BreezeFigs Quick-Pix for Saturday, December 21 by Bob Fierro and Jay Kilgore

It snowed at Aqueduct but not on our parade as our Pick (and everybody else’s, apparently) Cavu hung on to pay $3.50 while our upset shot, Jeremy’s Song, closed strongly (if not greenly) to compete an $86 trifecta. There were few opportunities during the weather-afflicted week for BreezeFigs maidens to shine, but another four did win—at Calder, Fair Grounds and two at Laurel—as the venues shift and the cards become somewhat lower in class across the board. Today’s card has some interesting plays, but one really wild one, 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://www1.drf.com/BreezeFigs/Video_Links_BreezeFigs_for_2009_Sales.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://www1.drf.com/BreezeFigs/BreezeFigs_&_Stride_Length_Study_Part_I.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, 6 Furlongs (Inner Dirt)
Six BreezeFigs fillies are in here, one out of OBSMAR and the other five out of OBSAPR. Five of them were Group 1 or Group 2, three first-time starters. The OBSMAR filly, Alexandra’s Storm, was an RNA (not sold) for 185k but did not impress in her debut despite her seven-over-Par, Group 1 profile, perhaps because her stride length was 23.34 feet, a bit below average for fillies that day at one eighth. Flaring, the Group 1 from OBSAPR, was four-over-Par with a solid 24.42 foot SL at the same distance, 1.35 feet longer than average that day. She got bumped around in her debut and may be worth watching. D’Kennesaw Cat knocked out a five-over-Par Group 2 profile at the same distance with a 24.82 foot SL, nearly 2.25 feet longer than average that day. She didn’t do badly in her debut at Parx, but that was two months ago so maybe she had an issue in that race. Of the first-timers, Pink Lipgloss and Naughty Matilda have very similar OBSAPR profiles, both Group 2, both at a furlong, both on the same day. Pink Lipgloss was two-over-Par with a 24.15 foot SL, which was more than a foot longer than average, and Naughty Matilda was one-under Par with a 23.54 foot SL, which was just over half foot longer than average. The other first-timer, Ka Buki Rose, went a quarter mile in her breeze, showed a 23.21 foot SL (about a quarter foot longer than average), but wasn’t fast enough so she wound up two-under-Par Group 3—and she was RNA’d for 87k. We lean to keying D’Kennesaw Cat here because they have to be shipping from Parx for a reason, with Pink Lipgloss and Naughty Matilda back-ups because they haven’t made any mistakes yet Tough race. Good luck!