"When you need to know which horse is ready to win"
We had some decent winners from our Clockers Report over the penultimate weekend at the Hollywood Park stand. On Sun Jul 11 we pushed 2 horses in the 3rd race with nice Grade B workouts. MAYBE YES won paying $13.40 and our only other worker in that race was ARKHAM ASYLUM who completed the exacta which paid $17.60. The 1st leg of the double carryover pick 6 was won in a head bob by KNOCKOUT ARTIST who had two nice drills from our clocker prior to his last race and paid $17.40. KRIS SILVER with several good works from our clocker got nosed in a tough beat and completed the exacta. The 7th race was another thriller with MESA THUNDER dead heating for the win @ $9.40 with nice Grade B workouts in tow from our clocker. On Sat Jul 10 Bob Baffert continued his great meet and great year as he had a couple of nice winners with horses that got good pushes from our clocker. First timer Z Z WARRIOR won a strong maiden contest with excellent works from the HR clocker. DELAHOOSEE ran 2nd with a strong HR work @ 8-1. In the 6th Baffert's E Z'S GENTLEMAN ran a monster race with a nice HR workout in tow to win the Triple Bend Handicap paying $9.80. Finally, the Hollywood Gold Cup was won by AWESOME GEM with Grade A- and B+ workouts from our clocker paying $18.00.
On Sat Jul 3 the HR Performance Ratings gave us a cold deck early Pick 4 at Hollywood Park. In the 1st race comebacker DEL MAR TRUCKEE had the highest last race rating by 7 points and paid $20.20 to win. In the 2nd race shipper U. C. MERCED TWO had the highest last race rating by 10 points and paid $8.40, followed by SPIRIT OF COCHISE in the 3rd with the highest last rating by 5 points paying $7.00. GOTTA HAVE HER completed the Pick 4 with the highest last race rating by 2 points paying $4.20. The Pick 4 paid $632.10.
Our HR Performance Ratings have continued to be super at pointing out winners at Hollywood Park this meet. In addition, the Trip Notes have been pointing out great prices, in particular on the Horses to Watch lists. On Sun Jun 20 the featured Will Rogers Stakes was won HTW LEROY'S DYNAMEAUX at $29.20 and on Sat Jun 19 the 3rd race was won by HTW BODARK, a 2nd timer with the comment "might surprise with this race under his belt" @ $15.60. Our clocker has been scoring as well with nice prices. On Sun both of our Fit and Ready listers ran 2nd including SEATTLE RULER in the 7th, his 2nd after a layoff @ 30-1. In the 9th NOTHING TO FEAR, another 2nd time starter that had worked well prior to its first start, won and paid $17.40. On Sat comebacker SAANNEEN with a good Grade B workout won nicely and paid $17.80. Fit and Ready lister SKIPSHOT ran 2nd and Horses to Watch lister GOLDEN ITIZ won.
On Fri Jun 11 at HP there was another great example of a horse scoring at great odds in its 2nd start after working well prior to its debut. STACY'S HOPE had produced 7 Grade B workouts from our HR clocker prior to that 1st race. Most of them had comments on how he did well late and responded strongly. Our Trip Notes comment on his race was: "broke slowly from the rail and was never a factor in a race he needed". He put blinkers on, dropped from a straight maiden to a $50K maiden claimer, switched from Bisono to Espinoza and shortened up to the closers' distance at HP, 5 1/2 furlongs for Koriner.
He was bet in half early, but closed at his morning line of 10-1, blew by the field and won by 6 lengths paying $22.40. Just another example of the public being very unforgiving of a horse's first race, and when we know they have worked well prior to that debut, it's time to get down.
On Memorial Day May 31 at HP the featured Shoemaker Mile Stakes was won by VICTOR'S CRY with a recent Grade B+ workout at SA from our clocker with the comment "appears set for a big one in the afternoon based on this drill". He closed with a rush to pay $44.40. The trifecta in the Honeymoon Handicap supporting feature for 3 yo fillies was completed by our 3 Horses to Watch. In the 2nd race 2nd time starter J P'S GUSTO with 2 nice workouts prior to his debut won and paid $10.80.
On Sat May 29 the big races at big prices by 2nd time starters with good works prior to their debuts or comebacks continued. The 4th race was won by FARALLONE with 5 nice Grade B works prior to his debut. He paid $12.60 to win. The 2nd horse was LUNADA BAY who had 2 nice Grade B workouts prior to his comback in his last race, and the 3rd horse was 2nd timer SQUAD who had several nice Grade B workouts prior to his debut. He got off at 24-1 and the trifecta paid $212.00. In the 5th race 2nd timer TRAVEL SQUAD with 3 good Grade B drills prior to his debut scored at $38.20. Two other good workers ran 2-3 with the trifecta paying $579.70. In the 3rd race our Fit and Ready lister ISLE OF GIANT'S won @ $5.00.
On Fri May 21 at HP the final 2 races went to strong pushes from the HR clocker. In the feature Fit and Ready lister ONE TRACK MIND with "a very nice move since raced as he appears to be sitting on the edge of a big performance" Grade B workout wired his classified allowance field paying $13.00. In the finale ROAD TO REASON in her 2nd start with Grade B+ and B workouts prior to her debut took charge in the stretch to score at $19.00. As we have often mentioned here, look for the 2nd start for a horse that worked well prior to their debut or return race for a nice priced winner. In addition, the HR Trip Notes mentioned that 'REASON had "broken a half step slowly, outkicked late, solid try". The double paid $133.20.
On Sat May 15 in the 1st race dropper SHINE'N TIME with a nice Grade B workout prior to her last race scored at $9.60. The opening daily double was completed by SEA RASCAL with a recent Grade B work in company where he outworked his rival and did the same in the 2nd race by taking the lead in the stretch and pulling away @ $25.20. The double paid $135.80. HR Horses to Watch also won the 5th and 6th races with KEVLAR KID paying a bet down $3.50 and MIDNIGHT RAGE wiring her field @ $8.20.
On Thu May 13 our clocker pushed the winner of the featured 7th race for the 2nd day in a row with a big price. SWEET SOPHIA had a recent Grade B 6f workout in which she remained in front of another worker throughout the drill and "definitely appeared to have more left at the end". She ran her race exactly the same by going to the front and refusing to be caught at $34.80.
On Wed May 12 at HP our clocker pushed the winners of 7 of the 8 races including the pick 6 for $2,616.00 and the late pick 4 for $280.30. The only race we missed was the 3-5 shot in the 2nd race where we didn't have any recent works on the entrants. Among our winners was the comebacker CANDY LION from our Fit and Ready list in the 6th race. The 2nd horse in the exacta was our good working FREE LUNCH @ 19-1. We also pushed RED DOOR DRIVE with a Grade B drill in the 7th who was our only worker in that race "nice move...as he definitely was doing better late than early" paying $23.60.
On Sun May 9 we pushed the winners of 3 races including Fit and Ready lister GOLD ALY in the 5th. On Sat May 8 we pushed two nice priced winners in consecutive races. In the 6th PACK YOUR BAGS with a Grade B "doing well of late" won and paid $15.00. In the 7th 1st time starter PACIFIC AVENUE had a number of good works including hanging tough with the classy M One Rifle in one of them. He just got up with a furious finish paying $17.40. Our Horse to Watch MEGASTAR won the 4th. On Fri May 7 we pushed the winners of 5 of the 8 races including our Horse to Watch DEVIL ON THE ROOF in the 2nd and our Fit and Ready lister HARD EIGHT in the 6th.
On Wed May 5 at Hollywood Park we had a great day with all of the HR information contributing to the wins. Our only workout horse in the 2nd race was HIGH STANDARDS with a seemingly slow work (102.3 for 5f) while "never being allowed to run and a nice move" that earned a Grade B "as he appears to be doing well of late". He ran down the big favorite and paid $8.20.
The Pick 4 began in the 5th with a horse returning from GG that had earned an HR Performance Rating at HP in December that was 10 points higher than any other horse in this race had ever earned. She paid only $4.20 as the last horse to be saddled by the great Greg Gilchrist, but kicked off a very profitable sequence of races for HR customers. The 6th race went to Horse to Watch lister MUSICAL GRACE, who dropped into a bottom claimer at 7 furlongs in the often profitable maneuver of shortening from a route, where she showed speed to the stretch and weakened, to the accommodating, but demanding distance of 7f. She won easily and paid $11.00. Next came the 7th race and MISS PLEASANT with 3 recent nice Grade B workouts for Papa Mandella. She wired the field paying $26.00. The Pick 3 paid $252.70. The double paid $88.20 from the even money shot. In the final race the horses with our two top Performance Ratings ran 1-2 with the Pick 4 paying $1,423.00. Our HTW lister PRECIADO was eliminated soon after the start and made a huge run that would have won the race without the trouble. That Pick 4 would have paid over $1,700.
On Fri Apr 30 in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, our Fit and Ready lister EVENING JEWEL took over on the turn and looked home free @ 13-1, but was nosed on the line by the favorite Blind Luck with a furious finish. At Hollywood Park on Oaks Day in the 1st race our HTW listers ran 1-2, and in the last race our Horse to Watch DETROIT DONNIE won and paid $14.20.
The Hollywood Park meet got off to a nice start on Sat Apr 24 as our Fit and Ready (F&R) lister MONEY LOVER won the 1st race paying $6.00. In the 9th race we had strong workout pushes on 4 horses, including 3 Fit and Ready listers. F&R FANTASY FREE won and paid $22.80. Finishing 2nd was BESTDRESSED with 2 Grade B+ and 3 Grade B drills @ 7/2. F&R MOBILIZED ran 3rd @ 17-1 with the tri paying $572.00. Completing the superfecta was our other F&R ONE TRACK MIND @ 7-1 paying $3,175.90. A nice way to get ahead of the meet on the opening weekend.
After pushing the winners of the Santa Anita and Arkansas Derbies at great prices, we have continued to finish out the SA meet very strongly.
On Sun Apr 18 our clocker pushed 2 big priced winners of the 5 needed in the pick 6 which became a pick 5 on the final day. In the 8th race, the comebacking CAYAMBE had 5 Grade B workouts and a race down the hill prior to his layoff that was one HR performance rating point from the best in the race. As we have noted so many times, this downhill turf course has been a remarkable case of promoting horses for courses. He was also not entered for the tag as a comebacker (with the new CA rule) despite being pulled up and vanned off in his last race when he was claimed. He got up at the wire paying a whopping $62.60. HEWITTS completed the exacta @ 10-1 with 2 Grade B works prior to his return race from a layoff. The exacta paid $352.70. In the 9th race RED DOOR DRIVE had a recent Grade B drill and a Grade B+ prior to race and won off easily paying $14.60. The double paid $603.20.
On Sat Apr 17 in the 10th race we had a great example of the combination of the HR handicapping tools producing a nice score. The winner was our Horse to Watch ERIC'S REVENGE, who had the highest HR performance rating as well. He paid $10.00 to win. Running 2nd in a very tight photo was arguably our best working horse, 1st timer KEVLAR KID with 4 nice Grade B drills. The 3rd horse LUNADA BAY had 2 Grade B works from our clocker. The tri paid $108.10. The 4th and 5th horses, WAYMAN and BRING IT, had the other good Grade B works from our clocker, with the superfecta paying $354.80 and the pentafecta paying $1,076.50.
On Fri Apr 16 our clocker pushed the winners of 4 of the 8 races, including 1st time starter LYRICAL GODDESS in the 2nd with 3 nice Grade B workouts paying $7.00. Finishing 2nd was our Fit and Ready lister HARD EIGHT. WYNNING RIDE won the 3rd with a Grade B+ and two Grade B's paying $4.20. After SUNNY PEACE (GB) ran 2nd @ 15-1 with a Grade B in the 6th, LILLY FA POOTZ with a recent good Grade B won the 7th paying $6.20. In the final race, 1st timer STORMY LINDA with 3 nice Grade B drills ran big paying $17.60 to win with DOS VIENTE finishing 2nd with a recent Grade B "improved drill" @ 4-1 with the exacta paying $56.50.
On Thu Apr 15 we again pushed the winners of 4 of the 8 races. The 1st race was won by STELLA MARK, dropping significantly, but with a recent good Grade B drill. She paid $6.00 to win. In the 2nd, the baby race of the day, the Fit and Ready filly CANDIED HEARTS with a Grade B+ "appears to be a winner-early type" beat the boys paying a solid $14.00. Another clocking service had a workout that knocked her. The double paid $34.20. Two horses with good workouts prior to their last races won the 4th and 5th races, COOKIE'S JEWEL @ $4.40 and UKANDOIT @ $14.60. In the 7th race the 2 horses running 2nd and 3rd to the big favorite Welken were our good work horses, ZILLA @ 9-1 and PRYTANIA @ 17-1. The exacta paid $16.80 and the tri paid $123.50.
On Sun Apr 11 we pushed the winners of 4 races including EARNEDNEVERGIVEN in the 8th with an improved Grade B work @ $15.20. The 2nd horse was BRING IT HOME with a recent Grade B @ 16-1. The exacta paid $122.70.
In the Arkansas Derby today at Oaklawn Park, LINE OF DAVID is a Fit and Ready lister with two Grade B+ workouts and a Grade A- since his last race. His A- comment was "an excellent move as there is no telling how good this one could be". He is 15-1 and relatively unseasoned for this race, but with Bejarano up this could be his Derby performance. His last two excellent races have been on turf, but they had increasing Performance Ratings and at 1 1/8 on the front end on dirt, he could surprise.
Well, surprise he did, paying $36.60. Of course, Bejarano wasn't riding him as I suggested. He had been working him in the mornings, but went to Keeneland to ride Interactif.
- Steve McDonald
On Sat Apr 3 we pushed the winners of all 6 of the carryover Pick 6 races. It paid only $2,273.60, but it was available to HR customers on a very small ticket. In the 1st leg, the SA Derby, Fit and Ready lister SYDNEY'S CANDY with the highest recent local HR performance rating won by many on the front end paying $9.60 as our Grade A worker and favorite Lookin At Lucky was compromised by trouble. In the 7th race DANCE WITH GABLE who was tied for the highest recent last race performance rating on the horse for course hillside turf won and paid $5.40. In the 8th we needed 2 horses to get VENTANA @ $5.20 who had the 2nd highest recent performance rating and a recent Grade A- workout with the comment "appears set for a huge one". He managed to out nod our highest PR Gato Go Win for the win. In the 9th our highest last race performance rating by far was earned by our Fit and Ready lister CITY TO CITY who also had a recent excellent Grade A- drill with the comment "sitting on yet another huge one in the afternoon". She paid $11.60 in a romp. The 10th was won by PINCELADA with by far our highest PR from her debut that was only slightly below par for straight maidens. She figured to improve and did, paying $4.00. The final race was a two horse race between our two highest last race performance rating contenders with TERRIFY's lone speed advantage coupled with her recent Grade B workout resulting in a $7.40 payoff. A $32 ticket at most was all it required to nail the $2,273.60 pick 6.
On Fri Apr 2 we continued our run of winning Horses to Watch and Fit and Ready listers. The 1st went to HTW EXCESS POWER @ $9.40. The 2nd was won by F&R lister FOLK DANCER @ $4.20 with her fellow F&R lister EURO GAL completing the exacta. The opening pick 3 was completed by F&R lister REBECCA. Later in the card we had some nicer prices with IMPREGNABLE, who had been a Horse to Watch back in Nov 2008 after his 1st race, winning the 5th race impressively paying $29.20. (Our Trip Note writer Aaron Hesz had mentioned the HR HTW fact on the Mike Willman show before Impregnable's return race, which he also made a mess of. He sure was ready in his 2nd race back this time.) That score was followed by RUMMYSECRET WAR winning the 6th easily with by far the highest recent turf rating paying a sweet $22.40. Finally, the 7th race went to MADE FOR MAGIC with a recent good Grade B drill paying $10.40 with the pick 3 paying $640.80.
On Wed Mar 31 in the 5th race our Horse to Watch UNCLE DON came back in the restricted starter we had called for and ran huge on the quick pace to win and pay $9.40. Running 2nd was PROUD HILLBILLY with 2 nice Grade B workouts.
On Sun Mar 28 we started off the card with a winner as RUINATION with a recent sharp Grade B workout took them wire to wire beating our odds-on HTW SILVER HEAT and paying $8.80. In the 6th race our Fit and Ready lister BET ON VICTOR, returning off a layoff with nice works including 2 B+ and an A- drills, overcame a ton of trouble to win impressively paying $9.00.
On Sat Mar 27 in the 5th race we pushed another cold deck superfecta as our Horse to Watch DANZING TRIBAL with a Grade B+ work prior to his last race won well @ a bet down $5.20. Our other good workers ran 2-3-4 with DERIVE placing @ 5-2 and UNCLE GREG to show with a Grade B @ 7-1 for a trifecta of $45.50. The superfecta was completed by first time starter THERMAL WAVE @ 11-1 who had outworked Master Chef, the winner of the 3rd race. The super paid $200.20.
On Fri Mar 26 at Santa Anita in the 2nd race, a straight maiden sprint down the hill on turf, we had workouts on 4 horses. They proceeded to run 1-2-3-4, with 1st time starter LEROY'S DYNAMEAUX winning with a recent Grade B team drill @ $6.40. Running 2nd was 2nd time starter KING RED @ 9-2 with 2 good Grade B works since raced and one before his first race. Running 3rd was firster THEATRICAL PRO @ 24-1 with 4 nice Grade B team drills. The trifecta paid $181.50. Finishing 4th was first timer CRANKY JACK with 2 decent Grade B workouts @ 3-1. The superfecta paid $604.00. It would have been a little nicer if it had paid $3 less and not have had to sign, but we'll take it. In the featured 7th race allowance, we saw the arrival of what may be a talented 3 yo in Horse to Watch DISTORTED DAVE. He had been running greenly in his first starts as called out in the Trip Notes. With the HTW designation and a recent nice Grade B workout, he straightened out his act and flew home paying $10.00. Sadler announced he is on the Derby trail.
Thu Mar 18 at SA was a great example of the value of the HR set of handicapping tools. In the final race we had good works on 3 horses and 2 horses that had appeared on our Horses to Watch lists, which are selected from the Weekly Trip Notes. They ran 1-2-3-4-5 with the pentafecta paying $2,289.40. As we have mentioned often, one of the best bets at the track are first time starters and comebackers who work well and fail to win that first or comeback race. The public are unforgiving and the horse improves dramatically in the second race. Although NATHANIEL wasn't a great price ($6.80), after 2 nice Grade B workouts prior to his comebacker, he made a great single at the top of the pentafecta to make the investment reasonable. The 2nd and 3rd horses, WARREN'S TOMMY TOO @ 6-1 and WHO'S YOUR WIDADY @ 6-1, were both Horses to Watch with the trifecta paying $129.90. The 4th and 5th horses were our other good workers, PRINCE NOVETTI @ 8-1 and SERIOUS FORM @ 7-1. The superfecta paid $661.10 with the pentafecta, as mentioned, paying over $2,000.
We have had several nice winners recently from our workouts prior to the horse's last race (which we personally love to bet on second time starters and comebackers in their second start back). On Fri Mar 12 at Santa Anita in the 7th, SLEW'S TIZNOW earned a very good Grade B+ prior to his first start back, which was in an ultra tough G2 stake won by Richard's Kid. This day he was entered in a much softer classified allowance, was bet from 12-1 down to 6-1 and won paying $15.40. On Thu Mar 11 in the 7th, QUIET INVADER had worked very well with a Grade B+ earning a spot on the Fit and Ready list prior to the G2 stake won by Sidney's Candy, but faced no such potential monsters this day in a first level allowance race. Once again the public didn't excuse his up the track finish in the stake and paid a nice $12.00 to win. VISION IN GOLD won the 1st as a bet down Horse to Watch @ odds-on.
On Wed Mar 10 in the 5th UNUSUALLY SOUND was a combo Horse to Watch and Fit and Ready selection and delivered at a bet down $5.40. In the 6th STOCKINGS had worked well prior to his last race which was an overnight stake. Returning with 2 nice Grade B works in a first level allowance, the public had no forgiveness and he paid a super $19.80. On Sun Mar 7 we had a winning Fit and Ready GOOD MEASURE in the 1st at odds-on and a winning Horse to Watch UNCLE DON in the 9th @ 2-1. In between, in the 6th race we had a 1st time starter JAWS N' PAWS with 6 nice Grade B workouts that won after causing a few scratches and running away for an 1/8 of a mile and paid a whopping $31.80. On Sat Mar 6 our Horse to Watch INITIAL IMPRESSION won the 1st paying $18.20. MISREMEMBERED won the Santa Anita Handicap with a recent Grade B+ work and a couple of Grade A- works prior to his last start, the Strub. He paid $10.80 to win.
On Sun Feb 21 at Santa Anita our Horses to Watch lists really kicked into high gear as we had 3 winners from the lists, including the trifecta in the 6th race. We had the unusual event of 3 Horses to Watch matching up in the 6th. The winner was BRAZILIAN CHARM paying $15.60. The 2nd horse was BONNIE BLUE FLAG with the exacta paying $34.20 and the 3rd horse was COME HOME QUICK @ 9-1 with the trifecta paying $255.90. We also had good works on all 3 horses including a recent Grade B+ on BRAZILIAN CHARM with the comment "appears to be sitting on a win based on this drill". In the 9th we had a recent Grade B workout on WARRENS PADDOCKGUY with the comment "he may be on the upswing". WARRENS' looked like he couldn't lose at the 1/8th pole @ 19-1!, as he assumed command and drew away, but was nabbed on the wire as Baze seemed to relax coming to the wire and started riding again too late to hold off the momentum of the winner. A very tough beat for HR customers.
On Sat Feb 20 at Santa Anita the feature race was won by our only work horse in the race, CITY TO CITY, with a Grade B+ work on last Sun in which she "was seemingly getting stronger the further she went, a very nice move as she appears to be set for a big one in the afternoon". She stretched out to a route and won easily on the front end paying $24.20.
Another good week of double digit winners from the HR clocker and the HR trip notes at Santa Anita. On Fri Feb 19 STANFORD DOLLY won the 1st with 2 recent Grade B workouts in tow paying $10.80. CHANGING (ARG) won the 2nd with a Grade B @ $4.40 with the double paying $23.00. ERBEIA, returning from a several month layoff, won the 6th with 2 nice Grade B works including one with the nice allowance winner on Thu, Witty. He paid $29.20 to win off a layoff. A JEALOUS WOMAN won another one in the 7th with another set of great works from the HR clocker paying $6.00. The final race was won by SALTWATER M D with a decent Grade B prior to last race paying $7.60, nailing the only pick 6 ticket and ending the final pick 3 paying $331.20. On Thu Feb 18 the 3rd race was won by 1st time starter TAXI RIDE with a set of 5 Grade B works once again including one with Witty. She paid $11.60 to win. FIONA FREUD won the 4th with a nice Grade B prior to last race paying $13.80, and, of course, Fit and Ready lister WITTY won the 6th. On Mon Feb 15 SIDEPOCKET LOU came back to win following his prior to last race Grade B paying $15.20, VAUNDELL won the 5th as a Horse to Watch with 2 nice works prior to last race, and RAYMORRISON won the 6th off a couple of month layoff with a good Grade B paying $9.40.
On Sun Feb 14 AITCHO won the 3rd race with a good Grade B "with plenty more left" and paid $21.60. The feature race was won by our Horse to Watch taken from the Trip Notes STRIKING DANCER paying a whopping $28.60 off a huge morning line. GRIPSHOLM CASTLE ran 2nd @ 17-1 with a good Grade B workout. The exacta paid $188.70. Running 3rd was FLOATING HEART with a nice Grade B drill. The tri paid $1,557.30.
The HR winning pushes continue at Santa Anita with great prices. On Fri Feb 12 the day began with a Horse to Watch winner, SOUTHERN DEFENDER, @ $7.80. The 2nd race went to WARREN'S R READY with a sharp Grade B workout 4 days ago paying $15.80. The 3rd was won by COO CACHOO with a recent Grade B blowout @ $21.00. The 7th was won by PORTO MARMAY (IRE) with 2 nice Grade B works off the layoff for Canani @ $24.20 with the comment "looked as if she could have gone around and done it again". Just missing was the shipper SKEDEE with a very good Grade B+ drill @ 20-1, finishing 3rd after bringing a nice lead into the stretch. Finishing off a great day was NAUGHTY MARIANA who had worked well recently in a team drill with Eric's Revenge, the horse that almost won the opening race, a $50K maiden race for males, while NAUGHTY' was in a $32K claimer for fillies. She pulled off to an easy win paying $22.00.
On Thu Feb 11 we bookended the race card with big winners. The 1st was won by MEDAGLIA D'AMOUR with a good Grade B paying $14.80. The 8th was won by HOT 'N LACEY with a good Grade B and lasix @ $19.80. The 4th and the 7th were won by two horses that had a nice Grade B team work together, CANTHAVEHIM and CHURCH CAMP.
On Wed Feb 10 MEGILLAH won the 4th with a Grade B paying $19.00. The 7th was won by CIGAR MAN with a nice Grade B work paying $24.80. On Sun Feb 7 a Fit and Ready lister won the 1st @ $5.80 and our recent Grade B+ worker DIFERENTKINDAGREAT "appears to be sitting on yet another big one" won the 6th paying $23.60. RICHARD'S KID won the feature with a bunch of B+ and A- workouts paying $5.20.
Nice day for HR clients on Wed Feb 3 at SA. We opened the card with nice works on two first time starters in the 1st race that ran 1-2. BLAKE had 3 improving Grade B drills and won like a good thing with the Cerin magic (as we have been saying in the Trip Notes) @ $19.00. Completing the exacta was STEPHEN'S GOT HOPE @ 5-1 with a nice Grade B team work with the exacta paying $63.00. The tri was completed by our Horse to Watch SOUTHERN DEFENDER paying $160.30. The comebacking Fit and Ready lister VICTOR'S CRY won the 3rd race with two recent Grade A- workouts paying a whopping $18.00. In the 6th race our other Horse to Watch FIRST QUEEN (GB) won easily and paid $8.00.
On Fri Jan 29 at SA SPACE AGE LOVESONG won the 2nd race paying $13.60. She had the two highest HR performance ratings (PRs) down the hillside course, a super winning indicator on this unique turf layout at SA. She also had a nice Grade B workout before her comeback sprint on synthetic. In the 3rd EGYPT also had several nice Grade B workouts prior to his poor comeback in his first on synthetic. With that effort behind him, however, he ran to the good works, scoring at $24.80. In the 4th LIFE BY R R with the highest recent PR won and MALUSITA dropping back from a route to a sprint with the 2nd highest PR ran 2nd @ 20-1 with the exacta paying $49.00. Horse to Watch SWEET HANNI won the 5th paying $8.00. In the 8th the horse with the highest last race PR GOLDEN HORIZON won and paid $6.00. The 2 first time starters with the best workouts (each with two Grade B's) ran 2nd and 3rd at 5-1 and 9-2 respectively to complete an easy HR trifecta paying $78.40.
Wed Jan 27 at Santa Anita was another great example of the HR set of handicapping tools working together to almost sweep the race card with pushes from our workouts, performance ratings, trip note comments and Horses to Watch list. The winners of the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th and 8th races had the highest last race HR performance rating (PR), including STREETS OF HEAVEN in the 6th @ $13.60. The winner of the 1st came out of the race with the highest winner's PR, indicating he was the class of the race, and he had two Grade B+ workouts prior to that debut race. The winner of the 4th race ORIENTATION HALL was a Horse to Watch from the Trip Note Report and paid $11.00. In the 5th race the 1st time starter TWOTURNTWO had a recent team work that the HR clocker deemed to be an improved lengthy 6 furlong work in which he "drew well clear..a nice move this week". 'TURNTWO was wide all the way and 8 wide into the stretch and missed running down the winner by a jump @ 41-1. Talk about a heartbreaker!
Another example of the longshot angle involving a second time starter off a layoff was SAINT CHOCOLATE in the 2nd race on Sun Jan 24. CHOCOLATE had returned off a 2 1/2 month layoff at the bottom vs an 8K claiming field of older horses with a Grade A- and several good Grade B works. He broke poorly and wasn't persevered with and showed up in a couple of weeks in a $12.5K claimer for 4 year olds only. He came way wide and barely got there in the middle of the track. He just won the photo, but he did win it paying $23.60. Again, probably unbettable without the info about his works prior to his first race back, but it was there if we stayed with him.
On Sat Jan 23, the next day of racing after the rains, we pushed a couple of great price horses. In the 4th our clocker had two nice improving works on the first time starter THE WOMEN'S DIVA, as opposed to the other local private clockers who knocked her works leading up to her debut. Again, that is how we get nice prices, getting good exclusive info. 'DIVA paid $26.20 to win. In the 8th race, we had a nice easy Grade B work on perennial longshot KINSALE KING indicating his fitness as he took another added money race paying $20.20. We just missed holding off the winner of the last race with ALLIE WOLFF, a first time starter with a nice Grade B work @ 7-1.
On Sun Jan 17 we pushed the winners of 5 races including the 5th with our Fit and Ready lister SOLAR ROCKET paying $7.80 and the 6th with our Horse to Watch HIGH STANDARDS paying $14.80. However, the big score if you stuck with her was PRETTY UNUSUAL in the 8th. She appeared overmatched in the featured El Encino Stakes after missing in an allowance race off a 5 month layoff, but the 4 yo stake came up light and she improved off her solid return and the 2 Grade B+ workouts she had recorded prior to that race to score at $61.40 with the best performance rating of her career by far, which just goes to show you that if you are looking for $61 horses, they probably aren't in the top past performances. We need an angle for those.
Another great day of HR info from all reports on Sat Jan 16 at Santa Anita. We pushed the winners of 8 of the 9 races including 2 Horses to Watch from our Weekly Trip Notes winning the 1st, TIMBAVATI paying $6.00, and 8th race, BELLA ROJA @ $18.00. We had good workouts on 5 of the winners, including our only good work in the 9th (Grade B, a decent work for $25K maidens in a lousy field) on 1st time starter MIDNIGHT RAGE who wired them paying $26.20. Given that the only prices over $8 on the winners in the pick 6 were our HTW in the 8th and the 1st time starter good worker in the 9th, the single ticket in the pick 6 ($363,860) was certainly gettable for the HR clients. The reality was that we had good info on all of the winners. We had a good work on the winner of the 4th race (Grade B, a good work for a $10K claimer) and he had the highest last race Performance Rating (PR) in his last two races. The 5th race winner was tied for the highest last race PR and came out of the highest rated last race by many lengths. The 6th race winner came down from No Cal and had two very nice Grade B works recently at SA, including the last one that our clocker commented as "appears to be on the upswing". The 7th race winner was the old class of the field and favorite PAPA CLEM who had a recent Grade B 7 furlong workout "a good move this week for PAPA" according to our clocker. Seems to have been an easy pick 6 to have for our clients, but nothing is easy in a 6 race spread. I didn't have it, but I sure hope one of our customers did.
At Santa Anita on Thu Jan 14, we pushed the winners of 7 of the 8 races between our Daily Clocker's Report and our Daily Performance Ratings Report. The HR clocker tabbed 4 winners including 1st time starter SCRATCHTHEMOON paying $21.80 in the 4th race, while the horse with the top last race performance rating won 3 races, including SPRING STYLE @ $9.80 in the 5th.
Our Horses to Watch (HTW) from our Weekly Trip Notes and Fit and Ready (F&R) horses from our Weekly Workout Summaries have been very strong so far during the SA meet. The following are winners from the list through Jan 7:
Jan 7 Race 5 F&R DOTSY JEAN $12.20
Jan 6 Race 1 HTW GAMBLING POKERFACE $28.60, Race 5 HTW BLAME THE WINE $7.40, Race 6 F&R KETTLE RIVER $23.40, Race 8 HTW SHINE'N TIME $9.80
Jan 3 Race 9 HTW TANDA $6.60
Jan 2 Race 2 HTW SOUL CANDY $10.20, 2nd HTW ALIVE FOR SIX, Exacta $14.10
Dec 30 Race 2 F&R TINY WOODS $13.80, Race 3 F&R IVORY FUDGE 2nd, F&R LINE OF DAVID 3rd
Dec 28 Race 6 HTW HIGH SUCCESS $6.80
Dec 27 Race 2 HTW KID EDWARD (IRE) $7.00, Race 6 F&R IRREFUTABLE $4.60, Race 8 F&R VENTANA $8.60
Dec 26 Race 7 F&R THE USUAL Q. T. $2.80, good workers won Races 8-10, 8th EVITA ARGENTINA $10.40, 9th (Malibu Stakes) M ONE RIFLE (2 Grade B+ works) $16.20 and 10th CONCORD POINT $14.40, pick 4 paid $440.80.
HR had a great final weekend at Hollywood Park warming up for the big Santa Anita opening on Dec 26. On Friday Dec 18 we kicked it off with a Horses to Watch lister WARREN'S ROCK ART winning the final race paying $19.40. On Sat Dec 19 our clocker pushed an incredible 8 winners out of the 10 races!!, including Fit and Ready listers TIZ CHROME and LOOKIN AT LUCKY in the 2 stakes races. GUMPTION won the 1st with a Grade B+ workout @ $7.20. Firster CLUTCH PLAYER won the 7th as one of Bob Baffert's 4 winners on the day with 4 Grade B works paying $9.40. Horse to Watch ATTICUS JACK won the 8th @ $7.40 with good HR works before and since his last race. The 9th went to our F&R LOOKIN AT LUCKY, and the final went to comebacker ORIENT EMPEROR with just an ok work leading up to this race, but preceded by a nice Grade B prior to that. As we have often said, a poor last work prior to a return should be treated skeptically. Prior to his layoff ORIENT' had the highest HR performance ratings of any in this field by many at Hollywood Park. He paid $20.00, and the pick 4 paid $509.00.
On the final day of the HP meet Sun Dec 20 our workouts pushed another 6 winners, including the opening race winner GIRL OF PANGAEA (GER), the longest price in the field with a recent Grade B work paying $25.60. The 2nd race featured two Fit and Ready listers MS. G. I. JANE and ZAINA who ran 1-2, ZAINA @ 17-1. The exacta paid $33.70. Our other good worker in the race ANGEL OF MYSTERY ran 3rd with the tri paying $152.90. Our other F&R lister MISS HEATHER LEE ran 2nd in the featured stake @ 19-1 to the winner BLIND LUCK with a nice maintenance Grade B drill @ $5.60, a gift winning by an eased up 8 lengths. The exacta paid $36.30. The final race was won by SMOKE CAT who had a 9 point margin over the field in the HR performance ratings from his last race. He won by about that distance again paying $5.20 as a strong single in all of the horizontal bets.
On Fri Nov 27 at HP our clocker pushed the winners of 6 races including some nice prices. In the 3rd 1st time starter GOOD TIDINGS with a nice Grade B workout fought back to win @ $10.80. In the 6th SPURRIER with a Grade B "appears set for a big effort in the afternoon" closed furiously to win @ $9.00. In the 7th FREQUENT FAME had been working poorly, but woke up recently in a Grade B team work. Blinkers were noted as being added for this race and she apparently responded well to the equipment change, proving much the best after much trouble paying $19.20. After PINKERELLA won the 8th by many lengths with the highest last race HR performance rating by many back in March, FLUKE (BRZ), with a Grade B push from our NY clocker, flew through on the inside to get up to win the 9th paying $20.00 to win. Finally, in the 10th, PRECIOUS SONG with a nice Grade B work to go with a Grade B prior to her last race wired her field to pay $25.20. The pick 4 paid $4,455.30.
On Wed Nov 25 at HP it was HR Horses to Watch day with SKY MARNI winning the 4th paying $14.20 and GLORY PRIDE pulling off to win the 6th paying $9.40.
With all the rain in New York, the morning workouts have been limited and some of the prices fairly short, but there have been some spot plays like on Wed Nov 25 at Aqueduct in the 2nd where HOLLY HOLLY with blinkers on and a good Grade B work took them all the way and paid $41.00.
It was Super Sunday for HR customers at Hollywood Park on Nov 22. Our 4 Fit and Ready horses won or completed the exacta. In the 5th SKY VICTOR won and paid $17.40. In the 8th BICKERSONS, dropping back out of the Breeders Cup Fillies, won easily and paid $9.00. Finishing 2nd was our other Fit an Ready filly MISS HEATHER LEE @ 6-1 with the exacta paying $23.80. In the 9th A JEALOUS WOMAN won well from off the pace @ a bet down $5.20. In the 1st OUTSIDE SHOT, with a slow but good work in company for a cheap horse, won and paid $14.20. In the 2nd Horses to Watch lister CARDIFF GIANT won well paying $4.80. In the 3rd BRADY BLUE EYES didn't quite make our HTW list, but had a flag on his comment in our Trip Notes from his last race, with the following comment : 'blinkers off, stumbled at the start and failed to contest the early pace, stalked from outside, kept to his task in the lane and was gaining at the end". He stretched out, jumped out in front and took them wire to wire @ $24.60. Our Horse to Watch LOOKING FOR CANDY ran 2nd @ 4-1with the exacta paying $64.70. The 4th race went to MALUSITA who was tied for the 2nd best HR Performance Rating, 1 point better than par for the race type and once again caught a paceless field. She wired the field again and paid $17.00. In the 5th race our Horse to Watch TRAIL MIX ran 2nd @ 5-1 completing the exacta from our F&R horse SKY VICTOR paying $46.50. In the 6th STAND TALL, with one of our top Performance Ratings (PR's) at HP in the summer and in top form now, won and paid $11.80. In the 7th MICHAEL'S ROSE who was tied for our 2nd top PR won and paid $11.80. It was easy to see how one of our customers could have been the lucky holder of the $98,000+ pick 6 ticket. We sure wish we had played that day.
Speaking of our Performance Ratings, on Sat Nov 21 the first 4 races were won by the horses with our top, or tied for our top, last race PR's, LUCKS MINE @ $9.40, THAT OL'BLACKMAGIC @ $5.20, STEP SOFTLY (GB) @ $11.40 and CLASSY ATTRACTION @ $25.00. The pick 4 paid $1,126.70. All told, a very nice weekend of results using information from all of our Workouts, Performance Ratings and Trip Notes reports.
Nice start to the Hollywood Park Fall meet. On Sun Nov 15 in the 4th race REMUS with two nice Grade B works prior to his last race scored at $20.20, and BRIANNA MARIE won the 9th with a Grade B prior to last race paying $9.80. Keep an eye on the horses that worked well and didn't run well at OSA, since HP is a very different surface which some horses may improve dramatically on. On Sat Nov 14 NEXTDOORNEIGHBOR ran a sharp 2nd at 9-1 in the 3rd race. The 4th race went to our Horses to Watch lister CUT THE CHECK whose comment read "could be tough on the drop over his favorite racetrack across town (meaning HP) next time out". He paid a nice $14.20 to win. Then CARACORTADO won the 6th with a Grade B+ "sitting on the edge of another big one" paying $16.20. MONOLINGUAL won the 7th with a Grade B+ paying even money, followed by BESTDRESSED winning the 8th with a nice Grade B @ $12.60 and ITSSULTRYINTHECAPE winning the finale with a Grade B+ prior to last race. The pick 4 paid $695.20. On Opening Night Fri Nov 13, we had two Horses to Watch winners, TEE OFF (IRE) in the 3rd and FATHER GRUMPY in the 8th paying $11.20 to win.
Well, time to return to the reality of our local racing where the class is known and workouts matter. Interesting that our only clockers report success on Breeders Cup day was Sat in the 1st race where we were dealing with local 3 yo's. The two good Grade B works on the returning dropper SMART BID were significant, resulting in a $29.80 payoff. 'BID had worked well with BULLSBAY, a contestant in the later BC mile who had won the Whitney at Saratoga, was in good form and too classy for this minor stakes. The 2nd horse was SUPREME SUMMIT who had a good Grade B prior to last race and was coming out of a prep for the BC Sprint. The exacta paid $65.70.
Our ratings, when given a chance to perform were spot on. On Fri, the first day of BC races, the first two races had our local runners and the double was won by Mike Mitchell with horses that had the two top Performance Ratings (PR's), DEAL BREAKER @ $13.40 and MISS MCCALL @ $11.80 with the double paying $60.40. In the BC races, CALIFORNIA FLAG had the highest last race Performance Rating and paid $8.80, setting the BC Turf Sprint record. When ZENSATIONAL had problems and didn't perform up to expectations, DANCING IN SILKS, with the highest last race PR, danced in to the tune of $52.60. CONDUIT (IRE), with the highest PR from his last year's triumph in the same BC race, won the Turf with PRESIOUS PASSION completing a rather nice $12.80 exacta. 'PASSION had a last race PR that towered over the rest of the field (and a serious pace advantage). In the last race where we went back to the locals, THE USUAL Q. T., tied for the last top PR and won paying $22.80.
A lot of Euro's won, which isn't a bad thing because it stimulates racing interest around the world. When ZENYATTA won the way she did, it was one of the greatest days in racing that I have experienced (especially when I didn't win anything) and most of those of us who are truly serious race fans will remember it as one of the truly great events in our lives. The "UN-BE-LIEV-A-BLE" call by Trevor will be replayed more than a few times. It certainly is intriguing that most of the memorable times in our lives are actually tragic, while this one is only positive for the game we all love.
This weekend reaffirmed the difficulties of betting the "Big" events in racing. However, watching horseracing in HD is an un-be-liev-able event for me. If we could do it every day, our sport would be advanced in ways we could only dream about. Where are the media celebrities in our sport who enjoy the reflected light and know how do to that stuff?
OK, I'm off my soapbox. Let's get some everyday winners for our customers.
Good results continue at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meet. On Thu Nov 5 in the 3rd our only good worker was EL ADELANTADO with a nice Grade B work. We also had 2 poor recent workouts on the 4-5 favorite who finished off the board. EL ADELANTADO paid $25.20 to win. The next race went to our only good worker TENACIOUS TINA, a first time starter with 2 Grade B workouts, who daylighted her foes by 6 lengths paying $6.80. In the 6th race, our Trip Notes pushed SAXOPHONE who blew the break in his last race, a $16K claimer, and was dropping back to the level he had won at in his previous race at Del Mar AND he had a recent nice Grade B work at OSA. He paid a great $11.80. The horse that finished 2nd had come off a 443 day layoff in his last race to run 3rd at FPX for $12.5K. Prior to that first race back, LEGENDARY MUD had 3 nice workouts for our clocker, all Grade B, which is great for bottom level claimers. Obviously, he ran to those works with that return race in his conditioning. He was 17-1 today with the exacta paying $51.40. On Wed Nov 4 our clocker pushed the winners of 5 of the 8 races including ONE VOTE in the 4th with a Grade B prior to last race who deadheated for the win paying $13.00 and first time starter BAILMEOUTBUGSY in the 5th paying $11.20. Running 2nd in the 5th was SMOKENOMORE with a Grade B workout @ 6-1. The exacta paid $41.10. In the 6th ACHAK (IRE) had a nice Grade B recent workout in which he "showed much improvement" and got up in the last jumps to pay $8.40. On Sun Nov 1 we pushed 2 Fit and Ready list winners TOTAL BULL (Grade A-) in the 2nd and BLAME THE WINE (Grade B+) in the 5th. Horses to Watch listers TRAIL MIX missed by a nose @ 7-1 in the 8th and COUGARETTE won the 9th @ $7.60. On Sat Oct 31 our clocker pushed the winners of 3 races including LAUREN C in the 6th with a recent Grade B workout paying $23.00 and Fit and Ready lister and firster CONVEYANCE in the 7th. In the 4th our Horses to Watch exacta won with WHISPERING HUSH besting WARREN'S JITTERBUG. Our HTW ROCKET KITTY ran 3rd @ 9-1 and in the 7th BRADY BLUE EYES completed the exacta to our F&R lister CONVEYANCE @ 9-2.
A great day at Belmont for our HR customers on Sun Oct 18 with our NY clocker pushing 4 winners. In the 3rd race first time starter QUALIA, a Fit and Ready lister with Grade B and B+ workouts, smoked her opponents while ridden out in hand paying $13.60 to win. The exacta was completed by ROCK HALL HONEY with 3 Grade B works paying $20.00. In the 7th first time starter COMIC MARVEL, with 4 Grade B works coming up to her debut for Frankel, broke poorly and flew home to win at $43.40. The 2nd horse was another first timer with a Grade B work, WILD NEWS, with the exacta paying $84.75.
A great start to the Oak Tree meet for the HR clocker. On Opening Day in the 1st race Fit & Ready lister ACQUIRE THE FIRE ran 2nd @ 13-1 to the odds-on winner. In the 2nd recent Grade B worker GANDOLF won down the hill paying $16.40. In the 6th SUMMER MOVIE with a Grade B+ prior to last race won @ $27.80. Recent Grade B worker ROYAL F J ran 2nd @ 15-1 with the exacta paying $260.50. The 3rd horse was SAINTLY SEOUL with 2 Grade B works prior to last race @ 52-1 (the kind we love to use next out when the public refuses to forgive the debut) with the tri paying $10,597.70. The superfecta was completed by WORTH A PUNT with a Grade B prior to last race providing a life changing $132,409.60 score. On Thu Oct 1 the 4th race went to PURSE LUVA with a Grade B prior to last race paying $14.40. The 7th was won by Fit & Ready lister EXQUISITE (NZ) with a recent Grade A- drill paying a very nice $15.40. On Fri Oct 2 the 3rd race was won by DON'T FORGET MUQ with a good recent Grade B workout paying $19.20. DEXTERA (GER) with a recent Grade B won the featured 7th @ $15.00. In the final leg of the $787K payoff pick 6 SANDY CHEEKS showed one nice Grade B workout at Del Mar and paid $63.00!!
Going into Oak Tree we are on a roll from the Del Mar meet where we had great results all summer. In the final week we ended with a Horses to Watch exacta in the 4th race on Closing Day with TOM BOMBADIL winning @ $7.20 and TRUENO running 2nd @ 20-1 for a $49.60 exacta. On Sun Sep 6 Fit and Ready lister PLEASURE TO RIDE won the 3rd @ $8.60 between short priced race 2 and 4 winning workout pushes THIRD DAWN and ZENSATIONAL (2 Grade A works). Then we really got rolling with race 5 winner PLASMA BEAM with a Grade B+ drill prior to last race @ $14.40, followed by race 6 winner RENDEZVOUS with a recent Grade B work and a B+ prior to last race paying a whopping $46.00!! Next came race 7 in which first time starter PRIVILAGED with a Grade A- workout won nicely and paid $11.60. (Another So Cal clocker service had two negative works on this firster including the day of our Grade A- comments.) The final race went to STERKEL with 2 recent Grade B works paying $18.00. Horse to Watch lister ARCODERO ran 2nd with the exacta paying $56.10. The trifecta was completed by CIRCLE DIAMOND with a recent Grade B work and several Grade B's prior to last race. The tri paid $632.80. On Sat Sep 5 we pushed several winners including BIRDIE BIRDIE in the 7th with a Grade B prior to race @ $14.20 and Baffert first time starter ALWAYS A PRINCESS in the 9th with a Grade B+ @ $15.80.
More nice HR clocker winners on both coasts on Fri Sep 4. At Saratoga in the 1st ACRONYM with many nice Grade B workouts on the comeback trail won easily and paid $10.80. In the 3rd INTERACTIF with a good team work prior to his last race stretched out on the grass and won by 4 paying $33.60. In the 5th CLASSIC CAMPAIGN with two good workouts won and paid $13.60. At Del Mar in the opener 1st time starter for Ron Ellis had a nice Grade B workout in company in which he "did better late than early", an indicator we like for a good performance first time out. He paid $38.20 to win. SVEN DIESEL ran 2nd with good HR works, with the exacta paying $64.00. In the 6th comebacker DREAMS AFLEET had a decent Grade B work "looking like he had more to give" and won easily paying $13.00.
Thu Sep 3 at Saratoga produced a couple of nice prices for HR customers. In the 2nd race SPECKLEDBIRD with two nice Grade B workouts prior to her last race won as the favorite, but 1st timer ROCK STAR ROYALTY with a good Grade B team drill in which she outworked her mate by 4 lengths ran 2nd @ 21-1 producing a $32.00 exacta. In the 5th race DATTT ECHO with a recent Grade B "looked good all the way" work and a good Grade B work prior to her last race ran down the favorite STORMANDAPRAYER who also had Grade B works since and prior to her last race. DATTT' paid a whopping $45.60 and the exacta paid $89.75. The 3rd horse was HAPPY WEEK with a Grade B prior to her last race @ 4-1. The tri paid $374.00.
On Wed Sep 2 at Del Mar we had 3 Horses to Watch from our weekly Trip Notes win. In the 2nd ANNIHILATION won the turf sprint that our trip notes had called for at DM paying $8.80. In the 3rd CAMISADO (FR) won on the slower Polytrack surface at DM that our trip notes had called for paying a big $26.40. In the 5th WADA FALLS broke well and won wire to wire paying $11.80. Our trip notes had noted the poor break in her last race, saying that with a clean break, she wins easily.
As Saratoga and Del Mar approach their final weeks, the HR clockers have continued to push nice prices. At Saratoga on Mon Aug 31, we had nice pushes on the back to back winners in races 7 & 8, GREAT ATTACK @ $12.60 and URBAN FLIGHT @ $17.00 with the double paying $168.00. On Sun Aug 30 our Fit & Ready lister MAGIC TIGER won in a romp at a bet down $5.10. Amongst the 7 winners we pushed on Travers Day were MUSIC NOTE in the 10th @ $13.60 and CAPT. CANDYMAN CAN in the 11th @ $9.80 after our Fit and Ready lister VINEYARD HAVEN, "looking like his old self" with a Grade A- work, was DQ'd, and SUMMER BIRD @ $7.80 in the Travers. On Fri Aug 28 SHINE SOFTLY with a nice Grade B drill won the 2nd @ $10.00 with ADJACENT running 2nd with a Grade B @ 7-1. The exacta paid $34.75. On Thu Aug 27 J Z'S REVENGE won the 4th with a nice Grade B team work prior to his last race paying $17.40 to win. Our other good worker in the race with 2 Grade B's ran 2nd with the exacta paying $34.50. On Wed Aug 26 in the 2nd race ZODIAC GIRL scored with a Grade B work @ $16.00 with our other Grade B worker running 2nd for an exacta of $25.00. On Sun Aug 23 in the 4th race PITCHED PERFECTLY with 2 recent Grade B workouts went wire to wire paying $17.80 to win.
The HR information continues to sparkle at Del Mar and Saratoga. At DM on Sun Aug 16 the 1st three races were won by HR clocker pushes. STEAM IRON and ASHLEY'S KITTY won the 1st double, both with 2 good Grade B workouts, both paying $8.40, with the double paying $40.20. Fit and Ready lister MASSONE won the 3rd paying $5.60, completing the 1st pick 3 @ $74.90. Our other Fit and Ready lister in the 3rd, PLEASURE TO RIDE, ran 2nd and our other two good workers ran 3-4 with the superfecta paying $112.10. In the 7th LT. HOPEFUL, with a Grade B workout at Santa Anita and having led the super sprinter Zensational to the half in his last race, wired this field paying $40.40. Our Horse to Watch SPIRIT OF COCHISE ran 2nd @ 15-1 with the exacta paying a huge $319.90 for $1. We weren't done yet. In the final race first time starter for Paula Capestro with a nice Grade B workout from the HR clocker lit up the toteboard @ $69.60 to win.
Nice day at Saratoga on Wed Aug 19. The 5th race was won by STARFISH BAY with a good Grade B workout paying $13.20 off a morning line of 8-1. After a tough 2nd in the 6th by REDREAMIT with a Grade B drill at 5-1 off a morning line of 15-1, we nailed the 9th race when the winner WORSTCASESCENARIO scored with a good Grade B outworking a barnmate by 4 and paid $29.80. Finishing 2nd with Grade B+ and B works @ 4-1 from a M/L of 8-1 was SASSY IMAGE, and finishing 3rd was MAGIC APPEAL with two nice Grade B works prior to her last race @ 26-1. The exacta paid $81.00 and the trifecta paid $997.50.
Winning workout pushes at Del Mar and Saratoga continued the past week with some great prices. On Wed Aug 5 we kicked off the cards on both coasts with bombers! At Saratoga the 1st race went to DISCO DIVA who had a good Grade B workout at BEL before shipping up. She paid a whopping $53.00 to win. Later, in the feature, our Fit and Ready lister COCOA BEACH (CHI) won and survived an inquiry paying $3.50. SAMMARCO, with a good Grade B drill, followed up in the last race with an easy win to pay $13.20 and complete the $29.40 double. Not to be outdone, our Del Mar clocker contributed the winner of the 1st on the west coast pushing a 2nd time starter with a good Grade B workout that blew by the field paying $40.40 to win. The 2nd race was won by DAVE'S REVENGE who had 2 nice Grade B works and failed to break in her race the previous week. She paid $5.40 for a facile win and the double paid $186.60. In the 3rd race IZEMINE finally ran to her good works and won paying $9.20, completing the opening pick 3 that paid $455.00. We pushed 3 other winners at DM that day including ROYALTY GONE WILD, a 1st time starter with 2 nice Grade B works, that pulled away to an impressive win @ $17.40. Finally, the last race was won by WILLOW O WISP, who had a Grade B work at the race distance of 7 furlongs, in which he "drew five lengths clear from his stablemate". He paid $37.40 to win and somehow pay out the pick 6.
At SAR on Mon Aug 3 the 2nd race was won by IBBOYEE with 2 nice Grade B workouts paying $12.20 to win. In the 3d race OVERLAP, with a good Grade B drill outworking a stablemate by 4 lengths, got home 1st paying $23.20. The exacta was completed by our Fit and Ready lister FAYOUM @ 5-1 paying $43.25. The trifecta was completed by our other Grade B worker paying $142.50. The double on the 2nd and 3rd races paid $115.00. Other decent prices over the weekend at SAR included BY THE SKY on Sun Aug 2 in the 10th @ $17.40. On Sat Aug 1 ANTITRUST won the 4th with a good Grade B work paying $10.20. Running 2nd and 3rd were good workers EAGLE STRIKE and SCHNEERSON with the exacta paying $23.90 and the trifecta paying $174.50. The 5th was won by RETRIEVER with a good Grade B drill prior to race back at BEL. He was ignored in the wagering and paid $35.00 to win. The final race was won by STEVIL with a good Grade B work for Zito paying $9.80 to win.
On Sun Aug 2 at DM the exacta in the opener was completed by our two Fit and Ready listers RAINBOW'S SONG and MOON DE FRENCH, with the longer shot 'SONG paying $8.60. The 2nd race was won by comebacker CLASSY ATTRACTION with 3 performance ratings that were far higher than anything this field had ever earned. She paid a fat $30.40. 1st time starter JOHN SCOTT with a nice Grade B drill won the 5th race paying $9.60. Our Horse to Watch OVER ANDOVER won the 7th paying $5.60. Finally, INFORMED won the feature with a nice Grade B workout prior to last race paying $15.00.
On Sat Jul 25, closing weekend at Belmont Park, the featured 9th race was the Grade I Coaching Club American Oaks for 3 yo fillies. Our clocker had works on 5 of the runners, including the 1st 4 finishers with the superfecta paying $3,805.00, as the favorite finished out of the money. The tragedy for HR customers was that our Fit and Ready horse, DON'T FORGET GIL, with a Grade A- ("looked awesome") and two Grade B works since raced and a Grade B+ prior to her last race, was a mile the best @ 15-1. She was blocked the length of the stretch, trying to get through on the rail and swinging out with no room and finally clear too late to finish a neck back in 2nd to FUNNY MOON who had clear sailing on the outside. If she gets through, the exacta, tri and super would have been astronomical. As it was with FUNNY MOON finishing 1st at $17.20, the exacta was $124.25 for $1, the tri with WYNNING RIDE 3rd was $831.50 with CASANOVA MOVE completing the super. I know, stop crying with those kinds of payoffs, but it had to be the toughest loss of the year for our NY customers, despite cashing some great tickets.
Sun Jul 26, opening weekend at Del Mar, was another classic demonstration of the combined power of the Handicapper's Report set of handicapping tools. Using the Daily Performance Ratings Report, the Daily Clocker's Report and the Horses to Watch in Today Report, our customers had information pushes on the winners of all 10 races. In the 1st race our two Grade B workout horses BOX OFFICE STAR and ESCAPING THE STORM ran 1-2 with the winner paying $14.80 and the exacta paying $29.80. In the 2nd SCORPION TIME was tied for the recent highest Performance Rating (PR) and was a Horse to Watch from that race. He won and paid $7.80. In the 3rd QUIET LIGHTNING had the highest last race PR by 2 lengths and scored at $20.20. TOO MUCH HEAT with the 2nd highest PR and a recent good Grade B+ workout ran 2nd completing the $42.90 exacta. Two other Grade B workers ran 3-4 completing the tri and super. The 4th race went to returnee MOLLY MCFAST with Grade B- and B workouts. As we have said many times, it often is best to ignore the workout closest to the race as the trainer is least apt to show a lot in that work. The B work was nice with MOLLY' responding well at the end of the drill, just what we want to see coming back. She paid a fat $27.60. The 5th went to another good price in MEYDAN PRINCESS (IRE) who had our 2nd highest recent turf race PR and a sharp Grade B blowout 3/8 drill at Del Mar for the race. She paid $17.40.
A nice mid June Grade B team drill at Santa Anita on MILLENNIA produced a whopping $46.00 score on the first timer in the 6th race. Other local clockers had negative works on the horse helping to produce the huge price. The pick 3 on races 3-4-5 paid $2,074.40 and the pick 3 on races 4-5-6 paid $3,652.70. The 7th went to UNZIP ME with a nice Grade B drill and it could be noted from our PR report that she had a high PR in her win at Del Mar last year, giving her horse for course status. She paid $8.40. The 8th race went to DEWEY'S SPECIAL who was tied for our 2nd highest turf PR and had a Grade B+ workout prior to his last race. He paid $8.60 to win. The 9th race was a battle between our highest PR on a synthetic surface, owned by STREET ROYALE, and our Horse to Watch LOW GEAR POWER, with STREET' prevailing and surviving an inquiry to pay $7.80. The exacta paid $19.80. The 10th race was won by our highest turf rating horse DYNAMIC RANGE @ $9.60, prevailing over our Grade B+ worker UNIVERSAL PEACE with the exacta paying $21.90. Although all of these winners had to compete with other information, both in our reports and from other sources, it certainly was not out of reason to see one of our customers cashing the $77,296.40 Pick 6. To be even more outrageous, the Pick 10 paid $1,500 to only 8, so why didn't someone have all 10, or at least 9?
Another Fit and Ready Lister scored at Belmont Park on Thu Jul 9. RICHLAND CREEK, coming off a poor performance 3 months ago at Oaklawn Park for Lucas, ran to his recent local Grade B+ and B works. RICHLAND' led all the way to deep stretch and fought back after being headed to win, paying $14.20, bet down from a 12-1 morning line.
Another big price in the feature race at Belmont Park on Sat Jul 4. Fit and Ready lister DRY MARTINI with two recent Grade B+ works charged from out of the pack to win the Suburban Handicap by 2 lengths paying $23.60. Our other Grade B+ worker ASIATIC BOY (ARG) ran 2nd with the exacta paying $33.75. We just missed a huge trifecta when FINALLYMADEIT with a nice recent Grade B work got headed for 3rd @ 33-1.
On Fri Jul 3 at Belmont Park in the feature race, JAZZY (ARG) with a nice recent Grade B workout from our NY clocker charged from the back of the pack in the stretch to get up and pay $51.00. The exacta was completed by our other recent good Grade B worker J Z WARRIOR @ 6-1 paying $152.75. The double from our Fit and Ready winner in the previous race FUNNY MOON paid $112.00.
One of our longest subscribers emailed us on Sun evening Jun 28 to let us know he had hit the carryover pick 6 at Hollywood Park using HR info. His email read:
"Using all the information provided by your service I hit the pick 6 at Hollywood Park today. Your numbers are so much better than the other services and the works were invaluable. It would be tough to make a go of it without Handicappers Report. The comments that are provided for each race also can't be matched."
We were delighted to hear such good news and very pleased to have him share it with us. We will soon have Facebook and Twitter pages to allow more sharing of positive results and news items.
Our Horses to Watch Lists have been red hot recently. On consecutive weekends, Jun 20-21 and Jun 27-28, there were 19 starters with 9 winners and 4 seconds. Prices included $34.80, $14.80, $11.00 and $9.00.
Sun and Sat Jun 28 and 27 were good days for our clients. Eight of our Horses to Watch (HTW) ran with 4 wins and 3 2nd's. On Sun BERTRAN HILL won the 1st paying $9.00, KAYLIE'S JOY ran 2nd in the 2nd race @ 4-1 to our Fit and Ready lister BUBBLEY BLONDE and SCOFIELD BARRACKS won the 1st of the pick 6 races @ $5.60 beating our other HTW LIMITED WILL in the HR exacta. The rest of the pick 6 races were won by SOVINE (IRE) in the 5th who was tied for our highest last race Performance Rating (PR) @ $9.20, first time starter BONIFACIO in the 6th with two good Grade B workouts @ $30.80, MOON DE FRENCH in the 7th with two very good Grade B and B+ drills @ $5.20, 3-5 shot BLACK MAMBA (NZ) in the 8th with the overall best PR's and WATCH OVER ME in the 9th with the best last race and last several races PR's paying $9.20. The pick 6 paid $10,079.60.
On Sat our two HTW's won the 5th, OLYMPIO'S JEWEL @ $6.60, and the 10th, FISHIN WITH T BALL @ $11.00, with CRAFTY POWER running 2nd in the 9th @ 3-1. Another nice gift was TIME TO GET EVEN (very aptly named for HR customers) who won the opener with recent Grade B and B+ works paying $28.60. On Thu Jun 25 we had a very good move on YANKEE STATION in the 7th working evenly with LIFE IS SWEET (due to tackle the boys in the Hollywood Gold Cup), earning a Grade B+ from our clocker. YANKEE' was an impressive winner paying $23.40. Our Fit and Ready lister SPEIGHT THE HALO completed the HR exacta @ $37.90.
On Sat and Sun Jun 20 and 21 at Hollywood Park, all of the HR information was on display as a set of handicapping tools. On Sat in the 1st race, our Horse to Watch SANGAREE won and paid $4.00 after an impossible trip in his previous race as documented in our Trip Notes. The 2nd race was won by KAMI D B C who had our highest last race Performance Rating (PR) by 2 lengths. She paid $7.20. In the 3rd the two horses that were tied with our highest PR's from their last race, KILDERRY and TENT (IRE), ran 1-2 with the exacta paying 9-1. The 4th race was won by BAD BOY with our highest last race PR by over 3 lengths paying $6.00. SAVU won the 5th race as our Horse to Watch with the comment from our Trip Notes: "finished well against the race shape, galloped out very strongly to be far in front of the field, follow for sure!" Our clocker had two nice works on him as well since that last race. He paid an overlaid $14.80! We didn't have any strong pushes on CALL ALY, the winner of the 6th race. You would have had to recognize by then that there was a closers bias to promote her to use a previous winning race of hers at HP with a high PR in making a case for her. The 7th race went to first time starter HUNCH with a strong Grade B+ workout from our clocker @ $6.40. The 8th race was won by TALKTOOMUCH with our highest local last race PR by many lengths paying $15.40. The 2nd horse DON'T FORGET FAITH, with a high PR converted from her last race at GG, completed the $38.50 exacta. In the 9th race GRAZEN ran back to his monster sprint victory in his return to the races one back that earned a PR over 5 lengths higher than the numbers earned by the other runners in the race. He also had a good recent Grade B workout in which he closed strongly to indicate his readiness for a good performance at a route. He paid $5.20 to win. The 2nd horse was MISREMEMBERED with a very strong recent Grade B+ workout from our clocker. In the final race our Horse to Watch ZIP QUIK with a many length advantage in PR won and paid $4.80. The 2nd horse was the 1st time starter ALFARABI with 2 very good Grade B+ works.
On Sun Jun 21 we had two Horses to Watch (HTW) win, ONE SHOT in the 2nd @ an overlaid $34.80! and SATELLITE in the 8th with a 5 point advantage over any PR earned recently by any of his adversaries @ $5.20. Both of these winners had earned a nice Grade B workout prior to their last race. In the 1st race BLAZING SPIRIT had two good Grade B workouts prior to his return race sprinting. He stretched back out and ran to his high PR from back at Oak Tree paying $13.40. In the 3rd race TOPPER SHOPPER, with a nice Grade B workout prior to his last race, ran back to his co-high PR recent race and scored @ $17.40. The 2nd horse was HTW NOBLETY, also with a co-high PR, to complete the $34.60 exacta. Completing the $172.80 trifecta was RON BOB AND DAVE with Grade B+ and B workouts off a long layoff. The 6th race had two horses with the highest recent sprint PR's coming out of the same race. The favorite QUALITY PLUS received the following comment from our Trip Notes: "quick, but stick seems to be an issue", while I WANT MY MONEY's comment was "room to improve" off the 1st start. Improve he did @ $9.80. In the 7th race DEWEY'S SPECIAL earned a PR from his last race that was a couple of lengths less than the highest in the field, but had won his first start off a long layoff after two nice workouts. Since that race he had recorded a very nice Grade B+ drill in which he "appears to be sitting on the edge of a big one in the afternoon". He improved again and paid $9.20 to win. The 9th was won by OIL MAN (IRE) who was virtually tied for the highest PR and paid $6.40. Finally, the 10th race was won by FREE BEER @ $13.20 with a Grade B work prior to his last race and a last race PR that was 2nd highest to SPENDAMILLIONBUX whose hanging ways were well documented in our Trip Notes from his last race: "race was extremely unimpressive visually, do not look for it to be productive...hung badly".
In New York at Belmont Park, we did have one nice Fit and Ready winner on Sun Jun 21. WITH FLYING COLORS won the feature @ $13.20, as New York racing continued to be plagued by rain and muddy/off the turf conditions.
Our New York clocker continues to produce some nice prices. At Belmont Park on Sun Jun 14 in the 3rd race Fit and Ready lister MATCHLESS ORINDA wired her Stakes field paying $9.70 to win. In the 5th OUR GOLDEN DREAM with a nice Grade B prior to her last race went wire to wire on the turf paying $13.60 to win. In the 8th race SAILOR'S CAP won the Poker Stakes with a good Grade B workout paying $13.40 and our other good worker TAM LIN with a Grade B+ and B ran 2nd with the exacta paying $24.20. On Thu Jun 11 MISSISSIPPI MAN won the 3rd with a nice Grade B drill paying $13.20 and Fit and Ready lister ADMIRAL BIRD ran 2nd in the 6th @ 5-1. On Wed Jun 10 EXCLUSIVE SCHEME won the opener on the turf with a Grade B workout paying $12.40 and Fit and Ready lister HOT MONEY won the 7th @ $6.80. On Belmont Day Jun 6 Fit and Ready lister MUNNINGS, who had two nice works with DUNKIRK as the latter prepared for the Belmont, won the 8th convincingly paying $9.00 and GABBY'S GOLDEN GIRL with 2 good Grade B drills followed in the 9th with a gutty win @ $28.40.
Several decent winners recently at Hollywood Park for our So Cal clocker and our Horses to Watch list from our Weekly Trip Notes. On Sun Jun 14 Fit and Ready lister YES IT'S A CAT won the 5th @ $15.60 and WAGELS won the 1st with a good Grade B workout paying $9.00. Our Grade B+ Fit and Ready lister BULLYBULLYBULLY ran very well to finish 2nd @ 6-1 with the exacta paying $27.10. Our Horses to Watch lister OVER ANDOVER ran too good to lose in the 7th @ 16-1, finishing 2nd. On Sat Jun 13 our Fit and Ready lister PUBLIC IMAGE ran 2nd in the 5th and our HTW TRUEST LEGEND, who also had a recent Grade B+ workout, won the 8th @ $5.00. On Fri night Jun 12 our Fit and Ready lister GOLDEN ROCKETSHIP won the 7th paying $9.60 and VICTORY KNOCK with two recent Grade B works won the 8th paying $11.40. On Thu Jun 11 SPURRIER won the 2nd race paying $11.40 and RINGING BERNIE with a recent Grade B won the 3rd @ $9.60. On Sun Jun 7 in the 7th we had two HTW's. PATRICIA'S GEM won the race paying $4.40 and MEYDAN PRINCESS (IRE) ran 2nd @ 10-1 with the exacta paying $24.00. Our F&R lister MENSA HEAT ran 2nd in the 5th @ 10-1. On Sat Jun 6 we had F&R horses DIXIE PASSION and GOTTA HAVE HER run 2nd and HTW lister RUSH WITH THUNDER ran 2nd @ 24-1. Seemingly a lot of big price 2nd's recently. On Thu Jun 4 we had two HTW winners, HOT HEADLINER in the 1st @ $11.00 and UNBRIDLED MEETING in the 8th @ $6.60.
On Sun May 31 at Hollywood Park the final two races both presented good examples of how to use our Performance Ratings to advantage in finding nice priced winners. In the 8th race only two horses had sprint ratings that exceeded the par for these 3 and up straight maiden colts and geldings, the proven hanger Unionize and MARGARITA SHOT. Unionize's last two races earned ratings of 99 and 100. MARGARITA SHOT had run most recently in a two turn turf race and failed to match his previous excellent try sprinting. Throwing out the turf route try and looking at the sprint rating of 104 one race back, when he beat Unionize, seemed to make him a standout (by 2 lengths as each rating point is equivalent to approximately one length). He won very easily @ $13.20 as Unionize hung once again. In the 9th race NO GRANDE was dropping in class and appeared to be speed in a paceless race. He also had earned ratings in 2 of his last 4 races that exceeded anything any other horse had run at any time in their most recent 12 tries. An obvious single that went wire to wire and paid $12.60 to win. These were the only two horses that paid over $6.80 in a carryover pick 6 that was a gift to HR customers, paying $7,643.40.
On Sat May 30 at HP our clocker pushed 5 nice winners. In the 1st HARD WOMAN had a recent Grade B workout with the comment "nice move as she was still reaching out strongly at the end". She paid $9.20. The 2nd was won by GRETZKY with a "good" Grade B drill "more left to give at the end" @ $8.40. TRUMPET PLAYER JAY won the 4th @ $12.00 with a good Grade B "looking like he had a lot more left to give at the end". The 6th went to HAJJI'S HONOR @ $18.60 with a recent Grade B+ with the comment: "a very nice move as he appears to be sitting on a win these days". CRAIG'S STORM ran 2nd @ 5-1 with a recent nice Grade B "seems to be doing well of late", the exacta paying $82.10. Finally, in the 8th BERT'S LAW won paying $44.60!! with a recent Grade B in which he "came the final 1/4 in a sharp 24.3". Two other good workers COUSIN JOE and THE FIREBIRD ran 2nd and 3rd with the exacta paying $130.70 and the trifecta paying $853.50.
On Mon May 25 at Hollywood Park our clocker pushed the winners of 6 races. In the 1st ANNIHILATION had two nice Grade B workouts prior to her last race which was off an 8 month layoff. She switched to the turf and lit up the tote board with a $32.20 score. In the 2nd our two good workers ran 1-2 with FORTY DATES paying $9.20 and the early double paying $275.80. JOINT AGREEMENT @ 7-1 completed the exacta paying $49.80. Running 3rd was our Horses to Watch lister CHIC CHICK with the trifecta paying $233.20. The 3rd was won by Horse to Watch HIYA SILVER with a Grade B+ workout prior to race and the pick 3 paid $337.50. The 8th race was won by TRES BORRACHOS with a recent Grade B drill with the comment "good move...appears set for another big effort in the afternoon". He wired a decent field and paid a whopping $49.40. The favorite ELYSIUM FIELDS with our other good recent works ran 2nd with the exacta paying $95.40. On Sun May 24 our Horse to Watch SUPERMODEL won the 3rd and our Fit and Ready lister MONTEREY JAZZ won the 7th. On Fri May 22 our Horse to Watch HOT N' DUSTY won the 5th, and on Thu May 21 our Horse to Watch won the 1st paying $23.80.
Our New York clocker continues to produce nice prices. On Mon May 25 at Belmont Park in the 7th, GERONI with a nice recent Grade B work closed well to win the $10K claimer paying $18.00. On Sun May 24 our Fit and Ready lister GIN TANGO won the 3rd paying a sweet $20.60. On Sat May 23 in the 7th race, 1st time starter GRIDIRON with a very rare Grade A workout came from dead last at the head of the stretch to win by a nose paying a bet down (12-1 morning line) $14.20. The workout was accomplished in tandem with an older stakes horse, reinforcing its significance. COLORS FLYING @ 26-1 with 2 nice Grade B works unfortunately ran 3rd missing a monstrous exacta.
On Sun May 17 in the 5th race at HP, DOTSY JEAN had a classic pattern of works that by the times looked like the horse was not doing well. She had worked in 104 flat and 103.1 for 5 furlongs and 50.3 for 4 furlongs. However, our clocker gave us a different story and indicated that these works were, in fact, nice works and DOTSY' was doing well going on her own and looking good, giving her 3 Grade B's. She paid $12.80 to win.
On Sat May 16 at HP our clocker pushed 4 very nice winners. In race 4, a straight maiden sprint, Baffert's first time starter UNDERGROUND had worked very well at Santa Anita back in March with a Grade B+ and 2 Grade B's. She daylighted her foes and paid $11.20 to win. The 5th was won by DEVOTED MAGIC with a slow workout, but "sharp" finish that got a Grade B from our clocker. He paid $14.60 to win. The 7th was won by CURVEY STAR with our best recent workout in the race paying $9.20. The 9th was won by RED ARROW (AUS) wire to wire with a recent Grade B+ "appears set for the Winner's Circle based on this work" paying $18.80. Running 2nd was PAUL'S HOPE with a Grade B "appears to be sitting on the edge of a big race" @ 8-1. The exacta paid $75.70. Our Fit and Ready and Horses to Watch lists continue to hit with F&R WATCH OVER ME winning the 2nd and HTW NO SWEAT winning the 6th on Fri May 15 and HTW CAPE DIVER winning the 1st on Sat.
Sat May 9 at Hollywood Park was a perfect example of the power of the HR performance ratings (PR's). Our ratings pushed the winner of all 9 races, with the pick 6 paying $9,411.40 and the late pick 4 paying $811.90. Reviewing the results, UDRIGA won the 1st with the top last race PR by 3 points. The 2nd went to SPEIGHT THE HALO with the top last race PR by 3 points (and a Horse to Watch as well). The 3rd was won by SHADOW OF ILLINOIS @ $12.00 with the top last PR by 2 points (other than the Turf Paradise invader who had undoubtedly faced lesser over there). The 4th went to SWEETPEA with the highest last race PR and her previous PR was 9 points higher than anything else in the field had run. The 5th was won by YODELEN DAN whose last two PR's towered over the field by at least 7 points. The 6th went to DELUXE CAT who was in a virtual PR tie with DEEP POCKETS and HIS BOY ELROY for last race PR's. They ran 1-2-3. The 7th was a turf race won by VICTORY PETE whose last turf race PR (one race back) exceeded the recently raced opponents by 4 points. The 8th race was won by BALL FOUR @ $34.00. He was an interesting must use against the heavy favorite Rail Trip as he had run a PR one back on the HP racing surface that matched Rail Trip's best ever. He also had a "sharp" recent workout from the HR clocker to indicate fitness. EGYPT (GB) won the 9th with a PR 3 points higher than any runner on turf. Performance Ratings aren't the only handicapping factors in winning every race, but they certainly are a powerful bullet in the overall Handicapper's Report arsenal for attacking the races, along with the Trip Notes and Clocker Reports. The Performance Reports are available daily on our website for the So Cal races. Behind the PR's are separate calculations for each racetrack in So Cal and our unique approach to establishing variants for each race.
Not to be outdone, our clocker on Sun May 10 pushed the winners of 5 races including Fit and Ready lister LIL JORAE in the 9th and MADELINE RUBY in the 7th paying $35.00 with a recent Grade B drill that included the comment "reaching out well at the end...nice drill...she appears to be on the upswing".
The 2nd week at HP began with a few okay Fit and Ready winners on Wed Apr 29 and Fri May 1, MISREMEMBERED @ $8.00 and DEXTERA (GER) @ $6.40. On Sat May 2, we had Fit and Ready winners RILEY TUCKER in the 2nd at CD @ $5.20 and PIONEEROF THE NILE running 2nd in the Derby to the ridiculous winner. At HP we pushed the very nice winner BEST MON with a Grade A- work in the 6th paying $26.20 to win. Horse to Watch HIDDEN BLESSING ran 2nd with the exacta paying $44.80. Our other nice worker HIYA SILVER finished 3rd with serious trouble with the trifecta paying $151.90. On Sun May 3 we had two Horses to Watch, both in the 5th race. They ran 1-2 with the winner SHEHADMEFROMHELLO paying $13.20 and SUPERMODEL running 2nd with the exacta paying $30.50. In the 9th our best worker GOLDROAD, who had worked evenly with PATRICIA'S GEM, the winner of an allowance race on Sat, won and paid $20.00. Our other Grade B worker MY T QUICK ran 2nd with the exacta paying $53.80.
On Wed May 6 we pushed every winner in one way or another, with good Performance Ratings, Works or Horses to Watch. In race 5 the winner was our HTW TALKTOOMUCH, winning by a lip @ $39.60, outnodding WELKEN who had 2 nice Grade B workouts with the exacta paying $98.70. Our other nice worker, LUPITA'SLUCKY ANGEL ran 3rd with Grade B and B+ drills, with the trifecta paying $706.30.
The 1st week of Hollywood Park produced some very nice results for HR customers. Friday night was super with information from all of our reports contributing to the nice payoffs. In the 3rd race the winner WITCHY MEETING had good performance ratings (PR) in her last two races and a very nice Grade B+ workout. She paid $7.40 to win. In the 4th LITTLE BRO had the highest last PR by 10 points (about 5 lengths) and was bet down from a morning line of 6-1 to pay $9.00. The 5th race was won by CAPTAIN TIME who had two nice recent Grade B team drills and the best PR in the past at HP. He paid a very nice $24.00. The 6th was won by GREEDY WAY who had far and away the best last race PR and paid $10.20 to win. The only horse all night that wasn't pushed hard by HR info was the winner of the 7th race, MR. KATZ. He did have the 2nd best PR on the turf at HP in the Fall and certainly was a horse to use in the pick 3, 4, and 6 on bigger tickets. He paid $22.80. The 8th race was won by ONETIMEATBANDCAMP who came out of the best races and had the highest PR from HP in the past paying $7.00. Finally, the last race was won by our Horse to Watch NORVSKY with the highest PR and a good Grade B work since raced @ $4.00. The pick 6 paid $35,889.20 and the pick 5 paid $502.20.
Other nice priced winners during the 1st week included comebacker SILVER SWALLOW on Sun Apr 26 in the 7th with a Grade B+ and two Grade B's paying $13.20 and firster WOMAN WARRIOR on Sat Apr 25 with 3 nice Grade B works in company paying $15.80. The horses that ran 2, 3, and 4 in that race all had pushes from the HR clocker with the superfecta paying $2,981.50. In the 8th, UNUSUAL SMOKE, with a nice Grade B workout prior to race where he was "getting stronger the further he went" won and paid $14.40. On Thurs Apr 23 our Horse to Watch SHE'S ICY HOT won the 2nd race paying $12.20.
Our New York clocker is warming up for the Belmont meet with some nice winners now that they are back on the Main Track at Aqueduct. On Fri Apr 10 we swept the first 3 races with STORMY RELATIONS winning the 1st with two good Grade B works off the layoff @ $7.00. Finishing 2nd was our Fit and Ready lister EYE OF TAURUS @ 21-1 with the exacta paying $49.50. The 2nd race was won by the 1st time starter FISH BOWL with a Grade B workout, outfinishing a workmate by 10 lengths. He also outfinished his field by 10 lengths paying a juicy $22.80. The double paid $81.00. In the 3rd our only decent worker DIPLOMATIC CODE, with a recent Grade B "good all the way" work, put blinkers on and got bet down from the 6-1 morning line to pay $5.90. The double paid $62.50 and the pick 3 paid $83.75. In the 5th HOT TO TROT (ARG) with two Grade B workouts prior to race put blinkers on and came away from his field paying $10.00.
Sun Mar 22 was a sensational day at Santa Anita for the HR clocker service. All of the horses in the pick 6, which paid $131,100.80, were pushed by our clocker. In fact, 4 of them were from our Fit and Ready lists. The F&R winners included: In the 4th SOUL CITY SLEW won and paid $16.20, in the 5th CARDINAL ZIN won and paid $23.80, in the 8th BELMONT CAT (NZ) won and paid $20.40 and JIMMY TWO TIMES closed out the card as a winner paying $7.60. The 6th race was won by SHES A REAL KEEPER with a Grade B work in which she "came the final 1/8 in a sharp 12 flat, still reaching out strongly when coming to the wire" @ a bet down $6.60. The other pick 6 race, the 7th, was won by a Baffert comebacker with 2 nice Grade B workouts, the last one with the comment "appears to be on the upswing" paying $10.40. The 2nd and 3rd races were also won by good HR workers with CHALULA ONE winning the 2nd with a Grade B+ drill paying $7.20 and PATRIOTIC SOLDIER winning the 3rd with one of our favorite bets, a second time starter who worked well prior to its first start, broke slowly showing little in his bow, and hence got ignored in his second start. He paid a nice $21.60. We pushed the winners of 8 of the 9 races and 8 in a row providing the following rolling pick 3 prices: $229.40, $421.00, $323.50, $362.80, $227.30 and $272.00. The pick 4 paid $1070.90. We even pushed the 5th horse in the pentafecta in the 9th @ 60-1 with a decent Grade B work. In 3 of the races we also pushed the horse that finished 2nd to complete the exactas. Definitely the kind of day that makes a meet, if not the year.
The HR Performance Ratings are producing some nice mutuels. It appears that the synthetic Pro Ride track at Santa Anita is giving other rating services problems in establishing appropriate variants. Our exclusive ratings have been providing our customers with great opportunities to differentiate solid plays, with large disparities between one horse and the others in a race. On Wed Mar 11 in the 6th race, SUPREME SUMMIT had earned a monster rating breaking his maiden in his first race (112 versus the par for 3 yo colts of 101). That number dwarfed the numbers for the other entrants in the 6th race. (The highest next number was less than 100.) Common wisdom says that maiden winners have difficulties competing against allowance horses first time back. Yet, SUMMIT won easily and paid $10.40 to win by several lengths. Getting 4-1 on solid bets is what this game is all about. The 3rd race was won by BANDEIRA UNION with a nice Grade B workout paying $10.20.
On Sun Mar 8 at Santa Anita, all of our handicapping tools were on display again. Horses to Watch lister from our Trip Notes PRETTY UNUSUAL won the 4th paying $16.80. SOLO PERFORMANCE won the 5th race with the highest recent local performance rating paying $12.00. The 7th was won in a remarkable performance by the first time starter EXCESSIVE BLEND, after completely blowing the break, paying $11.40. She had a recent Grade B+ workout "a very good move...appears to have lots of talent" and 3 Grade B works. The horse finishing 2nd in that race was IRRIDESCENT RED, a Horses to Watch lister @ 18-1 and the 3rd horse was ASANTI with 2 recent Grade B workouts. The trifecta paid $395.00.
On Sat Mar 7 in the 2nd race GOLD STAR STATUS with a recent Grade B work won and paid $24.80. Our other good workers (Grade B+) in the race, HARD BILL (CHI) and LUCKY HONEY, ran 2nd and 3rd with the trifecta paying $463.60. We had a bit of bad luck in the 6th race with our Fit and Ready lister RAINGEAR running 2nd @ 43-1 and in the 8th race with our Horses to Watch lister RUNFORTHEDOE (BRZ) running 2nd @ 39-1.
At Aqueduct our workouts have been producing some decent results as we come out of the difficult winter season in NY. On Wed Mar 11 in the 7th race CALLING MY COLORS with 2 recent Grade B workouts easily wired her field paying $16.40. The 8th and 9th were won by good HR workers ACCREDIT @ $6.50 and SUNDAY DREAMER @ $6.90 with the pick 3 paying $75.00. On Sun Mar 8 we pushed 3 winners including the early double with ZIP OF FOOLS winning the 1st race with a good Grade B work paying $9.20 and Fit and Ready lister L. C. BULGARI winning the 2nd with 2 good Grade B works @ $9.10. The double paid $52.50.
On Thurs Feb 26 in the 8th race at Santa Anita there was a great example of how all of the HR info can work together to produce fantastic results. The winner was SMART OF WAR with a recent improved Grade B workout while taking the blinkers off. He got up at the wire paying $40.00 to win. The 2nd horse was JUDGE KENT with the highest recent Performance Ratings. The 3rd, 4th and 5th horses were Horses to Watch from our Trip Notes. The pentafecta paid $15,728.60. Other recent double digit winners included ALWAYS AUDITIONING in the 8th on Fri Feb 27 with 2 Grade B workouts @ $13.60, RAILROAD in the 2nd on Thu Feb 26 with a Grade B @ $13.00, BROKEN RECORD in the 6th on Wed Feb 25 with a Grade B @ $15.00, HE'S REALLY BIG on Feb 22 in the 3rd with a Grade B @ $11.80 and SPRING HOUSE in the 8th with a Grade A- @ $15.20.
On Thurs Feb 26 at Aqueduct our Fit and Ready lister TELL ME FIRST ran away from his field in the 7th race and paid $26.60.
Super prices continue at Santa Anita for the HR information. On Sun Feb 8 in the featured 8th race, a Handicap for older horses, MAGNUM had gotten a nice Grade B workout from our clocker "set for a big effort in the afternoon" prior to his first race back since Del Mar. He had been gelded during his layoff and earned an HR Performance Rating from that comeback race equal to that of the favorite for this race. He improved as expected and won off paying $35.80. On Sat Feb 7 the 7th race, a stakes race, was won by MATTO MONDO (CHI) with a Grade B+ drill from the HR clocker paying $14.20. GLOBAL HUNTER (ARG) ran 2nd with a Grade A- work @ 6-1 with the exacta paying $47.90. In the 8th race, a stakes for 3 year olds on the Derby trail, we had 2 Fit and Ready listers entered. PAPA CLEM almost pulled off the upset @ 17-1. Our other F&R lister with 3 Grade A- works just got up at the wire paying $5.40. The exacta paid $38.00. The Strub Stakes in the 9th race was won by COWBOY CAL with the highest HR Performance Rating by 3 points over the other entrants in the race (vs a low comparative rating from other well known rating services). He won fairly easily @ $8.60. Our good worker SAILBOAT SAM (a Grade B on a dead track) won the 10th race @ $8.40 with the pick 4 paying $378.50. On Wed Feb 4 we had back to back scores in the 5th and 6th races as TOX DEE BEE returning from a 7 month layoff with 2 Grade B workouts from our clocker won the 5th paying $19.20. VAN BRIT with a recent Grade B drill followed up with a nice score in the 6th paying a whopping $34.40. The double paid $145.40.
On Sun Feb 1 MR. HOT STUFF with a Grade B prior to his last start won the 5th paying $20.00, LEASE OF LIFE with a Grade B workout won the 6th @ $9.00 and NO THINKIN ALLOWED won the 9th with a recent Grade B paying $12.40. On Sat Jan 31 Fit and Ready lister DODGEN BULLETS with a Grade A- workout won the 6th @ $27.60, while JERANIMO won the 5th with a Grade B prior to last race paying $26.60 and JOE CARL with a couple of Grade B works prior to last race won the 2nd paying $20.20. On Fri Jan 30, DEFYING LOGIC with a Grade B+ prior to last race won the 1st paying $19.60 and SO BEHOLD won the 8th as a Horses to Watch paying $15.60.
On Sun Jan 11 in the feature race at Santa Anita our Fit and Ready lister CENTURY PARK went wire to wire to reward the HR backers at a huge $51.40. CENTURY' had gotten the comments "recorded a strong 6f move...showed big response in deep stretch...appears to be sitting on a win in the afternoon" in her recent 12/29 workout. At Aqueduct on the same day our NY clocker pushed two nice winners. In the 3rd J. J. CUVEE with a recent Grade B drill won and paid $12.20. In the 6th 1st time starter KARAKORUM FUGITIVE with a Grade B workout in tow won and paid $11.40.
On Fri Jan 9 we had super results on both coasts. At Aqueduct our Fit and Ready lister AWESOME ASHLEY won the feature easily paying a super $24.20. Our other good worker in the race DEVIL HOUSE ran 2nd @ 5-1 with the $1 exacta paying a fat $73.00.
At Santa Anita, in addition to a number of 2nd's at nice prices, we pushed 1st time starter SHANTIKA'S DREAM in the 4th with 2 Grade B workouts. She won easily and paid $36.20. In the 6th MAGIC MIKE with a recent nice Grade B drill won and paid $17.20. Two pretty nice payouts for the big carryover pick 6. On Thurs Jan 8 we opened with Fit and Ready lister HI FLYIN INDY winning the 1st @ $5.60, then followed with TAVERN in the 4th with a good Grade B that won and paid $50.60. Although Tavern followed this drill with a C+ warmup to his first race, we have often mentioned that the last work prior to a first race may be the least consequential one since a trainer is often just giving his horse a maintenance move at that point. After SUGAR MINT (IRE) won the feature in her 1st start in the country with recent Grade A- and B works paying a bet down $4.00, 1st time starter AFRICAN GRAY won the 8th nicely with a good Grade B work (our only good worker in the race) paying $27.20.
Our Trip Notes have produced 5 Horses to Watch winners in the first several days of Santa Anita. On Sun Jan 4 TASTE'S SIS won the last race paying $8.20 with our other HTW in the race finishing 2nd for a $27.50 exacta. In the last race on Sat Jan 3 SLEEP TIGHT won and paid $8.00. In the last race on Thu Jan 1 (a pattern developing for the p6, p4 and super high 5 race?), JAYLO'S MARK won and paid a nice $22.60. AITCHO won the 1st race on Wed Dec 31 as the favorite and PAPA CLEM won the 6th race on Mon Dec 29 paying $8.40. Add to these winners the two HTW scores on closing day at HP, ACCLAMATION @ $25.40 and NORDIC STORM @ $14.20 and the two on Fri Dec 19, including MAT THE MAITER'D @ $27.20, our HTW are red hot the last two weeks.
Opening Day Fri Dec 26 at Santa Anita was a great day for the HR clocker. URBAN CAT won the opener with a Grade B paying $27.60. LOCKFORD completed the daily double @ $7.20 with the double paying $82.00. The 3rd went to the awesome POINT ENCOUNTER with a Grade B+ work at a bet down $4.60. Finishing 2nd with a nice Grade B+ was UNIONIZE @ 15-1 with the exacta paying $20.80. The 5th went to STAND TALL @ $14.00 with a good Grade B and we finished off the day in the featured Malibu Stakes with Fit and Ready winner BOB BLACK JACK paying a nice $12.00 with a Grade A- drill. Other nice workout winners in the first several days at Santa Anita included MATTO MONDO (CHI) with a Grade B in the 4th on Sat Dec 27 paying $28.40 and FLASHMANS PAPERS (GB) with a nice Grade B on the same day in the 7th paying $14.20. On Sun Dec 28 in the 7th UNUSUAL SPIRIT with 3 Grade B drills won and paid $15.20. BOOTED with a Grade B won the 8th on Thu Jan 1 paying $11.60. On Sat Jan 3 SPINNING YARNS went wire to wire in the 6th with a Grade B prior to last race paying $14.40 with DARLING MAMBO finishing 2nd with a Grade B @ 20-1 with the exacta paying $130.60. In the 8th JIBBOOM won the feature with recent Grade B+ and B workouts @ $5.40, but was lucky to do so. CHRISTIANA'S HEAT finished 2nd @ 18-1 with the exacta paying $45.80, but LETHAL HEAT was much the best as she was buried the length of the stretch and just missed to finish 3rd with a Grade A- work with the trifecta paying $218.20.
The Winter/Spring meet at Aqueduct got into gear on Dec 26 and we have had 5 Fit and Ready winners in the first 9 days, including KISS AND FLY in the 5th on Fri Jan 2. Other price winners include AWESOME I AM in the 3rd on that Fri with a nice workout prior to last race paying $11.20 and BARRIER REEF in the 8th with a nice Grade B amongst his several works paying $13.00. On Wed Dec 31, it was a Grade B bomber highlighting the day for HR customers in the 6th. PERSONAL GOOD snuck up the rail and pulled off to an easy win paying $71.00. On Sun Dec 28 R CLEAR VICTORY with a Grade B prior to last race won the 8th paying $23.80. On Sat Dec 27 ZIP OF FOOLS won the 4th with a good Grade B paying $16.80.
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