Sunday in Kentucky

The 27th Breeder's Cup World Championships were the most visually satisfying in recent memory.  With all kinds of so-called upsets, it was truly heartpounding excitiement to watch.  It also showed that there was parity among the contestants.  The most excting race was the spectacular victory by Goldikova.  What a gifted horse.  The most heartbreaking race was Zenyatta's loss by a nose in the Breeder's Cup Classic.  Though she lost, she is still very much deserving of horse of the year.

Today we enter into the home stretch of our Horse Racing Weekend looking at two fine races back at the scene of the spectacular Breeder's Cup races, Churchill Downs.

Churchill Downs Race 5 {1 mile~Turf~2 year old~Allowance}
Twelve youngsters will go to the gate for this race.  Only one has run over the Churchill ground.  The rest are coming in with experience at great tracks like Keeneland, Saratoga, Arlington Park, Turfway, Presque Isle Downs, and Hoosier.  A great group ready to take on the Turf course on a beautiful fall day.  Lil Bit O'Fun (Gomez / Proctor) is primed and ready to go to the winners circle with the second highest speed number at the distance, a decent last out speed number, and three stout, peaking workouts.  Perragaux (Albarado / Howard) will challenge with the second highest last out speed number coming off a longer route, a two race progression, and three splendid workouts.  Also in the hunt for the victory will be Silver Medallion (Bridgmohan / Brown) with a decent last out speed number at a longer route, a two race progression, and two robust workouts.  Nina Fever (M. Pedroza / Ward) looks ready to challenge with the highest last out speed number and one strong workout.  Let's play the first of our Churchill Downs races today.

$2 SHOW:  #7 Lil Bit O'Fun.
$2 SHOW:  #10 Perregaux.
10 CENT Superfecta:  #7 Lil Bit O'Fun, #10 Perregaux / #7, #10 / #3 Silver Medallion, #4 Nina Fever / #3, #4.

Churchill Downs Race 10 {Cardinal Handicap~G3~1 1/8 mile~Turf~3 year old Up~fillies/mares~Stakes}
A very nice field of seven ladies.  Princess Haya (Desormeaux / O'Callaghan) has a small edge with the fourth highest last out speed number at a longer route, the highest speed number at the distance, and three terrific workouts.  Askbut I Won't Tell (Bridgmohan / Block) will challenge with the second highest speed number at the distance over a synthetic surface, a decent last out speed number, and two hardy workouts.  Paracaidas (Gomez / Pletcher) will be moving up in distance with the second highest last out speed number, a two race progression, and two nice workouts.  Kiss Mine (Albarado / Vance) figures in the mix with the highest last out speed number which was the third race in a row she ran the same speed number.  She also has put in two solid workouts.  My Baby Baby (Leparoux / McPeek) will be striding for a piece of this purse with the third highest last out speed number, a two race progression, and one great workout.  Let's play our final race of the horse racing weekend at historic Churchill Downs.

$2 SHOW:  #4 Princess Haya.
$2 SHOW:  #3 Askbut I Won't Tell.
10 CENT Superfecta:  #4 Princess Haya / #3 Askbut I Won't Tell / #6 Paracaidas / #5 Kiss Mine, #7 My Baby Baby.


















Saturday's Results
Churchill Downs R4.  BC Juvenile Turf.  Our first pick, Humble and Hungry, finished 8th.  Our second pick, Banned, finished 5th.  Superfecta went 13-9-7-10.
Churchill Downs R8.  BC Mile.  Our first pick, Goldikova [IRE], won (1st) for win money of $4.60.  Our second pick, Gio Ponti, finished 2nd for show money of $3.20.  Our third pick, Court Vision, finished 5th.  Superfecta went 10-3-7-6.
Churchill Downs R10. BC Turf.  Our first pick, Behkabad [FR], finished 3rd for show money of $2.40.  Our second pick, Winchester, finished 4th.  We scuttled the 10 CENT Superfecta play with the scratch of Workforce.  Nonetheless, the superfecta went 8-1-7-2.
Bankroll loses a dime to $19.50.

Keeneland, Oaklawn Park and Zenyatta; Great Day for Racing

Today we look at a great Turf race at Keeneland and the sensational Zenyatta at Oaklawn Park.

Keeneland Race 9 {Makers Mark~G1~1 mile~Turf~4 year old Up}
A great cast lines up for this race.  Court Vision (Albarado / R. Dutrow) looks much the best.  He has the highest speed number overall, the second best last out speed number, and four fierce, peaking workouts.  Cherokee Artist (Rose / Motion) has the highest last out speed number and three strong workouts.  He could be considered a mile specialist as he has traversed it frequently over synthetic and turf.  Society's Chairman (Lezcano / Attfield) is ready to surprise with a triple digit speed number last out, a three race progression, and two solid peaking workouts.  The balance of the field is well spotted and well prepared for this race.  Any of these guys can certainly run well enough for a minor piece of the purse.  Let's have a turf-riffic day at Keeneland.

$2 WIN:  #6 Court Vision
$2 SHOW:  #3 Cherokee Artist
10 CENT Superfecta:  #6 Court Vision / #3 Cherokee / #2 Society's Chairman / #7, #4, #5, #1, #8.

Oaklawn Race 10 {Apple Blossom~G1~1 1/8 mile~4 year old Up~fillies/mares}
Zenyatta.  Say it again, Zenyatta !!  She should have no problem putting away this very small field.  Zenyatta (Smith / Shirreffs) dominates with the highest speed number overall, on the dirt surface, at the distance, and at Oaklawn Park--all triple digits.  None of the other fillies in here have a triple digit number to their credit.  Still undefeated, Zenyatta will remain so after this race.  The others will be battling for second place.  Any of them could find themselves the other half of the exacta.  War Echo (Bridgmohan / Asmussen) looks quite capable with the second highest speed number at the distance and four sturdy, peaking workouts.  Just Jenda (Thompson / C. Jones) has not yet gone this distance, but has the second best last out speed number and three tremendous workouts.  Be Fair (Borel / Lukas) will be the speed in this race.  Having gone this distance before she has a decent last out speed number and four hearty, peaking workouts.  She will need to hold on to get a piece of the purse.  We will have fun with this race and place a 50 cent Trifecta.  Let's see the impressive Zenyatta win again at Oaklawn Park.

$2 WIN:  #4 Zenyatta
$2 SHOW:  #3 War Echo
50 CENT Trifecta:  #4 Zenyatta / #3 War Echo / #5 Just Jenda, #1 Be Fair.
















Thursday's Results
Keeneland R7.  Our first pick, Grassy, finished 2nd for $3.20 in show money.  Our second pick, Nicanor, finished 5th.  Superfecta went 2-8-3-10.
Keeneland R8.  Our first pick, Starlarks (IRE), finished 5th.  Our second pick, Witty, finished 4th.  Superfecta went 4-2-6-5.
Bankroll drops to $16.70.

Another Day, Another Churchill Race

On this beautiful Sunday in November, we look at another stakes race at Churchill Downs.

Churchill Race 9 {Commonwealth Turf Stakes~G3~1 1/16 mile~3 year old}
This should be a delightful race over the grass. A strong ten horse field will go into the gate. Get Stormy (Castellano / Bush) appears to be the favorite as he as raced terrifically lately, but will be vying for his fourth win in a row. Major Marvel (Desormeaux / Capuano) will show speed, but will be faced with other speedsters in this race including Florentino(JPN) (Mena / McGlaughlin) and Spectacular Kid (Goncalves / Leahy). Is it possible that a speed duel develops and Get Stormy sits on the front end? With all the speed in the race we will place our show money on Street Move (Bravo / McGlaughlin). Street Move is in the money 3 for 3 at this distance and is 4 for 4 over the turf. It also helps that Street Cry is his daddy which makes him a very respectable deep closer. Think Street Sense or Zenyatta. Two other interesting closer types are Proceed Bee (Emigh / Becker) and Pop Tarrt (Gonzales / Deegan). Proceed Bee is a consistant type who is 71% in the money. Pop Taart has got some solid speed numbers, but is coming off a race on November 6th. Let's make our Commonwealth play.

$2 SHOW: #4 Street Move
10 CENT Superfecta: #4 Street Move / #10 Proceed Bee / #2 Pop Taart / #1 Get Stormy

Saturday's Results
Churchill R9. Not the kind of result we were looking for from the fillies. Hot Cha Cha finished 4th and Striking Dancer finished 6th. No show money for us. Superfecta went 5-11-9-7.
Bankroll has now gone to $10.70. A good Sunday would be nice.

Breeder's Cup, Day 2

Another fine day at Santa Anita for the Breeder's Cup World Championships. Yesterday's races were fun and exciting to watch. Today will be even better. Let's roll out our show money plays making the case for our selections. Additionally we will play a 10 Cent Superfecta in each race.

Breeder's Cup at Santa Anita

Race 2 Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf~G3~1 mile~Turf
The Todd Pletcher trained, Interactif (Desormeaux / Pletcher) looks the best in here. With a solid speed number in his last out, a 1 1/16 mile turf route, this son of Broken Vow will sit and pounce near the wire for the win. It will give Kent Desormeaux his first win of the BC Competition. He road a couple of horses yesterday bringing them to the wire in positions beyond expectations. Here's the play.

$2 SHOW: #10 Interactif
10 Cent Superfecta: #10 Interactif / #5 Gallant Gent / #9 Becky's Kitten / #3 Codoy

Race 3 Breeder's Cup Turf Sprint~6 1/2 furlongs~Hillside Turf
This is a full field for what will be an amazing sprint home. There is parity in this race and any one of these sprinters can win. Our show money play will be Cannonball (Dominguez / Ward), though there are so many to like in this race. Cannonball has trained like a monster leading up to this race. He should be there in what appears will be a photo as a wall of horses hit the wire together. Let's make our play.

$2 SHOW: #6 Cannonball
10 CENT Superfecta: #7 Gotta Have Her / #5 Get Funky / #6 Cannonball / #3 California Flag

Race 4 Sentient Jet Breeder's Cup Sprint~G1~6 furlongs~All weather track
Looks like a reasonably sized field for a sprint on an all weather track. Any one of these can win it. We will go with Fatal Bullet (Da Silva / Baker) who is in the money eleven for eleven times on the synthetic surface. Also has the highest speed number at the distance, among this great group of racers. Let's make a nice play.

$2 SHOW: #3 Fatal Bullet
10 CENT Superfecta: #3 Fatal Bullet / #5 Gayego / #1 Zensational / #9 Fleeting Spirit(IRE).

Race 5 Grey Goose Breeder's Cup Juvenile~G1~1 1/16 mile~All weather track
The Euros in this event will have a tall task in front of them if they wish to be in the money. We are Lookin at Lucky (Gomez / Baffert) for our choice. This horse is clearly the one to beat. He has trained forwardly for this event and has the speed number for the distance. Trainer, Bob Baffert, has this colt ready. Let's play.

$2 SHOW: #13 Lookin at Lucky
10 CENT Superfecta: #13 Lookin at Lucky / #6 Pulsion / #2 Piscitelli / #11 Radiohead

Race 6 TVG Breeder's Cup Mile~G1~1 mile~Turf
This is a race where the Euros have a awfully good chance to sweep it. We will select the Irish bred, Ferneley(IRE) (Bejerano / Cecil), as our show money selection. This horse has trained beautifully and smoothly for this race. Trainer Ben Cecil has peaked him perfectly for this race. Here's the play.

$2 SHOW: #7 Ferneley
10 CENT Superfecta: #11 Goldikova(IRE) / #2 Whatsthescript(IRE) / #7 Ferneley(IRE) / #9 Gladiatorus

Race 7 Breeder's Cup Dirt Mile~1 mile~All weather track
The race should be named the AWT mile for this year. Next year when the Breeder's Cup returns to Churchill Downs it get its old name back. The competitors in this race are top notch. We are looking at a big surprise. The fifth place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, Chocolate Candy (Rosario / Hollendorfer), has as good a chance as any in here to bring home the Cup. He is coming off a 1 1/16 mile route and has worked nicely leading up to this. Could be the upset of the competition. Let's have fun with this one.

$2 SHOW: #9 Chocolate Candy
10 CENT Superfecta: #9 Chocolate Candy / #1 Mastercraftsman / #5 Neko Bay / #2 Furthest Land

Race 8 Emirates Airlines Breeder's Cup Turf~G1~1 1/2 mile~Turf
This is another race where the Euros could dominate. We like the horse with the highest speed number at the distance, Conduit(IRE) (Moore / Stoute). He is also in the money four for four times at the distance. A terrific competitor is he. Let's make our play.

$2 SHOW: #2 Conduit
10 CENT Superfecta: #6 Precious Passion / #2 Conduit(IRE) / #7 Spanish Moon / #5 Dar Re Mi(GB)

Race 9 Breeder's Cup Classic
The finale of what promises to be one of the best Breeder's Cup in this decade. We are thinking with our heart on this one and believe that Zenyatta (Smith / Shirreffs) will finish in the money to cap off a great career. The "wise guys" do not believe in her. We do. Although a deep closer in a very large field, she has the mettle to bring it home to the wire. Trainer, John Shirreffs, has her ready. Jockey, Mike Smith, will guide her to a perfect trip. Let's make our final play.

$2 SHOW: #4 Zenyatta
10 CENT Superfecta: #7 Gio Ponti / #8 Einstein / #4 Zenyatta / #5 Twice Over

Mixed Results on Breeder's Cup Friday at Santa Anita
Race 3. Muhannak finished 5th.
Race 4. Lisa's Kitten finished 10th.
Race 5. Blind Luck finished 3rd for $3.00 in show money.
Race 6. Pure Clan finished 2nd for $4.00 in show money.
Race 7. Ventura finished 2nd for $2.20 in show money.
Race 8. Lethal Heat finished 7th.
We should have a better day today. Bankroll stands at $18.70.