I’ve been at both of Forever Together’s winning Diana’s and both were impressive. Moronic planning is keeping me from personally attending this year’s rendition, but I’ll watching and rooting (but playing a win a bet on Shared Account, who I think really has a shot… see, one can be a gambler and a fan!).
It should be noted in the work prior to last year’s victory Forever Together worked a gaudy 57H! Looking at her current works makes me think that today is the day she’ll break her losing snap (and yes, I’ll also have a sizable exacta of Forever Together over Shared Account… see Kevin’s excellent post on Playing Favorites at Hello Race Fans!).
Here’s the champ (I’ll always call her that, even if she’s not a reigning a champ this year) after last year’s Diana. I love how pleased her groom was and the crowd really cheered as she walked by, it was a great moment.
And now the replays…
2009 Diana Stakes Replay
2008 Diana Stakes Replay
Even though we’re not together this year, I hope the champ gets her third Diana, a race I will always think of as hers.
Update:Forever Together put in her usual classy effort but got third in a head bob to Proviso and Shared Account.
Indeed, Godolphin owned Sara Louise, Vineyard Haven and Music Note all had fabulous comebacks, but they weren’t alone. Bob Baffert finally got a win on the card with 2yo Bulldogger in the 8th.
It’s also notable that Ian Wilkes got his first Grade 1 win with Capt Candyman Can in the Kings Bishop and Javier Castellano took both turf races, both of which were first time rides for him. Castellano (19) and Johnny V (20) had 3 wins a piece while Prado (19) had 2.
For the most part the meet leaders didn’t fair so well. Dominguez (36), the current leader, only had one win and current #2 Garcia (30) didn’t have any wins, however they’re both still safely ahead of the rest of the gang with Leparoux being the next closest with 23 wins. Linda Rice (14) also didn’t have any wins on the day but Pletcher’s (14) 2 wins bring him neck and neck with the queen. They both have plenty of chances to over take the other today with her 7 entries to his 6, is any wonder they’re the meet leaders?
There’s a reason why I wait until the parade to make my final picks on the first race of a pick 4 or pick 6, and Salve Germania in the Ballston Spa is the perfect example of that reason. I put that crazy, only previously so-so German invader in all of my P4 tickets and she won at 24-1. She was my parade play of the year! Music Note was the only thing that kept me from cashing what would have been the biggest ticket I had ever cashed, and I only have myself to blame to cheaping out and not including her when I had a chance to make a score a like that. On the bright side I had a nice win bet on der crazy invader and the cold exacta as I put her over Rutherienne, My Princess Jess and Captain’s Lover, too bad I didn’t think to key her in a tri as well!
As if it wasn’t already obvious enough that the relatively new Grand Slam of Grass was a bit under the radar, the connections of Battle of Hastingsweren’t even there because of the series!
“To be honest, we didn’t know about the Grand Slam and all the bonuses until we got here” for the Turf Cup race, Ayers said. “We were just looking at the purse money. We figured we could race him at Hollywood for $100,000 or come to Virginia for $500,000. Like Mike said, it was pretty much a no-brainer.”
While it didn’t turn out so great for Colonial Downs this year, they already got what they needed from the series… decent races to anchor some marketing. Arlington doesn’t need the marketing juice with the Arlington Millions and Beverly D on the same card. So there you have it… perhaps we should start calling it the Half Slam of Grass?
Sure, there’s Saratoga and Del Mar, the premiere boutique summer meets, but they’re not the only game in town! I left this poll a little loose on purpose so you can interpret it as either as the track you most like to go to or the track you most like to play… it’s your call!
In my case they’re are one in the same… Saratoga. Of course, I haven’t been to that many tracks so maybe I would love Colonial Downs, Canterbury, Ellis or Emerald Downs just as much. In fact, maybe I’ll find out tomorrow, at least about playing Canterbury and Ellis, as I plan on playing the Claiming Crown and the HANA Pool Party race!
Is your favorite track to attend different from your favorite track to play? Feel free to elaborate!
In our last poll, Fav Triple Crown Race of 2009, 67 of you said the Derby, 51 of you said the Preakness, 19 of you said you loved them all equally and 12 of you said the Belmont. As always, thanks for participating!
Here’s to a prosperous, fun summer of racing… or, pari-mutually speaking, “here’s mud in your eye“!
The Grand Slam of Grass is relatively new, started in 2005 by Colonial Downs as a way to complete with neighboring Mid-Atlantic tracks with slots money. The series, open to 3 year olds, includes the Colonial Turf Cup, Virginia Derby, Secretariat Stakes (at Arlington) and the Breeders’ Cup Turf. Touted as the richest Grand Slam in sports, anyone sweeping the series would win over $5 million in purse and bonus money.
No one has swept the series yet but maybe Battle of Hastings will be the one to change that.
Grand Slam of Grass Series:
Yellow = repeat winners, Green = 3yo BC Turf winners
The first year of the series came the closest to having a sweep. English Channel, who just moved to Lane’s End (along with Candy Ride, who’s next?) kicked off the series with a bang taking the first two legs and placing in the third. He ran 5th in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, a race he dominated in 2007, and is one of only two horses who ran ITM to run in every leg of the series.
In 2006 Showing Up won the Colonial Turf Cup but skipped the Virginia Derby only to come back and win the Secretariat Stakes. He didn’t run in the BC Turf but Go Between, who won the Virginia Derby and ran 3rd in the Colonial Turf Cup, ran in every race in the series (6th in the Secretariat and 7th in the BC Turf).
Battle of Hastings is the first repeat winner since Showing Up and the first consecutive repeat winner since English Channel. His connections said they would make a decision about the Secretariat in a week or two.
For the sake of argument let’s say that he does race AND win the Secretariat… the next step is the Breeders Cup Turf, a race that’s not restricted to 3yos. It’s not that it can’t be done, 7 of the 26 Breeders’ Cup Turf races have been won by 3yos. 27% is not fabulous, but it’s not hideous either. Of those 7 only 2 winners have been trained in the US. Battle of Hastings, while bred in Britain, is trained right here in the U.S of A… and the win percentage drops to 7.6% for U.S. trained 3yos in the BC Turf.
Before we get too down in the mouth about his chances let’s take a look at the 3yos that have won the Breeders Cup Turf.
Looking at the US trained 3yos, Florida bredPrized beat the previous year’s winner, Sunshine Forever (who finished 14th)… and it was his first time on turf! Manilla is ranked by Steve Davidowitz as the best long-distance turf horse in American racing history. Not a shabby group.
Can Battle of Hastings do it? Too soon to tell, but it doesn’t hurt that he’s got a fighting spirit to go along with his name… he’ll need it. Here’s hoping he’s the first to sweep the series!
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