Woodside Associates - Race Of The Week

[john del riccio]

I would like to again invite the racing fans here at PACE ADVANTAGE to take a look at our Race Of The Week analysis. It is FREE. The Henry Kuck Ratings are included in our analysis in an effort to educate players on both the accuracy of the ratings and their application as it pertains to handicapping top quality races. Different types of races require a different handicapping approach and since the ROTW is always a stake race, a consistent means to handicapping these races will be shown. Good Luck, ask questions, and with a little luck, cash some tickets. The ROTW is The Arlington Classic.


Click on the link below and a pdf file should open, if not you may need to upgrade your version of abobe acrobat. GOOD LUCK !

John Del Riccio
www.woodsideassociates.com/raceoftheweek/rotw.pdf (http://www.woodsideassociates.com/raceoftheweek/rotw.pdf)

[Robert Fischer]

Great job as always with your ROTW

I have a feeling that Pleasant Strike will take more money than his ml-odds indicate here. PS is one horse I would like to beat, and I see that you were able to eliminate that one which is nice. I am having trouble backing anything in this race with confidence. Vaunt looks decent, although I don't know if he is a deserving favorite.

[john del riccio]

Great job as always with your ROTW

I have a feeling that Pleasant Strike will take more money than his ml-odds indicate here. PS is one horse I would like to beat, and I see that you were able to eliminate that one which is nice. I am having trouble backing anything in this race with confidence. Vaunt looks decent, although I don't know if he is a deserving favorite.

Robert, Thanks. I don't like Pleasant Strikes 3yo form at all. He showed talent
at 2 but hasn't shown anything at 3. He appears to be more of a pace presence than a threat to win IMO. I think we may actually get a price on my top selection.

John

[john del riccio]

Great job as always with your ROTW

I have a feeling that Pleasant Strike will take more money than his ml-odds indicate here. PS is one horse I would like to beat, and I see that you were able to eliminate that one which is nice. I am having trouble backing anything in this race with confidence. Vaunt looks decent, although I don't know if he is a deserving favorite.

Robert,

I hope you tied PS up with Loveango. I didn't see him winning let alone running a race like that. He was tons the best. Loveandgo moved too soon but he wasn't gonna beat that one anyway.

JOhn

[Robert Fischer]

Nice work with Loveango. He was the key to value in the race. I hope you spread in the win slot as well.
Pleasant Strike wasn't the worst horse to include at 5-1. I thought they might have bet him down to around 3-1. Looks like the public went down backing Vaunt.

If you had the guts to include your top pick and spread appropriatly, there was value. :ThmbUp:

[john del riccio]

Nice work with Loveango. He was the key to value in the race. I hope you spread in the win slot as well.
Pleasant Strike wasn't the worst horse to include at 5-1. I thought they might have bet him down to around 3-1. Looks like the public went down backing Vaunt.

If you had the guts to include your top pick and spread appropriatly, there was value. :ThmbUp:

Robert,

I had Loveango to WP & boxed him with my 2nd & 3rd choice. They ran horribly for some reason. Is there anything in Pleasant Strikes PP's that could have signalled an effort like that ? He showed much potential on turf as a 2yo but his 2 starts this year were hardly worth mentioning....

John

[bellsbendboy]

With due respect John, I played this sequence and keyed Pleasant Strike. So I'll take a stab and sing some positives that pointed him out.

First off he did not turf as a two year old and he had four starts this year before yesterday, not two.

After racing thrice as a juvenile in NY showing modest ability, Pleasant Strike was freshened for some ninety days and taken to Florida. One would expect being bred (Smart Strike out of a Pleasant Colony mare) that he would be triple crown nominated; since he was not, perhaps his connections considered him a turf horse, certainly the right conclusion.

He broke his maiden in his first 3yo start by a widening eight lengths getting nine grassy furlongs in one forty-nine and a tick, with the last three panels in a sprightly :36 flat. Pletcher then VERY uncharacteristically ran him in the stake three weeks later against his own stakeswinning stablemate! Hung out wide, in very fast splits he understandably tired.

Logically a rich one other than at Keeneland would follow and PS had five nice works coming into the race. The last of which was in company with ANY GIVEN SATURDAY! In that work PS went "easily" and AGS, with Gomez up, was "pushed hard" and could not get to PS.

Off now for sixty days, yet favored PS caught a freak (INCA KING), and sophomores being very weight sensitive he dueled with that frontrunner and packing 123 lbs, weakened late. 'Inca came back to win the Jefferson (200K, Grade II) at Churchill last Saturday without taking a deep breath and paid some $18.

The Arlington triple crown for 3yo's on turf seemed sensible and Pletcher sent PS to Chicago. NO trainer ever, has been better with keeping a horse on schedule and PS is a good example. After the Keeneland race sixteen days, work, seven days work again, six days later race. When his prep came off it made little difference as he scored clear with plenty left. Staying on schedule, fifteen days, work, seven days later work, six days later race.

Yesterday, PS caught a very weak field for this level and drew a cushy post. When Arlington runs in lane two you need to be on the engine or catch some fence or you are toast, and PS figured and got a perfect trip. I do not normally play AP but a friend went and asked me for some advice. My pick four ($6) was gone after one leg but I did cash the $2 late double. As a vertical player, I do not make betting lines, yet am totally perplexed how this horse paid $12.

[john del riccio]

With due respect John, I played this sequence and keyed Pleasant Strike. So I'll take a stab and sing some positives that pointed him out.

First off he did not turf as a two year old and he had four starts this year before yesterday, not two.

After racing thrice as a juvenile in NY showing modest ability, Pleasant Strike was freshened for some ninety days and taken to Florida. One would expect being bred (Smart Strike out of a Pleasant Colony mare) that he would be triple crown nominated; since he was not, perhaps his connections considered him a turf horse, certainly the right conclusion.

He broke his maiden in his first 3yo start by a widening eight lengths getting nine grassy furlongs in one forty-nine and a tick, with the last three panels in a sprightly :36 flat. Pletcher then VERY uncharacteristically ran him in the stake three weeks later against his own stakeswinning stablemate! Hung out wide, in very fast splits he understandably tired.

Logically a rich one other than at Keeneland would follow and PS had five nice works coming into the race. The last of which was in company with ANY GIVEN SATURDAY! In that work PS went "easily" and AGS, with Gomez up, was "pushed hard" and could not get to PS.

Off now for sixty days, yet favored PS caught a freak (INCA KING), and sophomores being very weight sensitive he dueled with that frontrunner and packing 123 lbs, weakened late. 'Inca came back to win the Jefferson (200K, Grade II) at Churchill last Saturday without taking a deep breath and paid some $18.

The Arlington triple crown for 3yo's on turf seemed sensible and Pletcher sent PS to Chicago. NO trainer ever, has been better with keeping a horse on schedule and PS is a good example. After the Keeneland race sixteen days, work, seven days work again, six days later race. When his prep came off it made little difference as he scored clear with plenty left. Staying on schedule, fifteen days, work, seven days later work, six days later race.

Yesterday, PS caught a very weak field for this level and drew a cushy post. When Arlington runs in lane two you need to be on the engine or catch some fence or you are toast, and PS figured and got a perfect trip. I do not normally play AP but a friend went and asked me for some advice. My pick four ($6) was gone after one leg but I did cash the $2 late double. As a vertical player, I do not make betting lines, yet am totally perplexed how this horse paid $12.

BBB,

"The last of which was in company with ANY GIVEN SATURDAY! In that work PS went "easily" and AGS, with Gomez up, was "pushed hard" and could not get to PS".

I did not have this info and it likely would have made me a little warmer but I think you read alot better between the lines than I did on this horse. I seem to be out of sync with TAP lately. When I think one of his horses will run big, they don't and vice-versa. Good Job.

JOhn