Less than spectacular weekend........
Friday February 8 - Sunday February 10
Overall, in a word, disappointing. In retrospect, it would not have taken much to turn the tenor of this journal entry into "it was a great three days." On Friday I started the day off with back-to-back second place runs. In the first race I bet the Todd Pletcher runner, #5 Shore Runner was way, WAY out of it early in a six furlong sprint - so far out of it that his little chicklet on the graphic wasn't even on the screen! He was FLYING late to miss by about a length...2nd. Then in my next bet I had #6 Holdin Bullets who broke on top and was clear in mid-stretch, only to be caught on the wire....2nd WOW..... The good news from the day was that my "BEST BET" of the day in the 7th, #1 Blues and Silver wired the turf field without a lot of drama. Horray!
But then I ran 4th in both of the last two selections. Saturday was one of the biggest days of the meet, it was DONN HANDICAP DAY!
When I handicapped for the day I found so many Todd Pletcher runners, so I was certain I'd have a big day! But as seemed to be the weekend theme, it turned out to be disappointing. In the opener Big John B was 2nd best. In the 5th Pletcher's Park Cit was struggling on the rail while a 50-1 front-runner turned for home four in front....but in a courageous run he was up in the final fifty yards at a healthy price.....
Then in the 6th Tapulous was never a threat. But in the 7th Jack Milton went off favored on the turf and collared the leader in mid-stretch, but could not get by....2nd. I went against the two big favorites in the Grade 1 Gulfstream Turf Handicap and went with the third choice Unbridled's Command....Point of Entry and Animal Kingdom put on a real show through the lane and finished 1-2 while I close to be third. In my "BEST" of the day, the Grade 3 Gulfstream Sprint Championship I bet Pletcher's Travelin Man who was 4-for-5 here with all three of his best speed figures here. Made a bold move on the turn and stopped - 6th. WOW. In the 10th, the Grade 3 Suwannee River I passed the race. Pletcher's horse won at 3/1 - are you serious? In the big race, the Grade 1 Donn Handicap I was completely against the top three program choices. To me it came down to either Grade 1 winner Bourbon Courage or the lightly raced Pletcher runner Graydar. I made them my top two picks and went with the former because he had run well at the distance and looked to sit the perfect trip behind several who wanted the lead. Graydar was one of those, so the pace looked to compromise him. In addition, he was making only his fourth start - he'd missed in a dirt sprint, then scored in his next start, another dirt sprint. In his last he looked impressive winning on the lead in a one-turn mile. So today he faced pace pressure, went two turns for the first time, made his first stakes try - and in a Grade 1. All he did was wire the field at 5/1 while Bourbon Courage rallied late past the program favorites to be 2nd - again. Sigh..... As the day ended I had won with a single Pletcher runner, while four others had faltered. And, Pletcher has won two stakes races - at 3/1 and 5/1 - and I'd missed them both. Can you spell d-i-s-a-p-p-o-i-n-t-i-n-g :(
Sunday I was certain would be a bounce-back day. Kim and my Mom were headed out for the day with me and the odds would seem to be in my favor based on the results of the first four days of the week. In a bit of foreshadowing, the very first bet was an odd-son favorite at Tampa who was my "best" there - not even close, 4th. Then in my first bet at Gulfstream Sabouli moved on the rail in the stretch of the turf race, but was 2nd best. Then in the third race it was my co-best at Gulfstream and Flashy Grey did not disappoint, drawing off as much the best! HORRAY! Here we go!
In the very next race, the fifth at Gulfstream Dark Cove scored on the turf! Two for three at Gulfstream and it appeared I was right in figuring the averages would be in my favor today.
But then I went on a seven-race skid, not even hitting the board.....sigh.....I thought in my last five selections I had very solid picks and would finish strongly. And I did by scoring in back to back races, first at Tampa when Magic Charm was easily best (although there was a long steward's inquiry, for which I couldn't see any problems, and eventually they didn't change the order), and then at Santa Anita in a maiden special race down the hillside turf course. My pick, #9 Ocean's Of Money, was the only runner who'd raced down the hill, and as I have always said - "experience down the mountain cannot be underestimated" - and he proved it again by wiring the field by daylight! WHOOO HOOOOO! Missed in the feature at Gulfstream when Applauding (6/1) didn't run a lick, and then in the final three selections it was more of the same. In my co-best at Gulfstream, trainer Kirk Ziadie was winning 63% of his starters in claiming races for less than $40K. So it was no surprise when my pick, the favorite, Mae Ruler, surged to the front and was clear at the furlong marker. But then came one of only two horses who appeared worthy of even considering to run him down in the shadow of the wire....2nd, again. We left and went out to dinner. When we came home my "BEST" of the day at the Fair Grounds came in the 9th when it was taken off the turf. Tiban looked so much better than the remaining runners. And as he cleared off in the final furlong even track announcer John G. Dooley said, "Tiban being confidently handled by his rider..." and then in the final strides he was nailed on the wire - 2nd, AGAIN! And in the last race of the week I had the closer, Byrama in the Wishing Well Stakes at Santa Anita down the hill. Couldn't get there in time. Of course not......sigh. So I closed the week by cashing some tickets Sunday, but not anything like what I had anticipated. Close the books and move on to the third week of the month......
No comments:
Post a Comment