May 8
With the Derby weekend in the rear view mirror, and so, SO many of the "big horses" having run in the multiple stakes over the weekend there wasn't much left for this weekend as we take a brief pause before another big two days of stakes at Pimlico for the Preakness weekend. Still, at Belmont in New York there were five graded stakes on the Saturday card. Kim and I were driving to Orlando on Thursday to visit our grandson (and his parents) and with the lack of quality races on the calendar I only played those races on Saturday. I was content to do that because we would be on the road most of the day Saturday when I would have been playing the races. The first of those was the Grade 3 Runhappy Stakes for older sprinters going six furlongs. The race looked very straight forward to me....the speed of the race would be Chateau who had won back-to-back races, including the Grade 3 Tom Fool two back before fading in the Grade 1 Carter last time out. He COULD win, but it looked to me like Belmont Horse-for-the-Course Firenze Fire would keep him within his sights to the top of the lane then run by. 'Fire loves Belmont with a 5-for-8 resume locally and this trip is HIS distance as he's won 6-of-12 starts going three quarters of a mile. At first I made him a triple investment, but after I'd moved on to the next race I kept thinking, "I KNOW he will win," so I went back and upped him to a "prime time" / BEST of the Day bet. The race went exactly, EXACTLY as I'd forseen it. Chateau, sent off at 7/5 was clear on the lead and Firenze Fire was clear in second into the far turn. Moving into the stretch Firenze Fire caught the leader, briefly dueled with him and then ran on free and clear to the wire. WHOOOO HOOOO. Wishing he'd paid more than $3.80, but he was the best and I felt doubly rewarded by making him MY BEST Bet.
The sixth was the Grade 3 Beaugay going a mile and a sixteenth on the turf and three of the older females exited the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. I thought any of the three, and most likely third place finisher Harvey's Little Goil COULD win, but the fact that it was a blanket finish and that the three of them were closely grouped in the top half dozen finishers that day, I was looking elsewhere. I liked instead Chad Brown's Euro import for owner Peter Brant, Lemista. As soon as the opening quarter was posted in a glacial :26 and change, followed by a half in :50 and three quarters in 1:15 I knew that Lemista would have to be tons the best. She was sitting fifth of six, only four lengths back but at that pace, a couple of lengths with only a quarter of a mile to sprint is a lot of ground to make up. Harvey's Little Goil was close up and sure enough, got the jump. In the final 16th Lemista was making up ground but too little, too late. THAT would have been the "Day-Maker" as it turned out because she went off at nearly 4/1 and I'd have cashed for nearly $40. That would have turned the small profit for the weekend into a near-$50 winning weekend despite just playing six races over the two days. Next up was the Grade 3 Vagrancy going six and a half furlongs for older fillies and mares. Pacific Gale had won on the Pegasus World Cup undercard and provided hottie handicapper Acacia Courtney a BIG score when let go at 16/1. But, to be fair she was working on a fifteen race losing skid at the time. When she came back in Gulfstream's Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie and won at 4/5 I had her. This wasn't the deepest of fields and she was on a roll so she was the bet. The gate latch sprung and five of the six burst out....Pacific Gale jumped straight up at the start and was last, spotting the field at least three lengths. She closed ground but could get no closer than third. Sigh.... Next up was the Grade 3 Peter Pan going a one-turn nine furlongs at the massive Belmont oval. I had liked Chad Brown's Risk Taking, but he scratched out to point for next weekend's Preakness. At first glance I thought I'd pass the race, but I had liked Todd Pletcher's Promise Keeper as an alternative. I checked the DRF analysis and handicapper Mike Beer, who rarely goes with the favorite also liked him. A good back-up plan. Promise Keeper tracked the leader into the lane then he and the second choice moved together, separated by less than half a length. In the final sixteenth he edged clear to win by daylight and I had my second winner on the day.
The final Saturday bet was in the Grade 1 Man O'War. Gufo had been one of the best 3yo in the country on turf last year and he was making his 2021 debut today. The race was a mile and 3/8th but that was right up his alley. Longshot (8/1) Channel Cat took control early with Gufo sitting in sixth. As they turned for home Channel Cat was desperate for the wire.....PHOTO finish! OHHHH so close, but he held on and I was denied a third winner.
On Sunday it's become a practice, in this "off-season" where I'm only playing on Saturday's most weeks, to look at the entries across the country to see if there is anyone I like just because I know the horse and/or they look like an "obvious" winner. There wasn't a lot to choose from, but when I opened up the Gulfstream entries I saw Going For Gold entered in the second, a turf sprint for non-winners of three lifetime, and she was listed as 7/5 favorite. I opened up several handicapper's selections/analysis for the Sunday card and found everyone thought she was a likely winner. She'd missed as the 4/5 favorite for a $20K tag last time and was dropping into this $12.5K tag today. AND as an added bonus, one of my most favorite riders, Chantal Sutherland was on board. Pressed the pace into the turn, opened up and ran away! Gave me a 3-for-6 weekend and a flat bet profit. Atta boy Mark :)
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