Arguments Against Abolishing Thoroughbred Racing-- With Apologies to Jonathan Swift

[richiebee]

There are some great betting opportunities on Friday\'s BC card, I am certain, and
best of luck to all those jumping into what I call (facetiously) the new improved
and expanded BC.

I might play the BC Ladies or whatever they are calling it as an appetizer, a
whistle wetter if you will, as it is part of a newly conceived Daily Double
hooked up with the BC Classic. The temptation to play a double which will feature
(potentially) 2 overbet favorites -- Careless Jewel and Zenyatta -- is too
tempting for me to resist.

Some thoughts on Saturday\'s races, without inadvertantly disclosing too much
proprietary TG information:

JUVENILE TURF -- Interactif fastest, but this race was absolutely dominated by
Euros last year.

TURF SPRINT-- The Downhill Turf Course at SA seems to be a horse for course type
of layout. Fascinating that this race features 3 NY Bred slow rats, 2 of whom
would seem to have a decent chance in this race were it not for their lack of
experience on the course.

Lets take a closer look at one of those NYBs, Silver Timber. ST was claimed in
April of 09 from high priestess earth mother of turf sprinters Linda Rice after
going winless in 08. ST experienced quite a \"turnaround\" after the claim as a
6YO, winning two G3 turf sprints. Lets just say that if it had been Scott Lake
and not Chad Brown who claimed ST, the TG board performance enhancement police
would certainly be on the case. Add to the \"turnaround\" if you will the fact that
said trainer Brown apprenticed under Bobby Frankel and there certainly would be
some sightings of the white Daimler Benz vehicle near the Brown barn.

I\'ve had my fun. One caveat in this race -- Diamondrella\'s 2 best performances
came on turf courses labeled other than \"firm\".

SPRINT-- Gayego and Captain Candyman Can coming into the race in top form and
both would seem to need fast fractions. Gayego has a great pedigree-- his father
Gilded Time was a BC juvie winner and his dam sire, Lost Code, was just an
awesome runner at the 6 furlong distance.

More later...

[richiebee]

...later came around pretty quickly...

BC JUVENILE: As has been mentioned by almost everyone except Silver Charm (head
honcho of the Baffie fan club), Lookin at Lucky was a vulnerable fave even before
drawing the outside post. The colt I have liked in here since pre entries were
taken is Pletcher\'s Eskendereya, who has put up some eye catching Belmont
training track works after his victory in the 5 horse off the turf Pilgrim Stakes
(actually his last 2 works seem to have been in company with Aikenite, his
uncoupled stablemate in this race). Aikenite has the advantage of a synthetic
race at Kee, but I like Eskendereya\'s extra week of rest and the fact that he
should be a more generous price. Eskie\'s sire, Giants Causeway, has had good
sucess as a synth sire.

Last night I ran into a fellow who follows European racing quite closely. I asked
him to give me one Euro who could make a splash at a price in the BC. He replied
that he fancied the Euro 2YO Radiohead.

Radiohead drew an outside post and comes in with two 5 furlong turf victories. To
disclose a little bit of TG proprietary, JB points out that Radiohead \"isn\'t as
fast as these at this point\", and his TG Eurofigs bear this out. What makes
Radiohead interesting to me however (besides my friend\'s minor \"push\" on him), is
the Racing Post Rating carried in the DRF: In Radiohead\'s narrow defeat in the 6f
G1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket, he was given a 117 Racing Post Rating. Of the
9 Euro 2YOs running in Saturday\'s 2 Juvie races, only Aidan O\'s Beethoven has a
higher RPR # (118). Radiohead was sired by BC Juvie winner Johannesburg.

Fun Fact relating to D\'Funnybone: By either DRF or TG statistical reckoning,
runners saddled by T.Ricky Dutrow have not performed well on the synthetic, Babe.

BC TURF MILE-- The more I look, the more pace I see here-- Cowboy Cal, Karelian,
Courageous Cat, Gladiatorus. 3 logical runners-- Goldikova, Zacinto and
Justenuffhumor benefit from this hot pace. But what fun are logical runners?
I will be stabbing with Fernely, a miler who has gotten quite good late in his 5YO
campaign and has worked very sharply during the month of October.

Medication Note-- Goldikova won this race last year w/out Lasix, but will race w/
Lasix this year.

[Silver Charm]

Ritchie I\'m \"Lookin For Lucky\" to pop a 3 point New Top on Sat.

From the 13 hole and at about 5/2 where does that put him?

Probably not in the winners circle but somewhere in the ticket. Which is too bad because a better draw and that 3 pt jump brings him home first.

[Michael D.]

Good luck Richie. Last year I got buried on the Friday card, then adapted to the reality of the event and fared well on Sat. Since I don\'t see anything interesting on paper today, I\'ll sit back and observe for the most part.

I did like Barry\'s filly in the juvy turf, and Biofuel in the juvy before the draw. Could be tempted to take a shot with either of those if I feel the odds reflect the trip risk. I\'ll be 3 deep in the sprint and f&m turf with boring selections on small pk3 and pk4 tickets, and might take a shot with seemingly too slow Rainbow View in the big one, as she has a bit in common with Raven\'s Pass, including the connections and female lineage. I certainly won\'t be in a hole like I was last year though ......