Sunday, July 22, 2007

The Santa Rosa Fair

I broke out of my slump and ended up with 4 winners at The Santa Rosa Fair today. My "horse of the day" was a 15-1 shot named Sylvie in the 11th - Maiden Claimers at 1 1/16 miles on the Santa Rosa turf.

Sylvie had 3 lifetime starts dating back to late May. In her first race she pulled up and was vanned off. She ran last in her next race and something like 3rd in her most recent start with a Beyer Rating in the high 50s. Her rating was the 2nd highest of any horse in the race.

I like Maidens that show any kind of interest in their most recent race. At 10-1 on the morning line I put a few buck on her to win. She was the 3-horse and was 21-1 when I placed my bet. At race time the horse was 15-1.

Sylvie broke well and went to the lead and stayed at or near the lead along the backstretch and into the turn

At the top of the stretch another horse took the lead by a head but she fought back gamely, buoyed by a spontaneous chant of "3, 3, 3, 3. . ." taken up in mid-stretch by some die-hards at the table under the "Santa Rosa TV".

It was pure drama unfolding on the screen, as we saw it from our position in the Pavilion at Santa Anita Park, 500 miles away. Sylvie won it.

Thank you Sylvie for reminding us why we come back.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Panty Raid

Good horse, dumb name. It's a good thing the horse doesn't know how dumb her name sounds.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Pick 6 Mania

I'm just glad that an everyday, $2 bettor was able to nab part of the $10 million Pick 6 Pool at Hollywood Park the other day.

One bettor at Los Alamitos hit Monday's record pick six at Hollywood Park twice with a $2 bet and a $4 wager for a combined payoff of $1,152,128.80.

It just goes to show how much luck is involved in hitting a Pick 6. The article also mentions that a $24 ticket in Victorville also hit the Pick 6 that day.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Lava Man Is Smart

Lava Man is a smart horse. He just knows where the finish line is. His win in the Gold Cup on Saturday was one of the most dramatic I've seen in a long time. Just check out Vic Stauffer, what a great call he gave us. Thank you Vic!

Now, if Lava Man were an east coast horse, would it matter that he couldn't "ship"? Would the racing press still treat him like a glorified side show? He's a great horse, plain and simple.

He doesn't like to fly (or travel) and has been doing his best to communicate that to his connections but they just don't pay attention to him.

I watched the Gold Cup a few times on You Tube and it reminded me of a race, the '88 San Bernadino Handicap, with Alysheba, Ferdinand and Good Taste nearly hitting the wire together. Alysheba was another great horse that just knew where the wire was. And he threw in a clunker once in a while too.

2007 Hollywood Gold Cup


1988 San Bernadino Handicap