TGJB--
Nice job by Thorograph with this one in last Saturday\'s 8th at Arlington on the grass.
Easy to read line on an improving 4yo turf horse with a last race that was better than it looked (in the DRF) indicator. Just beaten a head at 18-1 by FORT PRADO who was 2-5. That\'s OK....I\'ll take the $9.80 in the middle.
Good Luck,
Joe B.
Agree it was a huge race by Majestic Zeal. I\'m glad to see its not a walkover for the ultra chalk and maybe next time the finish gets reversed.
Also, in a positive vein, if you are a TG user and exacta player, The New York Handicap was all there for you. Noble Stella and Angara were clearly fastest off my reading of the TGs and combined for a $46 exacta.
Quite unfortunately I am not an exacta player, and probably even more unfortunately, I liked Angara a bit even before looking at the TGs. Win, double, P3 key, P4 key. The answers to your questions are yes, yes and yes.
TG stats revealed that Fernando Jara had ridden 3 winners in 180 races over the turf. The DRF chart of the New York Handicap says that Angara was \"rated along the outside, put in a 3 wide run on the second turn, and finished gamely outside\".
The time for this Grade II was a glacial 2:08.1, the mile in 1:43.1. I would be interested to know how a figure maker would evaluate the condition of Saturday\'s course (obviously the only turf race of the day). And how to evaluate whether Angara may have been running on ground better than runners inside of her. The old
\"what if the lost ground is the best ground?\" quandry.
Assuming a sound exit, I would like to see William I Mott place this 5 year old daughter of Alzao back in against Gr I company. I think she is capable of challenging the best older turf mares in NA (none of whom can challenge Ouija Board it would seem) (might be a moot point, OB looks like she might be pointed to run v males on BC day).
I wouldn\'t even mind if Mott rode young Jara back. It would help the price, and the mare actually ran very well for Jara, even though she may have run an extra 1/16th of a mile or so.
Michael D was supporting Noble Stella through some bad trips this Spring. I hope he capitalized on Saturday.
Class speed going long on soft turf at Belmont comes after death and taxes.
Nice call on ANGARA. She ran her eyeballs out.
Good Luck,
Joe B.
JJP Wrote:
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> Agree it was a huge race by Majestic Zeal. I\'m
> glad to see its not a walkover for the ultra chalk
> and maybe next time the finish gets reversed.
The winner was spotting the runner-up 10 pounds...
hi Richie,
i didn\'t bet the race, and didn\'t see the numbers. i might have gone with asi siempre. how did she look on TG?
it\'s interesting that they ran 1m in 1:43 and change, then sprinted the final quarter in 24 1/2 seconds. adjust for the boggy ground, and this was essentially a two furlong horse race.
i would have been upset if i bet angara. i think she was best under the circumstances. as for her chances going forward, it\'s a very competitive f&m turf group this year. martin schwartz has four very good ones, frankel still has melhor ready to explode, film maker is a great mare, and honey ryder always seems to come flying up the rail with velazquez up.
ouija board was awful impressive on wednesday, but i\'m not so sure she towers above this group at the BC distance of 10f (especially running around the tight 7f oval at CD).
Asi Siempre returned as a 4YO for new trainer Biancone and produced her two best lifetime efforts based on TG. She still has not run as fast as the first 2 finishers in the race, nor has Argentina, who was probably over bet on basis of Frankel (had already won 2 on the card) and Prado.
I couldn\'t figure out why Prado wasn\'t riding Mott\'s Wend at Colonial. After watching her not fire at Colonial, it was easier to understand.
Michael, I would be surprised if Ouija didn\'t go against males in the BC in what would likely be her last career race. She has a narrow defeat to last year\'s BC champ Shirocco and a win over males so far this year if I am not mistaken
Thoro pattern Pet Peeve: Looking at the T- patterns for the New York Handicap, I noticed the following, from the rail out: Angara (35% likely to pair), Charmsil (scratch) (53%), Smart and Classy (49%), Omeya (43%), Asi Siempre (55%), Dynamite Lass (53%), Noble Stella (43%), Argentina (51%). I wish I possessed the statistical or mathematical background to be able to express why a sample such as this is bothersome in light of what I think I know about racing. I sometimes have called this phenomenom the \"Pair Treadmill\".
Interesting that Noble Stella produced her lifetime best TG (2.3) off a 7 day spacing (Woodbine 9/25/05).
The Horse cost me a $4K P4...What a boat race 6F @ 1:18+ I Nailed the opener with a 9-1 shot and had 2nd 3rd and 4th place finisher all who just Sat and waited. Sometime you want to pop one of those jocks in the head and ask what were you thinking!!!
NC Tony