JC / Railbird

Suffolk Downs Archive

MassCap Day Notes

Jockey Richard Migliore talks with TVG’s Christina Olivares.

Asked after winning the Moseley Handicap aboard Afrashad ($2.40) if he’d learned anything about the track that would help him ride Fairbanks in the MassCap, jockey Richard Migliore replied, “The track’s very honest. Today, it seems like you can come in from any path, any position.” Fairbanks, starting from post position four, is the 6-5 favorite 25 minutes to post. There was a minus show pool of $40,386 on Afrashad and entry-mate Council Member, who ran second.

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Bridgejumpers are out in force on the Godolphin entry of Afrashad and Council Member for race nine, the Moseley Handicap, which is also returning to Suffolk after a two-year hiatus today. Approximately three minutes to post and the show pool on #1 is $89,036, dwarfing every other on the board. The win pool is $19,459; the place $8978. [The show pool on the entry attracted $153,929 in wagers from a total pool of $163,630 (Boston Herald).]

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Talk about an upset: 55-1 Massachusetts-bred Reprized Strike, scoreless since June 2006 when he won the Rise Jim Stakes over a muddy Suffolk track, jumped up to win race eight, the Waquoit Stakes, by approximately three lengths [3 1/2 lengths, officially], paying $112.60. The exacta with favored De Roode paid $716. It was the second win of the day for rider Clifford Dooley, who brought home longshot Shell Creek ($43) in race three.

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The all stakes pick four kicked off in race seven, the Collegian Stakes, which was won by 8-5 favorite On the Vineyard ($5.20). Southern Rainbow was second, Bootleggin Gent third. “He was the best horse today,” said jockey Willie Martinez of On the Vineyard. “My grandmother could have ridden him … on the turn it was only a question of how far I thought I could win by.” Martinez rides Brass Hat in the MassCap.

Posted in Suffolk Downs on September 22, 2007 / Tagged 2007 MassCap

MassCap Day at Suffolk

It’s MassCap day at Suffolk Downs and there’s a buzz in the air, an excitement around the grandstand unlike anything since the last running of the Massachusetts Handicap in 2004. I arrived about half an hour before the track opened and watched the crowd grow to dozens. By opening time, there was an impatient gang of fans pressing against the doors. Someone called, “Two more minutes!” and another, “Open the doors or we’ll knock them down!” At 11:00, it seemed likely they would when people began rattling the doors and pounding on the glass. A chant went up: “Open the doors! Open the doors! Open the doors!” Security heeded and the crowd surged in, then politely sorted itself into neat lines to pay the $2 admission into the freshened facility. There’s new paint, a grandstand gift shop, a playground and picnic area on the apron, a spiffy new stakes barn, and the best thing of all: A positive vibe on the frontside and the backstretch.

Photos from around the track this morning:

Brass Hat naps in the stakes barn on Saturday morning.

View of the field for Saturday’s first race from the catwalk.

Big stakes, big hat.

Posted in Suffolk Downs on September 22, 2007 / Tagged 2007 MassCap

MassCap Entries

A field of eight was drawn today for Saturday’s Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs:

Fairbanks, making his first start since setting the pace and finishing fourth behind Lawyer Ron in the Woodward, looks like a legitimate favorite with his early speed and triple-digit Beyers, one scored winning the Tokyo City Handicap at Santa Anita last March, but morning line second favorite Brass Hat brings back class, veteran Evening Attire can’t be overlooked in his third attempt to take the MassCap, and Palladio — shipping in from Woodbine and with three wins at the 1 1/8 mile distance — is an intriguing upset proposition.
TVG will broadcast live from Suffolk Downs beginning at 1:00 p.m.; post-time for the MassCap is 5:23 p.m. There’s an all stakes pick four on the card, starting with race seven, the Collegian Stakes. I’ll be at Suffolk all Saturday, and if all goes as planned, posting throughout the afternoon.
Free PPs are available from DRF.

Posted in Suffolk Downs on September 19, 2007

34 Nominated to MassCap

Leading Horse of the Year candidate Lawyer Ron tops the list of 34 nominations to the Massachusetts Handicap (PDF), which will be run for the first time since 2004 on September 22. Also nominated: Grasshopper (second to Street Sense in the Travers), King’s Bishop winner Hard Spun, Magna Graduate, Brass Hat, and Evening Attire. Teuflesberg is also in the mix for the nine furlong race, even though he seems better suited to the six furlong James B. Moseley Handicap, which drew 31 nominees (PDF), including Commentator, High Finance, and Weigelia. Unfortunately for Suffolk Downs, Lawyer Ron is more likely to start in the September 30 Jockey Club Gold Cup, Hard Spun to run at Turfway, and Grasshopper might go in the Super Derby (Shreveport Times). Until entries are taken next Wednesday, though, it’s okay to dream.
Related: Steven Crist visited my old home track this week and found reason for cautious optimism.

Posted in Suffolk Downs on September 12, 2007