Weekend Review

Weekend Overview: This always looked like a lightweight weekend but we were treated to some fine performances. Hard Spun and Citronnade looked awesome but there were a few other nice ones as well. J'Ray continued her fine form with a win at the Fair Grounds. She hasn't been in the limelight much but I think she's capable of stepping up. New shooter Control System showed that she could be a force for the Trombetta barn. She is now undefeated in 3 career starts and she handled Golden Dreamer in the Cicada quite well. Sealy Hill also took one for Canada when she held off Panty Raid in the Bourbonette. Both are quality fillies.

Performance of the Week: I had planned on giving this to Hard Spun for what was one of the best performances by a 3yo this season but Citronnade could simply not be ignored. Any superlative you could conjure up would be fitting but inadequate to describe her Santa Ana performance. You might say she had things all her own way but the way she put them away in the final furlong, I don't think it would have mattered what her opposition did. No one was going to beat her on Sunday. I have to give some props to Conveyor's Angel as well. While she is the 4th ranked filly in the FM Turf division she seems to be the best kept secret. Despite her excellent performances in her last few races she was again 10/1 in here and ran a bang up second. Clearly the best of the rest.

Race of the Week: The Distaff Breeders Cup was a pretty exciting race to watch. Dan Illman had touted Candy Box and she sure did him proud. For a moment it looked as if she was going to pull it off but Maryfield came with a rush in the final furlong. She took a while to get herself going which actually aided the excitement factor. She didn't look like she was going anywhere in midstretch, but credit to Chavez he produced her when it counted.

Flop of the Weekend: Everything looked set for Twilight Meteor and he simply ran a clunker. I don't even know if there are many excuses we can offer. He turned out to be the wise guy horse, everyone and their mother was on him and like so many hot selections he conspired to make fools of the wise. It will be interesting to see where Pletcher takes him, I think he still could be a good Queen's Plate horse but they might stick him back on the grass until then.

TCR Mover’s and Shakers: No changes to the top 10 as we wait for the big weekend coming up. The Florida Derby and the Dubai World Cup meeting are sure to have an impact at the pinnacle of the rankings but for now the main players remain unchanged. We did have a few divisional leads change hands though. Cittronade recaptured the top spot in the FM Turf division with her scintillating performance in the Santa Ana. Hard Spun also vaulted himself ahead of Notional to lead the 3yo's, although his stay there is likely to be short lived.

Tip O’the Cap: Have to give it to Larry Jones for his work with Hard Spun. I was not a fan of his choice to take Hard Spun to Polytrack. I thought it was too big a risk but it paid off in spades and now Hard Spun again seems to have the world at his feet. The surface excuse is sometimes just hot air but sometimes it's legitimate and that proved to be the case in this instance.

KC Handicapping: I like this kind of weekend. The kind where you didn't really get it right but you made out with some profit anyway. Maryfield turned out to be that star of the show and paid a handsome $15.20. It's pretty unwise to disregard California shippers in sprint races and O'Neill has become a fearsome trainer on the road as well. I wasn't very confident about Hard Spun going into the race but the benefit of waiting until post time was clearly seen with this race. Although he was poor value relative to the other contenders on the morning line by post time he was actually decent value since Twilight Meteor got slammed at the windows.

Cumulative record of selected horses: 9(3)-2-1-2 (+$4.40 +24.44% ROI)
Overall record: 135(53)-27-23-20 (+$28.60 +10.59% ROI)