Feb. 7 - Day 45

Two More WINNERS To Conclude A Good First Week In Feb.

I was curious about how my selections would pan out today, Super Bowl Sunday after watching the live feed on Friday from Gulfstream when both Gabby Gaudet and Andy Serling remarked about how wide open the races seemed to be with lots of vulnerable favorites.  I'd already handicapped the card and I did NOT think it was any more difficult than a typical day.  In fact I had seven selections from the 13-race card.  I was really wiped out after the weekend, not really sure why.  If I were guessing I'd say it was a combination of having walked over 30 miles on my exercise program last week, followed by a late night on Friday and then a very full day yesterday.  Could not have helped that I did not sleep well Friday night and was up for an hour from 4 am to 5 am this morning working on my Donn Day Video recap.  So, with the Super Bowl and my feeling tired I decided to just make the bets and relax all day; then watch the replays right before kickoff of the game around 6:30 pm.  In the 2nd I thought Twist and Turn would be the favorite, and he was one of the favorites at 5/2.  He was in third early but it was obvious that the top two were running comfortably through the turn and he was struggling to keep up.  Faded to 7th.  In the third I made this observation, "...clearly 4-Texas Tea is not one of the stars of the Todd Pletcher stable.  But the last out 64 BSF at this level, when beaten a neck after dueling all the way around the track - at this one-turn mile as well - makes him "Breeders' Cup-like" against these......"  And he ran to that description.  Pressed the pace well in hand into the turn and then drew off by NINE widening lengths as MUCH the best! 

He was a fair 6/5 price at post time so my double investment returned nearly $25.  In the fourth I thought Vegas Strip would be a strong play IF he ran back to any of his Southern California races; but that was a pretty big question mark.  Still, I thought he was a good enough gamble at a fair price to do that in a wide-open entry-level allowance.  As they hit the far turn he was dead, and I mean DEAD last and I thought, well, there are no guarantees in racing!  But then he hit another gear and ran by the entire field to score going away!  WOW! 

 

And he was a more than fair 7/2 on the board which meant I was cashing for close to $25 on my minimum investment.  The remainder of the picks didn't fire, including my "best" of the day when Chipit stalked the pace and couldn't get by the leaders in the 9th at 2/1, finishing third.  So for the day I won these two races from seven selections and showed a small loss.  But for the week - and since it was the first week of the month - for the month, I had good numbers:

 

Hoping this continues through this second week and on until mid-March when we head to France!

 

Gulfstream Week 9 Highlights