October 4

The BEST DAY Of the Week!

After struggling overall yesterday, but doing well at Woodbine I was looking forward to perhaps turning things around today.  I had five selections on the day and I was VERY confident in my "BET of the Day" in the co-featured Grade 3 Mazarine Stakes.  Let's see how the day played out......I passed the opener, a maiden special for 2-year-olds.  Typically I can find a trainer angle or solid workout, or an experienced runner in these but the Sunday opener featured NINE FIRST-TIME starters!  Little to handicap on, and the winner was an 8/1 longshot - good handicapping decision to know that I didn't know anything!  IN the second I really liked Finn's Jewel.  The first thing I liked about the race overall was that I anticipated Bear's Pride, the 9/5 program favorite to be well bet and I just KNEW he would not win.  Why?  Because he was pure speed and it is rare indeed for a front runner to last the length of the long Woodbine stretch.  Meanwhile my selection, Finn's Jewel got top rider Eurico DaSilva and had made improvement in each of his last three starts.  Sure enough the even money chalk went right to the front, but heading into the turn he was caught and passed by a price horse.  Meanwhile DaSilva was patiently handling Finn on the rail.  Once they turned for home he eased outside of runners and burst down the stretch, pulling away through the final sixteenth.  While he was NOT the favorite, he was still bet down to 3/2 odds, so my double investment netted me only $25 - but hey, that's better than even money that the favorite would have paid! 

 

The third was a maiden claimer that had the top two betting choices separated by a neck last time, I just felt neither would win, and had no clue on any of the others.  Sure enough the lone debut runner scored at odds of 5/1.  I liked Canadian Gold in the 4th a non-winners of two lifetime allowance going a mile and a sixteenth on the main.  But right out of the gate he was sharply squeezed and steadied, spotting the field at least half a dozen lengths.  He made a decent run into the lane but was had given up way too much ground, 7th.  I thought the fifth was another maiden claimer with little to offer and again I was right to pass as a $12 winner romped by daylight.  The 6th was the BET of the Day - the Grade 3 Mazarine for juvenile fillies.  I was nearly certain of two things:  (1) Gamble's Ghost was going to be a short price, and (2) she was a VERY likely winner.  She'd won both starts and her two Beyer figures were daylight clear of anything in the field.  The second, third, and fourth program choices had all earned identical 63 numbers in their last while Ghost had earned a 74 & 80 in her two starts.  But racing is a funny thing......she was confidently handled through the far turn, but when jockey Luis Contreras was ready to let her go there was a wall of four fillies across the track.  He waited, and waited for a seam, finally at the furlong pole he got the narrowest of openings and asked her to go.  The response was immediate and devastating as she quickly shot through and by the sixteenth pole she was daylight clear with Contreras never reaching for the stick.  ULTRA impressive and very deserving of the "BET of the Day" status I'd given her. 

 

She paid nearly $3, which I thought was huge considering the advantage I thought she had, so with my big time play I was cashing for close to $40!  The seventh was another head scratcher where only one in the field had even approached the 12 1/2 furlong distance.  A big time pass for me - and again I was oh-so-smart to pass with the winner paying 13/1.  The 8th was the co-featured Grade 3 Grey for two-year-old colts going the same mile and a sixteenth the fillies had gone in the 6th.  Riker was the obvious choice on paper and he'd won for me twice already.  BUT.....those two were sprints and if speed holds, it is almost always in a sprint here.  Two-year-olds going two turns for the first time AND backing a front runner, who WOULD be the favorite.  I was inclined to pass and just watch.  But he had shown the ability to rate in his 5 1/2 furlong debut and his two speed figures were both better than anything his rivals had ever run.  All hopes of rating went out the window when he was in front by two inside the first fifty yards.  But then the rest of the riders were apparently all of the same mind that he could not go wire-to-wire because they let the favorite cruise loose on the lead through easy fractions of :24 and change, :48.4, and a pokey 1:14.1 to the pace call.  Still, as heads turned for home the stalkers were coming and had cut into the lead. 

 

But Riker had plenty left an he re-broke to open up and was clear the entire length of the stretch!  Again, though the favorite I thought even money was a good price for him based on handicapping facts, so I cashed for $20 with my double investment.  The last bet of the day was the lone Woodbine 40% Club play of the afternoon.  Conquest Quickdraw was sent out by Mark Casse for Conquest Stables.  He was a $390K OBS sales grad that was highly regarded at 2yo when he was second at 3/5.  He was off from that November beginning until last month when he won for me.  He was stepping out of maiden ranks to entry level allowance foes today.  If as good as his connections thought he was - they are probably eyeing stakes tests down the road - then he should be good enough to beat first time winners; and then there is the "club angle."  I tripled the bet.  He stalked three wide into the lane and even the track announcer commented "let's see who's got the best kick for home."  There was no contest a Conquest drew off with authority. 

 

His victory netted me nearly $30 and made for my fourth win from five selections on the day.  In spite of short prices on the winners I made a week-best profit of just a few cents shy of $40!  WHOOOO HOOOOO!  And it topped off a 7-for-13 weekend at Woodbine.  Nice.