GOLDEN RECEIVER

[madbee310]

Its not every day that you will see a horse get parked out in a 25.3 opening quarter and still sprint home in 26.4. Yet, this is exactly what Golden Receiver did against the top older pacers in the country. It was a brilliant performance in the Presidential Series. The fact that he won this series as a 7 yr old in 2012 was amazing. And now to repeat as an 8 yr old?? Its unbelievable how sharp he is. Kudos to Ford for having his pacer in top shape.

[pandy]

I just finished watching the Presidential for the 4th time. This race had more bad trips than Jerry Garcia.

[camourous]

Want to see him stack up against the top older horses this year, he won early last year not as fast but cant make a good judgement until he takes on something fast. He was probably 10 lengths better than the foes he faced in the Presidential, and caught a break when the leader broke scattering the field.

[Oskar]

Apparently his schedule will be similar to what it was last year, when he raced in just a couple of invitationals between the Presidential and the Spring Pacing Championship at Woodbine at the end of March and in early April. He crushed the opposition in the two preliminary legs and final of the SPC last year. Then it’s on to the Graduate.



The problem last year was that he kind of ran out of gas toward the end of the season. He only put up one insignificant win after taking the Haughton in mid-August. That cost him any chance of overcoming Foiled in the Dan Patch voting.



Golden Receiver has made 125 lifetime starts but only two of them have been on half-mile tracks. He won a NYSS race in his sixth lifetime start at Batavia and he broke stride and was set back a couple of places in an open at Yonkers in 2010.



Bettor Sweet is another one who is allergic to the little tracks. He raced on halfs four times as a colt but hasn’t seen once since 2008.



This is one reason Mr Versatility, Foiled, has been able to accumulate all that money in the Levy, Molson, Battle of Lake Erie, Quillen etc. It’s generally FA against the JFA crowd. Good for him.

[pandy]

Since he loves the Big M it makes sense to run him during the winter, plus he is a rare speed horse who not only prefers two turns but likes cold weather. That plus the slightly weaker competition in the winter is perfect for him. Last night was game though, :25.3 on a sub 20 degree night and he finishes in under :27. He also impressed me because he is such a pro. He stayed glued to the rail down the lane, totally boxing in several horses before spurting away. A lot of horses, even top horses, would've drifted out on a winter night after that first quarter and the inside horses may have threatened.

[melman]

Bob to me that was one of the best if not the very best winter time races I have ever seen. Remember Tarport Hap? I think she went a HUGE mile under even worse conditions many years ago. Think it was an 8 degree night. Quite a last half after a rough 25 and 4 1st q.

Watching for the next races on Modern Legend and Malak Uswaad. Think they got the worse of it. Campbell;s horse Modern Legend the worst IMO.

[pandy]

I agree, I mentioned both of them in my list of horses to watch, but Campbell's horse really got roughed up and raced huge.

[melman]

Do you remember that Tarport Hap race Bob? Pretty sure it was on a single digit night. With a bad wind chill. She went a unreal mile that night. Was many many years ago but it still sticks in my memory.

[pandy]

I don't but she was amazing.

[melman]

It was the winter of 1977 Pandy. She and the great Silk Stockings were the Affirmed/Alydar of s-bred racing. Two great ones with a tragic end for Tarport Hap.

http://oddsonracing.com/docs/TarportHap_2.cfm

[nelliekoren]

Oh, wow. So sad an end. Thanks for the link.

[pandy]

Tarport Hap and Silk Stockings put on quite a show, probably the two best pacing mares I've ever seen. After them I'd probably go with Handle With Care, Shady Daisy, and Fan Hanover.

[madbee310]

Great points. While he is racing his guts out early on in the year, others are freshening up on the sidelines. He still goes some incredibly wicked miles for the weather conditions.