Gierkink's Woodbine Horses to Watch for week of Aug. 17
Ron Gierkink's Horses to Watch at Woodbine the week of Aug. 17.
Ron GierkinkAug 16, 2015
Ron Gierkink's Horses to Watch at Woodbine the week of Aug. 17.
Depending on what the toteboard says, we could have a bunch of plays or not that many plays Monday at Saratoga. As always, we stick to the overlays and steer clear of the underlays as dictated by a personal betting line.
Soft ground and the straight-course mile at Deauville bring out the best in Esoterique. The 5-year-old mare won the Group 1 Prix Rothschild under those conditions Aug. 3, 2014, and subsequently lost five races in a row but was back in the winner’s circle Sunday after a convincing 1 1/2-length tally over the favored Territories in the Group 1 Prix Jacques Les Marois.
A California-bred colt by Harlan’s Holiday and a Kentucky-bred filly by Tapizar each sold for $90,000 at Saturday’s Barretts Select Yearling Sale at Del Mar, the leading hips at the first summertime sale of yearlings in Southern California in 11 years.
Trainer Roger Brueggemann was pretty much traveling first class Sunday from Arlington back to his training base in Louisville, Kentucky – didn’t even have to drive. Brueggemann had the passenger seat up in the horse van all to himself with Arlington Million winner The Pizza Man snug in a stall in the trailer behind him heading south down I-65 back to the Churchill Downs Training Center.
The connections of Secret Gesture plan to appeal her disqualification from first to third Saturday in the Grade 1, $700,000 Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington, according to an official for the International Racing Bureau, which coordinates and facilitates the shipping of European horses.
The six 2-year-old colts entered in Sunday’s Grade 2 Saratoga Special have all won nothing more than a maiden race apiece, and they did so over three types of surfaces at six different tracks. From the rail out, it’s a matchup among maiden winners Exaggerator (Del Mar dirt), Holding Gold (Woodbine synthetic), Hammers Vision (Belmont turf), John Q. Public (Ellis dirt), Saratoga Mischief (Saratoga dirt), and Mid Life Crisis (Delaware dirt.)
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah “looked like the Pharoah we know,” trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday morning at Del Mar after a half-mile workout officially timed in 47.60 seconds, though it was more like a five-furlong drill with a six-furlong gallop out.
Lucy’s Bob Boy stamped himself as the horse to beat in the $500,000 West Virginia Breeders’ Classic on Oct. 10 by scoring an emphatic victory Saturday night in the Frank Gall Memorial Stakes at Charles Town.
Smack Smack changed tactics for the $175,000 Governor’s Cup on Saturday night, and the result was a 20-1 upset in Remington Park’s premier route race for older horses. Smack Smack sat closer to the pace than usual, then battled for a half-length win over Russellin. It was the biggest career victory for Smack Smack, who paid $42.60.