Daytona & Mike Smith winning the San Gabriel, can they do it again this weekend? (Charles Pravata)

Given the insanity of the west coast, I decided to only focus on Fairgrounds this weekend.

A little while ago I was eating my lunch in front of the OTB channel. It was just before the 5th race at Aqueduct. I thought the #1 horse, Boggy Creek Dancer, looked really good in the parade, very calm and self assured. The rest of them looked a little too antsy. I wasn’t surprised at BCD’s long odds as I’ve seen him race before, but he did look really good.

In the stretch it looked like the #9, Majestic Melody, really had it, sitting off the pace and coming on with a nice run. Out of nowhere Boggy Creek Dancer flew by the rest of the field to win by a couple of lengths and pay $40.20. I took this as a hopeful sign for the rest of my day!

I’m betting against Grasshopper here. I never bought the hype about him as the Street Sense he placed to in the Travers was not the same Street Sense that won the Derby (as evidenced by his miserable BC performance).

I like Silver Lord and Magna Graduate in that order, I may box them but since they’re both current at 3-1 with 15 minutes to post, I may take a pass. (I just boxed them, wish me luck… Note: Grasshopper just crushed the field by 3 lengths and took me out of the P4, but at least Silver Lord beat Magna Graduate!).

This was the toughest one for me and I went deep on my Pick 4 here, but could have actually gone deeper. Better Talk Now is clearly is a stand out, however he doesn’t do well off a lay off (with the exception of winning the Dixie after bombing in Japan). I’m including him in my P4, but won’t bet him in the race.

I like Daytona but have no idea how he’ll ship or if he’ll like the turf at Fairgrounds. I think he’ll control the pace, which should be good for him. Silverfoot is interesting to me, the 8yo missed last year and in his return race looked game but got caught in traffic, I think he could improve. Another interesting one is Baby First, he ran a nice race last out as his first in North America and will probably improve as well. From what I can tell Inca King is due for a regression after 3 wins and I’m pretty sure since I left him off my P4 that he’ll go wire to wire. (Note: that really doesn’t matter now, does it?) I also think Sterwins is worth a look, I think he’ll like the distance more than French Beret and can probably do the best on what I’m guessing will be a slowish pace.

It’s hard to go against Indian Blessing, but at those odds I’m going to try…although I did I have her singled on one of my loosing P4 tickets. I can’t tell if she wasn’t fond of the Santa Anita surface last out or if it really was a distance issue. The more I think about it the more I lean towards the surface because she handled the distance so beautifully in the BC. It looks to me like High Surf and possibly even Miss Missile could give her some pressure. Let’s say for the sake of argument that it was a distance issue last out, in that case both Proud Spell and Highest Class interest me.

Proud Spell is pretty obvious but you might wonder why I would say Highest Class over Jolie the Cat, particularly when Jolie the Cat beat Highest Class last out. Distance & pace. Highest Class had 2 wins at the distance before cutting back in the Tiffany Lass, also Jolie the Cat had the slow pace all to herself, that won’t the be case today. Even throwing out the unnaturally fast fractions she set at Santa Anita, most of these horses haven’t seen anything like a pace that Indian Blessing can set. That being said, Proud Spell has shown she can do it from off a fast pace and I’m interested to see what Highest Class will do here.

A.K.A, the paceless wonder. It looks like it’s gonna be up to The Darp to set the pace again although he might get some help from Signature Move. This does not bode well for Blackberry Road, Visionaire and even Pyro, but looks great for Z Fortune and possibly Unbridled Vicar.

You can’t go wrong with Curlin as your morning training partner so I’m still convinced Pyro has a shot even if the pace isn’t so hot. Unbridled Vicar is my wise guy play here, I think the slow pace won’t be as negative for him as it will be for some of the others plus I wonder if he could have won his last out at the distance, and that was also a slow pace.

Daytona just won the Fairground Handicap and Sterwins showed in a photo to Jazz Quest, although I boxed Silver Foot and Sterwins. I just can’t deal with 2-1 odds… always the value player! Best of luck to all!

(benben)

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Was it just me, or was Saturday really weird? Hysterical Lady, Tiago and Daaher all throwing total clunkers, the continuing parade of California claimers stepping up their games, turf horses running on dirt and a horse who won his last on turf taking a dirt (well, synthetic) race. Add this from the NYC OTB site:

Wagering on Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields is unavailable today because the California Horsemen have withdrawn their consent to interstate simulcasting and wagering with the New York State Off-Track Betting Corporations.

We apologize for this interruption and are working to resolve the problem.

Swifty and I had both just lost on the Swale and were starting to think about the Robert B. Lewis, but we couldn’t find Santa Anita on our TV at “The Office”. The loud and annoying investment bankers sitting next to us started to grumble as well. Swifty asked one of the clerks at the window where the signal was and the answer was that the California jocks were on strike but the answer seemed vague enough to make to make it seem like there was no racing at Santa Anita.

I took a quick look around on my dedicated txting and horse racing news reading device and wasn’t able to find any information about what was going on. As a matter of fact, as of right now (4:20pm on Sunday), the paragraph quoted above is the ONLY thing I can find on the matter!

We eventually figured out that it was just that the signal was blocked as I could log-in in my Twinspires account on my phone and see that the races were indeed on. After the Donn we both busted out of there quickly so we could get to our respective apartments and play Santa Anita via Twinspires (i.e, continue my losing streak).

Fellow TBAers John and Valerie reported that their Twinspires accounts were useless for both the Donn and Robert B. Lewis due to heavy traffic but I didn’t have any trouble in the Strub and frankly was happy to have the account in this odd twist of signal war fate. However, you won’t hear an argument from me on the addressing some of the usability issues of Twinspires, but that’s another post entirely!

For the most part I feel good about Donn assessment as Daaher couldn’t stand up to pressure on the lead, but I also have to wonder with such a horrifying clunker if something isn’t wrong with him. Also, I have to wonder if Luzzi could have used some slightly better judgment given the distance. I thought my pick AP Arrow ran well and it looked like with a touch more distance he could have gotten there as he was closing hard.

But Spring at Last, way to go! On my first pass of the race I was planning on using him but eventually talked myself out of it thinking he had distance limitations, although he ran well in the Strub last year at the distance. Needless to say, I’m happy to see him step up and am hoping to see more good things from him and AP Arrow.

Speaking of the Strub, Tiago barely held on for place… Valerie, and I’m sure others, are starting to wonder to about him. My sentimental pick Slew’s Tizzy bombed horribly! I’m starting to wonder if he just can’t rate + perhaps it’s time to drop him in for a confidence builder (and/or permanently drop him in class). However, I think they should also try him on the turf again as he showed some signs of life there. I seriously expected him to do so much better on that surface. I don’t think it was a distance issue as it looked like it was over for him before he even go to the stretch. In watching the replay it also looks like he might have been a little rank in the stretch as well. It was nice to see Great Hunter improve on his 3 outting since last year’s Derby. Hopefully he’ll get back in the swing of things as well.

But Monterey Jazz, who I liked in the San Fernando before he scratched, is interesting in that there’s been a whole parade of former claimers stepping up in California and I believe they’ve all been early speed types as well. Zayat Stables has also had some speedy front runners making mild upsets on the early part of the Derby Trail with Z Fortune and Eaton’s Gift.

For the holidays I bought myself a bunch of DRF handicapping books that they smartly packaged as group. Given what’s been going on lately, I think I’ll start with Steve Klein’s The Power of Early Speed.

View from my cube

I’ve been busy, and will be for a good part of the prep season, but at least I have the calendar to keep me company. Now that the whining is out of the way, here are my picks… quickly, cuz I gotta get to the office to see JZ Warrior’s return!

Swale:

I’ll take St. Joe here, the cutback should be good for him + his last 2 works have been good. Wincat looks tough but I wanna see him against more experienced runners before I’ll take a short price. My only question about St. Joe is does he like conventional dirt or were his last two efforts a product of distance? Coal Play looks interesting too.

Robert B Lewis:

I like Crown of Thorns and Coast Guard. Crown of Thorns has some needed endurance building works and Coast Guard is getting blinkers + he looks to me to be most likely to stretch out.

Donn:

I’m not sold on Daaher here, they’ll be more pace than his last 2 + more distance. In his win at the distance he didn’t have any pressure and I don’t think that will be the case today. Mind you, I’ll use him, but I don’t think he’s a sure thing, he might also regress.

I like AP Arrow, of he, Fairbanks and Brass Hat I think he’s the strongest. He really likes this distance and I liked his performance in the Clark. I’ll also throw in Dr. Googles Boogles (which is very fun to say!) in for fun. He’s placed 2 out of 3 times at the distance and looks to me be improving. I’m not sold on Einstein or Kiss the Kid here, I’m always leary of turf horses who’s only wins off turf were in turf races moved to dirt. Although I’m interested to see how Einstein will do!

Santa Monica:

I probably won’t wager here but I like Hysterical Lady better than Pussycat Doll. Hysterical Lady has handled synthetic surfaces well while PCD hasn’t + I think the cutback is just right. I might do a tri-box with including HL, PCD & Overly Tempting.

Strub:

Tiago looks hard to beat, he needed the last race + this is his distance. However, you all know how I feel about Slew’s Tizzy. I really think he’s got a shot. He hasn’t had much luck at the distance but I know he’ll love the surface. I’m interested to see if he’ll rate or get in a speed duel, which could undo him. I’ll box them + depending on Slew’s Tizzy’s odds I’ll take him across the board as well. Air Commander is a “prove it to me” here.

Best of luck to all!

Slew’s Tizzy in the paddock at the Belmont Stakes (Jane E Hill)

Jay Hovdey has a very nice article one of my sentimental favs, Slew’s Tizzy. Just last week I noticed his work at Santa Anita, and have bemoaned his races on conventional dirt in the past. But alas, his day (and mine!) have come.

Greg Fox, also trains his full brother, Slew’s Tiznow, had this to say:

“This may sound crazy, but we’ve been pointing for this race since last fall,” Fox said. “We think that he is much more effective on a synthetic surface. I also think that Tiznow is turning into one of the best sires of synthetic-track runners.”

Hear, hear! His assistant trainer Mittleider goes on:

“As a 4-year-old, I think he could be 10 times what he was at 3,” Mittleider said. “He’s bigger. He’s stronger, and he’s really trained well out here. He ships like a million, loves to fly. He just backs into his slip in the plane and puts his head down. The minute we take off, he goes to sleep, and he doesn’t wake up until we hit the ground.

Apparently he even has “skunk tail”… funny, so do I. Best of luck to him in the Strub, I’ll definitely be rooting for him and I’ll give you 6-5 that I’m wagering on him.

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Ginger Punch and Rafael Bejarano in the Ruffian at Belmont (Sarah K. Andrew)

The weekend Beyers are up at Formblog and Ginger Punch posted an impressive 109 in the Sunshine Millions Distaff. This is her highest Beyer to date. Previously she had turned in a 104 in the BC Distaff and the G2 First Flight at Belmont.

Bob Black Jack also posted a 109 in the Dash.

The top honors go to Benny the Bull who posted a 115 in the Sprint. This was his second highest Beyer to date, with 119 as his highest fig in the Forego.

Hall of Famer Jack Van Berg tells it like it is to Ed Fountaine of the NY Post when it comes to meds, legal or otherwise. Nothing surprising to anyone who follows racing except for the fact that he’s SAYING it.

“These horses, they can’t say no,” Van Berg told The Post from his barn at Hollywood Park. “They’re getting steroids from the time they are babies. They don’t have time to grow and mature like they should.

Just open your eyes and look around. You know how many trainers would still be winning races if they couldn’t use medication? Some of them would starve to death. The veterinary bills are as big as the day money (training bills) for a lot of them. You watch and check how much these veterinarians are making on the backstretch now. They’re becoming wealthy.”

He’s certainly not the first and definitely will not the be the last to speak out on the rampant over medication of race horses, but he’s the first trainer I’ve seen to speak out so strongly.

Dance Away Capote winning the Nobel Damsel at Belmont (Sarah K. Andrew)

I’ve been waiting for a reason to use this shot and the day has finally come!

Barclay Tagg will see if Dance Away Capote can stretch out to 1 1/8th this coming Sunday in the Grade III Suwannee River Handicap at Gulfstream. Best of luck to her!

I’m puttering around procrastinating what will no doubt be another full day of work when I noticed something that made me very happy. In keeping with the sentimental favorite theme for the weekend, I noticed Slew’s Tizzy put in a work at Santa Anita, and a good one too!

As I said recently:

… like one of my sentimental favorites, Slew’s Tizzy. I really, really wish they’d send him to California or just run him on synthetic surfaces, isn’t it clear by now he doesn’t like the dirt?

He posted a 6F at 1:11.40 H 4/35. It would be great to see him regain the good form he showed on the polytrack.

File this under “learn something new every day”, I received this message from a friend on Facebook:

Thought of you at the Kerouac show at the 42nd street branch of the NYPL. He used to create these fantasy horse race newspaper reports. They’re very cool, cute little horse drawings and all. Now that you’re an aficionado thought you’d get a kick from them.

Really? I was never a Kerouac fan, however this sounds kind of promising. The exhibit is called Beatific Soul: Jack Kerouac on the Road and is on view in the main branch of the New York Public Library on 42nd street through March 16th.

Kerouac’s minutely detailed fantasy baseball and horse racing materials, which he created as a boy and played with throughout his life, will also be on display.

A quick touch of Googling uncovered this:

Leo also introduced his son to the world of horse racing which, just like baseball, would stimulate Kerouac’s young imagination.

In New York between now and March 16th? Then you might want to check this out.