Weekend Review

Weekend Overview: I'm thrilled that Congress might get some butts in gear. I called for something like this a while back in some posts called An Audience With The Boss. I'm hopeful that as a result of these hearings we can hopefully get everyone on the same page. Royal Ascot was also this weekend and once again it was a marvellous collection of top class racing and pageantry. Stateside Mauralakana continued her hot streak in New York while Fabulous Strike returned from injury and looked like his old self. Sailor's Cap was impressive in the Colonial Turf Cup but it seemed to deepen the impression that Tizdejavu is a very good turf horse. Fans will have been disappointed with Rutherienne but Lady Digby was quietly become a very effective Turf horse. We all know what Greame Motion can do with horses on the grass. Maybe she can become the stables next Film Maker.

Performance of the Week: Henrythenavigator is quickly gaining a reputation as formidable as Rock of Gibraltar's. He certainly looks every bit as good as the Rock at this stage. His performance in the St James' Palace stakes was phenomenal. He held off a very good Raven's Pass to record his third straight G-1 win of the season. Expect the top two to come to America for the Breeders' Cup Mile although Henry may have a lofty enough reputation by that time to convince his connections to go for the Classic.

Race of the Week: I'm sorry I don't have a video to the Queen's Plate linked in this post but if you can find the race on Youtube or Calracing by all means watch it. It was hard to know who to cheer for, the gallant filly taking on males in Canada's Premier Classic or the gutsy sprinter who was bidding to give Roger Attfield his record tying 8the win in the Plate. Not Bourbon made the lead at the head of the stretch and at the 9f mark it seemed like he had done enough but Ginger Brew would not back down and she came at him hard in the final furlong. A few more strides and the outcome may have been different but either way the result was enjoyable.

Flop of the Weekend: I don't want to be too cruel to Rutherienne for her third place finish in the All Along but it was a field she really should have beaten. The rain may have eased her chances some but she suffered back to back losses for the first time in her 13 race career and really there was no excuse to drop this one. Lady Digby looked much better than she did.

TCR Mover’s and Shakers: Mauralakana forged to the front of the Turf Female division and looks good value for it. Although I don't think she is actually the most talented Turf Female in the nation it's hard to argue with a 5-4-1-0 season to date. Clement has really got the best out of her. No one esle was a major mover in the standings although Rutheriene's failure to move up was significant. I'm not sure that she has the stuff to win this division.

Tip O’the Cap: A lot of notable things happened this week in racing. I'm having a hard time narrowing down the candidates for my weekly congratulation. IEAH stables deserves a round of applause for commiting to cutting back on the drugs they give their horses. Congress deserves a tip of the cap for getting the ball rolling on reforms like this. But in the end I settled on Yeats. He was once the favorite for the Derby and a late injury looked to have deprived him of a certain victory in the Blue Riband. Fortunate for him the way things worked out. Connections discovered that his best trip was actually 14f or more. He has made Ascot's Gold Cup his own personal parade capturing it three years in a row. Amazing to think that a horse like this is was not even gelded. He was a G-1 winner at 4 and had not yet discovered his passion for staying races when Coolmore elected not to retire him in order to bring him back as a 5 year old. He has won the Ascot Gold Cup every year since then. Yeats is one of the greatest stories of our era.

KC Handicapping: Sometimes it feels as though I'm cursed in some way. Despite highlighting some great plays and getting a good in the money percentage with my picks I have not actually turned a profit on my straight weekend selections since February 25th. This weekend was a an excellent example of the type of luck I've been having for months. Ginger Brew was my lone selection of the weekend. She was closing hard on Not Bourbon (my alternate whom I did not officially select) and just failed to get there by a head. I've lost track of the amount of photo finishes I've lost over these last few months. It's a very tough game, even when you virtually figure out the race.

Cumulative record of selected horses: 1(1)-0-1-0 (-$2.00 -100.00% ROI)
Overall record: 548(278)-99-98-79 (-$123.60 -11.28% ROI)