JC / Railbird

Races/Results Archive

He’s Real

And he might be a freak: Making his first start since October, the Bobby Frankel-trained High Limit won the 1 1/16-mile Louisiana Derby yesterday by four lengths, going wire-to-wire in 1:42.72. (Daily Racing Form)
More: I could comment, but why, when Left at the Gate has such fine things to say about High Limit, Uncle Denny, and the rest of Saturday’s contests.

Posted in Races/Results on March 13, 2005

Today’s Results

The surprising: What happened to the Unbeatable Eastern Invader in the Santa Anita Handicap? Saint Liam hung back until the stretch turn and then did … nothing. He certainly didn’t run like the colt that nearly beat freakishly-fast Horse of the Year Ghostzapper in the Woodward. Rock Hard Ten, though, performed brilliantly yet again with Gary Stevens aboard, moving from the middle of the pack to cruise past the competition in the stretch. Is there a better match of rider and horse in the country right now?
The expected: Longshots Papi Chullo and Defer both needed to win the Fountain of Youth to be taken seriously as Derby contenders. Neither came anywhere close. The race belonged to High Fly and Bandini, just as the Swale did to Lost in the Fog and the Mountain Valley to Afleet Alex.
More on Saturday’s races: “The sky’s the limit,” for Rock Hard Ten, says Gary Stevens (LA Times); “Yesterday’s victory capped an impressive 2½ months for the son of Kris S. [Rock Hard Ten] won the Grade I Malibu Stakes in late December, the Grade II Strub Stakes in February and now the Grade I Big ‘Cap … until Horse of the Year Ghostzapper returns to the races, Rock Hard Ten should be considered the nation’s best horse.” (Union-Tribune)
Lost in the Fog’s win in the Swale means one thing: Owner Harry Aleo will be putting up that Triple Crown nomination fee now. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Trainer Nick Zito had a very good day, with High Fly’s win in the Fountain of Youth (Courier-Journal) and Noble Causeway’s impressive turn in a Gulfstream allowance race. (Daily Racing Form)
Declan’s Moon remains undefeated after taking the Santa Catalina, to trainer Ron Ellis’ delight. “I think I’ve got the bomb.” (Baltimore Sun)
Afleet Alex was “super” in the Mountain Valley Stakes. (ESPN)

Posted in Races/Results on March 5, 2005

Today’s Races

If you’re visiting this page, chances are you already know today is the biggest day of racing since the Breeders’ Cup, with Derby preps at Santa Anita and Gulfstream, as well at the Santa Anita Handicap, featuring Saint Liam and Rock Hard Ten. Afleet Alex’s surprise appearance in the minor Mountain Valley Stakes at Oaklawn adds to the day’s exciting bill.
The line-up:
Swale (Gulfstream, post time 4:43). Lost in the Fog is the big horse in this race and how he does here will determine if he runs in the Derby, says trainer Greg Gilchrist.
Gulfstream Park Handicap (Gulfstream, post time 5:13). Eddington is the likely favorite, Classic Endeavor will offer better value.
Santa Catalina (Santa Anita, post time 5:17 EST). Declan’s Moon is all everyone’s talking about in this race, but don’t overlook Snack, Spanish Chestnut, or Going Wild — all intriguing contenders.
Fountain of Youth (Gulfstream, post time 5:45). Kansas City Boy and Dearest Mon are already scratched; the presence of Bandini, Defer, and High Fly along with the maiden Papi Chullo still makes this one of the most interesting races today.
Mountain Valley Stakes (Oaklawn, post time 6:15 EST). Afleet Alex is the only graded stakes winner in the bunch, but Dr. Meatball and Razor look like worthy competition.
Santa Anita Handicap (Santa Anita, post time 8:04 EST). Truly a Judge is a wild card here — can he keep up with Saint Liam, and can they both hold off Rock Hard Ten?
Related: Jeremy Rose gets one last chance to ride Afleet Alex (Delaware News Journal); Truly a Judge offers trainer David Bernstein a chance at redemption. (LA Times)
Tangent: This is a day where I wish that Suffolk Downs (which isn’t alone among tracks in this lack) had wireless internet access, because I plan to spend several hours today in the upstairs lounge watching races, making notes, and wagering a little, and it’d be so much fun to blog results and comments during that time, rather than waiting until later tonight or Sunday morning.

Posted in Races/Results on March 5, 2005

Go Away for a Day …

And the Google Alerts really pile up. Most that landed in my inbox in the past 36 hours are about the Sunshine Millions, the eight races being run today at Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I haven’t even looked at the past performances of any of the entrants in these races. It’s been a bad week to get any handicapping time. Others, though, know what’s going on: Bill Christine offers some good analysis (LA Times) and Eddie Mac some picks (ESPN). Also see: Ellis Starr’s thorough look at the Classic (NTRA), and Left at the Gate’s contrarian view on Midas Eyes.
Related: Lost in the Fog could be jockey Russell Baze’s chance at a Derby win. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Unrelated: I saw a mention of this story on the Derby List on Thursday and thought it had to be a joke. Guess it isn’t. Oklahoma Senator Frank Shurden has a plan to save the state gamefowl industry: Give roosters boxing gloves. Cockfighting was banned in Oklahoma in 2002 because of its lethality; gloving the roosters would make the sport non-lethal and fun for all, argues Shurden, who’s filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session. If Shurden’s bill is passed, cockfighting would be monitored by the state’s racing commission and, “Shurden believes it could be incorporated into horse racing, providing the boxing between horse races.” Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. (Sun-Sentinel)

Posted in Races/Results on January 29, 2005