Weekend Review

Weekend Overview: It was barely more engaging than a Wednesday at Keeneland but not every weekend can be a big one. Songster made a winning return, Peace Chant failed to step up, Slew's Tizzy finally won on conventional dirt and from off the pace and On The Acorn confirmed his status as king of the California sod.

Performance of the Week: Songster was the lone bright spot in an otherwise dull weekend. He whipped off fractions of :21.77 :44.19 and :56.22 to finish up in a sprightly 1:08.80. Not bad for a first race back. He was beating absolutely nothing but this race was more against the clock and to improve his own fitness. He got a 109 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. His primary target seems to be the Forego at Saratoga and he may have only have one more race prior to that which is a shame. Still it was nice to see him back in tip top form.

Race of the Week: There was nothing seen stateside to really excite the senses but we have no problem looking beyond our shores for a worthy candidate. The French 1000 Guineas (or Poule D'Essai des Pouliches) was a fantastic contest where heavy favorite Finsceal Beo was just beaten by the undefeated french horse Darjina. Longchamp was hit with a good amount of rain just minutes prior to this race and the ground came up softer than Finsceal Beo would have preferred but it was still a fantastic contest between these two fillies. You can watch it here: Poule D'Essai des Pouliches. Finsceal Beo is still set to contest the Irish 1000 Guineas in 2 weeks time and we may get to see a rematch between these two in the Coronation at Royal Ascot.

Flop of the Weekend: I'm going to be a bit harsh on Peace Chant. Technically he did rather well, but this was his chance to step up and he didn't take it. At the head of the lane the race was his to lose and he seemed to lose focus after getting even with the pacesetter Sailors Sunset. He found a way to lose in a race that should have announced his presence as a contender in the sprint division. Instead he proved himself to be a talented underachiever.

TCR Mover’s and Shakers: On The Acorn recorded his second G-2 victory of the year and his 4 win overall for 2007. That was enough to vault him into top spot in the Turf division and 5th overall. He does not appear to be a horse good enough to win the division but until the summer months come and bring the big turf stakes out East he will continue to be a force. Lava Man drops out of the top 10 for the first time since his 2007 debut. Slew's Tizzy and Street Sounds both managed to move into 9th the 3yo colt and filly divisions, but aside from that there was very little movement in the standings on this light weekend. Expect the Preakness and undercard to shake things up though.

Tip O’the Cap: Some trainers get recognition for brilliance, others get recognition for simply doing what seemed obvious to everyone. It is in the latter category that Jamie Sanders falls into but I did want to give her props from removing Teuflesberg from consideration for the Preakness. He had no chance and his connections up to this point seemingly had no clue. Glad to see some common sense seeping in, Teuflesberg could yet prove to be a useful horse. No sense in destroying him.

KC Handicapping: Winners have been pretty hard to come by in this space. This marks the fourth week in a row that a loss has been recorded dipping this spaces overall profitability to -5%. The turn around is sure to come. I really have no regrets about dropping Slew's Tizzy, he was a bad bet given his overall record and favorite status. It's just a shame the track came up sloppy and things worked out as they did.

Cumulative record of selected horses: 3(1)-0-0-0 (-$6.00 -100.00% ROI)
Overall record: 209(81)-39-31-33 (-$21.40 -5.12% ROI)