Teach
08-12-2016, 11:01 AM
Race One:
:8: Eqho won his last seen three months ago, downstate, winning a maiden-breaking claiming effort through disqualification. In that one, this Giant’s Causeway-bred filly was languishing at the back of the pack with pedestrian-like fractions being posted up-front. Well, Jose Ortiz put this filly into gear at the top of the stretch and, I might add, with a nifty horse-splitting move began moving up alongside the apparent winner, a $100 horse named Rain in Spain. However, the head-on showed that Rain in Spain, the posted winner, had drifted out badly (that despite right-handed urging by jockey Junior Alvarado) in deep stretch; she proceeded to “herd” Eqho to her outside. The stewards posted Eqho's number first. Anything resembling this aforementioned effort – with, I trust, speedier fractions up front – should result in this filly’s second lifetime win. Although she's now facing winners. Yet, she does race against similar company. Others: :2: , :6: , :3:
Race Two:
:2: Nuffsaid Nuffsaid, is my choice, almost by default. She gets my tepid, lukewarm nod as the 8/5 ML fave in this lower-level claiming sprint. Yes, this 7 year-old chestnut mare is dropping (“suspicious” DRF) and should be able to handle these at this level – the lowest in her racing career. Yet, I freely admit that I have gnawing concerns. No lead-pipe cinch. The capable “King of Philadelphia,” Kendrick Carmouche, is in the irons. Candidly though, Carmouche is having a less-than-stellar “Spa” meet. Yet, Carmouche usually does well in sprint races. Danny Gargan’s a solid trainer who does well with both beaten favorites and down 2+ classes. If matters go according to Hoyle -- they don’t always do -- this mare should end up in the winner's circle. Others: :4: , :3: , :5:
Race Three:
:5: Athena’s Aegis is my choice in this MSW turf sprint. This Irish-bred filly has a solid turf pedigree. She also gets Lasix for the first time. Her morning work-tab has been very good, i.e., a sharp four-panel work in :48.4, breezing. The cut-back should help. Trainer Tom Morley is having a solid meet. Morley does well with horses that have been on the shelf, in this case, nearly two months. The filly’s dam, Ronja, had two starters: one was a winner; the other was a stakes winner. Manny Franco is in the irons. Others: :1: , :3: , :4:
Race Four:
:5: Sophia’s Song is my pick in this optional claiming sprint. This filly gets the outside starting post in this short-field, 6 and ½ panels race. This Bellamy Road-bred chestnut is now adding blinkers. Yes, this Concerto-bred has been on the bench for over five months; yet her previous racing efforts – they’ve taken her, peripatetically, from Canada to Florida and then to Laurel -- have all been rock-solid. In each case, this precocious 3 year-old has performed quite well, i.e., three wins and a second in four lifetime starts. Todd Pletcher, currently second behind Chad Brown for honors as Saratoga's leading trainer, conditions this Mt. Livermore-bred. The veteran reinsman, Javier Castellano, is in the irons. Others: :2: , :1: , :4:
Race Five:
:10: Compelled gets my nod in this MSW turf sprint. This Danzig-bred filly is ridden by the meet’s leading rider, Irad Ortiz, Jr. (a rider switch from the listed Ashley Castrenze). I might mention that this War Front-bred filly recently worked four panels in :48.3, breezing from the gate. In addition, the horse’s trainer, the red-hot Tom Proctor, does very well both with horses making their turf debut and with horses making turf starts. Others: :5: , :6: , :7:
Race Six:
:4: Miss Aja Brown is my selection in this claiming turf route on The Inner. This Big Brown-bred chestnut filly has had two first and two second-place finishes in seven lifetime turf tries. The most capable Mike Hushion is this filly's conditioner. Hushion does well with routes and claiming events. Jose Ortiz is in the stirrups. Others: :5: , :6: , :2:
Race Seven:
In this nine-panels allowance route, n1x, my choice is a perceived longshot, the rail horse, :1: Mini Salsa. Mini Salsa is a highly-priced (Keeneland sales) Uncle Mo-bred colt who is trained by one of America’s leading conditioners, Todd Pletcher. Javier Castellano is as solid a jockey as you’ll find on the NYRA circuit. Castellano knows, almost instinctively, where to position his horse in a race and then, when to optimally move him/her. This colt did break his maiden in his last race, downstate, at Belmont about a month ago. This Indian Charlie-bred could once again grab the lead, “skim the rail,” and prevail at the wire. Others: :7: , :3: , :4:
Race Eight:
:4: Bigger Picture is my pick in this turf OC route at one mile and 3/8ths. This 5 year-old chestnut gelding may well have been ambitiously overmatched in the Grade I United Nations at Monmouth over one month ago; the gelding finished eighth in a field of ten. This gelding’s trainer, Mike Maker, does very well with horses making turf starts. Jose Ortiz is in the irons for this Silver Deputy-bred who has finished either first or second in seven out of 12 lifetime turf tries. Others: :8: , :7: , :5:
Race Nine:
:11: Dads Caps is my choice in the Tale of the Cat 100k non-graded six furlongs sprint. This 6 year-old bay horse recently turned in a solid “bullet” work in which he stopped the stopwatch at 1:00.1, breezing for five panels. Two starts ago, this horse was second-a head in the Grade II True North at Belmont. In that one, he stopped the tele-timer in a tick over 1:08 for six furlongs. Anything resembling that effort… This horse did fail as the favorite in his last; yet, his trainer, Rudy Rodriguez, does very well with horses who were beaten favorites. Irad Ortiz, Jr, is in the irons. Others: :5: , :4: , :7:
Race Ten:
In the finale, :1: Bluegrass Rye is my selection in this claiming turf route. Frankly, it should be noted that this Bluegrass Cat-bred chestnut gelding has turned in two-straight "clunker" performances in his most recent races. Today’s race…a wake-up call? David Donk is too good a trainer to, as we say in the teaching profession, let this gelding “slip through the cracks.” This Storm Cat-bred performed much better against stiffer competition, last year. Eric Cancel reprises the ride. Others: :11: , :7: , :8:
:8: Eqho won his last seen three months ago, downstate, winning a maiden-breaking claiming effort through disqualification. In that one, this Giant’s Causeway-bred filly was languishing at the back of the pack with pedestrian-like fractions being posted up-front. Well, Jose Ortiz put this filly into gear at the top of the stretch and, I might add, with a nifty horse-splitting move began moving up alongside the apparent winner, a $100 horse named Rain in Spain. However, the head-on showed that Rain in Spain, the posted winner, had drifted out badly (that despite right-handed urging by jockey Junior Alvarado) in deep stretch; she proceeded to “herd” Eqho to her outside. The stewards posted Eqho's number first. Anything resembling this aforementioned effort – with, I trust, speedier fractions up front – should result in this filly’s second lifetime win. Although she's now facing winners. Yet, she does race against similar company. Others: :2: , :6: , :3:
Race Two:
:2: Nuffsaid Nuffsaid, is my choice, almost by default. She gets my tepid, lukewarm nod as the 8/5 ML fave in this lower-level claiming sprint. Yes, this 7 year-old chestnut mare is dropping (“suspicious” DRF) and should be able to handle these at this level – the lowest in her racing career. Yet, I freely admit that I have gnawing concerns. No lead-pipe cinch. The capable “King of Philadelphia,” Kendrick Carmouche, is in the irons. Candidly though, Carmouche is having a less-than-stellar “Spa” meet. Yet, Carmouche usually does well in sprint races. Danny Gargan’s a solid trainer who does well with both beaten favorites and down 2+ classes. If matters go according to Hoyle -- they don’t always do -- this mare should end up in the winner's circle. Others: :4: , :3: , :5:
Race Three:
:5: Athena’s Aegis is my choice in this MSW turf sprint. This Irish-bred filly has a solid turf pedigree. She also gets Lasix for the first time. Her morning work-tab has been very good, i.e., a sharp four-panel work in :48.4, breezing. The cut-back should help. Trainer Tom Morley is having a solid meet. Morley does well with horses that have been on the shelf, in this case, nearly two months. The filly’s dam, Ronja, had two starters: one was a winner; the other was a stakes winner. Manny Franco is in the irons. Others: :1: , :3: , :4:
Race Four:
:5: Sophia’s Song is my pick in this optional claiming sprint. This filly gets the outside starting post in this short-field, 6 and ½ panels race. This Bellamy Road-bred chestnut is now adding blinkers. Yes, this Concerto-bred has been on the bench for over five months; yet her previous racing efforts – they’ve taken her, peripatetically, from Canada to Florida and then to Laurel -- have all been rock-solid. In each case, this precocious 3 year-old has performed quite well, i.e., three wins and a second in four lifetime starts. Todd Pletcher, currently second behind Chad Brown for honors as Saratoga's leading trainer, conditions this Mt. Livermore-bred. The veteran reinsman, Javier Castellano, is in the irons. Others: :2: , :1: , :4:
Race Five:
:10: Compelled gets my nod in this MSW turf sprint. This Danzig-bred filly is ridden by the meet’s leading rider, Irad Ortiz, Jr. (a rider switch from the listed Ashley Castrenze). I might mention that this War Front-bred filly recently worked four panels in :48.3, breezing from the gate. In addition, the horse’s trainer, the red-hot Tom Proctor, does very well both with horses making their turf debut and with horses making turf starts. Others: :5: , :6: , :7:
Race Six:
:4: Miss Aja Brown is my selection in this claiming turf route on The Inner. This Big Brown-bred chestnut filly has had two first and two second-place finishes in seven lifetime turf tries. The most capable Mike Hushion is this filly's conditioner. Hushion does well with routes and claiming events. Jose Ortiz is in the stirrups. Others: :5: , :6: , :2:
Race Seven:
In this nine-panels allowance route, n1x, my choice is a perceived longshot, the rail horse, :1: Mini Salsa. Mini Salsa is a highly-priced (Keeneland sales) Uncle Mo-bred colt who is trained by one of America’s leading conditioners, Todd Pletcher. Javier Castellano is as solid a jockey as you’ll find on the NYRA circuit. Castellano knows, almost instinctively, where to position his horse in a race and then, when to optimally move him/her. This colt did break his maiden in his last race, downstate, at Belmont about a month ago. This Indian Charlie-bred could once again grab the lead, “skim the rail,” and prevail at the wire. Others: :7: , :3: , :4:
Race Eight:
:4: Bigger Picture is my pick in this turf OC route at one mile and 3/8ths. This 5 year-old chestnut gelding may well have been ambitiously overmatched in the Grade I United Nations at Monmouth over one month ago; the gelding finished eighth in a field of ten. This gelding’s trainer, Mike Maker, does very well with horses making turf starts. Jose Ortiz is in the irons for this Silver Deputy-bred who has finished either first or second in seven out of 12 lifetime turf tries. Others: :8: , :7: , :5:
Race Nine:
:11: Dads Caps is my choice in the Tale of the Cat 100k non-graded six furlongs sprint. This 6 year-old bay horse recently turned in a solid “bullet” work in which he stopped the stopwatch at 1:00.1, breezing for five panels. Two starts ago, this horse was second-a head in the Grade II True North at Belmont. In that one, he stopped the tele-timer in a tick over 1:08 for six furlongs. Anything resembling that effort… This horse did fail as the favorite in his last; yet, his trainer, Rudy Rodriguez, does very well with horses who were beaten favorites. Irad Ortiz, Jr, is in the irons. Others: :5: , :4: , :7:
Race Ten:
In the finale, :1: Bluegrass Rye is my selection in this claiming turf route. Frankly, it should be noted that this Bluegrass Cat-bred chestnut gelding has turned in two-straight "clunker" performances in his most recent races. Today’s race…a wake-up call? David Donk is too good a trainer to, as we say in the teaching profession, let this gelding “slip through the cracks.” This Storm Cat-bred performed much better against stiffer competition, last year. Eric Cancel reprises the ride. Others: :11: , :7: , :8: