Saturday December 8
Sugar Swirl Day Video Recap
I have to admit that overall, at the end of the day I was disappointed. I really felt like today was going to be a big day and I'd not only win a lot of races, but that I'd have a healthy profit for the day. Instead, I won the big races - which left me feeling good about the day on track - but when the counting was done, I'd had way too many "close but no cigar" finishes. On the day I was first, second, or third in 20 of 33 selections - but only cashed seven tickets. In the morning I had posted my five best selections on Facebook and I scored with three of them........
Months from now I'll remember this day for the big wins and the close finishes.....not for the near misses and the losses on the day, so let's focus on the great weather, great racing and the highlights from yesterday.....
I should have known that something was up on the day when my first selection at Gulfstream was a Todd Pletcher Maiden Special 2yo - these are just automatic over the winter. I had tripled the bet, and apparently the crowd had got the memo because Unitarian was bet down to 3/5. He ranged up on the turn ready to run by the leaders, and then flattened out......did not even hit the board....Uh oh. My first win came through solid handicapping in the fourth at Aqueduct. The race was slated for the turf, but bad weather had forced all races to the main track. My turf runner scratched so I re-analyzed the remaining runners and landed on a "Main Track Only" runner and doubled the bet......WINNER! I was third at Tampa at a good 12/1, another good piece of handicapping, just no money to show for it. In the fifth at Gulfstream I played Joe's Blazing Aaron who was 8/1 in the program and unbeaten over the Hallandale grass. He looked to be the lone speed and ready to steal it. He shot to the lead easily from the outside post and when the first two fractions were :25 and change and then a walking :50.4 I knew I was home free. Apparently none of the other horses got the message. Joe was run by in deep stretch by not one, not two, but three others. WOW. I got back on the board in the 6th at Aqueduct when Mudflats - appropriate for the surface today in New York! - was easily best at even money.
In the 6th at Tampa, their feature, the Pelican Stakes, I thought it was a good time to take a stand against local horse-for-the-course Action Andy. He was a multiple stakes winner, but had been all out to win in his last in Maryland, earning a lifetime best speed figure. I thought he'd regress today so I went with multiple Calder winner Indiano. Instead, Indiano proved why he's never won on any surface but Calder's and Action Andy demonstrated why he is so fond for the Oldsmar surface - I was second best, again.
At Gulfstream I had two "top tier" bets - the first was in the sixth with a claiming event on the turf. I liked Silver Rock. He went off at 3/2 odds and trailed to the far turn......still trailed at the top of the stretch.....and STILL was last with a furlong to go! But then Jose Lezcano said "GO" and he blew by them all, scoring under a hand ride in a finish that looked closer than it probably was.
At the Fair Grounds in New Orleans it was "Louisiana Champions Day" with seven state-bred stakes. My first added money bet was in the Turf Stakes and I had Sadie's Soldier - came running late - but was run by even later by the favorite, 3rd. I lost a photo finish in the opener at Hollywood, 2nd, again - wow. And then it was time for the feature at Aqueduct, the Queens County Stakes. I thought Todd Pletcher's San Pablo laid over this field. He swooped to the lead and appeared long gone; the horse he blew by in midstretch re-rallied to make the finish close, but I think if San Pablo's rider had been forced to ask for more it would not have been nearly as close. I had a big-time, prime investment of $30 and was rewarded for taking the risk with nearly $45 in return.
I was second - AGAIN - at Gulfstream when Scenario Analysis couldn't catch my third choice who paid $11 to win. Sigh.....I turned the page - literally - on my selection sheet and was certain the best was soon to come. Next up was my BEST at the Fair Grounds where I thought Sittin At The Bar would run by all her two-year-old filly rivals in the Lassie Stakes. And I was right on the money! $20 to win netted nearly $35! I was surprised in the finale when Late Night Action did NOT win - I was sure it was going to be an all-Pletcher late double - hold that thought for later in the day, should have known......but then it was time for the feature at Gulfstream, the Grade 3 Sugar Swirl. This was the first graded stakes of the winter and my BET of the DAY was in this race, #6 Dust and Diamonds. I had seen her run in her last race - the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. She had stalked the leaders and opened up at the top of the lane. Nearly every main-track race was won over that weekend by the horse who was in front at the top of the lane, with one exception - and it came in this race with what most believed was the most impressive performance of the weekend. The probable Eclipse Award winning Groupie Doll collared Dust and Diamonds literally right in front of me where I stood along the rail, and drew off handily. Dust and Diamonds was four clear of the show horse. Immediately after the race she was sent to the Fasig-Tipton sale where she was taken for nearly a million dollars and transferred to top trainer Todd Pletcher. So today Dust and Diamonds was coming off an impressive runner-up in the Breeders' Cup AND making her first start for Todd Pletcher! She was deserving of her 1-9 betting status. After I took a close-up view of her in the paddock I was delighted standing on the rail when she floated to 1-5. When the tote clicked up another notch to 2-5 I was silently thanking everyone who thought they could beat this champion. And by the time they hit the far turn somehow the racing gods blessed me by allowing her odds to drift up again to an amazing 1-2. There was no way she deserved to be above 1-5 on her legitimate chances in this field. She cruised to the lead as heads turned for home and drove home as MUCH the best! WHOOOO HOOOOOO!!!! I had invested $50 and got back $75 - truly an amazing return considering who she had to beat today!
That was at 4:30 pm, and that was the end of cashing tickets, with one exception, in spite of my have TWELVE more selections running up to 8 pm tonight. I was (a) surprised when Todd Pletcher didn't sweep the late double as many thought Patrice Merion was the "best" bet of the day in the finale. She led the length of the stretch before getting nailed in the final stride on the wire. I was (b) more surprised when Speedacious did NOT win the Ladies' Sprint at the Fair Grounds; most thought she was the "bet of the day" there - in fact the HRTV announcer had a Pick-5 ticket that was centered around singling her - 9th....wow. And I was (c) TRULY SURPRISED when Executiveprivilege, a winner of five of six races, including three Grade 1 races, and unbeaten over the Hollywood track did NOT win the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet. Her upset in the BC Juvenile Fillies had probably cost her an Eclipse award and Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert was looking to make his case by winning her 4th Grade 1 of the year, the most by any two-year-old in the country; but after pressing the pace she faded to fourth.
So, as I said earlier, it was a glorious day weather wise, my horses ran well (though many didn't win) and the racing was exciting with a big crowd on hand. AND I won with my BET of the Day. I will hang on to that and hope that the final day of the week brings multiple winners and allows me to make a tidy profit. Sunday's selections are online here:
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