If you liked Stevie Wonderboy before the San Rafael (Gr II), you should still like him after the race. Mike Watchmaker at DRF and fellow blogger, Alan (leftatthegate.blogspot.com) are a couple of fellows who gave very upbeat and analytical reviews into the race. My take? It was only a four horse race. Part of thrill of a horse race is full fields; manipulating paces and overcoming traffic problems. Also, the mutuel pools will indicate a variety of longshots, not just Woody Be Quick. I'm unsure if this race can effectively indicate Stevie Wonderboy's Derby potential, or Brother Derek's for that matter. Let's face it, on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs, it's a calvary charge out of the gate. As far as I'm concerned about the San Rafael, it was a strenuous workout, of sorts.
But hey! It was a payday ... kind of. As I wrote previously, I placed my wimpy bet on Brother Derek to win and put him in an exacta box with Wanna Runner. I got my beer money back and a couple of extra bucks, enough for popcorn. Whoo-hoo!
However, the best race I watched was the Risen Star (Gr III) at the FG@LaD. My big picks were Mark Of Success and Hyte Regency. The Know-It-All next to me kept insisting on Lawyer Ron, but somehow, I could not compare some win at Evangeline Downs, Somewhere In Louisiana, with the fact that Hyte Regency ran in the Jockey Club Stakes and ran an exceptionally good third to Private Vow. And on a personal level, the Holthus-McKee combination had teased with me on previous races ... only to leave me flattened; crumbling up losing tickets. But Lawyer Ron certainly put on an impressive show, winning by eight lengths. Bob Holtus said that "he's probably the best 3-year-old I've ever had this time of year." Lawyer Ron is 4 for 11, but it should be noted that 5 of those losses were on turf, the other two losses on Turfway's "Polytrack". For those of you who require a little math review: 11-5-2 = 4. And that would be his dirt races. Unbeaten. He's one for the Derby Watch ... even if you don't trust lawyers.
2 comments:
I'm sitting at an Applebys in Palestine TX when I read this post via my mobile phone. You're a very talented writer! I still think that longshots are the way to go...
Good to have you aboard, Sue. Keep up the excellent commentary.
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