XOXO Jockeys

I recorded Jockeys for the Head Chef, figuring that I'd let her write a review for the blog. I was too busy watching the Rangers get humiliated 10-2 to bother...and besides, I have this thing against watching anything that smacks of reality TV. Well, OK, I admit, she has me just a little bit hooked on Top Chef (and I'm rooting for the abrasive Stefan).

However, there will be no review. She liked Jockeys too much, and says she's embarrassed at the idea of being too effusive. "I wouldn't be able to be snarky," she explained. Just goes to illustrate my point that she's never happy unless she criticizing something. "I'm addicted," she's already declared. "Just as good as Gossip Girl." (Yes, that's considered to be a good thing around here. I give her a pass on that only because she's a good friend of the cinematographer.) "Gripping," she adds, though I'm not sure if that pertained to the show itself, or to her description of Chantal Sutherland's hands as "mitts."

The Head Chef couldn't see at first what Ms. Sutherland saw in Mike Smith, who's not as cute, she says, as Aaron Gryder, who she admitted to always having had a "little" crush on. Which got me thinking, how is it that she even knew who Aaron Gryder was? Is there a little history there? Hmmm. But Smith grew on her over the two episodes, she thinks he's a nice guy, so there you go.

The show raised her concerns about the jockeys' safety, which, of course, is obviously part of the marketing angle, a little violence along with the unseen sex. Win or Die Trying is the subtitle of the show, and the Head Chef reported explicit scenes of tumbling thoroughbreds. She was also taken aback at what she deemed to be the mere pittance of mount fees paid to the riders of unplaced horses, and wondered how the less successful riders eek out a living. "The next time I'm at the track, I want to go and give them all a big hug," she said. Hopefully, that won't be caught on film for the next season. XOXO.