BreezeFigs Quick-Pix for Saturday, April 26th by Bob Fierro and Jay Kilgore

If you have not attended a 2-year-old-in-training sale, you might not quite understand how crazy it can be for making time available to breathe, especially one like the OBSAPR sale which concluded this past week with more than 1,000 horses breezing and going through the ring. That’s where we were, dear reader, and while we were otherwise engaged, BreezeFigs maidens did themselves proud during our hiatus. The cards have been somewhat thin as far as maiden races are concerned, but the nine who broke their maidens averaged $18.88 to win, with $18.00 as the median payoff. That’s pretty delicious in anyone’s book, so we shall see where we go from here before the next big to-do, which is EASMAY on Preakness weekend. Meanwhile today’s card is also a bit thin, but we think we have a good one to fool with, see below. Good luck!

Remember to pay attention to two changes we’ve made over the past several years. First, there have been changes in the CLASS EDGE category (at the bottom of the BreezeFigs card) because one sale was eliminated (OBSFEB) and FTFFEB is now in March (FTFMAR), and that moved OBSMAR into a higher class. Also, in the SALE & HIP column: the “HIP” refers to the catalogue number for that horse in that sale. This reference will enable you to go to the website of the sales company involved and easily find the short video of the horse’s breeze at that sale.

The web links for each sale are listed in the NOTES section of the new BreezeFigs Report and you will find all the information as to why we have done this and how you can benefit from this addition to the service by downloading the document which explains it all here: http://static.drf.com/PDFs/breezefigs/BreezeFigs2009Sales.pdf. Remember, no other handicapping service can give you the advantages you need from 2-year-old sales, So sign up for DRF-Plus on the front page of www.drf.com and get the BreezeFigs cards.

Our rules still hold about BreezeFigs "qualified" runners: You can get a good idea of what “qualified” BreezeFigs horses are by clicking on BreezeFigs Information underneath the two BreezeFigs links in the DRF-PLUS box in the right hand column on the www.drf.com home page and downloading files there. Remember, keep stride length (SL) in mind when handicapping from the BreezeFigs sheet and take advantage of all the tips that we provide on those sheets as well.

If you click here http://static.drf.com/PDFs/breezefigs/StrideLengthStudy-1.pdf you will get a document which details our latest study. The conclusion for those who like to know the bottom line fast is this: When it comes to 2-year-old racing only, horses that earned Group 1 or Group 2 BreezeFigs and had longer-than-average stride lengths at the five major 2-year-old sales of 2006-07-08-09 won more races, won earlier, and earned more black-type, than horses with shorter-than-average stride lengths, regardless of BreezeFigs Group. There’s a lot more to it than that, and a review of this document, which is the first in a series, will strengthen your hand at the windows, or, if you are a buyer, at the sales or claim box. So, download it and absorb.
Also, refer to a study we did which shows that using BreezeFigs for 3-year-old maiden races in just as viable as using them for 2-year-old maiden races. Go to the DRF PLUS box on the www.drf.com home page, click on BreezeFigs™ Information, and then download “2006 Sales Study,” or just click right here: http://www1.drf.com/breezefigs/breezefigs_010507.doc.

If you’d like to learn a little more about how we come up with BreezeFigs, take a look at our new website by clicking here: www.biodatatrack.com.

Here’s Saturday’s Pick:
Aqueduct, 6th Race, Maiden Special Weight, 1 1/8 Miles (Turf)
There are two BreezeFigs maidens in this race, one of which is making his debut (Jimmy Fillpot), and the other coming off two decent turf maidens at Gulfstream at the same distance as today’s trip (V.E. Day). Both deserve serious consideration in what may be a key race. Jimmy Fillpot had a solid six-over-Par Group 2 profile at one-eighth at OBSAPR with a 25.85 foot stride length, 2.62 feet longer than average than colts that day at that distance. He was slowing down a bit at the end of his breeze which might have indicated a lack of fitness, but it wasn’t dramatic. A month earlier at OBSMAR V.E. Day breezed a quarter mile and posted a Group 3 profile that was two-under-Par—but he also had a solid stride length, 24.28 feet, just a bit above average for colts that day at that distance. He was also slowing down at the end of his breeze much more than Jimmy Fillpot did in his, but it was an eight of a mile longer and his two races thus far indicate that he is pretty much one-paced. These two should be in your keys in this race if they are ready, and they have smart connections. Good luck!