Saturday January 20
I headed out to Gulfstream on Saturday for Sunshine Millions Day, the first in a string of super Saturday racing cards that highlight the winter's Championship Meeting. My father-in-law Ed and brother-in-law Tim were along and both played the Gulfstream races. I had handicapped not only the Millions Day card but had made selections at Tampa, Laurel, and the Fair Grounds; and I had one prime time play in Oaklawn's featured stakes race. The first three hours of the day were fair slow with only eight races and six of those were at Gulfstream! But one of them, in Race 2 was my BEST of the DAY at Gulfstream Park. I've said and/or written this several times.....one of the best things about thoroughbred handicapping is that it does NOT need to be a big stakes race where you find your best bet of the day. And here was a case in point.....four big stakes on the Gulfstream program and my "BEST BET" came in the second, a cheap maiden claiming event for older sprinters! As I scanned down the past performances the first time I was thinking what a woeful field this was! Eight of the first nine runners had already lost for this cheap maiden tag multiple times - or vs. cheaper - and were beaten a combined 118 lengths in their last start. OUCH! The other runner in the top nine was a first time starter listed at 20/1 with little to offer. But then you came to Let Me Flatter You in post position ten. He had been out four times, all vs. $25K or better maidens on the Southern California circuit, and had finished third in three of those four starts. She got hot riding Irad Ortiz today and her last So Cal race had already produced two next out winners. She was 1/9 in the early betting and I thought she was probably all of that, but then the "value" bettors decided to take a shot elsewhere and his odds ballooned up to a very, very generous 3/5. He pressed the pace to the far turn, took over at will and galloped home as much, MUCH the best.
My prime time play netted me over $30 with my first winner! From the noon first post through the 3:00 pm post of the sixth at Laurel (this covers Races 1-through-7 at Gulfstream) I managed four third place finishes, two fourth place finishes, a second, and one off the board runner. Struggling here, but I kept the faith and told my companions to be patient!
But the "story of the day" came during this time frame when I didn't have a pick in Gulfstream's sixth. I stopped by the Gift Shop where I "know" the guy who runs it. I have stopped in several times and while looking at polo shirts I always ask if he's got lapel pins - for either Gulfstream in general, the Florida Derby, or Pegasus Day. So I stopped by, we chatted as I looked at shirts then I went to the counter and said, "Do you have any Pegasus World Cup pins?" The gal working with him exclaimed, "Oh my, we have only ONE left!" As she said that he pulled it out from under the counter, held it up and said, "I've been saving it JUST for you!" We had a nice chuckle and were chit chatting as he rang me up. Then just as he gave me the receipt he said, "Let me ask you something....do you ever have an occasional drink? And if you do, do you maybe have some hors d'oeuvres like cheese, or crackers?" I said I did. He reached down on to the counter display and picked up a miniature cutting board with the Gulfstream logo emblazoned on it and said, "This is for you then, from me to you!" How nice and generous was that!
The seventh at Tampa was a Maiden Special sprint for three-year-olds. Too bad Todd Pletcher doesn't run here...wait a tic, who's the trainer of #8 Gleason, a first time starter? None other than Mr. Pletcher and he's got NY rider Manny Franco who's in town for the stakes races, to ride. Well duh! Made Gleason my BEST of the Day at Tampa. He pressed the pace to the far turn and cruised to the front easily. As they turned for home Franco looked under in right arm, then his left and gave the mildest of encouragements to the favorite as he galloped home as M-U-C-H the best!
I came right back less than ten minutes later when I correctly named Reckless Ransom as the winner of a first level allowance at the Fair Grounds. He won for the winningest trainer in North America last year, Karl Broberg, and in spite of that paid a generous $9.60! My misses continued at Gulfstream when Noble Drama was fifth at 2/1 in the 9th, a MSW for 3yo (without a Todd Pletcher runner!) But I bounced right back in the second of the Laurel featured stakes events. I had a pick in the Fire Plug at Laurel, the first of the two sprint events, but he scratched. I really liked Miss Locust Point in the What A Summer. She figured to be odds on after winning four of her first five starts, the only miss being in the Grade 2 Forward Gal last winter at Gulfstream. Her back-to-back bullet works said she was ready for today. My plan was to make her a triple investment play, but throughout the early betting she was a prohibitive 1/9. That, and the fact one of the contenders scratched out led me to up the ante. She tracked the leaders to the far turn, took over willingly and was never challenged. MUCH the best.
Certainly didn't get rich on the play, but the added investment netted me almost $30! Missed on two off-site picks, one side-note...in the Tampa miss I had the 5/2 second choice who was tracking the 88/1 front-runner. Went to make my move and nope, that one kept on going and paid a whopping $179.40 for a $2 bet! WOW! As I said to Ed & Tim, "Now it's time to get serious" here at Gulfstream. The Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf was next up in Race 10. I thought Starship Jubilee was a standout. And under "normal" circumstances I probably would have made her a "best bet." But she'd looked much the best on Opening Day as a two-time Grade 2 winner dropping into that event, but she was caught in a photo finish as the favorite. If she ran back to her graded stakes efforts she would prove hard to beat, something like the Claiming Crown effort and she was simply the better horse but not an overwhelming favorite. She tracked a hot pace, made her move on the turn and proved best while holding the rest of the field safe through the run to the wire!
The triple investment returned $30 and all three of us cashed tickets! As I was waiting for the prices to be posted I was watching the 6th from the Fair Grounds on xpressbet.com on my smart phone. This race was an entry level allowance and lightly raced Harlan Strong was the choice. He'd run four of five turf figures in the 80s and that would require a lifetime best from the rest to beat him. He drew clear late, paid a nice $6.20 and I was set to collect another $30 and change! The final bet we stayed to watch live was far and away the "featured attraction" - the Sunshine Millions Sprint featuring multiple graded stakes winner X Y Jet. He'd come back off knee surgery and being off for more than a year in his most recent when he wired the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector. The question was this - was he not fully cranked for that or did that take the punch out of him off the layoff. Because if that was a less than 100% effort, then he'd crush these rivals. If that had been the ultimate effort, then a regression here COULD make him vulnerable. That question was the only thing that kept me from making HIM a prime time play. Right to the front and was well in hand while never being threatened! Obviously brought his "A" game today!
Cashed out for almost $30 again! Once we got home I quickly opened up my computer - ignoring the pizza for dinner laid out! - and went to watch the replay of the Dixie Belle Stakes for three-year-old fillies at Oaklawn. Last summer I played Canterbury Downs in Minnesota quite a bit because I was planning to visit my buddy Jim Anderson there. I read in the Daily Racing Form in mid-December when handicapping for Woodbine Mile Day (Sept 16) that the featured sprint at Canterbury featured Amy's Challenge who had broken her maiden by beating the colts by a dazzling sixteen plus lengths and had earned the best Beyer figure for any two-year-old, colt or filly! And she won that small stakes, again beating the boys. So today while getting ready for the big day of racing I'd checked Oaklawn's page to see what their feature was and there was a headline that Amy's Challenge was taking on another highly regarded filly. Well, I KNOW Amy and made her a prime time bet. The two hooked up at the top of the far turn and raced head up and head down to the sixteenth pole. Then the other filly got her head ever so slightly in front. Not to be denied Amy's Challenged surged....
WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! The generous 7/5 odds and my prime time play means I'll cash for almost $50 when I take the ticket to the window on my next visit to Gulfstream! Amy's Challenge was my eighth win of the day, from 23 selections (38%) and made my fourth stakes winner!
The rest of the week provided little to right home about....
Wednesday January 17
I only had four selections on the Wednesday card as we kicked off Sunshine Millions Week. I sandwiched a third between two fifth place finishes before heading into the 9th race. This was the "West Point Thoroughbred's Race of the Day" and it was a seven furlong sprint for three-year-olds that featured Todd Pletcher's Impact Player. He'd been one of my FIVE wins when I was at Gulfstream on a Wednesday afternoon in December, but that had been in a tight photo finish. STILL, it was more than ten lengths back to the show runner and like on that day, I was drawn to the fact that he had been a best-of-the-rest 2nd to Engage in his Saratoga debut....and that colt came right back to win the Futurity Stakes. My plan was to triple the bet, but EVERYONE and his brother was betting Impact Player. Since I was watching live I decided to up the bet to a $25 WIN bet. MUCH the best!
Thursday January 18
I had contemplated going out to the races on Wednesday, but first when I saw the weather would be a bit chilly on Thursday and second, when I saw Todd Pletcher's Grade 2 winner Malagacy was running in the fifth race Thursday I decided to go for that segment of races. As it turned out I DID win 40% of the picks and DID have a big-time winner with Pletcher, but NOT with Malagacy. I got there in time to see my first pick run 7th at 3/1. Then I picked trainer Scooter Dickey's Solve in the fourth race. Dickey had hit the board with nearly half his runners at the meet (7-for-17) but was yet to win one. Uh oh. But Solve looked easily best in this claiming event. And he was the best with my double investment on board!
The fourth was the "no conditions" allowance that saw a short field of six. My big hesitation was that Javier Castellano was riding. But certainly, CERTAINLY with a Gr 2 winner for Pletcher, off the layoff he'd win, right? And Malagacy was 2-for-2 here before he'd shipped to Arkansas to win the Grade 2 Rebel-all with Castellano on board. I'm not saying he'd have won for sure as the winner was a 26/1 - $54.20 shot, but Castellano got him away a beat slowly, then rated. I was ok with that. Then he moved up three wide, and again I was ok with that. Then he let him drop back to the inside to save ground and he never got going again until in mid-stretch when his class carried him to a second place finish. The eighth was a Maiden Special for three-year-olds and Pletcher's Driven To Compete had not one but FIVE bullet works for his return to the races. It carried a lot of weight to me that he'd been third in his Saratoga debut behind stablemate Always Dreaming who won the Florida Derby AND the Kentucky Derby! Before I left I made a "prime time" bet on him. He drew off by nearly the length of the stretch in an ultra impressive victory!
Friday January 19 - Sunday January 21
I was winless on both days. On Friday Pletcher's returning filly Nonna Bella disappointed with a third place run at 4/5 and on Sunday (only had four picks, three minimum bets, one for a double investment) I THREE TIMES had the lead in deep stretch, only to be caught by a longshot. The other time I ran second behind a Chad Brown filly who had been my BEST on that December Wednesday at odds-on. Today she paid 6/1 odds. Go figure.
Next week.....Pegasus World Cup!
But the "story of the day" came during this time frame when I didn't have a pick in Gulfstream's sixth. I stopped by the Gift Shop where I "know" the guy who runs it. I have stopped in several times and while looking at polo shirts I always ask if he's got lapel pins - for either Gulfstream in general, the Florida Derby, or Pegasus Day. So I stopped by, we chatted as I looked at shirts then I went to the counter and said, "Do you have any Pegasus World Cup pins?" The gal working with him exclaimed, "Oh my, we have only ONE left!" As she said that he pulled it out from under the counter, held it up and said, "I've been saving it JUST for you!" We had a nice chuckle and were chit chatting as he rang me up. Then just as he gave me the receipt he said, "Let me ask you something....do you ever have an occasional drink? And if you do, do you maybe have some hors d'oeuvres like cheese, or crackers?" I said I did. He reached down on to the counter display and picked up a miniature cutting board with the Gulfstream logo emblazoned on it and said, "This is for you then, from me to you!" How nice and generous was that!
The seventh at Tampa was a Maiden Special sprint for three-year-olds. Too bad Todd Pletcher doesn't run here...wait a tic, who's the trainer of #8 Gleason, a first time starter? None other than Mr. Pletcher and he's got NY rider Manny Franco who's in town for the stakes races, to ride. Well duh! Made Gleason my BEST of the Day at Tampa. He pressed the pace to the far turn and cruised to the front easily. As they turned for home Franco looked under in right arm, then his left and gave the mildest of encouragements to the favorite as he galloped home as M-U-C-H the best!
I came right back less than ten minutes later when I correctly named Reckless Ransom as the winner of a first level allowance at the Fair Grounds. He won for the winningest trainer in North America last year, Karl Broberg, and in spite of that paid a generous $9.60! My misses continued at Gulfstream when Noble Drama was fifth at 2/1 in the 9th, a MSW for 3yo (without a Todd Pletcher runner!) But I bounced right back in the second of the Laurel featured stakes events. I had a pick in the Fire Plug at Laurel, the first of the two sprint events, but he scratched. I really liked Miss Locust Point in the What A Summer. She figured to be odds on after winning four of her first five starts, the only miss being in the Grade 2 Forward Gal last winter at Gulfstream. Her back-to-back bullet works said she was ready for today. My plan was to make her a triple investment play, but throughout the early betting she was a prohibitive 1/9. That, and the fact one of the contenders scratched out led me to up the ante. She tracked the leaders to the far turn, took over willingly and was never challenged. MUCH the best.
Certainly didn't get rich on the play, but the added investment netted me almost $30! Missed on two off-site picks, one side-note...in the Tampa miss I had the 5/2 second choice who was tracking the 88/1 front-runner. Went to make my move and nope, that one kept on going and paid a whopping $179.40 for a $2 bet! WOW! As I said to Ed & Tim, "Now it's time to get serious" here at Gulfstream. The Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf was next up in Race 10. I thought Starship Jubilee was a standout. And under "normal" circumstances I probably would have made her a "best bet." But she'd looked much the best on Opening Day as a two-time Grade 2 winner dropping into that event, but she was caught in a photo finish as the favorite. If she ran back to her graded stakes efforts she would prove hard to beat, something like the Claiming Crown effort and she was simply the better horse but not an overwhelming favorite. She tracked a hot pace, made her move on the turn and proved best while holding the rest of the field safe through the run to the wire!
The triple investment returned $30 and all three of us cashed tickets! As I was waiting for the prices to be posted I was watching the 6th from the Fair Grounds on xpressbet.com on my smart phone. This race was an entry level allowance and lightly raced Harlan Strong was the choice. He'd run four of five turf figures in the 80s and that would require a lifetime best from the rest to beat him. He drew clear late, paid a nice $6.20 and I was set to collect another $30 and change! The final bet we stayed to watch live was far and away the "featured attraction" - the Sunshine Millions Sprint featuring multiple graded stakes winner X Y Jet. He'd come back off knee surgery and being off for more than a year in his most recent when he wired the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector. The question was this - was he not fully cranked for that or did that take the punch out of him off the layoff. Because if that was a less than 100% effort, then he'd crush these rivals. If that had been the ultimate effort, then a regression here COULD make him vulnerable. That question was the only thing that kept me from making HIM a prime time play. Right to the front and was well in hand while never being threatened! Obviously brought his "A" game today!
Cashed out for almost $30 again! Once we got home I quickly opened up my computer - ignoring the pizza for dinner laid out! - and went to watch the replay of the Dixie Belle Stakes for three-year-old fillies at Oaklawn. Last summer I played Canterbury Downs in Minnesota quite a bit because I was planning to visit my buddy Jim Anderson there. I read in the Daily Racing Form in mid-December when handicapping for Woodbine Mile Day (Sept 16) that the featured sprint at Canterbury featured Amy's Challenge who had broken her maiden by beating the colts by a dazzling sixteen plus lengths and had earned the best Beyer figure for any two-year-old, colt or filly! And she won that small stakes, again beating the boys. So today while getting ready for the big day of racing I'd checked Oaklawn's page to see what their feature was and there was a headline that Amy's Challenge was taking on another highly regarded filly. Well, I KNOW Amy and made her a prime time bet. The two hooked up at the top of the far turn and raced head up and head down to the sixteenth pole. Then the other filly got her head ever so slightly in front. Not to be denied Amy's Challenged surged....
WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! The generous 7/5 odds and my prime time play means I'll cash for almost $50 when I take the ticket to the window on my next visit to Gulfstream! Amy's Challenge was my eighth win of the day, from 23 selections (38%) and made my fourth stakes winner!
Sunshine Millions Day Highlights
The rest of the week provided little to right home about....
Wednesday January 17
I only had four selections on the Wednesday card as we kicked off Sunshine Millions Week. I sandwiched a third between two fifth place finishes before heading into the 9th race. This was the "West Point Thoroughbred's Race of the Day" and it was a seven furlong sprint for three-year-olds that featured Todd Pletcher's Impact Player. He'd been one of my FIVE wins when I was at Gulfstream on a Wednesday afternoon in December, but that had been in a tight photo finish. STILL, it was more than ten lengths back to the show runner and like on that day, I was drawn to the fact that he had been a best-of-the-rest 2nd to Engage in his Saratoga debut....and that colt came right back to win the Futurity Stakes. My plan was to triple the bet, but EVERYONE and his brother was betting Impact Player. Since I was watching live I decided to up the bet to a $25 WIN bet. MUCH the best!
Thursday January 18
I had contemplated going out to the races on Wednesday, but first when I saw the weather would be a bit chilly on Thursday and second, when I saw Todd Pletcher's Grade 2 winner Malagacy was running in the fifth race Thursday I decided to go for that segment of races. As it turned out I DID win 40% of the picks and DID have a big-time winner with Pletcher, but NOT with Malagacy. I got there in time to see my first pick run 7th at 3/1. Then I picked trainer Scooter Dickey's Solve in the fourth race. Dickey had hit the board with nearly half his runners at the meet (7-for-17) but was yet to win one. Uh oh. But Solve looked easily best in this claiming event. And he was the best with my double investment on board!
The fourth was the "no conditions" allowance that saw a short field of six. My big hesitation was that Javier Castellano was riding. But certainly, CERTAINLY with a Gr 2 winner for Pletcher, off the layoff he'd win, right? And Malagacy was 2-for-2 here before he'd shipped to Arkansas to win the Grade 2 Rebel-all with Castellano on board. I'm not saying he'd have won for sure as the winner was a 26/1 - $54.20 shot, but Castellano got him away a beat slowly, then rated. I was ok with that. Then he moved up three wide, and again I was ok with that. Then he let him drop back to the inside to save ground and he never got going again until in mid-stretch when his class carried him to a second place finish. The eighth was a Maiden Special for three-year-olds and Pletcher's Driven To Compete had not one but FIVE bullet works for his return to the races. It carried a lot of weight to me that he'd been third in his Saratoga debut behind stablemate Always Dreaming who won the Florida Derby AND the Kentucky Derby! Before I left I made a "prime time" bet on him. He drew off by nearly the length of the stretch in an ultra impressive victory!
Friday January 19 - Sunday January 21
I was winless on both days. On Friday Pletcher's returning filly Nonna Bella disappointed with a third place run at 4/5 and on Sunday (only had four picks, three minimum bets, one for a double investment) I THREE TIMES had the lead in deep stretch, only to be caught by a longshot. The other time I ran second behind a Chad Brown filly who had been my BEST on that December Wednesday at odds-on. Today she paid 6/1 odds. Go figure.
Next week.....Pegasus World Cup!
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