It's All On The Rider
After having so much bad luck yesterday I felt pretty certain that while I might not have a super day of handicapping, I would at least not be victimized by bad racing luck. Yet, there are so MANY ways that the racing gods can frown on your chances! And the early part of the day brought more of the same as yesterday - convinced I had the right horse, but lost due to circumstances beyond my control. Today it was the jockey issue. And before I begin, let me first say that (a) it is rare that I blame the rider, it has to be oh-so-obvious that he made a poor judgement call; and (b) it was through GREAT race riding that my BET of the Day won this afternoon. So, in the end, I'm ok with the way the day and the week finished up. In the opener I had Buckskin Doll who was going for Todd Pletcher. Pletcher has top notch horse stock so it is very rare to see him with a runner in for a tag, but ironically he does quite well with his horses in for a tag. This 2-lifetime sprint had his horse going off as the 6/5 favorite. Most Pletcher runners are up on the pace, or at worst stalking a few lengths off the lead. But Buckskin was well back at the rear. Late running - never a good thing at GP, got up for second but no threat to the top one. Should have been closer to the pace, but I wasn't upset at THIS rider. In the third a claiming event going a one-turn mile Starship Lisa was a standout on paper. The one thing that concerned me was the apprentice rider. But he'd won two in a row with her AND had multiple wins at the tough GP winter meet through just six days. He moved from the outside to the rail down the backside smartly to save ground then swung out on the turn and blew by the field to open up by daylight into the stretch. I had just a twitch that the move was early but she was long gone and I started to write my comments on my sheet when I heard track announcer Larry Colmus raise his voice about a closer coming. Up in the final strides. I KNEW he moved too soon :( But the worst two rides were yet to come. In the fourth it was an entry level allowance on the turf and trainer Christophe Clement had Joe Bravo on Tennesse Whiskey. The horse was 2nd off the layoff a big 45% angle for Clement and I've seen many a horse from this barn, especially on the turf score with Joe Bravo up. Last winter was an exception as Bravo could not find the winner's circle, EVER until the big barns left here. He ended up having a good summer and fall, but here - stunk it up! So based on the way he finished the year I was ok with him on board. Well, he put Tennessee Whiskey in between horses from the very beginning. And was near the back. Instead of shifting outside for clear run he made a middle move in between horses. I was apprehensive. On the turn it looked like this was a sharp move because he had clear daylight through the pack and only had the top four to get by. But instead of swinging clear for daylight he began looking for a seam. First once, then twice he checked and steadied, the last time he nearly stood up in the irons and jerked the poor horses head nearly 90 degrees to the right. Seventh after all that. WOW. In the fifth and sixth races my top pick won.....just like my top pick in the second. But I didn't bet any of them. Wow squared. In the 7th I liked Fabulous Devotion on the grass, Castor on the main track. We went to the movies to see "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2" so when we got home I checked to see if this was on the grass or moved to the dirt. On the grass. Stuck with the first pick. Under Javier Castellano he was rallying in mid-stretch when he too was cut off, checked and steadied. Finished fourth. Wow. FINALLY in the eighth I got a superlative ride, and it was from Castellano. Fortunately for me, as I mentioned at the top, it was on my BET of the Day. Lucky Kitten was the 2/1 program favorite and with good reason in this $16K turf route. He'd won at the $25K level at Saratoga for Michael Maker and owners Ken & Sarah Ramsey. The second place horse was a former stakes winner. Kitten was then moved up to a $50K spot at Churchill and dueled on the lead before giving way. Today he had the rail and Castellano, who owns Gulfstream. Right to the front and he was running at a controlled pace as they approached the far turn. But here's where he showed why he is the king here. As three pressers came to Lucky Kitten most jockeys would have pushed the button mid-turn to try and win the race, and that would have opened the door for a closer to catch him in mid stretch. But Castellano refused to move a muscle. Two were on his hip and one came up and actually put a head in front as they began the run through the stretch. But Castellano KNEW he was saving all the ground and all the challengers were going to LOSE ground into the stretch. NOW he pushed the button and Lucky Kitten quickly re-gained the lead and then ran away as MUCH the best!
I had a prime-time investment on this one and cashed for nearly $45! WHOOO HOOOO. The day ended with my pick in the 9th, Ready Dancer (6/5 favorite) stopping to be tenth under the wire. So I only won with a single runner today, but it was my BEST. And my totals for the first week, dating back to Opening Weekend were 15 WINS from 39 selections for nearly 40%. I'll gladly take that here at Gulfstream.
Week One Recap / December 5 -13
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