Post Time for the Belmont (~ RAYMOND)

Quickly, here are my picks for the card… I posted my win selections over at the TBA homepage along with the other TBA picks. I put a straight pick 6 ticket on those selections as well. No doubt Swifty and I will be playing some pick 4s and 6s together.

I’m going with Thor’s Echo returning to form and Benny the Bull regressing a bit. I also like Suave Jazz and a little bit of Council Member!

I think Bayou’s Lassie will have the pace her way and takes them wire to wire, or Lady of Venice and/or Bit of Whimsy come on. I love Criminologist but don’t think it’s enough distance for her.

Now that Dance Gal Dance is out, I think Indian Blessing will probably go wire to wire, but I still like Zaftig and Game Face.

What a field! I love both Shakis and Stream of Gold in here. Out of Control is a logical choice too, particularly since he stumbled in the stretch last out. Proudinsky looks dangerous as well as he does well off a freshening as does Better Talk Now winning on his return from an abysmal effort aboard last year. I think the pace is not going to be to Dancing Forever’s liking and I loved Pays to Dream’s last out but the turf was really soft as was the pace. I’ll probably play a little Stalingrad and Strike a Deal across the board too.

Obviously I’m bummed about Casino Drive but I am looking forward to seeing what looks to be a Triple Crown. I’ll be wheeling BB over several in supers, most likely most if not all of Tale of Ekati, Denis of Cork, Macho Again, Anak Nakal, Guadalcanal and Icabad Crane.

Good luck to everyone, enjoy your day and let’s get everyone home safe!!

Posted by dana on Jun 07 2008    
Filed Under: Indian Blessing, Benny the Bull, TBA, Raymond Haddad, Casino Drive, Anak Nakal, Denis of Cork, Tale of Ekati, Criminologist, 3yo, Thor's Echo, Belmont, Retirement Watch, Triple Crown, Handicapping, Turf, Belmont Stakes, Racing

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Big Brown’s little white spot (Charles Pravata)

I think Joe Drape’s sneak peak of the Belmont under card over at The Rail is what did it. Damn, that’s one fine looking under card!

Benny the Bull, Thor’s Echo and Kelly’s landing? Bring it! Not to mention, Thor’s Echo!!! Bayou’s Lassie, Criminologist and Sharp Susan? J Be K and Majestic Warrior? Indian Blessing, Sherine and Zaftig? Einstein, Better Talk Now and pretty much the whole field of the Manhattan? I’m ready to start handicapping now!

As news of all the Belmont contenders trickles in, it’s also hard not to excited about the Belmont as well. Big Brown foot issue is a non-issue, Prado gets the mount on Casino Drive, Garcia gets the mount on Tomcito, Tale of Ekati made Tagg crabby, Denis of Cork is fresh and working incredibly well, Gomez get the mount on Macho Again, Ready’s Echo is in and Anak Nakal is working well.

Last year was my first Belmont as a fan, and as a New Yorker you know I was there! Swifty and I were marveling at how incredible it would be for our first two Belmont’s to be of the historical variety. Since Swifty is the luckiest man alive I think it’s a distinct possibility, I mean let’s forget Big Brown for a moment, it’s really all about Iavarone, Swifty!

Posted by dana on May 29 2008    
Filed Under: 2008, Benny the Bull, Thorn Song, Sharp Susan, Indian Blessing, Big Brown, Einstein, Anak Nakal, Denis of Cork, Casino Drive, Criminologist, Majestic Warrior, Barclay Tagg, Belmont, Retirement Watch, Fans, Belmont Stakes, Edgar Prado, Charles Pravata, Alan Garcia, 3yo, Racing

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Hillside Turf course at Santa Anita (Charles Pravata)

News of the Pyro deal prompted some excellent posting by a couple of my esteemed colleagues. Jen at the Down The Stretch takes a look at racing to the breeding shed while Superfecta compares and contrasts the early retirement ages of race horses in different countries.

Kevin at The Aspiring Horseplayer is featuring a “best of the TBA” that includes a nice collection of posts. One of the posts I contributed was along the same lines as Jen & Superfecta’s.

You can count on Alan at Left at the Gate to have all the latest about the Spitzer “situation”. The comment thread on the current post is stellar, as always. Everyone I’ve encountered (at the deli and my laundromat) was laughing about what an idiot he is, but clearly there are racing implications too (not just poking fun at elected officials).

The Breeders’ Cup has just announced a new sponsor, Sentient, a private aviation company (not the hottest name, when did being sentient become a differentiator in the aviation space?).

Sentient will also provide Breeders’ Cup with a variety of customized private travel programs for its constituents.

Does this mean they’re going be making more enticing arrangements for overseas horses? I hope so!

In thinking about Indian Blessing potentially missing the Oaks I had a couple of thoughts…

1) was it me or did Gomez give her the same kind of ride he gave Hard Spun in the Belmont (i.e., not working with her natural speed) and 2) not a bad move really. Unlike the colts with the Derby she probably doesn’t “need” the Oaks as much to up her value (I feel gross even typing that) + it’s nice to see someone not feel like they “have to” run in an event if it doesn’t feel right for the horse.

Speaking of 3yo colts, I’m not ready to throw in the towel on Majestic Warrior and Tale of Ekati just yet, particularly Majestic Warrior. He had come to come 3-4 wide in both turns, I bet he improves off the effort. Also, J Be K wasn’t allowed to harness his early speed, so I’m looking forward to seeing what he’s got a longer distance as well.

I leave you with the very foggy Gotham, well done to race caller John Imbriale… “when last seen Saratoga Russell was leading…”

Posted by dana on Mar 10 2008    
Filed Under: Pyro, Charles Pravata, Saratoga Russell, 2008, Indian Blessing, YouTube, Race Replay, Breeding, Hard Spun, Derby Trail, Breeders' Cup, Racing

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A game Circular Quay training with Pleasant Strike at Belmont October 2006 (Sarah K. Andrew)

My apologies for all the typos in my rush job of a picks post… as usual I waited just a bit too long to before starting the post, not that unlike Evening Attire out of the gate!

While I didn’t have a stellar day (I’ve had worse), I did manage to cash 2 tickets, predict Daytona would show, Pyro would win and unexpectedly got to see a glimmer of hope for the handicap division!

As I feared, Euroears was the real deal… and an impressive real deal at that. I’m looking to forward to seeing him again, no doubt in graded company.

The New Orleans Handicap was both annoying and fantastic. During the parade I had noticed that Circular Quay looked great, really sharp and ready to go… Brass Hat on the other hand looked like he was ready for a nap. I literally laughed out loud but decided to keep with my plan (like an idiot), which was to box Silver Lord (who dumped his rider out of the gate) and Brass Hat… end annoying part.

With no Silver Lord it was Grasshopper and Magna Graduate setting the fractions. At one point Magna Graduate took over but a hard held Circular Quay was uncorked at the top of the stretch and the fantastic part of the race unfurled! What a stretch duel, going back and forth between them… Circular Quay is back on form!

It was fitting that his win came on the same day as the Louisiana Derby, the site of his last victory. As the guy beside me said, “now maybe Pletcher won’t be afraid to run him at two turns.” I should also mention that I had Reporting for Duty across the board, which didn’t even pay for the ticket since he showed (I didn’t really think that one through… back to annoying).

Moving on, I overlooked the winner of the Mervyn Muniz but had noted that he liked yielding turf and had won off taking a month off. I did have French Beret across the board, which significantly cut into my loses and as predicted Daytona set the fractions and then dropped. It looked like French Beret could have caught Proudinsky with a bit more distance.

For fun I boxed Acacia and Wisconsin Girl… what if Indian Blessing and Proud Spell had unseated their riders too? Go Proud Spell! I thought she would do it in the Silverbulletday but she did it today and she did it with authority.

As for the Louisiana Derby, I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that I would wagered differently had I thought J Be K would rate against soft fractions. I dismissed both My Pal Charlie and Yankee Bravo thinking that they needed a slower pace to perform well. At least I can take some solace in getting that right! Instead I put Pyro over Blackberry Road and Unbridled Vicar thinking they would benefit from a fast pace. Ugh. I also exacta boxed J Be K, Majestic Warrior and Tale of Ekati… basically my wildcard box.

Losing tickets aside, Pyro turned in a nice performance… I can’t wait to see him and War Pass duke it out! I’m willing to give Take of Ekati and Majestic Warrior another race, that wasn’t exactly the easiest spot for a debut.

Posted by dana on Mar 08 2008    
Filed Under: Wrap Up, Majestic Warrior, Fairgrounds, 2008, Proud Spell, Indian Blessing, Sarah K. Andrew, Grasshopper, Derby Trail, Gambling, Handicapping, Circular Quay, Come Back, Racing

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Brass Hat winning the Mass Cap (Imfedore)

I was finally able to do some handicapping this morning and am off to “the office” to play the Fairgrounds card. Things over at Take Back The Race are progressing nicely, it’s really great to read all the comments. I’ll be posting some more banners here for folks to grab and display later this weekend… on to the picks!

Euroears looks tough and Noonmark looks promising but I’m going to go with Semephore Man. He’s held his own with both Bordonaro and Diabolical (who just crushed at Nad Al Sheba). His works are also fantastic! My questions about him are can he ship and can he rate? He’s definitely the horse for the distance and I’m gonna take my shot with him. King of the Roxy is a wild card to me here, he should do well at the distance and he’s won off a break so I may use him too.

Grasshopper looks tough to beat, but you know I’m gonna try… and I’m gonna try with Brass Hat! I think the pace will be on the slow side with Silver Lord leading the way and Brass Hat is the only one, aside from Grasshopper, who has done well off a slow pace. I would consider Magna Graduate but I think he needs a faster pace. Circular Quay is a bit of wild card but I’m hoping he takes some sentimental money (but I’m sure Brass Hat will too). Reporting for Duty has put in two nice efforts and could do well off a soft pace too.

I love a turf race when it’s soft! I liked Daytona last out and of course think he has a shot here but I really like Brilliant and Fracas. Both like it soft and both have gone up against some stiff competition. I love Brilliant’s odds and his last race Saratoga was on rock hard turf so I’m expecting him to really improve here + he’s improved off a break in the past. Fracas training pattern looks like he might run a big one + he’s placed to Dylan Thomas and likes it soft.

I’m taking a pass on the Fairground Oaks, it’s either gonna be Indian Blessing or Proud Spell, take your pick. If it’s one of the other two I’ll be supremely bummed that I didn’t have her.

Finally, a Derby prep with some pace! I’m not sure if what I’m gonna do here because Take of Ekati and Majestic Warrior are big wild cards. Both have been training well and will benefit from J Be K’s pace, as will Pyro. The pace should also help Unbridled Vicar and Blackberry Road so who knows! I think Pyro will win it but I wouldn’t be surprised if any of the aforementioned colts won. I’m not sure Stevil, My Pal Charlie or Yankee Bravo can handle what looks to be a fast pace.

Best of luck to all!

Posted by dana on Mar 08 2008    
Filed Under: 2008, Fairgrounds, Picks, Indian Blessing, Proud Spell, Take Back the Race, Pyro, Majestic Warrior, Handicapping, Derby Trail, Circular Quay, Turf, Grasshopper, 3yo, Racing

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