Horse Scents
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| DuckTales episode | ||
| "Horse Scents" | ||
 Milady shows her appreciation for Scrooge. |
||
|---|---|---|
| Season | 1 | |
| Episode no. | 34 | |
| Airdate | October 22, 1987 | |
| Writer(s) | Earl Kress | |
| Director | Alan Zaslove | |
| Prod. no. | 29 | |
| Guest star(s) | Sue Blu (Milady) Dick Gautier Johnny Haymer |
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| Episode chronology | ||
| ← Previous | Next → | |
| "The Golden Fleecing" | "Duckworth's Revolt" | |
| List of DuckTales episodes | ||
"Horse Scents" is the thirty-fourth episode of the Disney animated television series DuckTales.
[edit] Synopsis
Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Webby and Mrs. Beakley are in Louisville, Kenducky, where Scrooge plans to have his horse, Cash Register, win him the Kenducky Derby. But Glomgold intends to win the derby with his horse, Make-A-Buck, and become the richest duck in the world with the prize money. Glomgold gets two weasel goons he’s hired to embarrass Scrooge by startling Cash Register, so that he runs into the lake with Scrooge, but one of the weasels gets carried away, and does the same with Make-A-Buck and Glomgold.
At the racetrack, Webby meets an old photographer named Mr. Merriweather, and his horse, Milady, who are down on their luck. Webby cheers him up by being their first customer all week by having her picture taken with Milady. The weasels gang up on Mr. Merriweather by wrecking his camera, but Webby scares them off by throwing fruit at them. On top of that, Bull Weevil, the man who sells Mr. Merriweather Milady’s oats shows up, and demands his overdue payment. Unable to pay, Mr. Merriweather is forced to turn in Milady to Bull, who intends on mistreating her.
Milady breaks out of Bull’s truck, and as Webby climbs onto her back, is spotted by Bull, who drives after them, but eventually crashes. Though Bull is gone for now, everyone comments on how fast Milady ran to get away. Dewey suggests that Milady could run in the derby and win Mr. Merriweather the prize money he needs, but Mr. Merriweather explains that Milady isn’t fit to be a racehorse. Nevertheless, the nephews convince him to give Milady a chance. The kids ask the racing committee’s chairman, Scrooge, to let Milady enter, and despite his initial negativity, he lets Milady run because he feels sorry for her. The nephews help Webby take care of Milady while she trains to become a jockey. With no motivation to run, Milady flops her practice sessions.
At night, the two weasels break into Scrooge’s stable stall and horse-nap Cash Register. Glomgold rejoices when the weasels phone him, but later on, the trailer that Cash Register is riding detaches from their truck and breaks. Unhurt from the crash, Cash Register finds his way back to the stable in the morning, just as Glomgold tries to humiliate Scrooge.
Later on, Bull returns to claim Milady, whom the nephews and Webby try to keep hidden. Huey and Dewey try to keep Bull away from the stables, but he finds Milady hiding on a rafter with Louie and Webby. The rafter snaps, causing Milady to fall down on Bull, and she runs off with Webby, buying them some more time.
On the morning of the race, Mrs. Beakley tries to lift the group’s spirits by playing the bugle, which unintentionally gives Milady to motivation to speed around the racetrack. Mr. Merriweather comments that Milady’s great-grandsire was a cavalry horse, trained to respond to bugle calls, and that his instinct must still remain in Milady’s blood. Now that Mrs. Beakley knows to play during the race, Milady’s victory is seemingly in the bag.
Right before the race, Milady and Webby show up at the track, only to be laughed at by everyone but their friends. Scrooge is surprised to see that Webby is Milady’s jockey, while Huey spots Bull walking around the stands. The race then starts and the horses are off, except for Milady, who hasn’t even left the starting line. Mrs. Beakley plays the bugle to get Milady going, but the guy sitting next to her gets into a fight with her over her playing. As Milady trails behind, the nephews get Bull’s attention, and purposely trick him into entering the P.A. room so that Milady can hear his voice and speed up.
Milady speeds to the front of the pack, while Bull realizes that since he’s now entitled to Milady, he’ll win the prize money if she wins. Upon hearing the announcer mention that the race will be a photo finish, Milady stops running right before the finish line and poses for a picture. Cash Register and Make-A-Buck tie for first place, resulting in Scrooge and Glomgold having to split the prize money evenly, retaining their spots as the first and second richest ducks in the world respectively.
Bull is mad that Milady lost the race, and forgets about claiming her at this point. Mr. Merriweather is upset that he still can’t afford to take care of Milady, but Scrooge gets an idea; Now that Milady has run in the Kenducky Derby, she is considered a celebrity horse, which in turn attracts plenty of customers to keep Mr. Merriweather in business.
[edit] Trivia
- Horse sense is a term for common sense.
- This episode is loosely based on a Mickey Mouse comic serial.
- Kenducky is an obvious spoof on Kentucky, although the city of Louisville stayed the same.
