Notional w/Joe Bravo up comes back with an upset in the Salvatore Mile at Monmouth (Sarah K. Andrew)

Today was the kind of day that reminds me why I fell in love with racing almost 2 years ago. Swifty and I planned on heading out to Belmont today come rain or shine, and while we didn’t get much shine we also didn’t get any rain. A few friends were planning to meet up at Monmouth for the United Nations and Salvatore Mile, but I really just wanted to have a nice quiet day at my beloved Belmont.

Swifty was hanging out with his 12 year old nephew Ted this weekend, or as I like to call him, the Future Handicappers of America. He joined us last year for Swifty’s birthday outing and proved to be a bit precocious picking Dance Away Capote in the Duda Stakes.

Since it had been raining for two days, all but one of the turf races were on the dirt and there were a bunch of scratches. I only lightly handicapped so I wasn’t planning on playing very heavily to begin with. We got there not too long before the 3rd. My pick, Akin, had scratched so I took a pass. In the 4th I put Paris Winds over Them There Eyes for a couple bucks to no avail. In fact, I didn’t cash a ticket all day (again) but it started to get interesting in the 5th race.

I usually don’t like to play maiden races. I don’t have an affinity for using breeding in handicapping, although it’s on my list to work on, so I just throw a couple of bucks on a long shot here and there. The 5th was a Maiden Special Weight and no different for me… except no one was at long odds. In the paddock #9, Discreet Treasure was really acting up. There was no audio to speak of in the grandstand so we couldn’t hear what Jason Blewitt or Jan Rushton were saying, but Discreet Treasure was pretty worked up.

It was a 7F turf race that moved to the dirt. Quickly looking over the entrants I noticed that Discreet Treasure, a first time starter, was only showing one work on turf, and not even the last one! As they came out for the parade he looked great, perhaps too great. Did he leave his race in the paddock? Number 10, Counterspy, looked good too so I boxed them.

I’ll just let you watch the race for yourself… he’s the grey. A very big thanks to Party Manners for posting it!!

As it turns out, he’s a half to Discreet Cat, not that I knew that until I got home and watched Throughbred Action. And as great as it is on the replay it was even more thrilling in person. I can’t wait to see more of him!

The next race was also fantastic. It was a state bred allowance for non-winners of two. You may remember the name Overextended from the very beginning Derby Trail. He ran primarily on the west coast in all the big preps as a 2yo and even placed to Colonel John in the Real Quiet. I didn’t incorporate him into my losing trifecta key with Dr. W on top of the 4 long shots but his race was great nonetheless.

Just like Discreet Treasure he sat way off the pace, and talk about procrastinating, he still wasn’t in the race at the 1/16th pole! Then out of nowhere he closed like freight train… all I can say is welcome to New York! Previously trained by Doug O’Neill and now trained by Mark Henig, I’m sure we’ll be seeing him round these parts more often!

I liked the undefeated By The Light in the Prioress although I knew Indian Blessing would be tough at the distance on a muddy track. I was hoping it would have been Indian Blessing pressing Secret Gypsy with By The Light sitting off the pace but Indian Blessing has finally shown she can rate.

It was great to see Indian Blessing back and I thought By The Light was impressive given this was her first graded race! I had the 2 of them in a tri-box with Secret Gypsy but Indian Way spoiled that on the wire.

We busted out there right after the race and I got home in time to see the United Nations. I would have liked to have seen the Salvatore Mile, especially given that Notional pulled an upset! This really made my day… I loved him in the Risen Star was bummed when he had to drop off the Derby Trail with an injury. His 4 yo campaign has had an Evening Attire-like start, so to see him come back with a nice win that puts him in the BC was yet another excellent moment in a very satisfying race day. You can see it here, if it shows up on YouTube I’ll post it here as well.

I love that Mary Hartmann, Mary Hartmann and Precious Passion won the United Nations! I don’t know too much about her, except that I loved her sunglasses and Randy Moss (or someone) said that she started off as a hot walker some 20 years ago. But seriously, it’s always great to see one of the many non-high profile, hard working trainers win a big race and when it’s a woman it’s even more special. It goes without saying that there’s that extra level of “it ain’t easy” for women who work in a business that’s male dominated such a sports, or in my case, technology. So, good for her!

And to top it all off, Zenyatta stayed undefeated holding off an impressively closing Tough Tiz’s Sis in the Vanity Handicap. 6 for 6… is she looking more interesting for the Classic to you yet?

Posted by dana on Jul 05 2008    
Filed Under: TBA, Monmouth Park, Wrap Up, Discreet Cat, Dance Away Capote, :), Randy Moss, Doug O'Neill, Zenyatta, Tough Tiz's Sis, Indian Blessing, 4yo, 2008, Sarah K. Andrew, Sprint, Inspirational, Maiden, Race Replay, Breeders' Cup, Breeding, Belmont, Come Back, Turf, Trifecta, BC Classic, YouTube, Notional, Evening Attire, Racing

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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!

Posted by dana on Jan 28 2008    
Filed Under: 2008, Gulfstream Park, Dance Away Capote, Sarah K. Andrew, Barclay Tagg, Turf, Racing

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The horses aren’t the only one prepping for the BC you know, I’m trying to make sure I’m in top form as well! So far so good too. A dear friend of mine is town from half way around the world and he wanted to go to Belmont with me. Since he had a flight later on tonight we decided to go “The Office” (OTB restaurant) in midtown instead.

Our day started with the 3rd at Belmont, yes the Monkey’s second start. I liked the Monkey, Joppa Flats ($3.60) & Giant Deputy ($25.40) and picked the wrong exacta of Giant Deputy & the Monkey. Damn… although I was pleased with myself for liking Giant Deputy.

While the Monkey’s race was clearly disappointing and I have to admit I picked him somewhat sentimentally. I wouldn’t dismiss him totally based on his price tag and performance so far. The circumstances under which any horse could actually make back that cost are so unlikely. As I’ve said before (still haven’t gotten all my old posts over here yet), it’s my opinion that his price is purely a function of oneupmanship rather than perceived worth. Playing armchair trainer for a moment, I might give him some endurance building works, cut him back to 6F and change the jock.

Annoyingly all the horses I liked in the 4th scratched and my pick came in last. Moving on to the 5th, I had the exacta ($49.80) of Dr. D.F.C ($12.60 - W) (great name) and Sky Dragon ($4.20 - P)! Of Dr. D.F.C’s last 6 starts at Belmont on the turf, 5 of them were in the money + he was loosing the blinkers (something I usually love). Sky Dragon got a jock upgrade to Johnny V, placed by a head in his last race at the dist on the turf at Belmont and his last 3 starts were in the money.

I had the exacta of Bizzy Trick & Running Dog in the 6th, but Running Dog was DQed to 3rd, and I’m still not sure why. I really couldn’t see it in the replay and if they didn’t change the order of finish in Desormeaux’s ride of Be Bullish, why would they change the order here? On another note, the winning jock was C Cedeno, a lady jock! I wasn’t able to find any info on her, but she put in a nice ride on Bizzy Trick ($11.60). At least I have the satisfaction of knowing I had the exacta of actual race order, although what I would have won would have been nice too.

Another note on the 6th, Appealing Speed’s last race was won by none other than Valerie’s current equine crush, Southwestern Heat! It was a 6F at Laurel on September 12th. Southwestern Heat won by 6 and half lengths while Appealing Speed came in 6th finishing 8 and quarter behind him.

I stunk up the joint on the 7th & 8th but I was very happy for Helene’s Dream ($31.80), the winner of the 8th. Prior to today, of his 45 lifetime starts, he had only won once, placed 4 times and showed 9. He came on strong today running wide and pulling away to a 2 length victory… bravo!

And finally, I had the exacta again in the Athenia… I feel like someone sprinkled exacta fairy dust on me! In addition to Dance Away Capote, who finished 3rd, I really liked Criminologist and I’m in Love.

Criminologist’s last race was a nice 100 Beyer and his variant was 104, but there was no figure for how the track was playing. He had won his last 2, was 3 for 4 at the distance and coming off a month’s freshening. Last time he was freshened in Feb, he came back with a win as well.

I’m in Love had 2 wins and 2 places out of 5 starts at the distance, improving speed figures and won her last at the distance. I definitely was feeling good things for her. I wasn’t sold on Fantastic Shirl at the distance but her last bullet work out concerned me a little. Sure enough, she came on strong at the top of the stretch and couldn’t hold the distance. Criminologist’s ($6.20) 4 and half length win was visually impressive.

The late Pick 4 payout was $18,726.00!! It was a longshot end of the day with Mondo Diverso ($28.80) in the 7th, Helene’s Dream ($31.80) in the 8th and Zip By You ($15.40) in the 10th. Damn! Best of all there’s $124,790 carryover on the Pick 6 for tomorrow!!

All and all it was a great day… great to see my overseas pal and doubling my money wasn’t bad either.

Posted by dana on Oct 13 2007    
Filed Under: Giant Deputy, Carryover, Exacta, Joppa Flats, Bizzy Trick, Carol Cedeno, Criminologist, Dance Away Capote, Pick 6, Pick 4, Handicapping, Breeders' Cup, Belmont, The Green Monkey, 2007, John Velazquez, Kent Desormeaux, Racing

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Swifty’s birthday outing to Belmont was a smashing success, with the exception of Defrizz (the 7th horse in the 7th race), who de-stunk.

Of our group there were a few first timers, a few who have joined us before, a few who went to the track as kids and are now reconnecting with the sport, a precocious 11 year old who had some fantastic picks and a Latvian mom who spoke little English but seemed to have a great time!

A few notable moments where that quite a few folks in the group (including Ted, the child) picked longshot Dance Away Capote (Capote) in the 5th. An interesting note about Capote, his progeny Ticket to Seattle ran well in the Prioress to place 4th at 40-1.

One of our party members, Rebecca, used to go to the track with her dad as a kid. She had recently started going again by chance. Her “job” as a kid was to go to the paddock and make sure the horse(s) her dad liked “looked sound” (as she described it). That practice payed off because she was one of the attendees who picked Dance Away Capote based on a visit to the paddock.

Another great moment was Junkanoo Party’s win. Steve had been to Belmont in May and won with Junkanoo Party (because he liked the name) and bet him again. He came in at 15-1, and is now Steve’s favorite horse (and potential middle name for his first child… well, just Junkanoo).

I did alright… I had a few good picks and several almost exotics. Basically I was trifecta boxing when I should have been exacta boxing and visa versa. I did have Owner’s Manual in the 3rd at 8-1. I liked that his new trainer is Frankel and that Garcia was the rider… coming back from a break didn’t bother me and he looked in the parade. Garcia has been doing quite well this meet as have Coa & Desormeaux.

I also had the exacta in the Prioress. I really liked Graeme Six… if Tom Amoss (31%!) is shipping a horse to this race, there must be a damn good reason. I figured it would be hard to beat Dream Rush but not impossible so I boxed them. I also boxed Dream Rush with Silver Knockers (should have tri-boxed those 3!) and Her Majesty. I thought Her Majesty was the other live longshot here, but apparently she didn’t get enough cobra venom because she came in last. In fairness she stumbled out of the gate. Perhaps Biancone should try eye of newt next time.

On the train ride out, Swifty gave his ‘Intro to reading The Form’ class. The students were all willing and his Socratic method worked well (and is pretty funny to watch). A highlight was when he was explaining running style and race distance and a light went off for Ilona in terms of being able to tell if a horse might do well at a distance it has not run before. It was great to see people excited about learning something that I love so much.

Next stop, July 21st for the Coaching Club American Oaks (and return of Rags to Riches!)… which will be my and Swifty’s one year anniversary of going to the track!!

Program Note: I really like how Valerie at Foolish Pleasure bolds the horses names in her posts, so I’m going to start doing it too… ease of use y’all.

Posted by dana on Jul 08 2007    
Filed Under: Patrick Biancone, Kent Desormeaux, Dance Away Capote, :), Tom Amoss, 2007, Bobby Frankel, Belmont, Rags to Riches, Dream Rush, Eibar Coa, Racing

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