Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Weekend Review

Weekend Overview: The Irish Classics were exciting and formful races. Both of the English Classic winners, Cockney Rebel and Finsceal Beo made it a classic double in the Irish versions. Finsceal Beo has just a neck away from sweeping all three 1000 Guineas races which would have been an unprecedented treble. Stateside this weekend saw powerful performances from Corinthian, The Tin Man, Honey Ryder, Lady of Venice and Citronnade as well as a surprisingly good duel between Derby also-rans from 2006, Bob and John and Sweetnorthernsaint. It was also quite the weekend for the Jerkens clan with a 1-2 in the Met Mile as well as a shocker in the Jaipur with Ecclesiastic.

Performance of the Week: It was a week that really lacked a standout performance. I can't give it to Commentator or High Finance for earning big Beyers in runaways against short fields. I have to give Corinthian the credit he is due. I did not think he was a miler. I thought he would find a few others a bit sharper, but he came out and beat a good field while earning a 107 Beyer. I still believe he is better suited to two turns which maybe makes his performance look all the better.

Race of the Week: In the same way that this week lacked a real standout performance it also lacked a race that really caught the eye or got the juices flowing. I decided to nominate the Jaipur handicap. Favoured Weigelia cut out a quick gallop and looked to be on his way at one point but Ecclesiastic came running hard in the final furlong to pull off the huge upset

Flop of the Weekend: I have to be stern with Kip Deville, he has no reasonable excuse for his poor effort. Maybe it was the travel, his jockey mentioned the pace but really he just failed to show up. It was actually a bad week for Dutrow. Kip Deville ran flat as the favorite and Silver Wagon never picked up his feet in the Met Mile. Even the pacesetter from the Dutrow barn Mr. Umphrey set a slow, ineffective pace and still faded to last.

TCR Mover’s and Shakers: I suppose it stands to reason that two of the G-1 winners from this weekend made their way into the top 10. Citronnade was a powerhouse once again and has vaulted into 5th overall. Her current score of 131.10 is good enough to virtually guarantee a top 5 finish in the division and we're not even half way through the year. A look back over the last 8 seasons shows that 131.10 would have seen her ranked 5th or better in 6 of those years. Honey Ryder has also moved into the 3rd spot in the FM Turf Division. She seems certain to provide some stiff competition for Citronnade. Corinthian got back on track in the Met Mile. At the start of the year he looked like a horse who could be a big factor and it all seemed to come unhinged in his last race. He's not a forgotten horses anymore as he checks in 7th. Kip Deville blew his shot to retake control of the Turf Division, he did not get any points in the Shoemaker and On The Acorn is still tops.

Tip O’the Cap: It may be overly obvious to nominate The Tin Man for this award. No horse since John's Call in 2000 won a G-1 as a 9 year old. Before that Super Diamond in 1989 and John Henry in 1984 were the last to do it. The Tin Man is a people's champion of our time. He was the TCR Champion Turf Horse in 2006 and all indications are that he's going to give his crown a good defense. He had not previously demonstrated the ability to win a nice race at a flat mile. I think Mandella simply figured out how to get him ready for the races and he's capable of winning any race he runs in.

KC Handicapping: Another rough week for the handicapping. We weren't doing too badly after Saturday and Drilling For Oil's narrow win over Always First. But Monday should have been left alone. Silent Name stumbled after the break, Silver Wagon never lifted a hoof and the pace was slow enough that Sun King never had a chance. Then onto the Shoemaker, Kip Deville had a huge regression. Looks as if he has made one too many cross country trips. Chinese Dragon flipped in the paddock and could not have been feeling well. Right Special did his best to rally but the pace wasn't on his side.

Cumulative record of selected horses: 13(5)-2-3-0 (-$7.60 -29.23% ROI)
Overall record: 243(93)-44-37-38 (-$53.20 -10.95% ROI)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

i see that the street sense connections are still trying decide whether or not to run in the Belmont// i am not sure, as of this post, whether or not pletcher has decided to run circular quay// is it just me, or have we heard from a lot of trainers and i guess owners use the term "well, we are going to let him tell us when he is ready"// hmmm// i wonder if this isn't getting a little out of hand// maybe it's been this way all along and i am just now noticing trainer attitudes and their "dr. spock" type permissive treatment of their trainees // at any rate i doubt that a farmer in 1843 would go to the barn in the morning and say, "well i am just going to let ole henry tell me whether or not he wants to pull the plow today"// how about a little motivation for some of these thoroughbreds// chicago gerry

Anonymous said...

i was searching around as of, for who is definite for the Belmont Stakes race and who is out as of 05/30/07 but couldn't find much// was wondering if Kennedy's Corridor had a list of probable starters for the Belmont Stakes/ thanks/ chicago gerry

Kennedy said...

Probable Starters
Curlin
Hard Spun
Tiago
Slew's Tizzy
Imawildandcrazyguy

Possible Starters
Street Sense
Rags to Riches
Circular Quay