alibi also-ran ambuscade ambush ambushment apology aspirant baby kisser bidet blind booby trap candidate carriage horse cart horse cavalry horse cloak color cover cover story cover-up dark horse defeated candidate device draft horse dray horse driving horse dud excuse facade favorite son feint fill horse filler front gigster gloss guise hack hackney handle hopeful hunter jument lame duck lame excuse lead leader locus standi lurking hole mask mount office seeker ostensible motive pack horse palfrey plow horse pole horse political hopeful polo pony poor excuse post-horse presidential timber pretense pretension pretext protestation public motive put-off refuge remount rider riding horse road horse roadster rouncy running mate saddle horse saddler screen semblance shadowing shaft horse sham show smoke screen stratagem subterfuge sumpter sumpter horse surveillance thill horse thiller trap trick varnish veil wheeler wheelhorse workhorse