Sweet Magnolia

Weekend Overview: A fairly light weekend. Calder had a good card listed but Gun Slaute and My Lordship scratched taking much of the luster out of the Turf stakes. Drums of Thunder turned in an impressive effort in the What A Pleasure to beat the handy Green Vegas. This horse has really come alive as of late. I think it's safe to say that he has appreciated the step up to two turns. That makes him a serious threat despite his humble record beforehand. My Golden Opinion failed badly on this day and its nearly enough to take him off the radar completely. Magnolia Jackson put Stormy Kiss firmly in her place. Birdbirdistheword proved that he acts on any surface, Siren Lure looked a bit more like himself again. The winner just freaked out on him, I mean horses dont usually go much faster than 1:07.79 for 6f. Its tough to beat any horse who runs that fast. Foxysox ran a good one on the All-Weather surface to win the G-2 Bayakoa.

Performance of the Weekend: None really caught the eye this weekend aside from perhaps Pirate's Deputy. It was not a fantastic race but he did run very well on a track that he wasnt well suited to. This could be a serious Triple Crown horse and he is officially on the radar.

Race of the Weekend: I suppose this has to go to the Delta Jackpot. It wasnt one of those all time great clashes but I think we were treated to viewing two pretty good horses finishing the race together. Birdbirdistheword make a nice move on the backstretch and tunr that was accentuated because of the track layout. Pirate's Deputy was always facing an uphill battle to run down the leaders. Its a credit to him that he got as close as he did.

Flop of the Weekend: Go Poppa Fooze gets the nod over My Golden Opinion. Not only did he fold like honest Abe with a pair of 2's he also got disqualified for the last race he won because of a failed blood test. Basically this horse is not a top level race horse and is almost certain to spend his days in obscure sprints.

TCR Movers and Shakers: Foxysox moved to 6th in the Filly and Mare Turf division. She was the biggest mover in the standings this week because there was just one G-1 race and she won it. Siren Lure solidified his second place ranking with his run in the Underwood. I think the strength of these standings is that they give horses like Siren Lure some credit. No one is going to vote him champion nor should they. But I think he fully deserves some credit for the year he's had. No major changes to any other division.

Tip O'the Cap: It has to go to Magnolia Jackson this week for her sparkling win in the Garland of Roses H and for the season she’s been able to put together an 8-6-1-1 record. That's a pretty impressive record for this humble filly. She is 9 of 14 lifetime and she just brings her game virtually everytime she runs. Even when she loses she runs pretty well. Without some injury problems that saw her shelved for a total of about 4 months this year her campaign might have been even better.