Thoughts various and diverting
BC MILE/KELSO
It seems as if the winner of the Kelso, Funfair, and the second place finisher, Artie Schiller, are both headed to the BC Mile to challenge Leroids, some Euros, last years winner, Singletary and others.
Jimmy Jerkens has to be unhappy not so much with ASs placing last Sunday, but with the amount of effort AS put forth. He stalked a hot pace set by Keep the Faith, battled to put that one away inside the 1/16th only to see Funfair shoot through on the rail much as he did at the Spa in the restricted Troy Stakes.
Funfair is trained by Graham Motion, who proved last year he can prepare runners for the BC events. Without knowing the TG # he was assigned for the Kelso it would appear that Funfair is a length or two or three slower than his main rivals.
Question for TG users: Usually one might say it is unlikely to expect much \"development\" from a 6 year old, but what about a 6 year old who will be making lifetime start number 17?
BC PREVIEW/REVIEW
1) Of the 5 Graded Stakes, 2 were won by the longest price horse on the board. Before the Flower Bowl, I had posted that I made the race to be wide open with 8 of 9 having a chance at victory. I can now disclose that the horse that I gave no shot of winning was... Drysdale\'s entrant. This does nothing to explain why I went into the race alive with Pick 3s Shakespeare/ Borrego/ 7 of the 8 Flower Bowl runners.
I stopped betting Riskaverse a few months ago. Before I used to bet Riskaverse, I used to bet her mom, The Bink. Before I used to bet The Bink, I used to bet The Bink\'s mom (I think her name was Toll Fee). OUCH.
2) The announced attendance on T- Shirt giveaway day (BC Preview Day) was something like 15,500. By the 3rd race, when all the spinners/ glommers were gone, I realized there were probably 7000- 8000 people there. There were no lines at the mutuel windows, as apparently NYRA had hired some part time clerks, at least one of whom was doing their best to pad the mutuel handle.
The weather last Saturday was PERFECT. The racing was EXCELLENT. If all there is to racing is 8000 fans on a day like last Saturday, racing either needs to begin offering rebates to live racing fans OR just give up on the live fan and concentrate on the new generation of folks wagering online, just the way the major brokerage houses have grown to accommodate day trading.
It has been said that a bad day on the golf course is better than a good day anywhere else. To me a bad day at the races (live) is better than a good day anywhere else.
And this coming from a man who spent nearly $400 for 2 \"free\" T shirts.
There are 2 schools of thought on ARTIE\'s performance.
Your thought and the thought this was exactly the type of effort he needed. Horses, especially older and classier, tend not to bounce off of tough efforts. ARTIE had not raced since July 30th if I\'m not mistaken.
I\'m not a fan of those trainers that baby their horse on the grass first time off the layoff. To win the BC Mile you have to have a sharp prep race. FUNFAIR obviously benefited from the overly hot pace, his ground saving trip, ARTIE\'s condition level, and the 8 lbs he was getting from the runner-up.
That being said, although AS seems to love Belmont\'s turf turns, he seems to be a notch below the GR 1 level. Time will tell.
Good Luck,
Joe B.