Good Races Galore
I’m playing the Saturday races at Gulfstream and Santa Anita for the first time in several weeks and I’m doing it old school, marking up a paper copy of the Daily Racing Form. The Saturday edition of the Form came with an extra, a new glossy insert called “Gulfstream Scene” filled with aspirational ads padded by an ode to Frank Stronach (“The Stronach philosophy has always been to think big … Gulfstream represents Stronach’s greatest gamble, and possibly a model for the future of the sport”), an article in which really rich people express delight with their really nice homes, and another offering south Florida restaurant recommendations. It’s an upscale lifestyle magazine for horseplayers, which is nothing if not an interesting expansion of the Form’s brand …
Anyway, there’s a plethora of good races on Saturday. For older horses, there’s the Donn at Gulfstream and the Strub at Santa Anita. Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo makes his first start in eight months in the Strub, and he’s 6-1 on the morning line. There are plenty of good reasons he’s not the favorite — he’s making his first start in eight months, his speed figures are too low — but there are also plenty of reasons to like him. Giacomo comes into the race a big, strong four-year-old, says trainer John Shirreffs:
He also has a steady workout tab, and, as the DRF’S Brad Free contends, “The Strub field is weak, and Giacomo is simply the best horse.”
The morning line favorite in the Strub is High Limit, who won the San Pasquale on January 7 going wire-to-wire. All of High Limit’s wins have come that way, and none have come in races longer than 1 1/16 mile. I’ll play against him for that reason alone — the colt hasn’t shown much facility rating and trying to go wire-to-wire for a full nine furlongs isn’t that easy, especially when there are competitors capable of running him down in the final yards, like Giacomo or the interesting shipper Dixie Meister. The Steve Asmussen-trained colt ran second in his last start, the New Orleans Handicap on January 7, and likes to come from well off the pace, as does Bob Baffert’s nonsensically named Hockey the General, who lost the Sir Beufort by a nose in December.
Also on Saturday: It’s a big day for Derby prospects, with the Hutcheson (featuring the three-year-old debut of First Samurai) and the Holy Bull (Barbaro tries to do on the dirt what’s he’s done on the turf) at Gulfstream and the Sham at Santa Anita. Bob and John, who won an allowance on January 20 after finishing third behind Brother Derek and Your Tent or Mine in the Hollywood Futurity in December, is one of six entered in the Sham. In addition to the recent race, the colt worked four furlongs in :47 3/5 on January 30 — he’s certainly fit. The only other starter of real interest is Sacred Light, an improving colt by Holy Bull who won his maiden by disqualification and then ran a big third in his next race off a five month layoff.
