What An AMAZING Week Of Handicapping
"You can't win them all." Every sport says that, and there's no place where it's more true than in thoroughbred racing. But I don't think you could envision a better five day week of handicapping and racing than this past week - which DID include a day where I DID win them all :) Let's just get the big, gaudy numbers out of the way.....
How astounding is that? Especially for a guy that plays for fun and doesn't invest big dollars? Just one big day after the other. Here's how it all played out.....
Wednesday June 10: Gulfstream Park
Last week the racing re-opened in New York with racing at Belmont, but this week their first card of the week was on Thursday. So if I was playing today - which was "eye-injection day" - it would be strictly at Gulfstream. They had a feature race for three-year-olds that could easily have passed for a graded stakes as it attracted the winners of the Gr 2 Fountain of Youth, the Gr 3 Sam Davis, the Hutcheson Stakes, the Limehouse Stakes and the Smooth Air Stakes. For the day I had five selections from the ten race card. Missed in the opener then passed four in a row. The last four picks took place while I was waiting to have my eye treated. In the sixth it was a two-lifetime claiming event on the turf going five furlongs. And I thought Remaster was a legitimate DRF Best Bet. Two of her last three were vs. better and the three identical Beyer figures beat all but four of the combined 66 numbers on the page. Surged in mid-stretch to edge clear late to score as the first winner of the week.
Dueled to the stretch before fading to 4th at 6/1 in the next. Then in the eighth I thought I had a legitimate alternative to the favorite. Heir Ball was sent to the front and dueled through wicked splits last time before weakening to be a best of the rest 2nd as the prohibitive favorite for $16K. Today she was in an AOC with a $25K tag, which she carried having already won an entry level allowance. But she was first off the claim for David Carlos who wins at a 37% clip with those. Oh my. Doubled the bet. Right to the front and scored a wire-to-wire win. But check the price out....
The morning line on Heir Ball was 7/2 and she floated all the way up to 5/1 and change - whooo hoooo. This helped offset the fact that in the 3yo feature my worst fears came true when my top pick, the 6/5 favorite got caught in a speed duel and set up the late close from the legitimate closer in the field. Still, I went 2-for-5 on the day and made over $40. No complaints about that my friends!
Thursday June 12: Belmont Park
For today I gave a cursory glance at the entries for Gulfstream and Churchill but like the looks of the Belmont card more, especially because they had a featured stakes event today. Missed in both the second and the third before arriving at race four which was a maiden claiming event going a one-turn mile and a sixteenth. There figured to be a heavy favorite, but I didn't like him despite the fact that it was a Chad Brown runner who'd been narrowly beaten in second twice. I went with Creed, sent out by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey. Long known for NOT having them ready at first asking, you have to be paying attention when they DO run well first out. Creed had debuted at the demanding seven furlong distance over the deep, sandy surface at Tampa Bay and closed strongly to be a good second in debut. This stretch out off a solid beginning was ideal I thought. Four horses dueled to the top of the stretch, included in them was the favorite. Meanwhile Jockey Jose Ortiz waited patiently then blew by to win going away. Creed paid a generous $7.60 so I cashed for nearly $40.
Had the obvious 6/5 favorite in the fifth, but he blew the turn into the lane and went at least ten wide, second. Fourth in the 8th and then in the featured Flat Out Stakes going a mile and 3/8th I was against the Belmont winner Sir Winston. He'd won the mile and a half Belmont as a big longshot and suddenly he's a "good" horse? AND making his first start off the shelf and against older? Nope. I went with Todd Pletcher's Moretti. Besides some other positives what appealed most was that no one and I mean N-O O-N-E in here would want the lead and Moretti was the ONLY one who'd EVER raced close to the front. Now if jockey Javier Castellano could just see this. Sure enough. Right to the front, never took any pressure and took them easily wire-to-wire at a big 4/1.
Closed the day 2-for-6 but with two nice priced winners to score a $20+ profit for the day.
Friday June 13: Churchill Downs
Again, shopped around for what card looked best. And one thing that I was aware of was that today we'd be driving to Orlando so there'd be little time for handicapping and decision making. I settled on the card from Louisville and had only four picks on the day. Figured it would be a light day of racing generally and obviously a small number of winners. But as is often the case, it's days like this where I have a big, winning day. It's one of the things I love about racing.....you just never know when and where you're going to be a winning player! The opener under the iconic Twin Spires was a pick that if you follow my handicapping, you'd NEVER have guessed I'd have been betting on. The opener was a 6 1/2 furlong maiden claimer. And while I often say there are "no rules" in handicapping, it's rare that I'll even consider a maiden who's already had six or more chances as a legitimate bet. Much less one with double digit losses, MUCH LESS with fifteen, that's right - 15 losses. But as I remarked in my analysis, "every horse has his day," and today looked to be THE day for Drop Dead Gorgeous. While certainly concerned about the many defeats, but I liked the fact that in her TWELFTH loss she was claimed by trainer Steve Asmussen, for himself! You know that a top conditioner is NOT going to spend his own money on a long-time maiden like that unless they have some ability. First off the claim 'Gorgeous moved up to $40K and was a good third. Dropped in for $30K she was a best-of-the-rest 2nd. Third off the claim she made her next start here at a one-turn mile and was a photo finish 2nd while four clear of everyone else. Three sharp efforts for a top trainer, and today dropping in for $10K she looked long gone. She drew alongside the leaders at the top of the stretch and ran away, winning by nearly a pole as the 1/2 favorite.
The second at Churchill was a 2yo maiden special sprint. I've struggled with juvenile races to this point but in here Hulen looked best - another Asmussen trainee. He was making his debut today, but Asmussen does good work with those. He had an outside draw which would mean a clean trip. He had sharp works, so I knew he'd be ready to run. As important the others in the field either had been badly outrun in their races where they had experience or came from barns that had little success with debut runners. Hulen was fourth turning for home, but split horses, wore down the leaders and edged clear late. Two for two :)
Passed the next three. In the sixth I thought it was pretty obvious that the winner would be one of the two program favorites, but which one? Ballagh Rocks was a multiple turf winner and showed a series of races with triple digit Beyers in his pp's. But those races had come months ago and his last FIVE were sketchy. True, he was dropping today, but I preferred Euro import Set Piece. Brad Cox was taking over the Euro who'd fired a bullet work for today's first North American start. Thought maybe I had the wrong one as they spun out of the turn and Ballagh Rocks was third, making a move into the clear while Set Piece was dead last. But Florent Geroux asked and the response was immediate. Circled the field and caught 'Rocks at the furlong marker. They dueled for a sixteenth of a mile and then my top choice pulled clear to win going away.
THREE for THREE! And the final selection of the day was my "best bet." The ninth was a maiden special event going a mile on the turf. Two Chad Browns in the line-up and of the two I liked Greyes Creek. He had experience - the other was a first timer - and what I thought was key was that leading rider Tyler Gaffalione probably had his choice of the two and landed on 'Creek. In his last he was coming off a SIXTEEN month layoff and despite being forced to steady he was only beaten 3 1/2 lengths. That his connections didn't give up on him and/or put him in for a tag off such a long layoff were positives. He tracked the field confidently in fifth the the far turn. Split horses to swing into the clear and blew by quickly. Suddenly more than half a dozen clear in a sixteenth of a mile, he won geared down as TONS the best, wrapped up under the wire.
FOUR - for - FOUR, what a day. Collected a profit of over SIXTY dollars. What a week I'm having :)
Saturday June 13: Ogden Phipps Day at Belmont
Today I was playing both Belmont and Santa Anita. I handicapped the card on Thursday and knowing we'd be with the grandson (and his parents) I was cognizant that I didn't want to have a "full day" or racing. So I only looked at the two venues and was fairly conservative in my selections. Passed the first two in NY and in the third Primacy was going to be odds-on. Listed at 2/5 in the program you know he would not be a "money maker." He was being pounded early and so I re-examined the options and decided to raise the wager a click, from a double to a triple investment. Broke slowly, but when asked to run on the far turn he swooped by and scored by daylight, in hand and under wraps.
From that race at 2:20 until the third at Santa Anita at 5 pm I had two bets. Ran eighth at nearly 30/1 in New York and then 4th at 6/5 in the second at Santa Anita. In the fifth out west Marenesa looked quite similar to Primacy. Listed at 4/5 in the program she looked much the best here. In her most recent the winner had been a dozen clear and the runner up eleven and change clear of Marenesa who was open lengths clear of the rest of the field. She stalked a 50/1 leader to the top of the lane, then blew by as easily best.
Two for four, but losing money. At this point as I turned to the second page of selections I'd have had a hard time believing today was going to be a big day. Especially after running a dismal 10th in the next at Belmont at 5/2 odds. Then I went on a tear. At Santa Anita Worthy Turk was pounded down to 1/5 favoritism in a two-lifetime one mile turf event. She'd been off since 2018 before her three back race where she ran sharply in a turf sprint here; then ran well in a Golden Gates sprint. Returned to Arcadia and was a best-of-the-rest second while four clear of the show at this level and distance despite being wide. Flavian Prat had the call. She was third into the lane behind multiple runners. Found a seam, hit high gear and close with a rush to be just up in time.
Next was the featured Grade 1 Ogden Phipps. As I looked over the field, and I said this in my analysis, I thought this was a fairly mediocre edition of what's typically a strong event. The first conclusion I came to when I looked over the field was that I did not like either of the top two favorites, at all. Ollie's Candy - who it was difficult to bet against being with my grandson Oliver for the weekend! - was a So Cal shipper with speed. But, she'd run in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom and had been two lengths clear in the stretch, only to be run down. And that was going two turns, which was "her deal." I thought (a) that had to be a taxing effort, (b) the one-turn mile and a sixteenth trip would NOT play into her wheel house, (c) there would be other speed and (d) she'd be overbet. Toss. The likely alternative was Point of Honor. As a 3yo last year she'd won two stakes for me. But when she returned in a light allowance event this winter at Tampa she was beaten. Maybe you say she could move forward, but she'd been soundly beaten in the aforementioned Apple Blossom. No again. I could easily toss several others, but one that made me pause was Steve Asmussen's She's A Julie. First, the name - my daughter's - has led to her being a favorite of mine. Second, she is a Gr 1 winner and a talented runner. She'd run without much interest, though to be fair she broke slowly, in a stakes at Churchill a month ago behind Chad Brown's Dunbar Road. But, she's had her best success there in Louisville and you KNOW there are races on their schedule that would fit her. Why is she shipping here? And even more intriguing, why was regular rider Ricardo Santana coming along and forfeiting all his mounts at Churchill Downs? At 8/1 in the program she was my "Upset Special." As I watched the pre-race analysis show, NYRA analyst Andy Serling announced, with disdain that She's A Julie didn't have a chance. I've never been a fan of his, and particularly disliked the was he treated Acacia Courtney one winter when he was wintering at Gulfstream (interestingly he wasn't invited back). His whole "thing" is to be caustic and if you don't agree with him, you're stupid and he'll say so rudely on air. Just made me all the more wanting She's A Julie to win. As the field swung into the far turn a long shot with no chance led, but Ollie's Candy took over. She's A Julie and Point of Honor began to move at the same time and I thought, "she's got a real chance here." With a sixteenth to go Ollie's Candy was two clear but She's A Julie was surging and Point of Honor was closing......three-way photo but I was pretty certain, I WON! And the post time odds - a HUGE 14/1!
The payoff of $31 and change led to a return of nearly $80. WHAT A DAY....take that Mr. Serling :) Next was another maiden event at Santa Anita going seven furlongs on the main track. Blazing Charm had debuted last time out and hesitated at the start, spotting the field multiple lengths. Closed with a rush to be second and two behind her have already returned to win. Tripled the bet. As they began to come out of the turn jockey Flavian Pratt was saving ground but behind a wall of four horses. He waited patiently - had no way to swing wide - and a seam appeared to open, so he asked for run, but the outside horse veered in and the hole shut. He took a hold of her as the rail horse was drifting off the barrier. Dove inside and accelerated just as one of the late runners was surging on the outside. Got through and JUST UP in the nick of time, my third in a row at Santa Anita!
We now come to the Belmont finale and what was my BEST of the day, Todd Pletcher's Bean Counter. It was a starter allowance going a mile over the New York turf. And to be sure, the fact that she'd compiled a 7/1-3-1 lifetime record was a concern. She was exiting back-to-back near misses at this distance - another concern. And today she was moving from a $40K starter to a $50K starter, again - cause for concern. BUT three of her last four Beyers, which have been ascending, beat ALL 94 numbers compiled by the rest of the field. Again, we go to the curmudgeon Mr. Serling. In the preshow he was quoted as saying, "Bean Counter is a dunce cap horse - has no chance. If she wins I'll take the dunce cap out of my office and put it on for tomorrow's show." Man the guy is outspoken and has such a high opinion of his own opinions. As they turned for home Bean Counter was sitting in fourth waiting for room to run. A seam opened at the sixteenth pole and she shot through at just the right moment to SCORE!
My sixth win - lost the last bet at Santa Anita - but with the big day of wins I had a 60% win rate and had made over $100 for the day. YOWZA!!!
Sunday: June 14 - Texas Champions Day
I went back and forth about what to do today. Because we'd be in Orlando I thought I didn't want to spend time handicapping when I could be with the family. But I knew I'd probably have some windows of "down time" to handicap. But looking over the entries I wasn't interested in any of the "major" tracks. But Saturday morning I looked at Lone Star Park in Texas. They were hosted the Texas-bred "Texas Day of Champions" Day which had previously been run at Sam Houston Park. But this year there'd been a transformer blown that cancelled the racing that night so they'd been rescheduled for this afternoon/evening at Lone Star. Decided to look them over and try to find some good plays. And it was a bonus that the first post wasn't until after 4 pm so none of my picks would go off until we had made the return trip to Fort Lauderdale. Worked out nicely that way as I passed the first two, which were both non-stakes events. In the third She's Out Fastest looked very strong and was bet to 3/5 favoritism in the 6f Yellow Rose of Texas Stakes. But from the get-go she was four wide and never saved an inch of ground. An even fifth without every picking up her feet. The fourth featured last year's winner of the Spirit of Texas trying to defend his title, albeit at a different track. Direct Dial had won last year's event off a third place finish in an OPEN stakes. Followed the same pattern this year, but with the delay in running trainer Steve Asmussen used a allowance at Will Rogers Downs. Ran third also but two exited that race to come back and win. Direct Dial circled the field, every bit as wide as the pick in the previous race but when he hit the top of the lane he accelerated off. Cleared the field and won going away.
The fifth was a nine furlong turf event, the Richard King Turf. Very little experience at the extended trip but last year's winner, Redatory was back. DRF analyst Mary Rampellini noted he was, "...one of the marquee names on the card...." and he put on a show. Pressed the 5/2 second choice to the top of the lane, moved on even terms and the two laid it down the length of the stretch before finally Redatory edged clear in the shadow of the wire to win a tight photo.
Missed in the Groovy Stakes for 3yo with what I labeled the one pick I had the least confidence in. Gold Pilot was a closing 2nd with a big late kick at 9/5. In the seventh, the filly companion race, the Bara Lass, Always Inthe Munny looked MUCH stronger despite relatively similar running lines. I just thought that her last out 83 Beyer, best in the field was just a harbinger of a move forward. Right to the front and when the pressers were asked her jockey flicked his wrists and she was gone by more than a pole. Immensely impressive.
Closed the night with a 3rd at 2/1 to finish 3-for-6, with a second and a third, and a profit for the night. But for the week - an amazing SEVENTEEN wins and well over $300 in profit.
Last week the racing re-opened in New York with racing at Belmont, but this week their first card of the week was on Thursday. So if I was playing today - which was "eye-injection day" - it would be strictly at Gulfstream. They had a feature race for three-year-olds that could easily have passed for a graded stakes as it attracted the winners of the Gr 2 Fountain of Youth, the Gr 3 Sam Davis, the Hutcheson Stakes, the Limehouse Stakes and the Smooth Air Stakes. For the day I had five selections from the ten race card. Missed in the opener then passed four in a row. The last four picks took place while I was waiting to have my eye treated. In the sixth it was a two-lifetime claiming event on the turf going five furlongs. And I thought Remaster was a legitimate DRF Best Bet. Two of her last three were vs. better and the three identical Beyer figures beat all but four of the combined 66 numbers on the page. Surged in mid-stretch to edge clear late to score as the first winner of the week.
Dueled to the stretch before fading to 4th at 6/1 in the next. Then in the eighth I thought I had a legitimate alternative to the favorite. Heir Ball was sent to the front and dueled through wicked splits last time before weakening to be a best of the rest 2nd as the prohibitive favorite for $16K. Today she was in an AOC with a $25K tag, which she carried having already won an entry level allowance. But she was first off the claim for David Carlos who wins at a 37% clip with those. Oh my. Doubled the bet. Right to the front and scored a wire-to-wire win. But check the price out....
The morning line on Heir Ball was 7/2 and she floated all the way up to 5/1 and change - whooo hoooo. This helped offset the fact that in the 3yo feature my worst fears came true when my top pick, the 6/5 favorite got caught in a speed duel and set up the late close from the legitimate closer in the field. Still, I went 2-for-5 on the day and made over $40. No complaints about that my friends!
Thursday June 12: Belmont Park
For today I gave a cursory glance at the entries for Gulfstream and Churchill but like the looks of the Belmont card more, especially because they had a featured stakes event today. Missed in both the second and the third before arriving at race four which was a maiden claiming event going a one-turn mile and a sixteenth. There figured to be a heavy favorite, but I didn't like him despite the fact that it was a Chad Brown runner who'd been narrowly beaten in second twice. I went with Creed, sent out by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey. Long known for NOT having them ready at first asking, you have to be paying attention when they DO run well first out. Creed had debuted at the demanding seven furlong distance over the deep, sandy surface at Tampa Bay and closed strongly to be a good second in debut. This stretch out off a solid beginning was ideal I thought. Four horses dueled to the top of the stretch, included in them was the favorite. Meanwhile Jockey Jose Ortiz waited patiently then blew by to win going away. Creed paid a generous $7.60 so I cashed for nearly $40.
Had the obvious 6/5 favorite in the fifth, but he blew the turn into the lane and went at least ten wide, second. Fourth in the 8th and then in the featured Flat Out Stakes going a mile and 3/8th I was against the Belmont winner Sir Winston. He'd won the mile and a half Belmont as a big longshot and suddenly he's a "good" horse? AND making his first start off the shelf and against older? Nope. I went with Todd Pletcher's Moretti. Besides some other positives what appealed most was that no one and I mean N-O O-N-E in here would want the lead and Moretti was the ONLY one who'd EVER raced close to the front. Now if jockey Javier Castellano could just see this. Sure enough. Right to the front, never took any pressure and took them easily wire-to-wire at a big 4/1.
Closed the day 2-for-6 but with two nice priced winners to score a $20+ profit for the day.
Friday June 13: Churchill Downs
Again, shopped around for what card looked best. And one thing that I was aware of was that today we'd be driving to Orlando so there'd be little time for handicapping and decision making. I settled on the card from Louisville and had only four picks on the day. Figured it would be a light day of racing generally and obviously a small number of winners. But as is often the case, it's days like this where I have a big, winning day. It's one of the things I love about racing.....you just never know when and where you're going to be a winning player! The opener under the iconic Twin Spires was a pick that if you follow my handicapping, you'd NEVER have guessed I'd have been betting on. The opener was a 6 1/2 furlong maiden claimer. And while I often say there are "no rules" in handicapping, it's rare that I'll even consider a maiden who's already had six or more chances as a legitimate bet. Much less one with double digit losses, MUCH LESS with fifteen, that's right - 15 losses. But as I remarked in my analysis, "every horse has his day," and today looked to be THE day for Drop Dead Gorgeous. While certainly concerned about the many defeats, but I liked the fact that in her TWELFTH loss she was claimed by trainer Steve Asmussen, for himself! You know that a top conditioner is NOT going to spend his own money on a long-time maiden like that unless they have some ability. First off the claim 'Gorgeous moved up to $40K and was a good third. Dropped in for $30K she was a best-of-the-rest 2nd. Third off the claim she made her next start here at a one-turn mile and was a photo finish 2nd while four clear of everyone else. Three sharp efforts for a top trainer, and today dropping in for $10K she looked long gone. She drew alongside the leaders at the top of the stretch and ran away, winning by nearly a pole as the 1/2 favorite.
The second at Churchill was a 2yo maiden special sprint. I've struggled with juvenile races to this point but in here Hulen looked best - another Asmussen trainee. He was making his debut today, but Asmussen does good work with those. He had an outside draw which would mean a clean trip. He had sharp works, so I knew he'd be ready to run. As important the others in the field either had been badly outrun in their races where they had experience or came from barns that had little success with debut runners. Hulen was fourth turning for home, but split horses, wore down the leaders and edged clear late. Two for two :)
Passed the next three. In the sixth I thought it was pretty obvious that the winner would be one of the two program favorites, but which one? Ballagh Rocks was a multiple turf winner and showed a series of races with triple digit Beyers in his pp's. But those races had come months ago and his last FIVE were sketchy. True, he was dropping today, but I preferred Euro import Set Piece. Brad Cox was taking over the Euro who'd fired a bullet work for today's first North American start. Thought maybe I had the wrong one as they spun out of the turn and Ballagh Rocks was third, making a move into the clear while Set Piece was dead last. But Florent Geroux asked and the response was immediate. Circled the field and caught 'Rocks at the furlong marker. They dueled for a sixteenth of a mile and then my top choice pulled clear to win going away.
THREE for THREE! And the final selection of the day was my "best bet." The ninth was a maiden special event going a mile on the turf. Two Chad Browns in the line-up and of the two I liked Greyes Creek. He had experience - the other was a first timer - and what I thought was key was that leading rider Tyler Gaffalione probably had his choice of the two and landed on 'Creek. In his last he was coming off a SIXTEEN month layoff and despite being forced to steady he was only beaten 3 1/2 lengths. That his connections didn't give up on him and/or put him in for a tag off such a long layoff were positives. He tracked the field confidently in fifth the the far turn. Split horses to swing into the clear and blew by quickly. Suddenly more than half a dozen clear in a sixteenth of a mile, he won geared down as TONS the best, wrapped up under the wire.
FOUR - for - FOUR, what a day. Collected a profit of over SIXTY dollars. What a week I'm having :)
Saturday June 13: Ogden Phipps Day at Belmont
Today I was playing both Belmont and Santa Anita. I handicapped the card on Thursday and knowing we'd be with the grandson (and his parents) I was cognizant that I didn't want to have a "full day" or racing. So I only looked at the two venues and was fairly conservative in my selections. Passed the first two in NY and in the third Primacy was going to be odds-on. Listed at 2/5 in the program you know he would not be a "money maker." He was being pounded early and so I re-examined the options and decided to raise the wager a click, from a double to a triple investment. Broke slowly, but when asked to run on the far turn he swooped by and scored by daylight, in hand and under wraps.
From that race at 2:20 until the third at Santa Anita at 5 pm I had two bets. Ran eighth at nearly 30/1 in New York and then 4th at 6/5 in the second at Santa Anita. In the fifth out west Marenesa looked quite similar to Primacy. Listed at 4/5 in the program she looked much the best here. In her most recent the winner had been a dozen clear and the runner up eleven and change clear of Marenesa who was open lengths clear of the rest of the field. She stalked a 50/1 leader to the top of the lane, then blew by as easily best.
Two for four, but losing money. At this point as I turned to the second page of selections I'd have had a hard time believing today was going to be a big day. Especially after running a dismal 10th in the next at Belmont at 5/2 odds. Then I went on a tear. At Santa Anita Worthy Turk was pounded down to 1/5 favoritism in a two-lifetime one mile turf event. She'd been off since 2018 before her three back race where she ran sharply in a turf sprint here; then ran well in a Golden Gates sprint. Returned to Arcadia and was a best-of-the-rest second while four clear of the show at this level and distance despite being wide. Flavian Prat had the call. She was third into the lane behind multiple runners. Found a seam, hit high gear and close with a rush to be just up in time.
The payoff of $31 and change led to a return of nearly $80. WHAT A DAY....take that Mr. Serling :) Next was another maiden event at Santa Anita going seven furlongs on the main track. Blazing Charm had debuted last time out and hesitated at the start, spotting the field multiple lengths. Closed with a rush to be second and two behind her have already returned to win. Tripled the bet. As they began to come out of the turn jockey Flavian Pratt was saving ground but behind a wall of four horses. He waited patiently - had no way to swing wide - and a seam appeared to open, so he asked for run, but the outside horse veered in and the hole shut. He took a hold of her as the rail horse was drifting off the barrier. Dove inside and accelerated just as one of the late runners was surging on the outside. Got through and JUST UP in the nick of time, my third in a row at Santa Anita!
We now come to the Belmont finale and what was my BEST of the day, Todd Pletcher's Bean Counter. It was a starter allowance going a mile over the New York turf. And to be sure, the fact that she'd compiled a 7/1-3-1 lifetime record was a concern. She was exiting back-to-back near misses at this distance - another concern. And today she was moving from a $40K starter to a $50K starter, again - cause for concern. BUT three of her last four Beyers, which have been ascending, beat ALL 94 numbers compiled by the rest of the field. Again, we go to the curmudgeon Mr. Serling. In the preshow he was quoted as saying, "Bean Counter is a dunce cap horse - has no chance. If she wins I'll take the dunce cap out of my office and put it on for tomorrow's show." Man the guy is outspoken and has such a high opinion of his own opinions. As they turned for home Bean Counter was sitting in fourth waiting for room to run. A seam opened at the sixteenth pole and she shot through at just the right moment to SCORE!
My sixth win - lost the last bet at Santa Anita - but with the big day of wins I had a 60% win rate and had made over $100 for the day. YOWZA!!!
Sunday: June 14 - Texas Champions Day
I went back and forth about what to do today. Because we'd be in Orlando I thought I didn't want to spend time handicapping when I could be with the family. But I knew I'd probably have some windows of "down time" to handicap. But looking over the entries I wasn't interested in any of the "major" tracks. But Saturday morning I looked at Lone Star Park in Texas. They were hosted the Texas-bred "Texas Day of Champions" Day which had previously been run at Sam Houston Park. But this year there'd been a transformer blown that cancelled the racing that night so they'd been rescheduled for this afternoon/evening at Lone Star. Decided to look them over and try to find some good plays. And it was a bonus that the first post wasn't until after 4 pm so none of my picks would go off until we had made the return trip to Fort Lauderdale. Worked out nicely that way as I passed the first two, which were both non-stakes events. In the third She's Out Fastest looked very strong and was bet to 3/5 favoritism in the 6f Yellow Rose of Texas Stakes. But from the get-go she was four wide and never saved an inch of ground. An even fifth without every picking up her feet. The fourth featured last year's winner of the Spirit of Texas trying to defend his title, albeit at a different track. Direct Dial had won last year's event off a third place finish in an OPEN stakes. Followed the same pattern this year, but with the delay in running trainer Steve Asmussen used a allowance at Will Rogers Downs. Ran third also but two exited that race to come back and win. Direct Dial circled the field, every bit as wide as the pick in the previous race but when he hit the top of the lane he accelerated off. Cleared the field and won going away.
The fifth was a nine furlong turf event, the Richard King Turf. Very little experience at the extended trip but last year's winner, Redatory was back. DRF analyst Mary Rampellini noted he was, "...one of the marquee names on the card...." and he put on a show. Pressed the 5/2 second choice to the top of the lane, moved on even terms and the two laid it down the length of the stretch before finally Redatory edged clear in the shadow of the wire to win a tight photo.
Closed the night with a 3rd at 2/1 to finish 3-for-6, with a second and a third, and a profit for the night. But for the week - an amazing SEVENTEEN wins and well over $300 in profit.
Phipps Week Racing Highlights
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