Thursday December 11
The BEST DAY Yet!
Indeed, today was the best day of the young meeting. And this is the kind of day that makes Gulfstream (like Saratoga and Del Mar) so unique and special to a thoroughbred racing fan......it's "just" a Thursday afternoon and on this routine ten race card I have six selections and feel very good about them. And not only was the racing day excellent, but the day was topped off when Kim and I went to the Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant downtown, and THAT was a great evening! So, let's get to the racing stories........In the opener, where I didn't have a bet, my third choice wired the field at odds on. Race 2 was my first bet of the day. It was a Maiden Special going two turns on the turf for two-year-old fillies. There were several gals that figured based on form, but the one that attracted my attention was Get Down Kitten. For anyone that's followed my racing adventures, or thoroughbred racing in general, you can imagine that with a filly named "Kitten" on the turf, it has to be a Ken & Sarah Ramsey home-bred. And indeed she was. She was trained by Michael Maker.....that has to get your attention! Maker is 21% with first-time starters and even better 23% with first-time turf. Edgar Prado moved to South Florida last summer and has revived his career. He's winning at a 40% rate for Maker. She took some money, but was NOT the favorite. As the field moved up the backstretch Prado saved ground on the rail in fourth. He found a seam as the field turned for home, and seemed to have the path to the wire. But the favorite and another contender would have none of that and the three of them dueled from the furlong pole to the wire in a thrilling stretch run. It was officially called a photo and the HRTV analysts said it was very tight, but I didn't have any doubts.......
At post time Get Down Kitten had been 3/1, so she paid a generous $8.40 and I was cashing for over $20! HORRAY! In the third it was a bottom-level $6,250 claiming sprint for non-winners of three lifetime. You'd figure - and be right at most race tracks - that this would be a scramble of bad horses with poor form. But instead, this race contained probably the most likely winner on the card. Crown Distinction just laid over this field on numbers. As I said in my analysis, "....if you believe in Beyer numbers, and I do....." His last two figures (80, 79) were far and away better than any of the 219 numbers earned by the field combined in the field. The only reason I did not make him a "Prime Time" investment was that two back he beat $25K 2-lifetime and then last time was a good third against $12.5K 3-lifetime. Why the big drop by almost 50% in price? Was something wrong? But I doubled the bet since top rider Luis Saez accepted the mount and he was winning 20% for over $3 ROI for the barn. Sure enough, Crown Distinction ran to his numbers and aired. He stalked the pace to the turn, moved confidently three-wide without ever being asked, then opened up willingly as Saez never moved a muscle.
TONS the best. The $2.80 payoff was fair and I was collecting on another winner for about $15. Two wins in a row! In the fourth it was a scramble of a maiden claimer and my top choice was Relativity Factor who was 12/1 in the program. He was going turf to dirt after showing speed and had a sharp bullet work for Marcus Vitali. Throughout the fall he'd had great success with jockey Orlando Bocachica and they were teamed up again. The price was an even better 15/1 at post time and after dueling to mid-stretch he edged clear to score, paying an amazing $33.60! The only thing better would be to tell you that I was cashing on my third straight win of the day, but I had passed the race.....sigh. The best story of the day came in the fifth race, which was my "BEST" of the day. This was another maiden claimer for two-year-olds. The price tag was a mid-level $25K and there were a couple with legitimate chances, not outstanding, but worth consideration. But what jumped off the page to me was the fact that Get Creative was debuting for Kirk Ziadie. Over the last two winters this guy has won with an amazing 45% of his debut sprinters, good enough to get membership into te Gulfstream Park 40% Club. In addition, jockey Edgar Zayas has won an amazing 44% of his more than 150 mounts for the barn. As I watched "The Player" on HRTV, Jeff Siegle talked about his first "day-maker" selection nationally. He then explained that it was the fifth at Gulfstream on a first-time starter for Kirk Ziadie! Oh my! As the horses paraded to the post he was hovering around 2/1 as apparently a lot of handicappers had the same info I did. Get Creative broke a step slowly, but by the time the teletimer had been stopped for the opening quarter his head was in front. He dueled through the turn, but when heads turned for home Zayas let out a notch and Get Creative left the field farther and farther in the dust as he galloped home by over EIGHT widening lengths! WHOOOO HOOOOO!
The tote board flashed at 5/2 as he moved into the winner's circle. And the final price was a really nice $7.60 meaning I would be cashing for nearly $60. In the sixth my top pick went wire-to-wire on the turf for my fifth straight win, but like the 4th I didn't bet. The day finished with my pick in the 7th fading badly after being second at 5/2 on the turn - sixth; and another Maker runner trailing until a belated run at 6/1 got him fifth in the ninth race. So for the day I was a sharp 3-for-5 and made a profit of over $40! Tomorrow's card is not quite as good, but Saturday brings the first and only graded stakes race of the month and will be supported by three other strong listed stakes races. It is also Louisiana Champions Day at the Fair Grounds! BIG DAY at the races this weekend!
Check out Get Creative's big win here:
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