October 5 - 16
From one extreme to another.....last weekend I was AT the races instead of playing from the "Sunrise Simulcast Center" and for this week I was in Hawaii for an eleven day adventure with my wife Kim and our great friends Sue & Dan. To check out our Hawaiian adventure.....
Before we left for Hawaii I knew that Saturday was Fall Stars weekend at Keeneland and that there were big Breeders' Cup preview races all around the country, so I figured I would get a small selection of key plays in somehow while on the islands. My original plan was to simply play the Keeneland card with all the big stakes action, and so on the first day in Hawaii I had enough free time to handicap the entire card. Then I decided to see who was running around the country. After I'd gone through all the races I ended up with six selections from Lexington and five from around the country with picks from Belmont at Aqueduct, Woodbine, and Santa Anita. And on Sunday I picked up one more selection from Keeneland. First post on Saturday was at 1 pm which with the time change meant I'd have to have my money in by 7 am. Well, first....we really never adjusted to the time difference and if we were lucky enough to sleep until 5 am we considered ourselves fortunate, and second....I didn't have a pick until the fourth at Keeneland so it was all good. I thought I'd make my bets, go on our day-long excursion along Oahu's North Shore and watch the replays when we returned. But at the last minute I took my wireless headphones and actually got to watch all the races while on the bus in between stops! The first bet was a MSW for 2yo and Tap In Formation was the prohibitive 3/5 favorite, but could only manage fourth. The next bet was an hour later in the sixth from Keeneland, the Grade 2 Woodford Stakes going five and a half furlongs on the turf. Wesley Ward has said publicly many times that Golden Pal is the best horse he has ever trained. And even though last time out he was life and death to win the Grade 3 Troy at Saratoga I thought today he'd run huge so I made him my co-best of the day. Why? First, because in the Troy he didn't make the lead and/or they decided to track the pace - his game is to run them off their feet and I expected them to insist on the front and that would mean the end of it for all of today's rivals. And secondly Golden Pal had earned figures of 100, 110 and 107 in his last three starts - the rest of the field had a combined 59 starts and three horses had a single triple digit Beyer. Toss the last out 100 in the Troy and the two previous triple digits from Golden Pal win for fun, and those were the kinds of races I expected today. Right to the front, immediately clear and long, LONG gone! WHOOO HOOO!
With Kentucky now paying to the penny, Golden Pal paid $2.74 so I collected nearly $30. In the Grade 2 TCA Stakes Palm Cottage went off at 7/2 and ran a disappointing eighth. Then it was time for my first non-Keeneland bet in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic in New York where they were going a mile and a half on the turf. For the non-Keeneland races largely I went with horses I knew very well and War Like Goddess is a superior marathon turf runner. She had lost her last at Saratoga, her first loss there, when she was in a small field and two things worked against her. First, there was a lone front runner who went a glacial pace on the front end and secondly, the rider had opted to try and save ground through the far turn which led to War Like Goddess not getting out until too late to make her big run. I thought she'd have won despite the pace flow with a better ride. Today I thought she'd bounce back strongly. It wasn't until after I'd made the bet and was getting ready to watch the race that it dawned on me that the Joe Hirsch is NOT a race for fillies & mares, War Like Goddess was taking on the boys! Still, I was confident. Tracked the pace along the inside in third, closer than typical to the far turn. Made her move on the outside and collared the leaders in the lane. On even terms to the final sixteenth then she lengthened stride and drew off impressively. Cashed for nearly forty beans as she was my second "best bet" of the day!
Ran second in three straight following my second win. In Woodbine's Grade 2 Nearctic going six furlongs on the turf, Bound for Nowhere was second at 4/5. At Keeneland Chad Brown's Regal Glory was second to her stablemate as the even money favorite, and finally Loggins dueled the length of the stretch and was a photo finish second in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity for 2yo going a mile and a sixteenth. Got my next win with a great price at Woodbine in the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor going ten furlongs over the massive outer turf course in Toronto. When I looked at the field I thought there was probably a Euro in the field but I knew Chad Brown's Rougir and she had a lot of talent. I wasn't really surprised she was NOT the favorite, but still.....she was well back into the far turn and as they turned for home she was a distant sixth. With an eighth of a mile to go, still sixth. But the Woodbine stretch is THE longest in North America and she hit her best stride with a sixteenth to go and came FLYING to be up in the shadow of the wire over the rail-skimming Euro even money favorite. The best part - she paid a whopping $12.60 so I collected over $60 to guarantee a winning day - whoop whoop!
It was a half hour later when my focus shifted out west where MY HORSE, Going To Vegas was primed for a big effort in defending her title in the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive. Even though she'd lost three straight in 2022 I thought today WAS the day. First, I liked that she was getting top turf rider Umberto Rispoli back today but more importantly, when I watched the video sent out to fellow owners it appealed to me that it seemed our intention was to be aggressive and go right to the front. It has seemed to me that this is her best running style. Sure enough, Rispoli got her to the front easily and maintained an open length lead into the lane. When the others began to ask their horses to pick it up it was too late, we were LONG GONE! WHOOO HOOOO! Not only cashed for over $35 on the wager but I'd be collecting my share of the winner's purse as a part owner!
Was fifth with a big priced 7/1 Todd Pletcher runner in the Keeneland finale, a MSW sprint before winning my final bet on the afternoon. It was the Grade 1 American Pharoah for 2yo pointing for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. This Santa Anita event featured three Bob Baffert runners but it was Cave Rock who'd been the most impressive to date. Immediately assumed command and held a two length lead turning for home. He'd never been two turns before and now we'd find out.....the field closed the gap as they inched towards the furlong pole, but then Cave Rock shifted gears and drew away, widening the margin with every stride to close out a 5-for-11 afternoon for me. What a great day....touring Hawaii and winning at the races!
Sunday I looked at the field for the Grade 1 Spinster and Todd Pletcher's multiple Grade 1 winner Malathaat looked like a standout over this collection of older fillies and mares. Sure enough, as they approached the far turn she began to move from fourth and easily glided up passing horses to take a narrow lead into the lane. If you had one of the others for brief, oh so brief moment you MIGHT have thought you'd have a chance, but from the eighth pole home Malathaat was merely galloping while increasing the advantage.
For the weekend a big 6-for-12 with a profit of more than $60! It was a great weekend of racing while on vacation :)
Racing From Hawaii Highlights
Social Media....
Early in the week I reached out to social media gal-pal, Lauren Pastrana and reiterated how much we appreciated her hard work and for being accessible via social media. She replied back and asked about our upcoming Hawaii trip. Such a sweetheart.
While in Hawaii I reached out to both Lauren and fellow gal-pal, weekend anchor Karli Barnett about our stop at a Kona Coffee farm since I'd chatted with both about coffee previously. Karli answered back :)
We left for Hawaii on Wednesday and I'd pretty much given up home of seeing my most MOST favorite former, sweetie Kimmy Westmoreland who had told me about a month ago she'd be visiting So Fla. At that time I'd asked was she coming prior to October 5 because that's when we'd be leaving for Hawaii. She assured me yes. But with her wedding in Scotland and the hurricane I had not hear from her. Then Tuesday morning as I drove to Best Buy I got a text from her asking if I could come to meet her. I was only too happy to drive down to the ocean front and steal her away from her conference for over three hours. We have such a connection and we both enjoyed sharing what's been going on with our lives since we last saw each other. Loved the photo we got together - as I'd told her I needed a new one for my framed picture of the two of us. And when I sent it to her, she responded with her affection for it as well.
Finally, once our trip in Hawaii was over and before we left I sent Kimmy a couple of photos and she replied back :)
And finally, before we left hottie Chloe Nelson posted about a trip she'd taken. We exchanged comments.
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