It was a wonderful week! The only thing that would have made it "perfect" would have been if I'd hit for the typical nearly 40% winners for either Saturday or the five days of racing. But as it was I scored just below 30% while profiting nearly $50. But clearly the highlight of the weekend was the trip to Orlando's Universal Studios to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with our son Brad, his wife & son Lauren & Oliver, and Lauren's parents Dana & Susie! I told both Brad & Lauren afterwards....I love to travel, that's when I am happiest; and I love going to the races - that too is when I am at my happiest. The day at Universal's Harry Potter World was just like that. So very cool. And the best part was when our grandson was selected by the wand master at Ollivander's Wand Shop for the wand to pick him as a young wizard. Check out pictures from the trip HERE .
Wednesday was NOT the start I was looking for, and considering how the first day of racing ended, it's remarkable that I showed a flat bet profit. Much less in the amount I collected. Unlike so many of the week days to date, I had seven picks on the nine race card. Started off running 4th, 3rd, and 2nd before in Race 5 I got a winner. Check out my analysis....
Shissospicy had never been on the turf, but fit this angle with a recent sharp work over the turf. When she was taking a lot of money I upped the wager from the planned double investment to a triple! Right to the front while well in hand and romped home the easiest of winners!
Thursday turned out to be quite a lot like Wednesday. I had only four races I liked today, but one of them scratched out. Missed on two of them - another second in the third & final play, running the week's total of runner-up finishes to four while only cashing two tickets! The one I cashed today was a minimum play on Lasso in a nw2L event. Sat near the back early, but too far out of touch with the field. Rallied up the rail, burst thru and drew off convincingly.
And Friday capped off what I'd call the "one win a day" week when only Bellavinino found the finish line first in the fifth, a starter optional claimer for 3yo's on the turf. Went 1-for-4 and two of the three losses found me second AGAIN. Totals heading into Saturday: 3 WINS, SIX 2nd place finishes :(
Saturday: Tampa Festival Preview Day
As I said at the outset, just could not have had a better time in Orlando. From when we first arrived, just ten minutes ahead of the rest of the family, through the entire day Saturday, topped off by an excellent dinner at the Chocolate Emporium (group pic below from there). Just great. We headed out to the park at 8am and stayed until nearly 2pm, which meant from a racing point of view, I missed the first several races I'd bet before we left.
When we got back to the room at the resort I began watching the replays and saw my first two runners fail to score. The second at Tampa was a $16K open claiming event going a mile and a sixteenth on the turf. Here's what I wrote in my analysis, "...... The early Tampa double concludes with an open $16K turf route. 6-Lamplighter Jack (10/1) gets the upset nod here in a race that features EIGHT runners who’ve seen one another before, including FIVE that have fallen to 1-Eddie the Great (4/1) previously. One of those is 10-Gilded Age (10/1) who will NEVER be double digit odds with Irad Ortiz on today. ‘Jack had not been to the races since July 2023 when he lined up in the gate last time in an entry level allowance going five furlongs on the turf. Up close to a wicked pace for the opening half mile he faded through the lane in what appears to me to be a public workout. Now stretches out to two turns while dropping in for a first time tag. Before trying three straight stakes (two graded) in the spring of 2023 he’d won five of eight with Beyer figures that would win here for fun. Those were earned in allowance and starter optional claimers that were much richer than the $16K price tag here. WHAT IF that last was just a prep and he runs back to those figs?....." Lamplighter Jack broke sharply out of the gate and led the field into the clubhouse turn. If you're familiar with racing, typically - and especially in route races like this - the names/numbers/odds don't appear until the horses are on the turn. So I knew I was on the front, and clear by daylight. Then the labels popped up - "6-Lamplighter Jack-15/1" Wait, WHAT? I knew he'd be a longshot, but typically when I pick a horse that's double digits on the morning line I'm fortunate if he leaves the post at 4/1 or 5/1, but 15/1! Am I the only one seeing what I saw? Apparently, or I'm just WAY off base. Got the opening half mile in :49 and change and I knew then I had a legitimate chance. Held the lead by daylight into the stretch, kicked clear and held on for the win. The payoff (see below) was a whopping $33.40 and even though I'd only bet the minimum I cashed for over $80! This carried me through the rest of the day. WOW.
Missed in the third at Tampa before getting my first (of only two) wins at Gulfstream. Class dropping Gayles Evening showed three Tapeta sprints at or about this level in her pp's and they had resulted in two wins and a just-miss second. Much like the first winner on the day, right to the front and never threatened.
Third and fifth in the next two before it was time for the BET of the Day in the Pelican Stakes, a six furlong sprint for older. Lightly raced Nutella Fella was my choice. He'd won on debut as a 2yo and subsequently won the Grade 1 Hopeful. Off for nine months he returned as a 3yo in the Gr 1 Woody Stephens on Belmont Day. Broke slowly but finished willingly to be third. Off for another seven months before showing up in a second level allowance here. Off at 4/5 he was in hand to the turn, then had no where to run. When finally free it was too late, second. I anticipated a much better effort today, and hopefully a clean trip. Well, half right! Broke sharply and I thought, ok, we're going to get a good trip. But he was between runners and got squeezed and shuffled back to fifth. This can't be good as they approached the far turn. Moved up quickly between horses but got shut off. Oh my, seriously? Dove to the rail, squeezed thru, surged and got to the wire JUST in front. WHEW! The crowd let him go off at what I thought was a generous 4/5 so I cashed for over $50.
Right back in the filly/mare companion stakes, the Minaret. When I handicapped the race and made the pick I thought to myself that I liked Nic's Style nearly as much as I liked Nutella. But I just have "a thing" about big bets online. I didn't want to cut back on 'Nutella and I didn't want to match the bet here so I settled on a triple investment. Sat near the back to the turn, advance quickly to be third. Rallied four wide into the lane and was coming on but time was running out.....HEAD BOB on the wire! I honestly thought I might have won but if asked to bet, I'd have said I lost. Then the close-up slo-mo replay and I felt pretty good that I got the best of the bob....and I did. Whew, squared!
Over the last seven bets of the day I only scored once when Hurricane Nelson wired an entry level allowance at Gulfstream in a six furlong main track sprint. Four of the six losses saw me finish second. In the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa, the first serious race with Oaks points for 3yo fillies, my top choice turned her head to look at the crowd as the gates opened and spotted the field multiple lengths. That she was a close second was remarkable. Circle her for next time. And in the featured Gr 3 Sam Davis for 3yo's with Derby aspirations, I liked Owen Almighty who'd "won" the prep for this a month ago but was wrongly DQ'd. The crowd wasn't convinced and he was the co-favorite at 5/2. He and the other favorite put on quite a show dueling from mid-turn to the wire. I was on the outside and with 100 yards to go surged to the front. Next to never will a horse who's passed like that - especially if on the inside - come back, but the rival did and just beat 'Owen. Fortunately I "cashed" for $10 of the $15 on an Xpressbet promotion on Triple Crown prep races.
The day concluded with the great dinner at City Walk. And I must say that one of the best things for me was hanging with my son who seemed determined to spend some quality time with his dad :) Also was so appreciative that my wife Kim, still recovering from her double knee replacement, was smart and let me and Brad push her around the majority of the time in her portable wheelchair. And how could I not mention our wonderful grandson who was picked by the wand maker for the wand to pick the young wizard's personal wand! Then watching him perform the spells around the park was cool. And overall just his excitement at nearly everything about Harry Potter World. Finally, the two thrill rides that I went on with Brad were intense, exciting, and WOW experiences! What a great weekend!
Sunday we were up at our usual about 7am time frame so Brad and I went down to the coffee shop in the lobby to get coffee for us and Kim. Around 8:30am we headed out as they were preparing for a second day at the parks. Valet brought the car up within minutes and we had a smooth and pretty easy trip home, arriving a little after 11am. I had seven picks on the ten race card - again more than I've had of late - and like the other days proceeded to lose the first two. But then the tide turned......significantly! In the fourth, lightly raced 3yo's were going a mile on the turf in an entry level allowance. Forged Steel was my pick. It looked like a fairly even match on grass, but IF this colt could run to his last two tries in DIRT stakes he had a legitimate shot. And what sealed the deal for me was that he'd broken his maiden at first asking.....on the turf.....HERE! Like so many other winners of the week he broke sharply from the rail, right to the front. Took some pressure to the turn, but opened up in the stretch and was clear under the wire. The best news, the crowd let him go off at better than 5/2 and I cashed for over $35! BUT.....the best was yet to come!
Passed on R5 which brought us to another 3yo one-mile turf race. This was a MSW race however. I've found that the Pletcher 3yo maidens I bet are not delivering at nearly the rate I usually get. But I'm also finding, sadly, that in several open races "I've got a better idea" and his non-maidens have beat me on several occasions making me shake my head wondering over and over what I was thinking. But today Capturing made up for it all. The filly was debuting with Irad Ortiz on board and had all the right Tomlinson figures that said she SHOULD like a turf route. Rode the rail in fourth into the lane, catapulted with an explosive move to the front and drew off by open lengths. Almost immediately there was an inquiry, but Announcer Pete made it clear it did NOT affect the unofficial winner. Then as he clarified this again, he added that there WAS an objection against the winner. It only took a couple minutes and all claims of fouls were dismissed. He was posted the official winner and paid....wait for it.....a bit $14.80 so I cashed for almost $75! WHOOOOO HOOOO. I'm guaranteed to be a winner for the day.
Missed on the next three but it was a "what ever" kind of feeling following the big score. In the finale Executive Success tracked the leaders under a new female apprentice rider for Saffie Joseph to the top of the lane and drew off handily to pad my stats for the day and the week.
Social Media this week......
Unlike most weeks in my life where I'm pretty much alone, except for some interaction with my wife when she's home, this week I had a lot of human interaction. The three days we were in Orlando; then Super Bowl Sunday we had several people over; and then, like most weeks, several of my friends - again all girls! - interacted with me online. We'll start the social media section where it ended. Former student from long ago, Amanda (my "Disney Girl) reached out to me as the Super Bowl telecast was starting asking if I was ready for the commercials. You see, when she was in my Mickonomics class - as I did every with every group - I did a lesson on the characteristics of effective TV commercials and we always watched that year's Super Bowl ads. Cool that she still thinks of that, right?
My all time favorite former, Kimmy and I exchanged several text over the Universal trip. Initially we texted about me never having gone and how she said I needed to be sure to check out the fire-breathing dragon. Then once there we texted about me being in the Slytherin House and of course about the dragon. YES it was so "freaking cool" as she commented.
I reached out to CBS weekend anchor / gal-pal Teri a few times during the week regarding her poor broken ankle. But she too was excited we were headed to see Harry Potter as she told me she loved Harry Potter :)
This week was "Wear Red Day" to support heart disease research and gal-pal, former weekend anchor Karli posted a photo and replied to my comment.
And we'll wrap this week's social media interactions section with my gal-pal Lauren Pastrana. We exchanged several messages this week. A couple times regarding the Universal trip - interesting that she's a Hufflepuff, right? It was also a BIG day for Lauren on Monday as she celebrated her 38th birthday. Wished her a happy birthday, she reacted to comments on both social media platforms. She posted two reels which were clever. The first she showed herself journaling with "Jingle Bells" playing and said "this is my brain while I'm journaling, do you journal?" I replied and then I couldn't get the tune out of my head LOL. Another reel she said "here's ten things about me.....now in the comments tell me about you." I was one of several who replied and she replied to my comment. And we also exchanged messages about the final 7pm solo broadcast.
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