A Feast for the Fans

I hope you all had a turkey day filled with friends, family, and food, but do not take too long to digest that last piece of pumpkin pie, for there is a whole new feast being served up by racetracks from coast to coast. Churchill Downs serves up two solid days of racing with a healthy heaping of six stakes races. Saturday will feature the youngsters, headlined by Thiskyhasnolimit in the Kentucky Jockey Club and Sassy Image in the Golden Rod. Both horses will try to repeat the success they had in recent stakes races at Churchill. Also on the Saturday menu, will be a turf stakes for juveniles of each gender. For added intrigue, a cherry on top of the all two-year-old card will be fashioned in the day’s closing race by Barbaro’s full brother, Lentenor, who makes his turf debut in his second career start. Friday’s races will include the River City Handicap, a wide open turf affair for older males. My rooting interest will fall squarely on the extremely hard knocking New York bred, Banrock. All of the aforementioned races are appetizing, but there is no doubt that the featured entry will be today’s Grade 1 Clark Handicap. A loaded field of 14 runners make this one of the more competitive races of the year. Einstein, Macho Again, and Bullsbay all are still in with a chance for year end honors and a win today would go a long way in the minds of many voters. Throw in talented horses like Blame, Etched, and Misremembered trying to make a name for themselves and live longshots Giant Oak and Demarcation and you have all the ingredients for one whale of a race. Aqueduct’s main course is Saturday with four major stakes races headed by the Cigar Mile. A compact field of six will square off in the Mile with the highly talented and lightly raced Vineyard Haven taking on some salty veterans. Sensational sprinter, Kodiak Kowboy, top miler, Bribon, and his own dangerous entry mate, Pyro, offer a huge challenge to the beautiful gray. This has been Vineyard Haven’s long term goal since his return this Summer and with a victory tomorrow would validate himself as a true star. The Gazelle features the long awaited return to the races of Stardom Bound. Now trained by Rick Dutrow, the gray filly has been away since her disappointing third place finish in April’s Ashland Stakes. The Ashland loss ended a skein of five straight Grade 1 scores for last year’s juvenile filly champion. Chief among Stardom Bound’s rivals, figures to be the up and comer Unrivaled Bell, who has been effortlessly working her way up in class and could be any kind. In Saturday’s Demoiselle, juvenile fillies will stretch out to nine furlongs for the first time in their careers. Kelly Breen ships in an entry of New Jersey invaders and could well take the big money back across the Hudson. Possibly the most interesting morsel of the day could be found in the Remsen Stakes. Two of the most exciting 2010 Kentucky Derby prospects will look each other in the eye, as Champagne hero Homeboykris and the scintillating winner of the Nashua, Buddy’s Saint do battle. Aqueduct preps for Saturday’s smorgasbord with a tasty Friday appetizer. In the Top Flight, Justwhistledixie returns for new trainer Bill Mott, after nearly six months away and looks to build upon her stakes winning total that she began this time last year at the same racetrack. She will need to be at her best though, as she takes on a tough field headed by the fast Godolphin filly, Sara Louise. Hollywood Park offers up a little greenery for the more delicate of tastes. Things get started today with the Grade 1 Citation Handicap. The classy Cowboy Cal will be favored as he tries to rebound quickly from a beating administered by the might filly Goldikova in the Breeders‘ Cup Mile. On Saturday a pair of turf stakes top the card. Featured is an excellent matchup of older females at nine furlongs on the lawn. The Matriarch has attracted pure class with Ventura, Diamondrella, Rutherienne and four other mares in a race sure to please the most finicky fan. The other Saturday stake is the Generous which is topped by Bridgetown, fresh off his runner-up finish in the BC Juvenile Turf. The weekend bonanza lasts a little longer on the left coast as Sunday’s Hollywood Derby sports a full field of classy three-year-olds. Take the Points, Battle of Hastings, The Usual Q.T., Al Khali, Straight Story, and Black Bear Island all figure prominently in this excellent betting affair. Finally on Sunday, if you still have a little room left, look for the turf debut of the speedy young miss, Connie and Michael in the Miesque Stakes. The good news with all this great racing is, unlike Thanksgiving meals all around the country, this equine feast should not leave you reaching for the Rolaids. Enjoy race fans.

The Rachel Diaries - Day 5

Yesterday was the day. The day that Rachel Alexandra’s amazing streak of victories would come to an end. She had won her previous eight races going back to her two-year-old season in the most impressive fashion possible without actually sprouting wings. America’s heroine was in for it. Fate was conspiring in insidious ways to stop Rachel from giving the people what they wanted. Here is what I mean: 1) The race was at Saratoga. This beautiful and historic race place is not called the ‘Graveyard of Champions’ for nothing. Man o’ War was upset, his only defeat, by Upset, forever changing the American vernacular for a big favorite going down. Secretariat, riding a high like no other horse in the modern era, left Saratoga with a bad taste in his mouth, defeated by Onion. Shocking defeats are commonplace at this idyllic but lethal racetrack. 2) She was facing older horses and more specifically older males for the first time. 3-year-old fillies simply do not win classic American races against the big boys. This was the first race that Rachel looked physically smaller than most of her opponents. She is a young girl racing men. 3) A sense of overconfidence was starting to set in. There was no reason to be overconfident against the best older males East of the Mississippi, but many onlookers do not realize that anything can happen especially when very good horses are underrated. It always scares me when too many people say that something can not happen, the surest recipe for that very thing to happen. 4) The field was set and it did not seem to complement her running style. Da’ Tara was a rabbit. Past the Point has lots of speed. Cool Coal Man and It’s A Bird like to be close to the pace. All this pace against her, an uncomfortable inside post and every jockey in the race would be gunning for little miss Rachel. 5) The other horses seemed to have an affinity for the Saratoga strip. Macho Again, Bullsbay, Past the Point and Cool Coal Man had all proven to appreciate this track with their previous impressive performances. Rachel had never run here before. 6) The post parade was raucous. More than 31,000 people screamed their support for Rachel as she walked the stretch. She reacted to the screams with a bit of overzealousness that sent Calvin Borel flying off her back. Not a good sign for a racehorse who was about to be in for the race of her life. 7) Early fractions were fast and Rachel’s pace was pressured. Da’ Tara gunned for half a mile. Past the Point pressured her from the outside, Cool Coal Man was up close on the rail. Rachel was forced to run fast all the way under constant pressure. It should have been too much for any horse to handle. The horses that did try to run with Rachel early would drop like stones finishing up the track in the last three spots. 8) The path for the rallying Macho Again and Bullsbay seemed to part like the Red Sea. With the fast early fractions softening up the speed they were poised for big rallies and they were firing their best shot. As they made their moves, they faced clear sailing with no impediments, as they pounced on Rachel. Eight good reasons why she would be finally defeated, yet, she did it. Rachel Alexandra did it. To be there in person, within a mosh-pit of humanity and energy and emotion was surreal. My heart was pounding, my forehead was damp with sweat … I will never forget it. This race on September 5, 2009, a race that she was destined to lose, allowed Rachel Alexandra to show her true character and courageousness to the world and she did it. Rachel Alexandra did it.

The Rachel Diaries - Day 2

“Oh, You’ve got to be kidding me!“ Not yet three hours into our drive, and the Ohio State Patrolman, cherries-a-blazin’, gestures for me to pull over as he eases between me and the Camry ahead, whom he is also inconveniencing on this beautiful Summer day. “Do you realize you were speeding today?“ The officer deadpans. “No, do you realize that I am now only going to drive faster to make up for lost time officer?“ I answer in my mind. We play this little authority figure/admonished schoolboy tete-a-tete for another minute or two and then the nice lawman lets me off with a warning. He looks in at my wife and daughter and wishes a nice vacation for us a couple of times. Back on the round again, a few thoughts cross my mind. First, what the bleep! I wasn’t even speeding that fast, but also, I wondered if that Buckeye patrolman knew that it was his duty to let me pass. For I am on a mission for Rachel. Rachel Alexandra is on a mission. She is doing things that have never been done before, both this Saturday at Saratoga and the entire year of 2009. But, I offer this warning to all fans and well-wishers of our heroine, the Woodward is a lot tougher than people are giving it credit for. Are there any superstars? Yes … Rachel. Are there a bunch of good older males to challenge her? Yes. Asiatic Boy, my second pick, was a star oversees winning the UAE Derby in a romp and three other graded stakes on dirt, as well as, running 2nd to Curlin in last year’s World Cup. His first two races in the U.S. have been good but not great. Watch out if Kiaran McLaughlin has him ready to run his best. Bullsbay is a late developing son of Tiznow, most Tiznow’s are late developers, and is coming off his best race ever. His score in the Grade 1 Whitney was quite impressive and it was over this surface and at the Woodward’s distance. A repeat performance makes him a real threat. Cool Coal Man is also coming off a pip over this same ground when winning a minor stake here on August 10 by nearly 13 lengths. He has yet to win a Grade 1 race yet, but it would be no surprise to me if the Grade 2 winner someday did. Macho Again is sometimes on and sometimes off, but when he decides to run, his late rush makes him dangerous in any race. He likes Saratoga and has won four graded stakes, including the Grade 1 Stephen Foster, on his resume. It’s A Bird ran poorly last out in the Suburban Handicap, but you do not need to go much farther back in his form to find success. He has been victorious in the Lone Star Handicap, Oaklawn Handicap, and the million dollar Sunshine Millions Classic already this year. Past the Point is coming off a sharp victory at Saratoga, a track that he loves, and has proven his class by finishing 2nd to Curlin in the Woodward last year. Da’ Tara’s recent form looks awful, but he is a Belmont Stakes winner and he is trained by Nick Zito, so you never know. Certainly Rachel Alexandra is the reason why so many millions will be watching the Woodward with great anticipation, but please, do not underestimate what she is trying to do on Saturday. This is not an easy race for even the greatest of 3-year-old fillies.