BreezeFigs Quick-Pix, Saturday, February 28th

We were a little apprehensive last week with a pick that was for a five-furlong race on the dirt, somewhat unusual for a major track like Gulfstream to card for maiden 3-year-olds in February, and though we got our brains beat, we are gluttons for punishment and have found a similar situation to explore this week (see below). Meanwhile, it was still a good week for BreezeFigs-qualified winners all over the place including such modest venues as Portland Meadows and Delta Downs. This week's card is still loaded with maiden races where first-timers look interesting, so sign up for DRF-Plus and get the card on the front page of .

Remember, there's a new look to our sheets for the sales of 2008 we have added SURFACE as a new category to tell you whether the horse breezed on a dirt (D) or synthetic (S) track. There are four (S) sales this year OBSFEB, OBSMAR, OBSAPR and KEEAPR; and three D sales FTFFEB, BARMAR and EASMAY. Just to add some more insight to your handicapping.

Also, 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 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.

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 .

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: .

This race below is short and with a short field, most first-timers, but three BreezeFigs horses should be considered. Good luck!

Santa Anita, , Maiden Special Weight, 5 1/2 Furlongs (Synthetic)

Not many showed up to match strides with what obviously is a well-meant first timer homebred by Storm Cat, but the three BreezeFigs horses here have very decent shots of messing up his debut. Most intriguing is Caspian, who put up a remarkable five-over-Par Group 1 effort at FTFFEB with a foot-above-average SL only to be bought back (RNA) at that pricey sale for a measly 60k. He wound up being sold at a later sale at Barretts in California that we did not cover, and he brought 100k there, so he must have both impressed and satisfied whatever hesitancies pulled him up short in Florida. Sweet Maker comes out of the OBSMAR sale with a solid one-over-Par Group 2 profile and a SL that was above average at that sale but his pedigree suggests he may want more than this distance. Fabulous Forum was two-over-Par at OBSAPR, but that was at a quarter mile and he showed a slightly above average SL for his Group 2 rating he is bred to be quick and could take them along far enough to be pesky. Each of these three are good gimmick bets in a six horse field, but we'd look closely at Caspian among the three of them for a key move. Good luck!