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At Least
... man and horse look like no harm came to either:
Photos by Easy Goer, on Raceday 360 Wire via Flickr.
* This latest little blogging hiatus continues for a short time longer while I wrap up a couple projects. Back to regular posting soon.
Posted by JC, Sep 29, 2008 09:00 PM
Getaway Day
Heading up to Saratoga this morning, but I didn't want to leave without mentioning marvelous Music Note, who kept her win streak rolling with another seemingly effortless victory in the Coaching Club American Oaks on Saturday:
Last of five at the half, she moved into contention on the outside going into the stretch, then drew away to an 11-length win, running her final quarter in a very respectable :24.17 for a final time of 2:01.66. "She looked like she was stronger than her last race," said trainer Saeed bin Suroor, who was in the paddock to saddle her and could be seen beaming in the winner's circle after (NY Daily News). Along with CCAO runner-up Little Belle, Music Note will be pointed to the Alabama on August 16, a race that could also draw Proud Spell and is shaping up as far more interesting than any of the events on the Spa calendar for 3-year-old males. As I commented to Brooklyn Backstretch yesterday (during an action-packed day at Belmont), all the distaff divisions are overflowing with talent this year, but the 3-year-old fillies are an especially bright bunch.
Posted by JC, Jul 20, 2008 10:30 AM
Raw Fandom
From Ernie's daily Thoroughbred Racing In New York email:
Awww. I'm reminded ... racing is all about the horses.
Related: NYRA is offering free admission and parking on Saturday. For those who can't make it to the track, ESPNews will air the Man o' War live at 5:15 p.m. ET. Thanks!
Posted by JC, Jul 11, 2008 10:45 PM
Royalty-Free Year
No Triple Crown this spring, and no Triple Tiara this summer. When Music Note, a talented filly on the rise, won the Mother Goose last month, I wondered if she might be chasing the historic bauble with starts in the Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama under consideration. Teresa of Brooklyn Backstretch reports the achievement isn't possible, though, since the series, which was changed to Mother Goose- Coaching Club- Alabama in 2003, was restored to its original configuration of Acorn- Mother Goose- Coaching Club in 2006 for an unknown reason:
Curious. The bonus for the Tiara, which has been won by such distaff stars as Sky Beauty, Ruffian, and Shuvee, was dropped in 2004, and as Teresa notes, there's been woefully little marketing around the series in recent years.
Zaftig, the filly who was eligible to take the Tiara this year, is unfortunately sidelined for the summer with a stress fracture. Owner John Moore said last week the Acorn winner could return in time for the Gazelle Stakes in September.
Posted by JC, Jul 7, 2008 12:45 PM
In the Second
... at Belmont today, Critical is scratched in favor of stablemate In Fine Fettle, a 2-year-old Lion Heart filly debuting for trainer Rick Dutrow (so hard to avoid that name these days) and Jay Em Ess Stable. First crop sire Lion Heart is proving as precocious a stud as he was a racehorse, getting seven winners out of his first 13 starters (including a minor stakes winner at Lone Star last month, Lyin' Heart). Morning line on In Fine Fettle is 5-1; the 2-1 projected favorite is Miss Bodine, a Vindication baby starting for Bob Baffert off a string of nothing unusual (for Baffert or Vindication 2-year-olds) speedy works.
Posted by JC, Jul 3, 2008 11:30 AM
She's a Star
Photo by Adam Coglianese/NYRA.
... in the making. Music Note stumbled out of the gate, lost a hind shoe, raced three wide into the stretch tracking a pokey pace (:24.83, :48.66, and 1:13.09), and still the talented and well-bred A.P. Indy filly easily pulled away, with little urging from rider Javier Castellano, to a 3 1/2-length win as the 8-5 second favorite in the G1 Mother Goose (final eighth in :12.23, final time for the 1 1/8 miles 1:49.75). Trainer Saeed bin Suroor, making a rare New York appearance, said Music Note would be pointed to the Alabama on August 16, but didn't rule out a start in the Coaching Club American Oaks on July 19. Is it too early to start talking Triple Tiara?
Clearly, for me the story of the four-horse Mother Goose was Music Note's ascension, but the bigger story for most was Proud Spell's bad luck. The 1-2 favorite also stumbled out of the gate, then was checked in the stretch after getting caught on the rail, finishing second, but was disqualified and placed third after bearing out on Never Retreat in the final sixteenth. "We would have left the order alone and given jockey Gabriel Saez, aboard Proud Spell, some days off to think about his bad ride," writes Jerry Bossert in the NY Daily News, and while I agree with him that the DQ seems sort of pointless, I say -- with all due respect to Proud Spell, a formidable stakes filly certain to return to win again -- that even if everything had gone her way, she still would have finished second to the push-button filly on the improve.
Posted by JC, Jun 28, 2008 11:45 PM
This Is Not
... something it should be possible to write about the G1 Suburban Handicap:
Grade 1 travesty, indeed.
At least the Suburban drew a field big enough for trifecta wagering, unlike the G1 Mother Goose, which attracted only four starters. Despite the tiny field size, though, this is the race of more interest to me -- Kentucky Oaks winner Proud Spell is easily the best 3-year-old running right now and I am very curious to see how Music Note, who I've mentioned here a few times before, does in her first stakes start. It's worth logging into Cal Racing to check out the replay of her May 22 allowance win at Belmont -- while the comment line "4 wide, hand ride," does capture the essentials of her run, the note doesn't fully convey the easy dominance she displayed, and not for the first time. The A.P. Indy filly won her maiden (in her second start, after debuting in a super key race) very assuredly and also under a hand ride over the Aqueduct inner last November, before disappearing to Dubai for the winter.
Posted by JC, Jun 26, 2008 08:30 PM
Early Double
Transit of Venus is 3-1 on the morning line in the first at Belmont this afternoon, making his second start for trainer Gary Contessa after finishing third at the same level on Met Mile day. This was a bad beat for me: I played Transit of Venus at 5-1 in the fifth and had to watch in frustration as the 5-year-old gelding was checked in the stretch, then trapped behind a wall as the field neared the sixteenth. When rider Rajiv Maragh found a hole in the final yards, Transit' burst through, actually getting a neck in front of ultimate winner Dancing Tin Man -- two jumps after the wire. The best, but too late, so disappointing. Transit of Venus is returning among a similar bunch and has a decent work between starts, having breezed five furlongs in 1:01 on June 14, and figures to stay close to the whatever pace there might be in this affair. Also of note is Nkosi Reigns, 7-2 dropping in for a tag for the first time in his career. The 7-year-old gelding trained by Kiaran McLaughlin seems to prefer an unmolested lead to do his best, but does show an ability to rate and win in his past and could end up sitting off Provincetown, who tired in his last, the first off a layoff, or morning line favorite Bon Marie, who makes his third start in four weeks at the $35,000 level for trainer Rick Dutrow.
In the second, it's hard to get past Sammarco with the eye-catching 102 Beyer he boasts after running second to Mucho Macho (returning in the eighth at Belmont today) on May 17, his first start in more than a year. Morning line says 6-5, but don't be surprised if post-time odds are more like 4-5. Golden Weekend gets blinkers after a decent showing in a maiden special run over Belmont's speed-favoring Belmont Stakes day track. That race, the day's second, was won by Sixthirteen, who made his way to the inside rail and barely outlasted place horse Tiz It after posting fractions of :21.96 and :44.80 in the first half. I'm going to look toward 5-1 first-time starter Lincoln Road for a mild upset here. The 3-year-old colt is by one of my favorite underrated debut sires, Montbrook, and shows excellent recent gate works, including one on June 13, when he went five furlongs in 1:01, the fastest of 21 at the distance that day.
[Results: Well, I'm not going to crow over picking a $5.70 winner or an $11.60 double, but it was delightful to watch the first race unfold pretty much as I imagined it would and catch Transit of Venus this time around, along with the $105 trifecta. As Brooklyn Backstretch alludes to in her comment, my racing luck has not been so fantastic lately, and Saturday's first was a much needed confidence boost, even if it didn't exactly lead to a brag-worthy score.]
Posted by JC, Jun 21, 2008 10:20 AM
Desormeaux Speaks
Not to the press -- "I gave my interview after the race, and I really have nothing more to say," said the jockey (NYT) -- but with trainer Rick Dutrow and the stewards. Dutrow said he and the rider are "back on target" (Blood-Horse) after meeting this morning at Aqueduct to discuss the Belmont. As for the stewards, Demormeaux spoke with them for about 20 minutes early this afternoon. It is uncertain what action, if any, the officials might -- or should -- take.
Posted by JC, Jun 11, 2008 03:58 PM
Back to the Races
- Finally, a winner (I have not done so well with my TBA picks today). J Be K, pressured through a first half in :44.89, rebuffed dogged longshot True Quality at the top of the stretch, drawing away to take the Woody Stephens with a final time of 1:21.85 and paying $7.20 for the win. Silver Edition got up for second, True Quality finished third. It was second stakes win of the day for rider Garrett Gomez, who will be aboard Macho Again in the Belmont.
- The Manhattan is the deepest, most competitive stakes on today's card, with the formidable Out of Control, second to Einstein in the Turf Classic last out, and 2007 Manhattan winner Better Talk Now among the starters. Coupled with his rabbit, Shake the Bank, Better Talk Now is 7-1 with 12 minutes to post. I went with Proudinsky, coming off a win in the Muniz Handicap over the yielding turf at Fair Grounds, and Dancing Forever, winner of the Elkhorn at Keeneland at April, in a small pick four I have going. I'm awfully tempted to take a flyer on Stalingrad, making his first graded stakes appearance, and now 12-1 on the board. The 4-year-old gelding has been dominant in his first two local starts this year, but whether he'll appreciate the added distance or has the class are questions.
- What a terrific finish: five across, then three across, then two heads bobbing for the win, with 4-1 Dancing Forever on the inside beating Out of Control by a nose. Well done!
- Watching the walk from the barns to the paddock on ABC and I'm struck by Big Brown's appearance -- it could be the angle or the light, but he looks ribby and thin in the flank, although his coat is shiny and his haunches well muscled ...
- With 20 minutes to post, maiden Guadalcanal is at an inexplicable 23-1 on the board. Big Brown is at 1-4.
- The Belmont field is on the track and Ed checks in with a report: "This crowd is electric ... they're all forgetting about the plumbing, etc. Amazing experience."
- Kent Desormeaux: "I had no horse." Big Brown, rank in the first turn, unresponsive to his rider's urging on the far turn, eased at the top of the stretch. Not how anyone wanted this to end. Fortunately, Big Brown does not appear lame, but he did just become the first Triple Crown hopeful to finish last (that can't be good for his future stud fee). Congratulations to Nick Zito and rider Alan Garcia, who pulled off a wire-to-wire upset with 38-1 Da' Tara.
- Zito is all class while being interviewed by Jeanine Edwards in the winner's circle. Asked whether he would have started a horse with a quarter crack in the Belmont, Zito gracefully refuses to question the decision to run Big Brown or Dutrow's judgment and turns the conversation back to his winner. Garcia is bubbly and charming thanking owner Robert LaPenta for the chance to ride Da' Tara. As for the Big Brown connections, here's a comment from someone on the scene:
Good for Desormeaux. I'm sure the loss was crushing for him, coming so close to a Triple Crown for the second time, as well as for the trainer who called the Belmont "a foregone conclusion." Dutrow may have fled the press this afternoon, but the questions about Big Brown's fitness will persist, and he missed a chance to show sportsmanship and humility ...
- 8:10 p.m. update: Attendance was 94,476, way off from the crowd that packed Belmont when Smarty Jones went for the Triple Crown. Total handle has been estimated at $99,850,000, about 13% less than 2004.
Posted by JC, Jun 7, 2008 05:05 PM
No Water!
Commenter John S. reports from the scene:
Sounds dreadful, and dangerous. Let's hope the problem is taken care of quickly, for everyone's safety and comfort.
4:15 p.m. update: I just talked to Teresa of Brooklyn Backstretch, up on the Belmont third floor, and she has a sorry tale -- the men's bathrooms have been locked, the women's bathrooms are in poor shape, and the situation is worsening as hot, inebriated people realize they have no place to relieve themselves. "I already have tomorrow's blog post written," she warned. I recommend you check her site on Sunday for all the details.
4:45 p.m. addendum: The third floor men's rooms are open once again, and "spotlessly clean." Does this mean the water situation is resolved? Let's hope so.
Posted by JC, Jun 7, 2008 03:50 PM
Belmont Day Notes
- Two races into the card and it looks -- as Paul Moran surmised it would, reporting earlier today that the "maintenance crew scraped the surface on Friday and the course was inexplicably sealed at about 9 a.m." -- as though we have a faster surface than we've seen all week at Belmont. In the first, Desert Key wired, getting the first half in :45.12 and finishing in 1:08.80, while in the second, maiden Sixthirteen squeaked out a similar run, flying through a half in :44.80 and wrapping up 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.70. In both races, the place horse was the same horse that chased the leader from the start.
- NYRA's online wagering service does now show Casino Drive scratched, but the site is exhibiting plenty of other problems. I'm getting kicked out every couple minutes and have been presented with one "System busy" error so far, which does not bode well for later afternoon.
- If Big Brown wins the Belmont Stakes, I have the perfect epilogue to my book on great American racehorses. Yet, like Pete Fornatale, I'm kind of rooting for him to lose ... but then, like Andrew Beyer, I suspect he's so superior to this field that even with lost training time and a patched hoof, "he is unlikely to be beaten." At least if Big Brown does win, we won't see Hooters girls in the winner's circle.
- In the fourth, Kent Desormeaux scored his first win of the day, coming through on the rail with favored Forefathers.
- ESPN just showed footage of a rambunctious Big Brown in the detention barn, kicking and bucking in his stall. Trainer Bob Baffert says, "If I were an opposing trainer, I'd be feeling nervous. He looks good." Big Brown is fresh.
- More fun with NYRA online wagering, which apparently was not prepared to scale for Belmont day. As of 3:30 p.m., all I'm getting from it are these two errors:
Might be time to switch to TwinSpires, if that system is up ...
Oh! New NYRA error at 3:41 p.m.:
Fantastic. I've been shut out of one of the card's best betting races. Go, Vacare, Bayou's Lassie, and Bit of Whimsy!
- Well, the NYRA site malfunction saved me money: 9-1 Ventura, getting a super trip inside and a dream ride from Garrett Gomez, came through in the stretch to win the Just a Game, with favored Lady of Venice, briefly boxed on the rail, taking second. As expected, lone speed Bayou's Lassie was the pacesetter, but she faded back to fourth, with 44-1 Forever Together getting third for the wily combo of Jonathan Shepard and Ramon Dominguez.
- Another NYRA online error to report, this time at 4:38 p.m., 22 minutes to post for race nine: "All pools for race nine have been closed." Right, NYRA ... and by the way, where's my refund on the $2 Casino Drive win wager that I shouldn't have been allowed to make more than two hours after the colt was scratched?
Posted by JC, Jun 7, 2008 12:40 PM
Casino Drive Out
Casino Drive is an early scratch from this afternoon's Belmont Stakes due to a bruised left hind hoof:
The injury, initially reported on Friday, is considered minor.
10:15 a.m. oddity: TwinSpires accurately shows Casino Drive as scratched and won't process a bet on the horse, but NYRA's online wagering service currently shows Casino Drive at 5-1 and did let me bet $2 to win on #5. Wow, that seems like an oversight and a problem. I guess I'll look for a refund sometime this afternoon, when NYRA online finally catches up with NYRA scratches ...
Posted by JC, Jun 7, 2008 08:04 AM
Belmont Day Live
Handicapping and blogging, beginning around 11:00 a.m.
Posted by JC, Jun 6, 2008 10:45 PM
If You Can Make it Here
... then thank God that your flights were actually on time for a change.
But seriously folks, I'm on the ground in New York and relaxing in my digs for the next few nights: the Red Roof Inn in Westbury.
As Bart Simpson once said while eating dinner in his panties, "This ain't the Ritz," but as far as Red Roofs go, it's much nicer than any Accor brand hotel I've ever stayed at and infinitely nicer than the Red oof Inn (sic) I stayed at in Arlington Heights for the 2002 Breeders' Cup. To think a girl I was courting actually stepped foot in that room is a marvel. She must have really liked me.
Anyway, I caught the last six races at Belmont today. Didn't play the pick six but was all over the first two pick threes and the late pick four, so I have some extra ammunition for the sexier Belmont eve and Belmont cards.
It's hard to tell how much buzz there is for the race since I wasn't on the backside this morning, but I thought the press box was kind of sparse. I wouldn't even call it a Preakness-sized crowd, and it was nothing like what the press box is like Derby week at Churchill.
On the plus side, I have heard that the mornings are lively, and the people in the area are very aware of what is on the line this Saturday. I consider it an honor to be a part of it.
Posted by Ed, Jun 5, 2008 06:23 PM
Sunday Morning Notes
- Zenyatta may be most exciting horse racing this year (and yes, I'm including Big Brown in the also-rans, since he's a comet that'll be seen no more after June 7). The 4-year-old filly ran her unbeaten streak to five in the G2 Milady at Hollywood on Saturday. Bumped and squeezed at the start, Zenyatta showed a super turn of foot, closing from last into a slow pace (the first quarter in :24.74, the first half in :48.19) and kicking away to a 2 1/2-length win. "She always makes everyone look like they stopped," said co-owner Ann Moss after. "It's like she's out for a gallop and everyone else is stopping" (LA Daily News).
- The power of having a Triple Crown contender in your barn made manifest: NYRA track superintendent John "Fast Track" Passero has adjusted Belmont track maintenance at the request of trainer Rick Dutrow, who was concerned about the recent condition of the dirt surface:
Passero said the track was graded less, harrowed more in the last week, giving it an additional quarter inch of cushion.
- Tale of Ekati breezed six furlongs in 1:11.19 this morning over the muddy main track in his final prep for the Belmont Stakes. "This was the move I was hoping for last week," said trainer Barclay Tagg. In other Belmont news, Tomcito is out with a "reaction" and Casino Drive worked in company with stablemates Spark Candle and Champagne Squall.
- Frank Amonte, now 72 and riding at Suffolk Downs, continues in his quest to be the oldest jockey to win a race.
- When Romenesko posted the memo from Lexington Herald-Leader publisher Tim Kelly announcing a voluntary buyout program meant to cut 4% of the newspaper's staff, I wondered if turf writer Maryjean Wall might be among those accepting the deal. Unfortunately for readers, she is:
Wall, who plans to finish her PhD in history and teach, landed the racing beat in 1973 and was one of the first women to cover the sport full-time. Given the state of the newspaper industry and declining racing coverage, she might also be one of the last to do the same ...
- Bill Handleman declines to get caught up in Triple Crown excitement: "I cannot bring myself to root for Big Brown ... I cannot bring myself to utter his name in the same breath with Affirmed and Seattle Slew, much less Secretariat."
Posted by JC, Jun 1, 2008 11:30 AM
New York State of Mind
Well, it was touch and go for awhile, but I've managed to convince the powers that be that our coverage of the Belmont Stakes just wouldn't be the same without my insights. So, rather than watching Big Brown's quest for history at Keeneland I'll be live on the scene.
While I'm not a big fan of the racing-needs-a-Triple-Crown-winner line of thinking, I can say that a Triple Crown winner would help my business because more advertisers would want to be a part of the issues devoting to covering such a historic event.
Offshore gambling site Bodog sums up why I don't think Big Brown winning the Triple Crown would be good for the sport: It lists odds on whether Big Brown will race past the Belmont Stakes. "Yes" is at 5-to-2 (+250) while "no" is at 1-to-4 (-400). That's not a lot of confidence that we'll see him in the Travers let alone in a showdown against Curlin.
Posted by Ed, May 29, 2008 10:11 PM
Wednesday Morning Notes
- The bird who chirped to Ernie that I preferred Divine Park over Commentator in the Met Mile had it right, although I profited little from the opinion, getting knocked out of a small pick three the leg before and missing the (logical in hindsight) $15.40 favorites' exacta, cashing only a straight win bet on the 2-1 Kiaran McLaughlin trainee. I can't claim any great handicapping insight: It seemed likely that Commentator would be pressured through torrid early fractions (as happened, with First Defence pushing the 6-5 favorite into first half fractions of :22.48 and :44.52) and Divine Park, coming off a superb win in the Westchester Handicap last month, seemed the obvious beneficiary in the stretch (as was the case, with the colt getting an ideal setup, closing in :26.94 into a final quarter timed in :27.30). I've also been partial to the son of Chester House since he debuted over the Aqueduct inner dirt two winters ago, and while Divine Park hasn't given any sign he's capable of brilliance -- unlike the occasionally flashy Commentator, gallant in second -- he has developed into a solid, game miler as a 4-year-old. The Met was Divine Park's third straight win this year; a skeptical Mike Watchmaker reports a Beyer of 109 for the race (DRF+).
- Those wondering how seriously to take Big Brown's latest quarter crack should take note of the recent success of another Ian McKinlay patient:
And trainer Shug McGaughey told the Times Union:
Good to know. So, if Big Brown loses the Belmont, the hoof is a handy excuse, but the reason may well be the distance or the rigors of pursuing the Triple Crown or anything else.
- Wagering security, just not a priority. Maybe the upcoming congressional hearings on horse racing should be expanded.
Posted by JC, May 28, 2008 10:30 AM
Saturday Night Notes
- Nice handicapping by Ed, who alerted us yesterday to Monastic Springs in the seventh at Belmont this afternoon. Check out the head-on replay on Cal Racing and marvel at the rough stretch run the blinkered first-time starter had to survive to hit the wire on top. Steadied behind the two leaders as the field entered the stretch, Monastic Springs tried to move into the clear on the outside at the same time that eventual runner-up He Struck It Rich began drifting in the same direction, forcing Monastic Springs into tight quarters with Bob's Star, who drifted slightly to the inside. Caught, the colt bulled through, causing bumping down the line, and was able to get up by a neck in the final yards, paying $27.80 for the win. An inquiry was conducted into the stretch run, but the stewards made no changes.
- In the fifth at Belmont, 72-1 Halation, a 4-year-old Lycius colt trying turf for the first time, graduated from the maiden ranks in his eighth start, giving rookie trainer David Prine his first win with his first starter. It's a heartwarming story.
- An ugly scene in the seventh at Hollywood, when front-runner Waveland Avenue broke down in deep stretch, tossing rider Jose Valdivia to the track. Gobbler's Knob, coming up the inside, veered to miss the stricken horse but was unable to get by and fell, unseating Taylor Baze. Both jockeys were able to walk off the track. Unfortunate Waveland Avenue, who had been drawing away to a convincing win, suffered a fatal front leg injury and was euthanized. The maiden special went to 54-1 Thrust, a bad actor at the gate, who balked at loading front or back for nearly five minutes and had to be blindfolded to get into the stall. He broke slowly and trailed the field by several lengths into the final turn, when he went five wide, began making up ground, and looked like a solid second coming down the center. Like commenter John, I'm wondering what's happened to the Cushion Track -- although I haven't seen injury or fatality rates for the surface this meet and can't say for certain, it does seem both are up significantly this spring.
- Steve Asmussen doesn't like the trash talk coming from a certain barn. "I don't want to hear a lot of worthless opinions about it. The proof is on the racetrack" (West Points).
Posted by JC, May 24, 2008 11:30 PM
Very Promising
Music Note, so promising in her two starts last fall, won for fun this afternoon in the third at Belmont, her first race in more than six months. Relaxed and on the rail, she tracked the pace two lengths behind until the top of the stretch turn, when rider Javier Castellano nudged her to the outside and gave her a couple taps of the whip on the shoulder. Under a handride, the 8-5 favorite finished seven lengths ahead of the pricey Todd Pletcher-trained Charming, described in the results chart as "powerless to stall the winner" (PDF). So true. I hope this one shows up in a stakes next -- she certainly has the breeding, being a 3-year-old filly by A.P. Indy out of the unraced Sadler's Wells mare Note Musicale (whose dam was the champion filly It's in the Air) and a half-sister to the mare Musical Chimes, winner of the 2003 French 1000 Guineas and the 2004 Mabee Handicap and Oak Tree Mile (she was retired in 2005). Final time for the mile allowance was 1:35.92, with a final quarter of :24.62.
5/23 Update: Rick Mettee said Music Note would be nominated to the Acorn, but was more likely to start next in the Mother Goose on June 28.
Posted by JC, May 22, 2008 04:10 PM
Meanwhile, at Belmont
Jockey Mike Luzzi earned his 3000th career win in the nightcap aboard Too Tough Pete, making his second start for trainer Richard Schosberg, another whose barn is running well this spring (he's now 11-4-2-1 through Saturday). Luzzi scored win number 2999 the race before, when Cowgirls Don't Cry captured the Shuvee Handicap by 2 1/4 lengths over favored Rite Moment. (Aside: Add Shuvee to the list of great distaffers who raced males without problem. The Triple Tiara-winning filly took the Jockey Club Gold Cup not once, but twice. Brooklyn Backstretch recounts.)
Posted by JC, May 17, 2008 05:53 PM
The (Next to) Last Foal*
... of the great racemare (and equally great broodmare) Personal Ensign makes his debut in the fourth at Belmont this afternoon. Listed at 8-1 on the morning line and showing three April works, Baronial, a 3-year-old Kingmambo colt, attempts six furlongs over the Widener turf** for trainer Shug McGaughey. He's an unlikely winner today -- McGaughey takes time with his blueblood stock, and the field includes Bedford Arch, who finished third in his March debut at Gulfstream, as well as 4-year-old Forest of Dreams, returning from a lengthy layoff for trainer Jimmy Jerkens, and the live Just a Warning from Frank Alexander's barn -- but could be one for the watch list, being a 3/4 brother to G1 winners Miner's Mark and and Traditionally.
* I mistakenly called Baronial the last foal, but according to Wikipedia, Personal Ensign's final foal is a 2006 Forest Wildcat colt1. She was pensioned in September of that year.
** That is, if races don't come off the turf2 and the horse isn't scratched. There's a lot of rain in NYC this morning.
1 Alan reports in the comments that Pedigree Query lists the 2006 colt as dead. Poor baby. So, beautifully bred Baronial is the last foal of his champion dam to race.
2 And so the races are, unsurprisingly, given the weather. Only two scratches in race four, but race seven is gutted.
Posted by JC, May 9, 2008 08:15 AM
At Belmont Today
- Trainer Pat Reynolds (the man who lost Big Brown) is in a slump, with only one winner out of his 15 horse stable this year, and I have some reservations that Money Manager, breaking from post 12 on Belmont's inner turf, will turn things around, but despite being on the outside the horse looks good today in race four, a competitive 1 1/16 mile maiden claiming event. In his last start, dropping out of maiden special company and trying turf for the first time, Money Manager showed more speed and interest than he had in his two previous races, finishing third, 2 1/2 lengths behind Maddy's Crowd, who came back to win an allowance at Atlantic City last Friday with a 90 Beyer. Money Manager is the tepid 7-2 morning line favorite in the race; Footloose Man, entering off back-to-back seconds for trainer Mark Hennig, is second at 4-1. Also of interest: Ghazi the Great, making his second start for trainer Barclay Tagg. Fans of Cornelio on the grass will note he picks up the mount.
- Preliminary necropsy results on Eight Belles indicate the filly didn't die of heart failure or an aneurysm, said owner Rick Porter. "It came from the leg injuries" (DRF). The filly is also being tested for steroids, at trainer Larry Jones' insistence, in response to intimations from post-Derby critics that Eight Belles was on performance-enhancing supplements. "I guarantee there were no steroids ever on the horse," an emotional Jones told reporters gathered for a press conference on Tuesday at Delaware Park (AP).
- The Preakness field is looking thin, with only seven confirmed starters as of Tuesday. San Rafael Stakes winner El Gato Malo is the latest defection, pointing to the Lone Star Derby instead of taking on Big Brown at Pimlico.
Posted by JC, May 7, 2008 10:30 AM
Opening Day at Belmont
- Low-key Billy Turner leads the Belmont trainer standings after winning three races in a row on opening day, one of those with Just Zip It, part of the Left at the Gate stable.
- In the day's feature, 5-2 Divine Park won the Westchester Handicap by five lengths, upsetting favored Grasshopper, who finished second. "He's a very nice horse," said trainer Kiaran McLaughlin after. He's so understated. Divine Park has been a favorite of mine since he broke his maiden at Aqueduct over the inner dirt last year. I love his pedigree -- his damsire is the late Canadian sire Ascot Knight, also the sire of one of my all-time favorite racehorses, sweet and scrappy Ascot Doll, and he's by the late Chester House, whose offspring have been good to me at the windows, especially on the grass. (It's tangential and sentimental, but this game can't be all about logic.) McLaughlin mentioned the Met Mile as a possible next start for Divine Park, but after that -- with Chester House on top, Ascot Knight on the bottom -- this is a horse I hope gets a chance on the turf. [5/5 Update: Divine Park earned a career best 111 Beyer in the Westchester.]
- Improvements: Belmont now boasts flat-screen TVs in the backyard, a hospitality center, and renovated bathrooms.
Posted by JC, May 1, 2008 08:30 AM
BEL R10 10/14/07
Gutting out a nose victory in today's fifth at Gulfstream, Tazarine became the fifth filly out of the 10th at Belmont on October 14 to win or stakes-place in her next couple starts. Melissa Jo, winner of that maiden special, finished third in her next start, the G2 Demoiselle, and will start next in Saturday's Old Hat Stakes at Gulfstream; place horse Pulpitina won next out, as did Music Note and Carolyn's Cat, who went on to finish second in Sunday's Ruthless Stakes at Aqueduct. Tazarine finished third that day at Belmont, then second in her next race at Aqueduct on November 23, 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Armonk, who won her next out at Aqueduct on December 30. Of the four remaining non-winners from October 14, two warrant watching: After the Storm, who finished eighth and hasn't returned to race since, although she has been working steadily at Hollywood, and Serious Vow, who made her debut that day. Running next on November 1 at Aqueduct, Serious Vow finished third in the MSW won so impressively by Music Note, and then finished fourth in her next start on December 9 after she was forced to check in the stretch and squeezed between rivals.
Posted by JC, Jan 7, 2008 10:00 PM
Saturday Evening Notes
- Thanks to Teresa at Brooklyn Backstretch for alerting me to the appearance of Sargent Seattle in the Sunday Belmont entries. The Stanley Hough-trained Vindication baby broke his maiden debuting at Saratoga opening day, finishing 6 1/2 lengths ahead of runner-up Bold Trust (who came back to run second in a Monmouth MSW a month later). His final time of 1:03.47 for the 5 1/2 furlongs was good for a Beyer of 93. Scratched from the August 16 Saratoga Special because of a fever, Sargent Seattle resurfaces in the Grand Slam Stakes where he'll face only four others, including Barclay Tagg's Rollers, who worked four furlongs in a quick :46.60 over the Belmont main track on Tuesday.
10/21 Results: Sargent Seattle finished fourth as the 3-5 favorite after dueling with Rollers for the lead in a first quarter of :21.96. Rollers lasted a little longer, hanging on for second, 6 3/4 lengths behind Smoke'n Coal, a Smoke Glacken colt trained by Tom Albertrani making his second start. Kept clear of the duel by Ramon Dominquez (who was contending with a slipped saddle), he drew away easily in the stretch to run the last eighth in :12.67. No excuse for Rollers; Sargent Seattle looked like he needed the race.
- Giant Moon and longshot Coastal Drive beat out undefeated 3-10 favorite Big Truck in a three-way photo in today's third. "I was surprised about the whole thing, but you never know," said Tagg of Big Truck's finish. "He got beat. I didn't think it would be this soon" (DRF). Only last month, Tagg was saying Big Truck might be "the best one" of his juveniles, a strong statement considering the trainer also has the well-bred G2 Futurity winner Tale of Ekati in his barn.
Posted by JC, Oct 20, 2007 08:00 PM
Bolsheviks Storm Belmont
This could only have been more amusing if it had happened on October 24: Leningrad and Stalingrad finished one-two in the fifth at Belmont on Wednesday in what announcer Tom Durkin called a "Russian geography" exacta. (Never mind that Leningrad is once again Saint Petersburg and Stalingrad now Volgograd.) Leningrad paid $35.60 to win, the exacta paid $134 (chart).
10/19 Addendum: Russian Sage, Mushka ... the Russian theme continues at Belmont (LATG).
Posted by JC, Oct 18, 2007 08:00 AM
A Generous Payout
Yesterday's prices for the winners of each race in the tough Belmont pick six sequence: $9.90, $14.60, $8.20, $7.00, $19.00, $8.00. Short prices, mostly, yet not a favorite in the bunch. Payout on the pick six, a very generous $191,700 apiece to the holders of the two winning tickets.
Posted by JC, Oct 15, 2007 08:00 AM
Coming Back to Win
Genuine Devotion went on my watch list after her last race, a six-furlong N1X over the Belmont turf on September 15, in which she'd wired the field in 1:07.97. Pretty good, but what impressed were the fractions: She ran the first quarter in :22.63, the second in :23.01, the penultimate eighth in :11.71, and the final eighth in a quick :10.6. She returned in Sunday's Xtra Heat Handicap, which looked like a tough spot for her first stakes try, with graded stakes-tested Society Hostess, Stormy Kiss, and G City Gal entered, but they proved no problem for the three-year-old filly, who took an early lead, set the pace, then drew away to win by 2 3/4 lengths. Final time was 1:08.65, with fractions of :22.44, :22.66, :11.34, and :12.18. Not bad; her Beyer speed figure comes back as 100. Genuine Devotion is now 3-for-6, 2-for-3 on grass. Favored Society Hostess, who had won five of seven starts for trainer Christophe Clement and was coming off a nine-month layoff during which she had ankle surgery, finished fourth.
Posted by JC, Oct 14, 2007 08:00 PM
Sweet Cat's Sis Scores
- Life Is Sweet, a full sister to 2004 champion juvenile filly Sweet Catomine, routed her competition in the fifth at Belmont this afternoon, going 1 1/16 miles on the grass in 1:41.47. It was the two-year-old's second career start for trainer Bill Mott. Debuting at Saratoga (in the same race won by Indian Blessing, who took the Frizette Stakes oh so impressively on Saturday), she showed little going 5 1/2 furlongs on the dirt, racing far off the pace and finishing eighth, more than 14 lengths back. Today's distance and surface switch suited Life Is Sweet's apparent style better: The Storm Cat filly picked off rivals on the outside then exploded at the top of the stretch, drawing away to win by nine lengths over Tessitura as the 9-5 favorite.
- Nobiz Like Shobiz won't start in the Breeders' Cup Mile despite his push-button victory in the Jamaica Handicap on Saturday. Trainer Barclay Tagg said the three-year-old colt, now 3-for-3 on the turf, will point to the November 25 Hollywood Derby instead (DRF). "The problem with running in the Mile is that even if he wins, he won't get the accolades he deserves," said Tagg. "English Channel or whoever wins the Breeders' Cup Turf will probably be turf champion and he's not going to be three-year-old champion, so what does he really have to gain by running in the Mile?" Well, maybe an Eclipse after all. Jim Gluckson explains to Paul Moran.
Posted by JC, Oct 7, 2007 06:00 PM
Champagne for Zito
- Looking a little stunned in the winner's circle following the Champagne Stakes, trainer Nick Zito thanked his help for sticking around "through a long couple of years." The 1 1/2 length win by War Pass over longshot Pyro was the first graded stakes score for the Zito barn since Wanderin Boy took the G2 Brooklyn Handicap in 2006 and the first G1 win since In the Gold in the 2005 Gazelle Stakes. Zito is now headed to the Breeders' Cup with the 3-for-3 War Pass, who wired the Champagne in 1:36.12, setting quick early fractions of :22.87 and :45.72 in the first half and running the last quarter in a visually unimpressive :25.88. The colt shortened stride with jockey Cornelio Velasquez scrubbing furiously as they neared the wire, allowing Pyro to cut the margin of victory with a late dash. Whether the front-running War Pass can handle a two-turn route will be a big question going into the Juvenile. [War Pass' Beyer speed figure: 103.]
Even-money favorite Majestic Warrior and second-favorite Ready's Image, both graded stakes winners, turned in lousy efforts, finishing sixth and last, respectively. "At the half-mile pole, I was out of horse," said jockey Garrett Gomez of Majestic Warrior. Trainer Todd Pletcher said immediately after the Champagne that Ready's Image would not start in the Juvenile. "I wouldn't expect a horse of that quality to run like that without an excuse" (Blood-Horse).
- Trainer Bob Baffert has two strong contenders for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, with Indian Blessing likely joining Oak Leaf winner Cry and Catch Me in the gate at Monmouth on October 27 following her 4 1/2 length romp this afternoon in the Frizette Stakes. Final time for the mile was 1:37.24; Indian Blessing ran the final quarter in :27.24. Gomez let the filly open up an eight length lead in the stretch, then shut her down in the final sixteenth, saving something for the Breeders' Cup, perhaps, where she could well start as the favorite. It was only the second career start for the Indian Charlie filly, whose debut win at Saratoga was as much a blowout as the Frizette. [Indian Blessing's Beyer speed figure: 87.]
- Today's ESPN Win and You're In broadcast of the Champagne and Keeneland stakes was bedeviled by audiovisual problems, with sound and picture both dropping out occasionally, and the afternoon was marred by one serious injury and two fatal accidents. In the Phoenix Stakes, Teuflesberg suffered a closed sesamoid fracture while racing third down the backstretch. Jockey Julien Leparoux did an excellent job of pulling up the colt and dismounting and Teuflesberg is now at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, where he'll have surgery next week on his left foreleg. Before the Phoenix, multiple stakes winner Dream of Angels flipped over, incurring severe head trauma, and was euthanized in the paddock. In the Lane's End Futurity, Gold Train broke down while pressing pacesetter and eventual winner Wicked Style. The two-year-old colt also suffered a fracture of the sesamoids and was euthanized.
- There's a pick six carryover of $133,077 at Santa Anita on Sunday, thanks to 61-1 Smokey Route, who knocked out all remaining live tickets winning today's nightcap. The pick six starts in race five on Sunday, with the Breeders' Cup Challenge stakes on the card making up the first three legs.
Posted by JC, Oct 6, 2007 08:00 PM
.10 Superfectas Come to NY
Starting this Sunday, September 30, on-track and simulcast bettors can play New York dime superfectas (NYRA). NYRA rewards players will have to wait until the online wagering service's software is updated. If the wait for advanced account information and other functionalities and bug fixes is any guide, it'll be a while.
Posted by JC, Sep 28, 2007 10:30 PM
Monday Evening Notes
- In his final prep for Sunday's Vosburgh Stakes, Discreet Cat breezed five furlongs in 1:00.84 over the Belmont track Monday morning. The now six-furlong Vosburgh will be Discreet Cat's first start since finishing seventh in the Dubai World Cup six months ago; the race is hardly a soft comeback spot, with First Defense and Fabulous Strike among the expected starters. "Obviously, he's a top class horse and it's exciting getting him back to the races," said assistant trainer Rick Mettee. "I'd feel a little better if this race was 6 1/2 or seven furlongs and it's a tougher field than you'd like to meet in the comeback race, but the Vosburgh is here and we've got to get him going again" (NYRA).
- Street Sense and Hard Spun will meet again, in Saturday's Kentucky Cup Classic at Turfway (Blood-Horse).
- Beyers: For his labored Brooklyn win, Any Given Saturday earned a speed figure of 103. For his Super Derby upset, Going Ballistic scored 95.
- A fundraiser for the Peter J. Foss Memorial Scholarship will be held at Suffolk Downs on Saturday in the Topsider Room. Benefit tickets are $50 and include lunch, program, handicapping seminar, and a donation to the scholarship fund. A handicapping contest with a prize of a West Point Thoroughbreds share will also be held. More information can be found on suffolkdowns.com or here (PDF).
- Bill Finley argues for Suffolk's survival: "It's where racing has existed, albeit with some interruptions, since 1935. Back in that era, there used to be a bunch of tracks in New England. Suffolk is the last one standing. That means that its demise would not just wipe out one track with a rich history but an entire industry in an important region of the country. Does anyone really want that to happen?" (ESPN).
- Veteran turf writer Paul Moran may be retiring from Newsday at month's end, but he'll continue handicapping and covering races from his new perch, Paul Moran at the Races, where he'll begin regular posting October 1.
Posted by JC, Sep 24, 2007 11:00 PM
Sunday Evening Notes
- I'm in Kansas City for the TRA Simulcast Conference, where I'll be taking part in a Tuesday afternoon panel on IPTV, the web video technology Churchill CEO Robert Evans talked up at the Jockey Club Round Table. Reports from that session and the rest of the conference throughout the next couple of days ...
- Rags to Riches is done for the year. The filly came out of Saturday's Gazelle with a hairline fracture in her right front pastern (DRF). Trainer Todd Pletcher suspects the injury occurred during the stretch run when Rags to Riches switched leads, which would explain her apparent lack of focus in the stretch and her hesitancy when Lear's Princess took the lead near the 70-yard marker. Not to take away from Lear's Princess, who was simply better on Saturday and in form (Blood-Horse), having finished second in both the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Alabama, both races skipped by Rags to Riches due to missed training and fevers. As Green But Game writes, "Lear's Princess was tuned up and Rags to Riches was not." Hopefully, a healthy Rags to Riches will come back in 2008, as her connections are promising, and get an opportunity to avenge this loss, her first since her debut in June 2006.
- Quinella Queen wonders: "Do the folks at Belmont lose sleep wondering how Miss Macy Sue can outdraw the Belle of Belmont?"
Posted by JC, Sep 16, 2007 11:00 PM
The Green Fizzle
Sent off as the 2-5 favorite in a field of six by bettors all too willing to ignore his delayed debut and trainer Todd Pletcher's New York cold streak, the Green Monkey finished third in today's fourth at Belmont, earning $5200 for his less than impressive maiden effort. "The Green Monkey is sputtering at the top of the stretch," called Tom Durkin, tagging the three-year-old colt "desperate" as the wire neared with leader Roi Maudit seven lengths ahead. Hustled from the start, given three cracks of the whip before the stretch, the Green Monkey was willing but never a factor. "He broke okay, got outfooted a little bit, kind of ran evenly through the lane, showed a little interest toward the end, galloped out good," Pletcher said after. "Hopefully, he'll improve having that race under his belt" (DRF).
Posted by JC, Sep 15, 2007 03:00 PM
Monkey Maybe for Saturday
Update: The Green Monkey is entered in the fourth, a six furlong maiden special on the dirt, at Belmont on Saturday. With only five others entered, the Pletcher trainee catches a short field. Planning to be at the track? Get your T-shirt now.
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The Green Monkey may finally make his long awaited debut on Saturday at Belmont and owner Michael Tabor couldn't be more nonchalant about his $16 million folly's first start:
Fortunately for Tabor, any disappointment the Monkey incurs will likely be forgotten later Saturday afternoon by the even more anticipated return of Rags to Riches to the races. The Belmont winner is set to make her first start in more than three months in the Gazelle.
Posted by JC, Sep 12, 2007 07:30 PM
Euros Serve Notice
- Saturday was a good day for European invaders at Belmont. In the Garden City Breeders' Cup, Alexander Tango "swooped past the other eight 3-year-old fillies in the final three-sixteenths of a mile to win ... by three-quarters of a length" (DRF). Riding the four-year-old Irish filly for the first time, jockey Shaun Bridgmohan settled Alexander Tango far off the pace, which gave her connections some worry. "Ideally, we wanted to be mid-pack early. We thought she would be well-suited for American racing, because she runs best with a good pace in front of her," said assistant trainer James Stack. "I thought we were done on the backstretch; the pace was slow and she was farther back than I thought she would be" (Sporting Life). Alexander Tango will stay at Belmont and could start next in the Flower Bowl Stakes on September 29.
- In the Man o'War, Doctor Dino rebounded from his second to Jambalaya in last month's Arlington Million to prevail by a head over Sunriver. Don't look for the five-year-old son of Muhtahir in the Breeders' Cup though. Trainer Richard Gibson said the horse would head back to France early next week (NYRA).
- Another we might not see in the Breeders' Cup is Ginger Punch, who validated her Go For Wand win with another dominating victory in the Ruffian Handicap (Blood-Horse). It was the filly's third straight win and the final time of 1:40.25 broke the stakes record of 1:40.35 set in 2000 by Riboletta. Despite being a daughter of 1998 BC Classic winner Awesome Again, Ginger Punch isn't nominated to the BC for some inexplicable reason (BRIS), and will have to be supplemented $180,000 to take her so-called guaranteed "Win and You're In" spot in the Distaff. "I'll speak to Mr. [Frank] Stronach," said trainer Bobby Frankel after. "You could draw the 12-hole and be [expletive] or the track could come up sloppy" (NY Daily News).
- My money would still be on Lawyer Ron retiring to stud at Stonewall after the Breeders' Cup Classic, but it doesn't sound like everyone involved in managing the four-year-old colt's career is set on that plan. In response to the question, "Where would you like to go that you haven't yet been?", Ron Bamberger, executor of the Hines estate, said, "I have not yet been to Dubai, that looks like a trip worth taking. Maybe with Lawyer Ron in March 2008 for the races?" (TDN). I don't dare hope.
Posted by JC, Sep 10, 2007 08:00 AM
Stricken on the Track
Welcome back to Belmont. Jockey Cornelio Velasquez picked up right where he left off at Saratoga, winning the second race with longshot Silver Edition and the third race with favorite Papa's Kara, who was fortunately clear when Find the Chestnut broke down horribly at the top of the stretch, tossing rider Joe Bravo hard into the dirt in front of closely trailing horses. Thrown and stepped on by at least one horse, but conscious and alert, Bravo was transported to North Shore Hospital with a possible collarbone fracture, reports DRF. Find the Chestnut, a four-year-old daughter of Horse Chestnut trained by Gary Contessa with a record of 8-2-2-1, suffered a broken right foreleg and was euthanized on track.
Posted by JC, Sep 7, 2007 02:30 PM
