Handicapper's Diary

The Handicapper's Diary feature from DRF Simulcast Daily will be posted every Thursday during the Del Mar meet.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Odds-on favorite MISS DIXIE DANCER broke slow in race 2, a claiming sprint for 2-year-old fillies, but that does not excuse her runner-up finish. Some horse's races look better on paper than they were in reality, and that was the case with MISS DIXIE DANCER, who was badly overbet at 3-5. Nobody claimed her for $50,000, so apparently everyone already knew that. Everyone except bettors, that is. It sure looked like SOUVENIR SLEW won raxce 4, a $20,000 claiming route, but his head was up at the wire, and FRANKELSTEIN's head was down, and they finished in a dead heat. Runner-up FRANKELSTEIN was best, however. He was forced wide on the first turn by a lugging-out LONELY HIGHWAY. Just as a reminder: race-2 favorite KAFFEINATOR and race-5 favorite VICTORY JOE both are bad maiden-claimers with hearts the size of peas. Neither won, neither had an excuse. The race-8 upset by KIAMIKA ($107.80) was not enough to cause a triple-carryover in the Super High Five. There was one winning ticket worth $437,893.40. Track officials said the ticket was purchased through the hub in Lewiston, Maine. Haven't heard that in a while.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Both 2-year-old maiden races on Pacific Classic Day produced winners that will be heard from in stakes. In race 2, the second-start filly TORO BONITO overcame an uneasy trip inside and between horses, found a seam coming off the turn, rallied outside and won by a length in a quick 1:10.07. The colts in race 4 did not run as fast as the fillies, but the three-quarter-length victory by first-time starter MAJORMOTIONPICTURE was a lot better than it looked. He broke slow from the rail, worked up inside to chase on the rail, slipped through to engage for the lead on the turn, made the front too soon, but had enough left to hold off a bevy of challengers. MAJORMOTIONPICTURE galloped out strongly past the wire, and could show up in the two-turn Norfolk Stakes for his second career start during the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita. Mike Machowsky trains the son of Action This Day. Race 2-winning filly TORO BONITO is by El Corredor, and trained by Bob Baffert. The main track played fast, DEAREST TRICKSI made an uncontested lead in the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap (race 7), and when MAGNIFICIENCE laid an egg at 3-2, DEAREST TRICKSKI won gate to wire in a modest 1:15.17 that will translate to a Beyer close to triple digits. MAGNIFICIENCE was visibly uncomfortable, under a drive early, and ran poorly to finish fifth. She is not the superstar filly that many thought she was. MIDNIGHT LUTE was odds-on to win the Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Handicap (race 8), but he was slow from the gate, trapped behind horses and never in a good spot, and finished tenth. The two and three-quarter length winner was shipper LEWIS MICHAEL, whose 1:21.17 for seven furlongs should get a Beyer in the low 100s. If his connections pay the $180,000 supplementary fee, WHATSTHESCRIPT may be headed for the Breeders' Cup Mile after running the fastest turf mile of the meet in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile Handicap (race 9). Midpack behind a fast pace, he rallied wide into the lane, and turned it on late to win by three-quarters of a length over BOLD CHIEFTAIN. Fourth-place finisher DAYTONA pressed the fastest six furlongs of the meet (1:09.01) and tired to fourth. He needed the start, and ran well. MONZANTE was flat, no visible excuse. GO BETWEEN took advantage of another good ride by Garrett Gomez to win the Pacific Classic (race 10) by a neck over a stubborn WELL ARMED. The pace was fast; GO BETWEEN rallied from the rear of the field, and inched clear late. Last year's winner STUDENT COUNCIL appeared to be loaded on the backstretch, but GO BETWEEN ran past him on the far turn and STUDENT COUNCIL gave nothing. Have to give credit to WELL ARMED, the only front-runner to stick around. He finished two and one-quarter lengths clear of third.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

SCIBILLI may never win. He got away with a soft opening quarter-mile in race 1 (23.03 seconds), but drifted out into and through the stretch, and was outfinished by $1.9 million Giant's Causeway colt TIMES GONE BY. The winner earned a 93 Beyer and is bred to run long. Another Baffert-trained favorite bit the dust in race 4; VICTORY DANCER finished sixth at odds of 9-10. Tough stable to back at a short price. The winner of the spring for Calbred maiden 2-year-old fillies was City Zip first-time starter UNZIP ME, who rallied wide and won going away in a respectable 1:10.40. MUNY set strong fractions in his first start on grass in race 5, and he kept running to win the first-level allowance by a length. He will be in a stakes race sometime soon. SPRING HOUSE won the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap like an odds-on favorite is supposed to, drawing away by a length and a half. The gelding, trained by Julio Canani, won the mile and three-eighths grass race by a length and a half. It was a "Win and You're In" race for the Breeders' Cup Turf. And if Spring House hits the board in the BC Turf, it will be a major upset. He is just not good enough. When 2-1 favorite HOT N' DUSTY got buried in traffic on the turn and through the stretch in race 9, it allowed DATE WITH FATE to rally wide and win. Keep an eye on HOT N' DUSTY.

Friday, August 22, 2008

MARZELLINE ($7.40) won the $85,400 CTT and TOC Handicap, a mile and three-eighths turf race in which Tyler Baze's patient handling of the winner was the difference. Even-money favorite GREENY LYONS ran poorly without an apparent excuse and finished third. In race 3 for claiming fillies, suspicious class dropper DEANNE'S RING was scratched two minutes to post. He was "off in the left front" according to stewards. SMUDGELEDO blitzed $10,000 sprint claimers in race 5, winning in a quick 1:09.79 like he can come right back and win again. EXCEEDING paid $18.40 winning race 6, a N2X/optional $26,2500 claiming race. The payoff was high considering it was the 11th win from 29 start for EXCEEDING, who was claimed last time out by Bill Spawr (from Steve Knapp) for $50,000. EXCEEDING will nominate to a stakes at the Los Angeles County Fair, and run there or the Cal Cup Starter Handicap during the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita. An electrifying stretch run by SOLAR MISS in race 7 stamped the lightly raced filly as a potential turf stakes filly in the months ahead. She smoked the final five-sixteenths in somewhere around 28 seconds. Prior to race 8, VIRGIN was 5-1 in the betting but she flipped in the paddock and scratched.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

LA MINSTRAL finished next to last in race 1, but she broke well behind the field and actually galloped out with run. An aggressive ride by leading jockey Rafael Bejarano led to a wire-to-wire race-2 victory by AFLEET'S DESIGN ($6.60) in the $25,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds. Bejarano gunned early, opened up, died home, and held in a solid 1:10.53. The track was watered after race 2. Despite limited, sketchy anecdotal evidence, some believe that the track gets quicker and speed carries farther after it is watered. It is premature to believe that with any confidence. Race-3 first-time starter PERFECT HOSTESS ($15.40) was green as grass winning the maiden-40 for Calbred fillies and mares, but she got the job done and was claimed from Don Warren by Jorge Periban. The final time was slow (1:11.46). Race 4 also was slow. BARBARA'S LOVE ($3.80) needed 1:10.84 to win the $62,500 claiming race for 3-year-old fillies. For what it's worth, the win was more impressive visually than the clock. Is the 2-year-old colt DEL CONTE good enough for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf? Could be. He was hounded though a wild 45.84 half-mile split in the mile turf race, shook off his pace foe, and somehow held sway. Bob Baffert trains the son of Point Given. It was the first winning favorite this meet trained by Baffert, after 13 losses. Considering the fast pace, DEL CONTE deserves extra credit. Tyler Baze on race-7 favorite RENEGADE RUBY outrode Joel Rosario on runner-up BRENDOLYN, and that was the difference in the mile turf race for N2X fillies and mares. Rosario got stuck behind traffic on the far turn, cleared too late, and fell short by a head. Baze has emerged as one of the top riders on the circuit this summer.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

It was a festival of chalk, as favorites won six of the eight races. And the truth is, it was not much of card. MOON MOMENT ran well rallying from bheind in race 1 for Calbred $40,000 maiden-claimers, but it was front-runner CHILLIWACK ($6.20) who got an easy trip up front and wired the field. The 2-year-old ran the slowest six furlongs of the meet (1:13.23). CABLE DANCER did not have a good trip in race 2, a $32,000 claimer for 3-year-olds. Jockey Corey Nakatani cut him loose with a four-wide move into the far turn, and he subsequently flattened out. The gelding is not that bad, but the tactics sealed his fate. Nakatani usually rides better than this. BOULE D'OR won a Grade 2 in winter at Santa Anita, but the veteran turf runner added four wraps for a $50,000 claimer that was race 2, and he ran poorly to finish second while fully extended late. CHARMO ($5.20) sat third behind the leaders, and won the race that fell apart for him. The streak stays alive. Bob Baffert is now 0-for-13 with favorites at Del Mar after 2-1 CENTURY PARK finished second in race 5. But it was a good effort by the 2-year-old maiden filly in the mile turf race, while the third- and fourth-place finishers also ran well. DREAMALONG was far back off a slow pace, threaded traffic in the lane, and finished a good third. First-time starter SCREEN GEM broke slow, rallied wide, and finished with interest. The fastest main-track race on the card was race 6, won by SHE FLOATS ($4). She raced wide, won easily, and got six furlongs in 1:10.76, a good time for a maiden-40 starter allowance. Garrett Gomez was unseated at the start when BELLA DANCER took a left-hand turn, but he returned to win the race-7 feature on HYPERBARIC ($4.80). His win in the $86,360 Harry Brubaker was the second on the card for trainer Julio Canani, whose handicapping advice in the soon-to-be-steroid-free era is "don't bet geldings." HYPERBARIC is a gelding.

Monday, August 18, 2008

There were 10 claims in for race-2 runner-up DRIVEN BY EXCESS, who goes to trainer Bob Hess. Jr. But boy, did he waste a soft trip up front. He set a walking pace, and was no match late for even-money winner SMOOCHER. Trainer Barry Abrams had a good week. He won a stakes race Sunday, finished two-three in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks on Saturday, and won with a pair of first-time starters early in the week. But he was not satisfied, and when his race-3 rookie SEANY'S COURAGE ran into a roadblock in the stretch, Abrams claimed foul against third-place finisher HIDDEN TRAIL. Trainers do not usually claim foul. It was a frivolous claim. HIDDEN TRAIL did not cause trouble. Rather, it was Abrams-trained SEANY'S COURAGE who ran up on heels of a tiring front-runner and was forced to check. Abrams could have stayed quiet. The purse difference between third and fourth place was $2,226, and the frivolous foul claim does nothing to enhance the reputation of Abrams. Meanwhile, race-3 favorite EVALUATE finished second, extending Bob Baffert's string of losing favorites this meet to 12. Race 5 was a split of race 3 (one mile, older maidens), and was won by VULCAN ($3), whose final time was nearly two seconds faster than race-3 winner PEARL FISHER (1:37.67 compared to 1:39.59).