September 24 - October 2
On Friday September 24 Kim and I flew out of Fort Lauderdale International bound for Seattle to meet our great friends Mary Pat & Tom and Pam & Bob for an American Cruise Lines sailing adventure through the Pacific Northwest in the Puget Sound. While we were on our trip two big racing Saturdays came and went. The day we were in Seattle and boarded our ship it was Pennsylvania Derby Day. Prior to our departure from home I'd handicapped the card and had selections all day at Parx and one "gimme" pick from Belmont. The winning action started off in the third in Philadelphia in a starter allowance where Sevier was the 4/5 choice in the program. Left the gate as a deserving 2/5 favorite and waltzed home for victory number one on the afternoon.
The only race NOT from Parx I played was the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap going a one-turn mile at Belmont. Here Life Is Good was the prohibitive 1/5 program choice in a short field of four and he went off at 1/9. The Bob Baffert 3yo had suffered his first defeat last time out going 7f at Saratoga in the Grade 1 Allen Jerkens to current 3yo sprint champion Jackie's Warrior in an epic stretch duel. He went right to the front under Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith and was easily, EASILY the best.
Race 6 from Parx was the Plum Pretty Stakes around two turns and Chub Wagon was trying a two turn route for the first time today. IF she could handle the trip she would be the winner. It was close but she held on to score.
Silver State looked clear and gone in the stretch in the Parx Dirt Mile only to be caught on the line. Missed in the next two stakes at Parx before it was time for my BET of the Day in the Grade 2 Gallant Bob, a six furlong sprint for sophomores. And here the aforementioned Jackie's Warrior was the deserving short priced favorite. He made very short work of the field and scored without taking a deep breath.
Closed out the first racing Saturday of the cruise adventure when You Must Chill surged through the final furlong over the Parx turf to capture the Alphabet Soup Stakes. On Saturday October 2 we were scheduled to depart the ship at 8 am and our flight was at 12:50 pm. Of course these were Pacific Standard Time, so it was only an hour from first post on the east coast. I'd looked over the entries for all the major stakes races that would serve as final preps for many Breeders' Cup races and at first glance came up with eight horses I thought were very likely winners. Because I anticipated being in the air and unable to watch and wager at the time of the races I made the decision to only play the horses I was CONVINCED would win. I made the three bets before we left for the airport in Seattle and I was pretty certain - because we had a narrow time window between flights in Dallas - that I'd watch the three replays once we returned home late that night. We landed in Dallas about twenty minutes early so as we taxied towards the gate I opened up my Xpressbet.com app and watched the replay of the Grade 3 Lucas Classic from Churchill Downs. Multiple Grade 1 winning Knicks Go was EASILY the best horse on paper, but unfortunately for everyone else he was also the LONE SPEED. Right to the front and went wire-to-wire without breaking a sweat.
By now the plane SHOULD have been at the gate but we were told there was another plane at our gate and we'd have to wait on the tarmac for "less than ten minutes." OK - I've heard this before!!! When we landed in Seattle they'd said that and we waited nearly an hour. Good thing we were early because with each passing moment it became more and more anxious for us to catch our connecting flight home. But from a racing perspective I now had time to open up Race 3 from Santa Anita, the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile where Mo Forza looked to earn a trip to the Breeders' Cup Mile on the grass. As they hit the far turn he was still towards the back, but I know he's a late runner and NEVER wins by a big margin. In a perfectly timed ride he struck the front less than 50 yards out and edged to victory on the wire. Whoooo hoooo, two for two.
Had we moved towards the gate yet? NOPE. It was nine minutes to post time for Race 9 at Santa Anita, the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive going a mile and a quarter on the grass. This was a KEY race for MY horse Going To Vegas. When she'd won the Grade 2 John Mabee a month ago I - and my fellow owners - were told that the target next was this Grade 1 which was a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" event with the hopes of getting Going To Vegas into the World Championships. If she didn't win or the managers felt it wasn't a good fit, they'd disburse the winnings from both races to the shareholders. BUT if she won both, the plan was to utilize the winnings to get into the field.
The day before, on Friday, I'd received an email from MyRacehorse.com with a video analysis of the race and both of the analysts agreed, with her natural speed Going To Vegas - who liked to be up front and pressing the leader - probably would be loose on the lead. That made me up the bet from a double to a triple investment. Sure enough, jockey Umberto Rispoli sent the mare right to the front and she settled into an easy gait with a daylight lead. She was clear into the lane when her stablemate, a Euro import making her second North American start with top So Cal rider Flavian Prat on board began to make her move. Going to Vegas had enough to hold on, and now we're Breeders' Cup bound! While on the cruising adventure I'd bet fifteen races and won EIGHT of them :) That's 53% for those of you without a calculator handy!
When we returned from the trip, it was about 10 pm and I reached out to normal CBS-4 weekend anchor Karli Barnett and asked if she'd be on tonight, I'd missed seeing her while away on a trip. As it turns out she too had been away. This marked the first time one of my "anchor girls" and I had had an online "conversation" that was NOT based off of a posting they had sent out. It made me happy :)
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