A GOOD Start To The Short Week
With the holiday racing on Monday we are only racing this week Thursday through Sunday. Today I originally had six selections, but my top choice in the finale scratched out of the race. So the week began in the Thursday opener where I liked Anfield Park with Javier Casellano. Sent off as the 6/5 favorite he was a non-threatening third. In the third I had my one and only added money investment. We were going 7 1/2 furlongs on the turf in a non-winners-of-two lifetime event. My top pick was Stately Defence who I figured would NOT be the favorite. That looked to be Big N Toasty who was 2/1 in the program, but his 12/1-6-1 record on the grass was a big turn-off to me. Stately Defence had just missed going wire to wire against $20K "beaten" company (which means there WERE multiple winners in the field) and now would drop back to the nw2L condition from two back where he was a rallying third against $20K runners, like these. I thought with Javier Castellano on board he'd be able to look at the Form and see his best shot was to stalk and run late, which is exactly what he did. Blew by turning for home and cruised home! And the best part was the price......
That's right, a nice 2/1 - $6.20 payoff generating a return on investment of $31.00! I am guaranteed to win today. In the fifth I was the 6/5 favorite with Southern Stroll - second. In the 7th we were on the turf again, open claiming going 7 1/2 furlongs. My top pick was Tiz Sardonic Joe. He won the Grade 2 Ft. Lauderdale here in 2013, but has lost a few steps over the years and now finds himself with the blue-collar runners. Still he was last seen in allowance company at Tampa and anything close to his "A" game would put him the easiest kind of winner. Indeed it was today as he bounded from the gate, right to the front and never looked back winning EASILY! He paid $6.00 again and I was sorry I had not invested more. In the 9th I had two runners I analyzed. I went with Aquinnah who was 6/1 in the program and was a 4x winner of turf sprints. But I mentioned that 15/1 Freewest was dropping in class, like my pick, but routinely sets :21 and change / :44 and change fractions and that would put him on the lead...dangerous if let loose up front. Aquinnah tracked Freewest into the stretch, but was no match for that one who paid $36.....wow, should have bet that one!
But the best news was the email I received later in the day (see top of this entry) where Gulfstream Park informed me that we were second in the Gulfstream "Fan Photo" contest. The free seats and programs were nice, but best of all is the book. This book was published last year in celebration of Gulfstream's 75th anniversary and is a history of the track filled with photos. I wanted to buy it last winter but it was way too much - $75. I put it on both my Christmas and Birthday wish lists, but told everyone it was an expensive gift for something I'd only look at occasionally. Still, when this Championship Season opened in December I went to the gift shop to see if the book was there (it was) and to see if it was on sale (it was NOT!). So now my patience is rewarded!
No comments:
Post a Comment