Post by Peter Gross on Jun 1, 2009 5:07:02 GMT -5
A hamster was instrumental in a nice score for me yesterday. I was betting all the tracks availed so kindly to me on channels 420/421 on HPI and in my confusion, failed to notice that the 10th and last race at Woodbine was moments away. When I looked up, they were loading into the gate. As I scrambled to call HPI, while wondering what to bet with seconds to spare, I heard Dan Loiselle naming the horses as they were entering their stalls..
"and there goes I'm a Moon Too," announced Loiselle and a light bulb went off in my head.
I'm a Moon Too had won at odds of 17-1 on opening day. I remember this, because I was taking a pari-mutuel beating at Woodbine and put my last six dollars $3 win/place on I'm a Moon Too. In that race, I'm a Moon Too seemed disinterested at the head of the stretch, but jockey Stephen Bahen persevered and got his horse into late along the inside for the win. My 11-year-old daughter Emily was with me at the track that day and had been pestering me all day to buy her a hamster. When she saw I was flush, she asked again and off we went to PJ's pets. My payoff had been $85; the hamster, food and cage cost $86.
We ended up naming the hamster Orbit after I'm a Moon Too, the horse that financed his new digs..
Anyway, as soon as I heard 'I'm a Moon Too', not knowing his odds or even the type of race he was in, I pounded in $4 win/place on him and he ran a remarkably similar race to the one he ran on April 4. Bahen kept him close down the backstretch and he entered the stretch run in third...then seemed to flatten out. However the last furlong was run in slow-mo and I'm a Moon Too got into it in the final 100 yards to win by a half a length. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I heard Loiselle intone,
"I'm a Moon Too at 30-1!"
Actually he was 33-1 and my $4 win/place kicked back $190.00. The hamster gets extra food today.
Thanks to two races at a mile and an eighth at Woodbine yesterday, the Queen's Plate, booked for Sunday, June 21, is a lot clearer, though perhaps not for El Brujo.
In the Plate Trial, El Brujo was bet down to 1.65-1, but tired noticeably in the final quarter mile to stagger in 9th and second last. By far the best horse of the day was Eye of the Leopard who parlayed a very wide trip to an impressive win by about a neck over Southdale. Ridden aggressively by Eurico Rosa Da Silva, Eye of the Leopard came down the middle of the track gobbling up real estate enthusiastically and denying Southdale and Emma-Jayne Wilson at the wire. Both of the top two horses in the Plate Trial are very lightly raced, so either one could improve dramatically for the Plate. Time for the Plate Trial was 1:51.4, about three lengths faster than Gallant and Patrick Husbands went in winning the race before, a maiden test, also at a mile and an eighth. Gallant won it by a nose over a late running Stardust Ziggy and Jerry Baird. Big Brown Brewski had led until deep stretch and wouldn't that be neat if Big Brown won the Queen's Plate? Disappointing finished by Dr. Funkenstein ( 7th), Yorkville (8th), Dance Into Heaven (9th) and D'Artagnan (12th) certainly puts their Queen's Plate participation into question.
Back to the Hamster. In the latest issue of Down The Stretch, Orbit the Hamster is seen selecting Utterly Cool as the winner of the Plate. I'm not explaining this here, get an issue of Down The Stretch and see for yourself. Unfortunately for Orbit's usually strong handicapping skills, I happened to run into trainer Sid Attard Saturday and when I pointed out that a rodent had picked his horse to win, he told me that Utterly Cool would not be running in the Plate.
We also learned on the weekend that Rachel Alexandra would not be running in next Saturday's Belmont. Her people, quite wisely have elected not to subject her to the stress of running a distance for the third time in five weeks. That means Calvin Borel will return to Mine That Bird and based on the relatively weak opposition, Borel had a real chance to become the first jockey to sweep the Triple Crown on different horses. Borel and Mine That Bird won the Derby, then he combined with Rachel Alexandra to win the Preakness.
So the Belmont won't be a very intriguing race, except to watch Mine That Bird execute another of his rallies from far back. A first in the Derby, second in the Preakness and a win in the Belmont would still make this an incredible story for a horse that lost his first two starts of the year in non-descript minor Stakes races at Sunland, New Mexico.
"and there goes I'm a Moon Too," announced Loiselle and a light bulb went off in my head.
I'm a Moon Too had won at odds of 17-1 on opening day. I remember this, because I was taking a pari-mutuel beating at Woodbine and put my last six dollars $3 win/place on I'm a Moon Too. In that race, I'm a Moon Too seemed disinterested at the head of the stretch, but jockey Stephen Bahen persevered and got his horse into late along the inside for the win. My 11-year-old daughter Emily was with me at the track that day and had been pestering me all day to buy her a hamster. When she saw I was flush, she asked again and off we went to PJ's pets. My payoff had been $85; the hamster, food and cage cost $86.
We ended up naming the hamster Orbit after I'm a Moon Too, the horse that financed his new digs..
Anyway, as soon as I heard 'I'm a Moon Too', not knowing his odds or even the type of race he was in, I pounded in $4 win/place on him and he ran a remarkably similar race to the one he ran on April 4. Bahen kept him close down the backstretch and he entered the stretch run in third...then seemed to flatten out. However the last furlong was run in slow-mo and I'm a Moon Too got into it in the final 100 yards to win by a half a length. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I heard Loiselle intone,
"I'm a Moon Too at 30-1!"
Actually he was 33-1 and my $4 win/place kicked back $190.00. The hamster gets extra food today.
Thanks to two races at a mile and an eighth at Woodbine yesterday, the Queen's Plate, booked for Sunday, June 21, is a lot clearer, though perhaps not for El Brujo.
In the Plate Trial, El Brujo was bet down to 1.65-1, but tired noticeably in the final quarter mile to stagger in 9th and second last. By far the best horse of the day was Eye of the Leopard who parlayed a very wide trip to an impressive win by about a neck over Southdale. Ridden aggressively by Eurico Rosa Da Silva, Eye of the Leopard came down the middle of the track gobbling up real estate enthusiastically and denying Southdale and Emma-Jayne Wilson at the wire. Both of the top two horses in the Plate Trial are very lightly raced, so either one could improve dramatically for the Plate. Time for the Plate Trial was 1:51.4, about three lengths faster than Gallant and Patrick Husbands went in winning the race before, a maiden test, also at a mile and an eighth. Gallant won it by a nose over a late running Stardust Ziggy and Jerry Baird. Big Brown Brewski had led until deep stretch and wouldn't that be neat if Big Brown won the Queen's Plate? Disappointing finished by Dr. Funkenstein ( 7th), Yorkville (8th), Dance Into Heaven (9th) and D'Artagnan (12th) certainly puts their Queen's Plate participation into question.
Back to the Hamster. In the latest issue of Down The Stretch, Orbit the Hamster is seen selecting Utterly Cool as the winner of the Plate. I'm not explaining this here, get an issue of Down The Stretch and see for yourself. Unfortunately for Orbit's usually strong handicapping skills, I happened to run into trainer Sid Attard Saturday and when I pointed out that a rodent had picked his horse to win, he told me that Utterly Cool would not be running in the Plate.
We also learned on the weekend that Rachel Alexandra would not be running in next Saturday's Belmont. Her people, quite wisely have elected not to subject her to the stress of running a distance for the third time in five weeks. That means Calvin Borel will return to Mine That Bird and based on the relatively weak opposition, Borel had a real chance to become the first jockey to sweep the Triple Crown on different horses. Borel and Mine That Bird won the Derby, then he combined with Rachel Alexandra to win the Preakness.
So the Belmont won't be a very intriguing race, except to watch Mine That Bird execute another of his rallies from far back. A first in the Derby, second in the Preakness and a win in the Belmont would still make this an incredible story for a horse that lost his first two starts of the year in non-descript minor Stakes races at Sunland, New Mexico.
