Post by Peter Gross on Oct 7, 2009 5:41:09 GMT -5
Let's get caught up here. Did you see the Prix de lArc de Triomphe from Paris on Saturday? I was in the backstretch to do an interview with the ever pleasant Roger Attfield and as I returning to my car from his trailer outside barn four, jockey agent Jack Lauzon said hello and asked if I'd just seen the race. My first response was one of disappointment that I hadn't been paying enough attention to realize there was a huge Grade 1 horse race at 9 am and when Lauzon told me the favourite Sea The Stars had won impressively, I raced home to watch the replay.
And...holy crap or innuendos to that effect. People are already talking about Sea The Stars in terms of 'best horse of the year' and even 'best race horse of all time' and the mile and a half Arc does nothing to discourage that thinking. At the midway point, Jockey Mick Kinane had Sea The Stars buried in the middle of the 18 horse field; not just buried behind several horses, but pinned on the hedge and there were a couple of overly-optimistic runners who had opened up at least a dozen lengths. Down the very long right to left stretch, Kinane maneuvered Sea The Stars through the slimmest of openings and it was incredible to see how quickly they gobbled up real estate - it seemed that within a matter of strides, Sea The Stars had erupted from the pack and was in the lead, striding with authority to the finish to notch his 6th straight Group 1 win. There's no question, this horse owns Europe - no one has touched him this year. Now he must come to Santa Anita for the Breeders' Cup. He was the 4-5 favourite in the Arc (no small feat in an 18 horse mob) and he'd be much less than that in the Turf Classic, but if it is to be proved that he is the best horse on the planet, he needs to run in the dirt (or synthetic) Classic. That shouldn't be a problem as the European horses are showing every year how easily they adapt to the poly or the pro-ride. So let's assume that Sea The Stars wins the Classic and even puts up a time under 2:00, does that make him a better horse than Rachel Alexandra (who isn't allowed to run on fake dirt)?
Discuss amongst yourselves.
There was a very cool moment at Woodbine on Sunday. Jockey Patrick Husbands won the tenth race on Grazettes Landing, trained by Mark Casse. It was Husbands' 2000th career win and the guys in Woodbine's media office just don't miss a beat. They made sure that the landmark was celebrated - a banner proclaiming the accomplishment was already in the winners circle by the time Husbands and Grazettes Landing had trotted in to get their pictures taken. Very appropriate that Husbands scored his 2000th on a horse trained by Casse; by Husbands' count, he and Casse have teamed up for over 600 winners. But there was some very classy behaviour by a couple of other jockeys. You need to know that when these moments occur - a special win by a jockey - there is just a minute or two to organize a picture and jockeys can be running back to get changed and especially so after the final race on the card.
But there was both Todd Kabel and Jim McAleney smiling in the picture on behalf of the rider who had just beaten them. Kabul is back riding brilliantly this year, hopefully a lengthy respite from the on-going battle he has with his weight and he owns the record of 193 wins for a year of riding at Woodbine. Husbands' victory on Gazettes Landing was his 132nd of the season and, mathematically, he's on pace to break Kabul's record by maybe one or two wins. It was especially interesting to see Scalene helping with the celebration. Last year Jimmy Mac had a sizable lead in the jockeys' race and at some point in the final two weeks, made a harmless comment to Husbands, suggesting the race was already won and Patrick should throw in the towel. Husbands repeatedly pointed out that it was that offhanded sentence that spurred him on and he won a pile of races in the final days to edge McAleney out. So, it was an act of class for McAleney to contribute to the props that Husbands received. These guys are prepared to kill each other on the racetrack, but off the poly, there is a unique bond among them.
............................
You may recall that a few weeks ago, I decided to take a vow of daily doubles, abandoning all other wagers and bets to focus only on doubles. Sad to report, it has not gone well. I hit some big payoffs on the first weekend of the experiment, but it's gone very dry since then. I actually went from September 4th into Sunday, October 4 without showing a profit on any single day.
However, there has been a flicker of fortune, which I can't really take much credit for. I bet my last $12 Sunday on the 6th race double at Santa Anita and needed the 1 or 10 to win...each finished far down the track and I turned off HPI. It wasn't until Tuesday morning, while checking my account online, did I realize that I'd won the double. I don't recall betting the winner - the 5 horse - but my account seems to think I did and there was $44 just begging to be bet. I threw a few $1 doubles at the Tuesday card at Turf paradise and hit two nice doubles in a row. The first paid $88 and the second (combining a 7-1 shot with an 8-1 shot) kicked back a delightful $173. I had each for a buck, but it was still a nice and slightly lucrative break from a month of losing.
That being said, I'm still down a few hundred from the 50 days of doubles, which has just nine days left to run.
If I make a great comeback and show a profit for the 50 days, will the Woodbine communication guys come to my house with a celebratory banner. Will McAleney and Kabel show up for the picture?
Well, a guy can dream, can't he?
And...holy crap or innuendos to that effect. People are already talking about Sea The Stars in terms of 'best horse of the year' and even 'best race horse of all time' and the mile and a half Arc does nothing to discourage that thinking. At the midway point, Jockey Mick Kinane had Sea The Stars buried in the middle of the 18 horse field; not just buried behind several horses, but pinned on the hedge and there were a couple of overly-optimistic runners who had opened up at least a dozen lengths. Down the very long right to left stretch, Kinane maneuvered Sea The Stars through the slimmest of openings and it was incredible to see how quickly they gobbled up real estate - it seemed that within a matter of strides, Sea The Stars had erupted from the pack and was in the lead, striding with authority to the finish to notch his 6th straight Group 1 win. There's no question, this horse owns Europe - no one has touched him this year. Now he must come to Santa Anita for the Breeders' Cup. He was the 4-5 favourite in the Arc (no small feat in an 18 horse mob) and he'd be much less than that in the Turf Classic, but if it is to be proved that he is the best horse on the planet, he needs to run in the dirt (or synthetic) Classic. That shouldn't be a problem as the European horses are showing every year how easily they adapt to the poly or the pro-ride. So let's assume that Sea The Stars wins the Classic and even puts up a time under 2:00, does that make him a better horse than Rachel Alexandra (who isn't allowed to run on fake dirt)?
Discuss amongst yourselves.
There was a very cool moment at Woodbine on Sunday. Jockey Patrick Husbands won the tenth race on Grazettes Landing, trained by Mark Casse. It was Husbands' 2000th career win and the guys in Woodbine's media office just don't miss a beat. They made sure that the landmark was celebrated - a banner proclaiming the accomplishment was already in the winners circle by the time Husbands and Grazettes Landing had trotted in to get their pictures taken. Very appropriate that Husbands scored his 2000th on a horse trained by Casse; by Husbands' count, he and Casse have teamed up for over 600 winners. But there was some very classy behaviour by a couple of other jockeys. You need to know that when these moments occur - a special win by a jockey - there is just a minute or two to organize a picture and jockeys can be running back to get changed and especially so after the final race on the card.
But there was both Todd Kabel and Jim McAleney smiling in the picture on behalf of the rider who had just beaten them. Kabul is back riding brilliantly this year, hopefully a lengthy respite from the on-going battle he has with his weight and he owns the record of 193 wins for a year of riding at Woodbine. Husbands' victory on Gazettes Landing was his 132nd of the season and, mathematically, he's on pace to break Kabul's record by maybe one or two wins. It was especially interesting to see Scalene helping with the celebration. Last year Jimmy Mac had a sizable lead in the jockeys' race and at some point in the final two weeks, made a harmless comment to Husbands, suggesting the race was already won and Patrick should throw in the towel. Husbands repeatedly pointed out that it was that offhanded sentence that spurred him on and he won a pile of races in the final days to edge McAleney out. So, it was an act of class for McAleney to contribute to the props that Husbands received. These guys are prepared to kill each other on the racetrack, but off the poly, there is a unique bond among them.
............................
You may recall that a few weeks ago, I decided to take a vow of daily doubles, abandoning all other wagers and bets to focus only on doubles. Sad to report, it has not gone well. I hit some big payoffs on the first weekend of the experiment, but it's gone very dry since then. I actually went from September 4th into Sunday, October 4 without showing a profit on any single day.
However, there has been a flicker of fortune, which I can't really take much credit for. I bet my last $12 Sunday on the 6th race double at Santa Anita and needed the 1 or 10 to win...each finished far down the track and I turned off HPI. It wasn't until Tuesday morning, while checking my account online, did I realize that I'd won the double. I don't recall betting the winner - the 5 horse - but my account seems to think I did and there was $44 just begging to be bet. I threw a few $1 doubles at the Tuesday card at Turf paradise and hit two nice doubles in a row. The first paid $88 and the second (combining a 7-1 shot with an 8-1 shot) kicked back a delightful $173. I had each for a buck, but it was still a nice and slightly lucrative break from a month of losing.
That being said, I'm still down a few hundred from the 50 days of doubles, which has just nine days left to run.
If I make a great comeback and show a profit for the 50 days, will the Woodbine communication guys come to my house with a celebratory banner. Will McAleney and Kabel show up for the picture?
Well, a guy can dream, can't he?
