Johnny V at Belmont (raymond)
Just want to give a shout out to Johnny V, who took a bad spill at Keeneland today. Our thoughts are with you and your family… get well soon!
Posted by dana on Oct 03 2008
Filed Under: 2008, Raymond Haddad, Get Well Soon, Injury, John Velazquez, Racing
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Channing Hill gets his first G1 win aboard the classy First Defence in the Forego (~ RAYMOND)
I didn’t do too much handicapping for today but it turned out to be exacta day at GbG manor! I did the 8th & 9th with a 5 minute look at the Woodward.
The 8th was fantastic, a classy baby race featuring Hello Broadway, a half to GbG fav Nobiz Like Showbiz owned by Elizabeth Valando, trained by Tagg with Coa up. In addition to liking Hello Broadway I also really liked Imperial Council and Fast Draw.
If I did any super noticing this weekend (and I really don’t think I did), it was that Mushka & Country Star, both Empire Makers, were fantastic as 2yos. I thought Imperial Council, by Empire Maker, was training well but it was the Empire Maker thought + looking good in the parade that sold me. Fast Draw had also been training well since his last start and I was hoping he would improve on his 3rd try.
I think the 8th could have been the most exciting race of the ones I watched. Hello Broadway & Imperial Council looked professional dueling in the lane. Just when it looked like Imperial Council, at 20-1, might power on by, Hello Broadway dug in and put his neck in front for the well earned win. The show horse, Ruler’s Vision, is a half to War Pass. Have they officially retired War Pass yet? My exacta would have been oh so much more fulfilling if Imperial Council would have held off Hello Broadway but I’ll be keeping an eye out for both of these classy babies nonetheless.
In the Forego, I really liked First Defence but thought Lucky Island looked pretty hard to beat. I also liked Eternal Star and Ferocious Fires and played all of them in varying priced exacta boxes. I couldn’t believe it when Lucky Island broke so horribly, but he did pour it on and manage to get himself in the race. Annoyingly Greeley’s Conquest blew what would have been an excellent paying exacta by edging Ferocious Fires… damn!! But I was happy to see the classy First Defence really strut his stuff by setting some impressive fractions and winning by 6+ lengths. Also, congrats to Channing Hill for his first G1 win!
In the Woodward I threw out Divine Park, more for the distance than coming off a break, and Out of Control for the surface. I’ve always really liked Wanderin’ Boy and A.P. Arrow but Past The Point was more intriguing to me coming off a win at the distance and having a nice looking prep work. Loose Leaf was also coming off a win at the distance but I didn’t think his works were as nice even though his last race a touch classier.
I put Curlin over all of the above, boxed them all sans Curlin in case the HOY had a (un)Lucky Island like scenario. I also put them all over Curlin (and wouldn’t I have felt pretty darn smart if Past The Point would have held on to win!).
Was it just me or did it look like Garcia and Johnny V. did a bit of race riding in the first turn? It looked like a Divine Park, Curlin, Out of Control ice cream sandwich! Curlin was able to get himself in a good position and like always he came on when asked. Robby looked a little panicky when Curlin wasn’t easily taking over Pass The Point but the Horse of the Year got the job done like the classy pro he is. I’d love to see him back at Belmont for the JCGC next month!
Speaking of Nobiz, Adriano finally came back to form winning the Kent Stakes, a race Nobiz won last year. I was annoyed when Adriano’s connections caught Derby fever after his win in the Lane’s End. It took him until now get back to his best form on the turf, but he came back with classy style winning with an exciting late run get up just in time. Welcome back Adriano, stay classy!
Posted by dana on Aug 30 2008
Filed Under: Mushka, War Pass, Robby Albarado, Channing Hill, Country Star, Raymond Haddad, 2008, Empire Maker, Alan Garcia, 2yo, Nobiz Like Shobiz, Curlin, Saratoga, Barclay Tagg, Eibar Coa, Turf, John Velazquez, Racing
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Carol Cedeño at Belmont (~ RAYMOND)
Jock night started off like any other night… I was over at flickr, looking photos from my contacts, commenting on some photos from the Preakness and looking at some amazing jockey portraits going on over at Raymond’s.
Then I was over at fellow TBA-er Superfecta’s, reading about how there’s still more work to be done before any grand proclamations should be made. The topic of Casino Drive came up, natch, and more specifically the topic of his jock.
At first it seemed like he would get Japanese superstar Yutaka Take, but then another report indicated that they’d actually prefer an American jock.
Nobutaka Tada, the representative for Yamamoto, said he was leaning toward an American-based rider.
“A mile and a half, you need to understand the pace,” Tada said. “American jockeys have an advantage here.”
This made me start to think about who’d I’d like to see on Casino Drive, or on any of them, for that matter. Kent D, who had the mount last out, is clearly spoken for and Denis of Cork is switching from Borel to Albarado.
Denis of Cork, owned by William Warren, worked five furlongs in 1:01 on Monday at Churchill Downs. In the Belmont, he will be ridden by Robby Albarado, replacing Calvin Borel, who rode Denis of Cork to a third-place finish in the Derby.
“I have no issue with Calvin - he has two wins on him and a third in the Kentucky Derby,” said David Carroll, who trains Denis of Cork. “Mr. Warren felt like Robby Albarado’s success at Belmont Park and winning nine Grade 1s there is the way he wanted to go. He wants to give [Denis of Cork] every opportunity and was very adamant that if Robby was available, then that was the way he wanted to go.”
Here’s a run down of the last rider for each of the other known contenders:
Macho Again - Leparoux
Tale of Ekati - Coa / Prado
Anak Nakal - Bejarano
Tomcito - Cornelio
Behindathebar - David Flores
Ready’s Echo - Johnny V
Spark Candle - Chavez
Also from the article:
Top riders yet to commit to a Belmont mount include Garrett Gomez, Edgar Prado, and John Velazquez.
So I guess Ready’s Echo is not spoken for and maybe Coa is on Tale of Ekati.
In no particular order my fav riders are Albarado, Prado, Bejarano, Cornelio, Castellano, Coa, Alan Garcia, Channing Hill and Carol Cedeño. It’s tough to pick one, I can’t get Castellano’s ride on Pays to Dream in the Dixie out of my head but I also loved Prado’s ride on Tale of Ekati in the Wood, which is closer to Casino Drive’s running style.
Damn, is it too early to make a new poll? Who would you like see on Casino Drive?
Update: for the current jock assignments, check DRF.
Posted by dana on May 19 2008
Filed Under: Robby Albarado, Alan Garcia, Javier Castellano, Carol Cedeno, TBA, Raymond Haddad, 2008, Channing Hill, John Velazquez, Edgar Prado, Rafael Bejarano, Triple Crown, Belmont, Calvin Borel, Cornelio Velazquez, Kent Desormeaux, International Racing, Belmont Stakes, Racing
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Go for Gin & Jerry Bailey returning the winner’s circle (EASY GOER)
Gelded sons of Go for Gin won the 1st and 9th races today at Aqueduct.
Banrock ($8.40) took the first race sitting off the pace, coming 3 wide to win by 2 3/4 lengths in a 1 3/8 mile $56K AlwN1X on the dirt.
Premier Perfection ($6.50), one of the few favorites to win today, took the $50K AlwN1X on the turf by a neck after setting a moderate pace and digging in to hold off a game Trickanometry. It was also Premier Perfection’s turf premier after coming off a 6 month lay-off… both premier and perfection for sure!
Johnny V was aboard Premier Perfection and had 3 wins on the card. Full wrap-up later (after left overs).
Posted by dana on Nov 24 2007
Filed Under: John Velazquez, 2007, Breeding, Racing
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The Green Monkey, monkeying around at Belmont. (Sarah K. Andrew)
As Michael noted, the Monkey is entered in Turf MSW this Wed at Hollywood Park. They’re also trying Gomez this time out + stretching out. I’m happy to see their trying someone else, Johnny V’s rides seemed too panicky… hopefully GG will be a better fit.
When I saw his work out last week at Hollywood Park, I thought maybe they would try him on the Cushion track. Actually, looking back on that post, the Monkey was listed as having the bullet along with 2 other horses, now it says that he and the other 2 are 3rd… odd.
There’s also some discussion of the Monkey’s latest effort over at the Formblog.
Best of luck to the Monkey! (even though it is edifying to see such greed rewarded appropriately).
Posted by dana on Nov 19 2007
Filed Under: Maiden, Turf, Greed, John Velazquez, 2007, The Green Monkey, Garrett Gomez, Todd Pletcher, Racing
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