Week of April 19 - 22
Enjoying Keeneland Racing With The Boys A Couple Years Ago
Without a lot on my plate - except for two medical procedures (yikes - got a big chunk of my ear hacked off on Tuesday and then my eye injection on Wednesday) - I decided I'd play the races at Keeneland during the week leading up to Saturday's big day of racing, highlighted by the stakes action out west at Santa Anita.
Wednesday
The week started off with a two-win day on Wednesday. It was interesting to me, and oh-so-typical that I lost the first race with a Wesley Ward 2yo because prior to that race ALL of his 2yo had won. Of course the one I bet, ran 2nd. Left for the eye appointment and upon returning home got to see Chad Brown's Up And Down win a one-mile turf maiden special event and then later in the day Film Star win a non-winners of two lifetime claiming event for hot trainer Brad Cox.
Thursday
Today brought a big upset early in the day but I couldn't capitalize on the winnings throughout the remainder of the day. One of the most exciting races of the weekend brought my first winner home. It was another 2yo race and Wesley Ward's American Rascal had superb bloodlines, being the first 2yo to race for champion Lady Aurelia (who'd been a sensational, stakes winning sprinter for Ward) out of the champion Curlin. So this guy could be any kind, especially as the distances stretch out. Normally Ward juveniles explode out of the gate and run the field off their feet. 'Rascal broke sharply to the front but was quickly outrun into the turn. Jockey Joel Rosario sat patiently and when they turned for home he let the colt go. OH MY, he just blew by and drew off by nearly a pole in a dazzling display of talent. This one could be really special.
In the very next race I had my "UPSET SPECIAL" of the week. Ocean City looked like the lone speed and jockey Joel Rosario is a master on the front end of slowing down the pace and saving something for the end. Right to the front and wired the field at a big 8/1 price. I thought for sure I'd have a winning day but couldn't bring home any more winners on the afternoon.
Friday
Only a single win today and that wasn't a definitive selection. Ran fifth in the second when I was never really in it. In the third I had the prohibitive 3/5 choice - bold move on the turn but could never get by, second. Was clear into the stretch at 5/1 in a turf sprint in the fifth, then faded to eighth. Went back and forth about betting Appeal Denied in the sixth, a starter allowance. Was his last race big speed figure an aberration or the "new him?" He was taking a lot of money so I went in on him and he was able to prevail in a close finish at 8/5. But hey, at least it's a win. Fourth at 2/1, 6th at 2/1 and then I had the 8/5 favorite in the Grade 3 Doubledogdare with Interstate Daydream. Mid-pack all the way around, never made a threatening move. And closed out the day with another second as the 4/5 favorite. NOT the kind of day I'd thought I'd have for sure. Then that night we went to the Florida Panthers Stanley Cup playoff game. We'd beaten the #1 seed Boston Bruins in Boston on Wednesday to take command of the series and in front of the home fans I thought we'd come out on fire. Lackluster all night and were never in it.
Saturday: Californian Stakes Day
It looked like a BIG day from the Sunrise Simulcast Center with picks from Keeneland, Laurel, Oaklawn, and Santa Anita. But then at the Panthers game on Friday I saw on social media that the Maryland Jockey Club had cancelled racing for the weekend after a horse had to be put down as they wanted to be ultra-cautious and make sure the track surface was safe. Boggles my mind that after hundreds of horses had worked and raced on it since racing returned to Laurel months ago, a single accident causes a complete shut-down. BUT, I still had a full day's worth of racing to fill my day. And so my delayed start to racing wasn't until the second at Oaklawn. I had the 3/1 third choice who swept to a clear lead turning for home, looked home free at the 16th pole and then was nailed in the final strides to be second. That was the start of a SIX race skid that lasted for the next hour and a half where I ran 2nd at even money (after leaving the gate dead last in Keeneland's fifth) and 6th at even money. Also had a 3rd at even money at Oaklawn to complete the "highlights" of the early part of the day. But in the midst of this I said to myself, hang in there.....we've seen this before. Keep firing, you KNOW you'll get your share - the day COULD turn around. In the sixth at Keeneland it was a Maiden Special for three-year-olds going six and a half furlongs. In the early DRF odds Brad Cox's first time starter Class Actor was listed at 15/1. I didn't expect him to be the favorite, but also didn't think he'd be double digit odds. The field was less than formidable and with Cox winning at a big 42% at the meet I thought it was a good place to take a shot. Class Actor broke sharply and was part of the early pace duel right from the start. Into the lane he disposed of his rival and got clear with a sixteenth to go. Here came the closers.....but he held on. And the best news, he left the gate at nearly 4/1 odds so with my double investment on board I was now 1-for-7 and nearly even for the day. WHOOOO HOOOO.
Right back in my next pick, the opener from Santa Anita which was a 2nd level turf allowance. Warren's Candy Girl was a closer who had a lot of 2nd and 3rd place finishes to go with a smattering of wins. And most of her best work had been done in state-bred events. But, 67 of the 69 Beyer figures owned by the rest of the field would fail to beat her LAST THREE Beyers. I was in for the minimum with top turf rider Umberto Rispoli on board. Trailed into the lane and was so wide that he horse wasn't even in the TV screen at the furlong pole. Late surge.....PHOTO FINISH!
Yes, that's mean in front for the second win in a row! Keeneland's seventh saw Socially Selective as the "obvious" choice. It was a 2-lifetime allowance for 3yo so anything could happen, but Bill Mott's filly had won at first asking at Saratoga, and only the most talented of Mott runners do that. Came back and was a best-of-the-rest 2nd in Oaklawn's Purple Martin Stakes last time out. She'd "paired" Beyer figures and the filly she'd chased home in the Purple Martin was already a 3x winner at the time AND came back to win the Grade 3 Beaumont here last weekend. BIG TIME....in hand through the turn, made her move to the leader....and couldn't get by as the 2/5 choice. Missed in the Grade 2 Elkhorn when highly regarded Howe Street faded before I picked up another price win - this one at Oaklawn where Kantex won an entry level allowance at 7/2 and I cashed for almost $25.
After two more misses it was time for the first of the stakes at Oaklawn and Merlazza looked really good in the Valley of the Vapors stakes. Joel Rosario was on board the favorite who was in between rivals and behind a wall of horses from the very beginning of the two-turn mile. But Rosario never panicked...waited, waited, and finally with a 16th of a mile to go to the first finish line he angled out for run. Merlazza exploded and blew by to win going away for my first stakes winner on the day.
Beer Can Man in the 10th at Keeneland was 50/1 in the early DRF odds, left the gate at 2/1 and ran fifth. Those odds.... The fifth at Santa Anita was the Grade 3 Kona Gold, a six and a half furlong sprint and multiple stakes winner Brickyard Ride looked to defend his title by going wire-to-wire. I was a bit concerned that in his seasonal debut he'd coughed up a clear lead and that he was getting older. Didn't help that there was at least one other "need to lead" type in the field also. BUT, that last out loss had been on the turf, down the hillside so I was willing to forgive that. And he was CLEARLY the fastest early, I had no doubt he'd run well and be in front turning for home. It was that extra 16th of a mile that was more of a concern. Burst to the front, clear into the stretch, got challenged but dug deep and held the rivals safe as he scored.
Todd Pletcher's highly regarded Charge It disappointed for the second straight time - this one in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap when a distant fifth at 8/5. But I hit a nice one in the sixth at Santa Anita. I have long loved to play the Santa Anita hillside course which features the only right hand turn in North American racing. It's a unique trip and I've had a lot of luck playing runners who've demonstrated an ability to run well going down the hill. So today, in a second level event down the hill I looked to Unbridled Mary as my top choice. First, she got Rispoli in the irons which made me comfortable. More importantly she'd been down the hill three times. A win, a just-miss 2nd and a toss when in a conditioned allowance won by Horse-for-the-Course / stakes winner Connie Swinger. She looked to come running from just off the pace. The logical choice had better numbers but had run poorly at this level and distance last time out. 'Mary was off slowly, but quickly was third as they went halfway down the hill. Bent to the right and then back across the course to the left found her with room to run. Behind horses into the lane, she got clear at the 16th pole, but it looked too late. BIG SURGE.....PHOTO FINISH!
YES, that's me in front and at a generous $9.80 price which meant I cashed for almost $50. WELL DONE Mr. Mark. After running third in the Bath House at Oaklawn at 8/5 I had one final race, my BEST Bet of the Day late on the Santa Anita card, the Grade 2 Californian going nine furlongs. With the gap between races I joined Kim in the living room to watch a TV show. As the show ended it was about three minutes to post time. I flipped channels and told her that "everyone" thought Defunded for trainer Bob Baffert would be very, VERY difficult to beat as he was the one and only front runner. As they loaded into the gate I told Kim that we should expect him to clear immediately and just lead the parade around the track. Just as the gates were ready to spring he rocked back and lifted his front feet off the ground, and the gates opened as he spotted the field four or five lengths and was dead last. That is almost ALWAYS the kiss of death for a front runner. But leading jockey Juan Hernandez was very smart. He patiently let the colt get into his own rhythm and was about six lengths off, running comfortably in the clear down the backstretch. We'll find out, I thought, as the field hit the far turn. Hernandez asked and the response was immediate. I was thinking that the way he was running and the shape of the race was like a morning work where a horse is being taught to rate off the lead. He swooped up four wide, got to the front runners turning for home and immediately left them behind as he drew clear to win as much, MUCH the best!
After that 0-for-6 start I finished the day 7-for-14 and made a clear profit on the day. So proud of my self to have the confidence and discipline to stick with the program!
Wrapped up the weekend with Game 4 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. To be fair, I'd said to Kim before Game 3 started and again to my son Jeff as we left to go to the game, I truly was trying to just soak in the playoffs and appreciate being IN the post-season because in January we were nearly certain not to get in. But we had a great run to clinch a playoff spot, so I was thankful we made the playoffs. With that said I really thought we'd play exceptional today. And the first ten minutes we were clearly the best team and were outshooting them 10-0 while dominating play. Then a terrible call led to a power play for Boston. Our goalie made two great saves and the puck was underneath his legs. A Boston player swooped in and jabbed the puck and goalie. The official standing on top of the net looking down at the play blew his whistle, waved "NO GOAL" as the puck trickled in. Then all four officials huddled together and decided in spite of him having the best view of it, he shouldn't have blown the whistle and counted the goal. That was basically the end of it. We rallied to close to 2-1, but gave up a quick goal. Rallied again to get to 3-2 but again, bad penalties and less than stellar play by the goalie led to yet another loss. STILL....great to be at a playoff game.
Social Media this week.....
It was a pretty big week with my social media pals this week, which I always enjoy. I exchanged comments with weather girl Jennifer from Palm Beach and I was impressed that after we "talked" last week and I reminded her that my real name was "Mark" - to which she recalled "meeting me," that this week she called me by my name despite it being on Twitter where I have the "mallan" handle.
Interacted with CBS-4 Evening anchor Lauren Pastrana after she was back on the desk in "Panther Pink" and did a story on our playoff 'Cats.
Cutie Coach Kelly from Oasis, who I've stayed in touch with through social media posted some pics this week and when I noted how adorable she looked, she responded.
Amber was in my first group of WISE students back at Cypress Bay HS and we've kept in touch not only through Facebook but exchanging of Christmas cards every year. She now has two daughters and this week she posted about her oldest going hiking with her for the first time while walking on her own. I made note of that and she "liked" my comment.
Former CBS-4 weekend anchor and good social media gal-pal Karli has moved to the Atlanta area, which you would now if you follow my posts, but we've stayed in contact via the platform and private messages. She'd mentioned that I should check out her work on YouTube and so I finally got around to doing so this week. She's such an excellent reporter and her pretty smile & good looks make it quite an enjoyable experience to follow the news. So I reached out to her and told her I'd watched - and she replied back to me via a private message.
Gal-pal Chloe was off for a wedding with some of her cute friends and posted several adorable pics, so I had to tell her how cute she looked....and she replied, appreciating that I had noticed her.
Another exchange with Lauren Pastrana after she did some work in the community and I commented.
Former Cypress Bay counselor and good friend, fellow Gator-fan Mishelle has turned her life around since getting divorced and finding a new man. She's been out a lot and it's obvious that she's so happy and enjoying wearing cute outfits and having fun again. So I complimented her and she replied. She's a regular "follower" on our trips and my social media posts.
On "Earth Day" Karli Barnett posted some photos she'd taken, and they were amazing shots. Once, she'd remarked about MY pictures from Alaska & Antarctica that she thought I should shoot photos for National Geographic, so I returned the favor....which drew a reply from my gal-pal.
Hottie handicapper, Maggie Wolfendale, who's married to a NY-based trainer posed a question on Twitter about flying when the person in front of you puts their seat all the way back. So I replied and she almost immediately wrote back to me - cool :)
Finally on Saturday evening Karli held her usual Facebook LIVE chat. It was subtle, but FOR ME it seemed obvious that when Karli saw my comments and she interacted/replied to me it was a little more "friendly" and it meant a lot to me that it seems she enjoys our friendship. Our first exchange came in response to "What's everyone doing this weekend" and she noted that going to the Panthers game should be fun. And when I complimented her on how she looked - she always looks good, but this evening she looked particularly cute - she seemed genuinely appreciative. Later in the conversation it came up about moving and her move, so I commented about how many boxes you seem to fill up after you think you're done packing. And then in response to throwing things out I noted how when you do you always "need" that soon thereafter. She chuckled at that and replied back to me. Finally towards the end of the conversation the topic turned to being passionate about something in your life, so I noted to her that she knows I am passionate about traveling and she then told the audience that I have had the best adventures and have been "everywhere." Then she continued by saying how much she appreciates the photos and videos I send her. All of this was really cool, but maybe the highlight of the chat came for me when I was grabbing screen shots re-watching the chat. I had gone in and out of the chat while watching the races and I missed a part of the conversation when one guy posted about his passion for taking pictures and Karli replied she too liked taking photos. But what caught my attention was when, without me being in the conversation she said on air, "I know Mark has taken some photos and blown them up for display and I like to do that or put them in a book." Now THAT was cool :) My girl Karli!
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