BreezeFigs Quick-Pix Saturday January 25th, 2014 by Bob Fierro & Jay Kilgore

Wadda ya know, two in a row! Our Pick last week was the second straight BreezeFigs exacta for this column, which really didn’t come as much a surprise if you read our logic. The winner, Saratoga Shoes, paid $7.20, and she hooked up with Marketable Miss for a $55 gimmick—pretty good considering we thought the latter would be shorter. It turned out to be a BreezeFigs gimmick week: Later that day at Santa Anita, Roger Rocket and Ferocious combined for a $46 BreezeFigs exacta and Little Curlin completed a $154 BreezeFigs trifecta (both for a buck). The day before, Allstar and Transpire pulled off a $34 BreezeFigs exacta at Calder, and at Oaklawn on Monday Tanzanite and Walt teamed up for a $127 BreezeFigs exacta in the Smarty Jones Stakes. Overall, there were 11 BreezeFigs horses who broke their maidens during the week: three at Aqueduct and Oaklawn, two at Tampa Bay and Santa Anita and one at Calder. Let’s see what we can do today, 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:
Gulfstream Park, 9th Race, Maiden Special Weight, 1 1/16th Miles (Turf)
This will not be a BreezeFigs exacta—there’s only one BreezeFigs horse in this race. We pick this race because our modus operandus is to select first-time starters from the card which look like they might have a chance to pop up and either win, or fill out a gimmick. Today’s card has several very nice BreezeFigs opportunities for second-time starters (including the sixth race at this track), but this race is the only one that meets our criteria. That said, Archangelus is no slouch. She knocked out a two-over-Par Group 1 profile at KEEAPR with a 23.94 stride length, which was almost half-a-foot longer than fillies at one furlong that day. She has the kind of motion that is better off on the turf, has a serious turf trainer, and is worth a punt or two—straight or as a key in a gimmick. Good luck!