– Now, that’s a matchup to look forward to this June. According to owner Don Little, Jr., the Suburban Handicap is an option for Corinthian following his game, determined win in the Met Mile. “I would say as of today our next race would be the Suburban,” said Little. “It’s probably a good opportunity to try to do something” (DRF). It was nice to see Corinthian get the win on Monday. A talented, but somewhat nutty three-year-old, Corinthian has really developed into a good handicap horse as a four-year-old.
– “Just take a look at this horse move. No need to call it,” said Belmont announcer Tom Durkin, lapsing into silence as Commentator easily galloped to a win in Monday’s Richmond Runner Stakes for NY-breds. Jockey Corey Nakatani looked back to the right, then the left for the competition at the sixteenth pole and found none. Commentator earned a Beyer of 108 for his six-year-old debut.
Posted by JC in Races/Results on 05/29/2007 @ 9:00 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
Southern California trainers are praising Santa Anita’s decision to install Cushion Track in time for the Oak Tree meet:
“It will add some consistency that the two Los Angeles tracks have the same surface,” trainer John Sadler said. “Guys can train where they want to train. I think it’s a positive step.” … “I think most people are happy with the decision,” said Ed Halpern, executive director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers. “It’s better for the handicappers. Hopefully, with the surface, we’ll see an increase in the horse population over time.” (DRF)
It will be nice to have a somewhat consistent surface in SoCal, especially one that seems to play as fair as Hollywood’s Cushion Track, which hasn’t attracted the same sort of hand-wringing as Keeneland’s Polytrack surface.
Here’s what I like about synthetic surfaces, in addition to their apparent increased safety: Polytrack and Cushion Track let the true pace of a race play out. Horses with early speed, capable of outrunning rivals in every quarter, continue to win, just as they do on dirt tracks. But horses with early speed and no late kick or additional gears aren’t buoyed along in the stretch as they can be on a speed favoring dirt track (see: Pimlico, 5/19). The stalkers and closers can run their races. As a friend emailed the other day, “the advent of artificial tracks is going to make pace handicapping more relevant than ever.” It also makes class a significant factor again. After more than 25 years of speed dominance, that makes for some welcome changes in the handicapping game.
Posted by JC in Track Notes on 05/25/2007 @ 9:00 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
From Belmont Park notes:
Despite a nice five-furlong breeze of 1:00 1/5 over Belmont’s fast main track this morning, Elizabeth Valando’s Nobiz Like Shobiz is doubtful to run in the Belmont Stakes, according to trainer Barclay Tagg.
“He worked great, I thought,” Tagg said of the move with jockey Cornelio Velasquez up. “He galloped out six furlongs in 1:13, but I’m not planning on running him in the Belmont.”
A number of factors were considered by Tagg and Valando concerning the Wood Memorial winner’s potential run in the Belmont.
“If it were a walkover or a two-horse race, I would run,” Tagg said. “A $1 million race is a $1 million race.”
Tagg’s no fool. He knows his still maturing colt is no match for the likes of Curlin right now. Nobiz Like Shobiz will instead be pointed to the Dwyer, Jim Dandy, and Travers.
Posted by JC in Triple Crown on 05/24/2007 @ 3:15 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
