Whitney Week

 August 3 - 8

It was another extended week of racing as I played Canterbury on Wednesday and then the big stakes action continued through Sunday at Ellis Park, and finally another Monday racing card at Monmouth closed out the five day span as Kim and I prepare to take off for Alaska on Wednesday August 10th.  Here's how the week played out.  In Minnesota for their twilight Wednesday card I had six selections.  Five of them were minimum wager races for me and I had one horse I liked quite a bit.  Lost the first two races when I was second in both.  Then with the third event I upped the bet to a triple investment on Kierkegaard and he drew off easily.  His odds floated up from less than even money to a generous 9/5 by post time and that allowed me to cash for over $40 guaranteeing a winning night even if I failed to cash another ticket - which I didn't!

On Thursday the only winning ticket came in Saratoga's featured Alydar Stakes.  Last year multiple graded stakes winning Art Collector wired the field and he looked loose on the lead today.  How he went off at 4/5 instead of 1/5 in a short field was amazing to me as he rolled all the way around uncontested to score.

Friday Wesley Ward's very talented Golden Pal WAS 1/5 in the Grade 3 Troy Stakes.  Typically he bursts out of the gate and goes wire-to-wire but today he was beaten to the early lead.  I've seen him press the leader and win, but when he was sitting in third about a length and a half off the pace I was mildly concerned.  Made his move entering the stretch and I thought "Here we go," but when he collared the front runner that one did not give way.  Inside the final sixteenth as the duel continued a closer was flying on the outside.  Jockey Irad Ortiz seemed very confident and Golden Pal proved him correct, but by the narrowest of margins.  WHEW, but a win is a win!

Saturday was a stakes filled day as I was playing Monmouth, as usual, but it was Louisiana Cup Day at Louisiana Downs and West Virginia Derby Day at Mountaineer Race Track.  That added to the multi graded stakes action at Saratoga and I had a few late races from Del Mar.  The started off nicely as I won back-to-back races at Monmouth.  Missed on two and then scored with my first added money play, this one at Saratoga where Chad Brown's lightly raced and talented Good Governance made short work of her second level allowance rivals.  After a scratch and two losses at Saratoga - the first a prime time play in the Lure Stakes on a Brown runner that didn't fire - I got my first win in stakes action.  This came in Mountaineer's fourth, the West Virginia Speaker's Cup going an abbreviated four and a half furlongs.  Hollis tracked the leaders in the clear from his wide draw then surged past to draw off through the final furlong.

I thought Net A Bear was a "free bingo square" in Louisiana Downs' Louisiana Cup Turf Distaff but she ran a dismal 7th at even money.  Then I went on quite a stakes run!  The fifth at Mountaineer was the West Virginia's President's Cup scheduled for a mile-70 on the turf.  But the soggy conditions moved it to the main track.  I was curious when I saw the surface change that my original pick, Adventuring stayed in.  Re-examined his pp's and saw he could run on anything.  When the early betting opened and he was the clear choice not only in the WIN pools but all the multi-race payoffs I kept the triple investment wager.  He tracked the pace confident to the far turn, took over willingly and ran off as easily the best.

Came right back with my co-BEST Bet of the Day in the Grade 2 Glen Falls at Saratoga going a mile and a half on the turf.  Bill Mott's War Like Goddess was a superb 7-for-9 lifetime and one of those losses was in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf against the best marathon females in the world where she ran third, beaten a diminishing half of a length.  She tracked the tepid pace in hand and under a strangle hold to the far turn.  Let loose she easily inhaled the field and ran by in an easier than it looked performance while jockey Joel Rosario never moved a muscle.

Made it three in a row when the very talented Free Like A Girl continued her domination of the filly division in Louisiana when she blew by the leaders entering the stretch in the Louisiana Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.  I had decided to UP the wager when I made the bet and got paid for the wise choice!

Finished off the run of four consecutive stakes wins when Special Reserve went right to the front in the Senator Byrd Memorial at Mountaineer.  Even when confronted on the turn and you might have had concerns, jockey Ricardo Santana was looking under his shoulder confidently.  Let the big horse go and he drew off handily.

Missed on two before getting back into the Mountaineer winner's circle.  The Grade 3 West Virginia Governor's Stakes was for older and I liked 4yo Fulsome who had consistently performed at this Gr 3 level.  Midpack to the far turn he had no where to go.  Jockey Paco Lopez let him drift to the back, then asked him to go outside the field.  Circled the entire field entering the stretch four or five wide and ran by them all to edge clear late for the score.

Missed with four picks, including what had appeared to be a "gimme" in the Grade 1 Test for 3yo fillies but Matareya came up empty in third as the prohibitive 1-5 choice.  Race 10 at Saratoga was the featured Grade 1 Whitney and I thought Life Is Good for Todd Pletcher was clearly the best horse in the field.  But as a confirmed front runner I had questions about him getting loose on the lead AND getting the entire nine furlongs - especially in just his second start since going to the Middle East and weakening in the stretch.  His return romp had been at a comfortable seven panels and now he needed to not only go two turns, but get two more furlongs.  He was facing the red-hot Olympiad who had earned huge numbers on a five race winning streak, the last four as big bets for me.  But when the betting opened my confidence was buoyed with the large wagering on Life Is Good.  Upped the investment from a $30 bet to a BET of the Weekend $50 level.  Right to the front and never looked back.  Going off at 4/5 I cashed for over $90!

Missed on the late races, but still had a great day.  Sunday, instead of just playing Monmouth I also played a few races from Ellis Park and Saratoga.  Had five wins on the day :)  Near the end of the racing sheet Kim and I headed out to our favorite restaurant, Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant, for dinner.  When I got back I watched the final two races on the sheet and was happy to see my top selection in Saratoga's De La Rose Stakes on the turf, Our Flash Drive rally to draw off and win at a generous 4/1 price!

Monday was the final day of the extended racing week and on the eight-race Monmouth Card I had five selections.  In the opener Wedontbelieveher dueled to the turn while inside, took back and fell two or more lengths off the leader, then rallied outside to be up in time!  Came right back in the third with Fran's Warrior who I thought would be loose on the lead.  But instead she dueled with a long shot through insanely wicked splits of :21 and change and :43 and change.  Put that rival away and was clear with a furlong to go.  Then visually tiring badly she desperately hung on by a diminishing head.  The payoff of $9.20 was very generous.  Missed in the sixth and seventh when running 3rd and 2nd.  But in the finale, it was my BET of the Day!  It was a starter optional claiming event carrying a qualifying $16K price tag going a mile and a sixteenth on the inner grass course.  No Valla had earned a number two back when winning a similar event that would beat 100 of the 102 Beyers earned in the collective careers of her rivals.  And her last figure beat them all.  She had the class when noting that she had scored her maiden win for a $40K tag.  Tracked the leader to the far turn, blew by under a hand ride and drew off by more than seven lengths while under wraps.

Loved ending the day, the weekend, and the week with a winning day and a BIG WIN!  Note, I'd upped the wager by a click from "prime time" to an increased $25!  This Wednesday Kim and I are off to Alaska for nearly two weeks so how much racing takes place will be a "post time" decision :)  

Whitney Weekend Stakes Highlights

Social Media

This week I heard from two of my very, VERY favorite former students and both exceptionally good looking young women as the highlights to the social interaction.  My week online started with a couple of interactions with my co-favorite CBS anchor, Lauren Pastrana.  She posted a short clip of her laughing and asked what had made you laugh this weekend, so I responded about my grandson blowing out the candles on the cake.

Next I had a "conversation" with Lauren when she posted on Twitter about gas prices.  I responded, and referred to her post earlier this summer about drinking hot coffee every morning (which we've "talked" about several times).  I noted that when I went to get my HOT coffee at Wawa what my price was.  She wrote back that she was getting HER HOT coffee at a Wawa when she posted her pic.

I'm so proud of "my girl" Tatiana who after graduating got her medical license and now practices.  Her birthday was this week and I sent her well wishes.  Typically I don't see her on social media so I also sent her a personal text message.  Later in the day she replied to me via text and it was very touching for me AND agreed we should get together for drinks when she is next in town.  :)

Saturday evening I tuned into to CBS Weekend Anchor Karli Barnett's LIVE chat and commented on what looked like her cute black dress, but when she thanked me for the compliment she noted it was actually navy :)

Then later in the chat the topic turned to the oppressive hot weather and I reminded Karli that this was why we were headed to Alaska.  She replied - in a way that I KNEW she'd seen my post about the trip - that it was a "very good call" on my part to head to the cooler climate and wished us well on our trip.

Then THE highlight of the social media week came when my most MOST favorite former Kimmy and I had a text conversation.  I noted to her that we needed to get together and that I needed an updated photo of the two of us for my bookshelf.  She replied that she agreed and I said I should come to her new home in North Carolina.  But she informed me she was coming to So Fla and that she would make me the promise that we'd hook up while she was here.  Such a cutie.