President's Day - Monday February 18
ANOTHER Great Day To End A M-O-S-T AMAZING Five Day Run!
Certainly, I thought, today cannot be like the others....at some point this amazing run of winners has to even out. But no, not today! Who would have thought that picking 50% winners would actually DROP my winning percentage for the week! :) Much like Sunday, the first two races were "go figure" types of races and I was disciplined enough to steer clear of them. But in the third Todd Pletcher was bringing back to the races Hierro. All this guy had done was win the Grade 3 Derby Trial on Opening Night last spring at Churchill Downs, but had been winless since. This non-winners-of-2 other than allowance seemed a cozy spot for his return. And of course there were all the Pletcher GP Handicapper 40% Club angles to bank on. Hierro rated in fourth, moved effortlessly to the challenge on the turn, and even though he was spun wide into the stretch he simply galloped away from his overmatched rivals to score yet another winner for me! I had doubled the bet and took down the nearly $25 prize!
The next two races were similar to the first two - very unpredictable, so I passed them both as well. But in the 6th I thought Carnival Kitten could run down her maiden claiming rivals. I doubled the bet and she went off as the luke-warm favorite at 5/2. Never fired, 7th. Then in the 7th I went with #8-Sunrise Ridge who had had the lead and given it up in every single race until her last when she drew off convincingly. I thought she'd turned the corner, and she was in hand, in front turning for home. But in her last I had gone against her with a filly named Ju Ju Eyeballs, only to be disappointed. Of course.....Sunrise reverted to her quitting tendencies and Ju Ju ran right by her at a nice price.....sigh.....one of the few disappointing stories of the week. In the sixth I had Daddy Likes That on the turf - no better than 8th. Then in the 9th, one of my favorite fillies was back where I thought she belonged. Last winter Ciao Bella had been scintilating winning two dirt mile races. She went two turns at Monmouth and was much the best. But Todd Pletcher tried her in a turf marathon and she nearly pulled off the graded upset that day. Since then she'd been in four straight marathon turf stakes, and while well bet and competitive, she'd not won. So today Pletcher brought her in off a vacation and put her back to the one-turn mile. I doubled the bet and WOW was she impressive. Throughout the race she was being very firmly held and she drew off like a champion.....very impressive! I had my second winner and another $20!
The last race of the day and the week came from Santa Anita in their feature the Grade 2 Buena Vista Handicap going a mile on the turf. My top pick was Mizdirection. If you've followed my adventures you know I had her two back as a $13 and change upset winner of the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, and had collected over $100. I had her in her last, another down-the-hill graded sprint as the favorite. But today her connections were trying to stretch her out. Every indication I'd read said she'd have no problem with the added ground. I like some analysts I'd read, thought she'd sit just off the pace and blow by on the turn. But instead Mike Smith, who had ridden a Breeders' Cup champion for me yesterday at Gulfstream (Royal Delta) took Mizdirection right to the front. When the field began to make their move spinning out of the turn, Smith - much like yesterday - shook the reins and it was all over!
With her win I'd notched 3 winners from six selections for the day, and another profitable day. She closed down a MOST AMAZING week as my 18th winner, out of my last 28 selections, for an astonishing 64%.....and better yet, I'd profited through that run to the tune of nearly $200! What a G-R-E-A-T week it turned out to be!
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