JC / Railbird

Saratoga

Weekend Notes

– Racing has a new Omnisurface Star: Colonel John, winner of the 2008 Santa Anita Derby (Pro-Ride) and Travers Stakes (dirt), made his 2009 debut a winning one, taking the ungraded Wickerr Stakes (turf) at Del Mar by two lengths in a fast 1:32.77 (just missing the track record). Trainer Eoin Harty now has some options for the 4-year-old Tiznow colt: “He can do anything.”

– The lack of TV coverage for this weekend’s fantastic racing “amounts to a blackout,” says Steve Crist. Count it also as a lost opportunity.

– Maybe part of the problem with getting coverage is that apparently even the NTRA doesn’t follow the sport that closely. “The Haskell Invitation is today at 6:15PM … http://bit.ly/grQoo,” reads an official tweet. Dear NTRA tweeter, note: The Haskell Invitational is scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday, August 2.

– Bill Finley sees into the future: “Munnings is going to beat her.” [Oops!]

– Monmouth photos: There’s something in the air, and check out that filly.

– Jess Jackson may have the best 3-year-old running, and his wife, Barbara Banke, the best 2-year-old: Hot Dixie Chick was given a Beyer speed figure of 103 for her visually impressive Schuylerville Stakes win on Wednesday. Backtalk, an undefeated son of Smarty Jones attracting some attention, received a BSF of 82 for his hard-fought Sanford win on Thursday.

– Discreetly Mine, a half-brother to Discreet Cat who made an impression on me in his debut, returns in the sixth at Saratoga this afternoon. The 3-1 morning line favorite in a field of 13, he gets blinkers on and boasts a bullet work for trainer Stanley Hough. Also entered is Krypton, a first-time starter by freshman sire Rock Hard Ten (one of my old favorites) out of Kiaran McLaughlin’s barn. Rock Hard Ten is off to a decent start with his offspring: Of the seven that have run so far, two have won, both in their debuts.

Posted in Racing on August 1, 2009 / Tagged Colonel John, Del Mar, Favorites, Monmouth Park, NTRA, Rachel Alexandra, Saratoga

Opening Day

… at Saratoga has arrived, and there is no shortage of picks, opinions, stories from history, or personal reminiscences to read …

Posted in Racing on July 29, 2009 / Tagged Saratoga

Saratoga Entries

… for opening day have been drawn. It’s a full card of 10 races, with 106 entries, plus more than two dozen also-eligibles. Long-absent stakes winner Pyro returns in the third, the James Marvin Stakes; Aegean, one of trainer Wesley Ward’s American invaders at Royal Ascot, makes her first start since her trip abroad in the day’s feature, the Schuylerville Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, which also drew Hot Dixie Chick, a track record setter at Churchill Downs last month, and G3 Debutante winner Decelerator.

Posted in Racing on July 24, 2009 / Tagged Saratoga

Bye-Bye Broadway

First time starters Hello Broadway and Eibar Coa (inside) battle to a neck victory over Imperial Council and Edgar Prado at Saratoga, August 30, 2008. [Earning trainer Barclay Tagg many congratulations for the rest of the afternoon.] (Uploaded by budmeister 26.2 to Flickr)

Hello Broadway injured, retired.

Such a shame. The quirky half-brother of stakes winner Nobiz Like Shobiz never quite made good on the promise he showed winning his debut at Saratoga last summer, with his only other win in nine starts coming in a Keeneland allowance this spring, but I’ll miss following the chestnut colt regardless. You never really knew what Hello Broadway was going to do in a race, or if he’d ever put everything together again, and he was almost always overbet, all of which made him a poor play, but a lot of fun to watch.

Posted in Racing on July 22, 2009 / Tagged Barclay Tagg, Favorites, Hello Broadway, Retirement, Saratoga