BreezeFigs Quick-Pix for Saturday, August 16 by Bob Fierro and Jay Kilgore

When the filly scratched out of our 2-year-old Pick last week the way was cleared for our real choice, Designed for War, to go wire-to-wire for a $5 payoff, kicking off a super week for BreezeFigs babies across the land. There were 18 of them that broke their maidens and three others that won stakes, all of which appeared on the BreezeFigs cards. In addition, there were four BreezeFigs gimmicks, three on one day, kicking off with the eighth at Saratoga when Magnificent Margo teamed up with To Be Determined for a $64 exacta. Then, two days later, Harlan’s Honor beat Perpetual Novena and Nicki’s Brown Miss to the wire in the Colleen Stakes, triggering a $90 exacta and $333 trifecta. On the same day at Parx, Dukin’ With Dale beat out Don Lupe to set up a $64 exacta. Later in the day at Del Mar, Manhatta led Windy Forecast to the wire for a $19 exacta and $14 quinella, while Dad’s Princess and Diva Express completed a $150 trifecta and $618 superfecta, respectively. The maiden winners (including those above) came at Arlington (2), Charles Town, Del Mar (3) Gulfstream (4, both maiden races on August 8th and 9th) Indiana, Parx (2), Prairie Meadows, and Saratoga (4). In a week that saw few opportunities, four 3-year-old maidens cleaned their cards, one each at Gulfstream, Prairie Meadows, Saratoga and Sunray. Today’s cards are loaded with potential, but we found one intriguing event, 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://www.1drf.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 Picks:
Del Mar 6th Race, Maiden Special Weight, 5 ½ Furlongs (Synthetic)
Five BreezeFigs maidens are entered here, but it may come down to a battle of the Super Savers, the stallion whose first crop has made some real noise in the sales rings and on the tracks. We are going with Prophetic, whose three-over-Par Group 2 profile at a quarter mile at OBSAPR caught our eye because of his 24.57 foot stride length, which was .63 feet longer than average for colts that day at the distance, and we liked how he moved. Hauler also punched a three-over-Par Group 2 ticket, this one at one furlong at OBSMAR with a 23.88 foot SL, which was .61 feet longer than average for colts that day at the distance—but he didn’t move a smoothly as Prophetic. American Sailor actually had a higher BreezeFigs profile at OBSAPR with an eight-over-Par Group 1 record, but he only had a 23.46 foot SL, .37 feet shorter than average for colts that day at one eight; he has already started and not impressed because he may be fast but using too much energy in his way of going. Both Discreet Prince and Kantune racked up similar Group 3 profiles at OBSAPR, but Discreet Prince had a longer SL and would be a good suck-up gimmick play. But we’ll key in the two Super Savers with a preference for Prophetic. Good luck!