Weekend Overview: This week featured a good mixture of solid favorites, shocking upsets and nice comebacks. Smokey Stover blew his chance to become the top sprinter in the nation. Perhaps the wet track contributed to his demise but now he'll go back to California and will likely not travel again until the Breeders Cup. At which time many people will call attention to the fact that he is 0 for 2 outside California. Smokin Joe Talamo nailed himself a pair of G-1 wins as the fun to watch Nashoba's Key took the Vanity and Bilo upset Surf Cat in the Triple Bend. Surf Cat, although defeated, looked decent and should be very tough next out. Honey Ryder did herself credit once again with a good solid second to English Channel in the United Nations. Dream Rush dominated another sprint race and Lady of Venice and Panty Raid successfully defended America's honor in the big international events.
Performance of the Week: I think the performance of the weekend was put in by Any Given Saturday. Idiot Proof made a good case for himself in the Jersey Shore but I give the nod to Any given Saturday because of the horses he was facing. He utterly dominated Nobiz Like Showbiz and Sightseeing. At the head of the stretch it looked as though there might be a tussle for supremacy but Any Given Saturday put those thoughts to bed in a hurry. He received a 110 Beyer Speed Figure for the performance which suggests that it was the co-4th best route race run this year. Now we just have to see if he can do it around 2 turns.
Race of the Week: I found the Carry Back to be a very entertaining race. The class of the top pair really stood out. Black Seventeen and Teuflesberg have to be considered two of the best 3yo sprinters out there. They battled tooth and nail down the stretch with the Californian just edging out. I look forward to a rematch in the King's Bishop.
Flop of the Weekend: What on earth happened to Pussycat Doll? She looked dreadful and I did not think it was possible for her to look worse than she did at Churchill. If this is a sign of what we can expect from her on All-weather tracks then I'd expect her to be retired very quickly or sent to New York, which is the last real haven for her.
TCR Mover’s and Shakers: A pair of fillies who are undefeated in 2007 stole the headlines this weekend. Nashoba's Key moved to first overall in the Older Female division and into the top 10 overall for the first time. River's Prayer burst into the top 20 with her 4th consecutive victory and took top spot in the Female Sprinters category. Actually there is an odd anomaly in existence right now and it is that all the female divisional leaders are undefeated year to date. Rags to Riches (3yo), Citronnade(Turf), Nashoba's Key(Older), River's Prayer(Sprinter) and Rated Fiesty(2yo) are a combined 21 and 0 for the year. English Channel also began to make his presence felt in what has been a weak Turf division. He is now second in the Turf division just 1.80 points behind On The Acorn. With Mach Ride winning the Smile Sprint we still do not have any Sprinters in the top 10. The division is now wide open.
Tip O’the Cap: A hearty congratulations goes out to Brass Hat and his connections. Brass Hat was a very good horse last year but injury cruelly ended his campaign. Now more than a year since his last start he made a winning return at Churchill Downs and what a return it was. Brass Hat broke the 36 year old track record for 1 1/16th miles as he beat some good older horses including Perfect Drift and Student Council. I truly hope he has a marvellous season.
KC Handicapping: Another unprofitable week to bring the losing streak to 3 weeks. Losing 3 weeks in a row is not that bad or out of the ordinary but it's the amounts I'm losing that is shocking. My overall percentage return is at an all time low. Hopefully there will be some solace to be found at Saratoga. You know it's a bad week when the greatest accomplishment you can call to mind is predicting Indian Flare's demise.
Cumulative record of selected horses: 20(11)-4-2-5 (-$23.70 -59.25% ROI)
Overall record: 304(126)-57-49-50 (-$48.70 -8.01% ROI)
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2 comments:
i was reading that Hollywood Park needs to add wax to its synthetic cushion // apparently there were some issues with horses with sore backs due to the wax wearing out //i don't think the jury is in on poly tracks yet, but i don't forsee a return to the old days of dirt tracks as all the major tracks continue to convert their dirt tracks to synthetic tracks // last year at Arlington Park there were 21 horses put down apparently because of the condition of the dirt track // thus far this summer, i haven't heard of one horse being put down at Arlington Park // this, i guess, can be attributed to the installation of the of the synthetic track so i am impressed with it // headaches for handicappers and possibly track maintenance, but good for the horses// i would concur with KC about AGS performance on the 4th of July being the top performance of the week // it was good to see him do well as he always seemed to possess talent and consistently tries hard // i thought another performance of the week was M Ride's victory over Smokey Stover and Fabulous Strike at Clader's Summit of Speed // i haven't checked the beyers on this yet, to do so now i would lose the work on my comment but i assume it was good // it was yet again a situation where the top guns come to town and get beat by the local hero who has trained and won big at the track // it is a good handicapping angle that works every so often // M. Ride went off at about 9-1 //thanks // chicago gerry
Mach Ride got a 109 BSF for his win at Calder and yes you're right, the local horse does often get the better of the big guns shipping in. Calder especially is one of those tracks that seems to have specialists. Nightmare Affair is one that comes to mind.
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