the Clark G1 Stakes (Code of Honor)
 

Code of Honor is back. :jump:

Looks like a big field (early entries seeing 14? +1ae)...

Been a fan of Code of Honor, and felt he was against the grain, vs. good company, in his 2020 campaign.

Mixed signals, w/ opting to pass on the BC (perhaps a smart move in hindsight, but raises questions of current form).

Likely to be favored in a big, somewhat competitive field here...

This field should be a joy to analyze.... lots of options. I'm liking Mr Freeze and Multiplier so far. It might be BMS's race to lose at 9F dropping down from the G1 though...

Dennis’ Moment is back in an allowance race earlier in the card against Silver State, should be a good one.

I have much more work to do on the Clark and Code of Honor will be tough....but I’m interested in Coastal Defense at what should be a giant price. He’s just figuring it out and ran just as good as Mr Freeze or Aurelius Maximus in the Fayette.

Going with the "Bode". Think he finally puts two races together. Wire to wire is his game, the real speed of the race.

cross country pick 5:

Friday, November 27 Leg A: Aqueduct - Gio Ponti - Race 5 (1:46 pm)
Leg B: Aqueduct - Comely - Race 8 (3:15 pm)
Leg C: Aqueduct - Forever Together - Race 9 (3:44 pm)
Leg D: Churchill Downs - Race 9 (4:57 pm)
Leg E: Churchill Downs - Clark - Race 10 (5:27 pm)

Looks very difficult. I couldn't find a single

:5::12: and :3: depending on how close John Velazquez keeps Code of Honor to the front of the second grouping.

Interesting race, lots of chances. No bets or strong opinions for me.

Nice one:ThmbUp:

BODEXPRESS
 

I will start by saying , I bet the horse ( 11 to 1 is a good price), HOWEVER , I know this horse was OVER 20 to 1 near post time. Any comments?

Great Call:ThmbUp:

Good value. It took a Brad Cox trainee with high intent, to edge him for 3rd. FWIW, galloped out.

Thanks, to both of you. Did not get to see the race, myself. Was nice to see the money in my account though. Having a lot of fun pulling up a hardwood floor today.:bang::ThmbDown: Not the funnest thing to do.

Nice call!

A few highlights...first, he was over 20-1 at the gate, 11-1 when odds first flashed. Second, he did not go wire to wire.

Just finished watching the replay, you can call me shocked that he won without the lead. I bet under $100 on the race, early, so I can not say anything about the late odds drop.

Nice call. They are talking Pegasus.

Since the pace was set by a 155-1 no-hoper and the winner was a relaxed second, one could get away with saying Bode was the controlling pace among the ones that mattered. So Jay's pick and reasoning were pretty much spot on. :ThmbUp:

Several of the odds reverted to a more normal-looking distribution in the last few minutes, seems to me. Kristufek and DeRosa on the CD feed mentioned how you could get 30/40-1 on horses that have had some success, when they were still on air before the call to post. Bode was around 20-1 then, I think. The :3: and :12: took all the early money and skewed things. Not surprised that Bode was among those that dropped late.

I wonder how much longer the Clark is going to hold onto its Grade 1 status?

I didn't think it was such a bad field going in, but with Code of Honor seemingly incapable of getting the job done (unless maybe he gets a pace meltdown), By My Standards over the top as not as sharp as he was, and Bodexpress sitting off the pace and winning, I'd have to say this wasn't a legit Grade 1 race. If you look at the last 7 years or so the Beyer figures also look more Grade 2ish than Grade 1ish. Bodexpress was given a 102.