Frizette fillies enter with something to prove
There aren’t any household names in the Grade 1 Frizette on Saturday at Belmont Park, but there is a lot of promise in the field of seven lightly raced 2-year-old fillies.
Jim DunleavyOct 01, 2015
There aren’t any household names in the Grade 1 Frizette on Saturday at Belmont Park, but there is a lot of promise in the field of seven lightly raced 2-year-old fillies.
The 31 years since the first Breeders’ Cup have not been kind to Jockey Club Gold Cup winners or the horseplayers who bet them back in the Classic. Since 1984, only three Gold Cup winners from 24 starters have won the Classic – Curlin in 2007, Skip Away in 1997, and Cigar in 1995. Curlin (twice), Cigar, and Mineshaft in 2003 are the only Gold Cup winners to be named the Horse of the Year at season’s end. During that same span, 11 Classic winners have won that award.
Mostly out of respect for his dramatic triumph in the Arlington Million, The Pizza Man could go off a slight favorite Saturday in the $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland. But you sure can’t blame horseplayers for taking long looks elsewhere.
For bettors who have made him the favorite in all four of his races this year, the fact Tonalist has just one win could be described as disappointing. For trainer Christophe Clement, another word comes to mind.
The fall has begun and with it comes The Red Mile’s Grand Circuit action on Saturday night. The best 3-year-olds of each division will get tested and trainer Chris Ryder is hopeful that his pair of pacers will enjoy their time in Kentucky.
The millionaire Undrafted is the most accomplished runner in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Woodford Stakes at Keeneland, but he’s far from a lock in the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint.
If you throw money at them, they will come, and 3-year-old grass horses have come out of the woodwork for Saturday’s rich Hill Prince Stakes.
Most of what you need to handicap is in the past performances. Bob Pandolfo looks at some important handicapping angles and integrates them into a point system.
I like Brody’s Cauue in the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity on Saturday at Keeneland.
Keeneland’s fall meet is similar to the spring meet in many ways; after all, it often features the same jockeys, trainers, and horses who we saw in the spring. However, trainer intent can be different in the fall, especially with the Breeders’ Cup happening there this year. Don’t get me wrong, many of the trainer angles we highlighted in the spring will still play in the fall, but other angles can vary greatly between the two meets. DRF Formulator gives you access to all of a trainer’s runners over the past five years, so I encourage you to dive in and find angles of your own, but here are some I think are worth monitoring at this meet.