt bad Monday morning as after I showered, I forgot to leave the water running in the tub for my cat Willow. She pretty much stopped drinking from her bowl and loves to drink water in the tub, and Dave Brower always would tell me that his cat, The Diva — also black like Willow — loved to do the same. Brower told me it was a black cat thing to drink in the bathtub. I found Willow sitting in the tub staring at the faucet, probably wondering why there was no water. So, I turned it on and she was very happy.

I arrived at Red Mile Monday morning promptly at 8 a.m. and as always headed directly to the breakfast table. I asked who the sponsor was and Nick Salvi said it was his honor, but he had to be frugal so people could only take half a bagel or donut and half a cup of coffee. I quickly learned Salvi was joshing me and that my sponsor, Steve and Cindy Stewart’s Hunterton Sales Agency, was the sponsor. Cindy Solverson asked if I could pull the first six numbers out of her bucket in the swag giveaway, and I did. I noted that I had a cup of coffee in my other hand so I was not able to reach in my pocket to pull out my ticket as a winner. Solverson’s husband, Thor Pete, was nearby so I talked to him for a moment.

Before I left the breakfast area, I went over to talk to Curby Stillings, who was already chatting with Giwner. I also saw trainer Shawn Steacy’s wife, Natasha, and I told her how lucky I was to have ridden in the gate to see Sylvia Hanover’s win from the starting car that I had ridden with Driver Eric and Starter Greg. Tim Konkle is also now in the house as I saw him heading to the breakfast table.

Paul Kelley also came by, as did Cote Keim and Greg Wright, Jr. Jimmy Takter was coming off the track with a horse and he yelled over some best wishes. Dewayne Minor also was coming off the track and while I wanted to talk about the Lions with him, he was moving way too fast so I didn’t get the chance.

I made my way over to see the top-ranked Confederate and trainer Brett Pelling was nearby. Before Pelling came over I took a video of Confederate being playful. Pelling told me that Confederate just has that winning look in his eyes and that he is in awe of the acceleration the pacer has. He said as quick as Confederate goes, when he steps it up in the stretch, he really starts motoring. Pelling told me he compares Confederate to the great Dream Away.

I saw trainer Carter Pinske so I made my way to his barn, where I was greeted with mad kisses by Shelby, a tiny dog owned by assistant Kelly McGinnis. On my way back towards the top I saw Pete Foley, and we reminisced a bit about his great star from a few years ago, Bolt The Duer. Howard Okusko, Jr. came by while heading back to his barn, and I was a bit surprised to see him. I had heard from Jack Gray, Jr. earlier that Okusko had made a late decision to come to Lexington.

One person not coming to Lexington is Murray Brown, who is staying put while battling some back issues. Get better soon Murray, who noted he will be avidly watching the livestream of the yearling sale.

Thanks to James Platz for his story in Sunday’s HRU as he counted the horses offered by Hunterton Sales Agency. The number comes out to 115. In Wednesday’s HRU I’ll talk about the opening-night session of Lexington Selected. I’ll also give you the scoop on Tuesday afternoon’s Breeders Crown cocktail reception in the Kentucky Room with breedings to seven sires — Walner, Bulldog Hanover, Trixton, Tall Dark Stranger, Sweet Lou, Captain Crunch and Bettor’s Delight — auctioned off to benefit the Breeders Crown Charity Challenge.

As I noted earlier, it’s supposed to be a splendid week weather-wise in Lexington. Of course, until the weekend, where it’s supposed to cool off with highs only in the low 60s. The only person happy about that will be Gift Shop Jason, who will have plenty of offerings in his spot on the main floor of the grandstand. Apologies again to Amy Hollar for no mentions, and gas continues to drop pennies every day; I have seen prices ranging from $3.35 to $3.59.