Sunday May 6
WINNER - WINNER, Chicken Dinner!
So I had absolutely no plans for playing the races today, but then this morning I got a phone call from my oldest son Jeff. He had made it to the races in time to hit the Derby winner, but later in the evening he had lost a race at Penn National when his odds-on favorite selection broke down when clear on the lead at the 16th pole in mid-stretch. Frustrating to say the least, so he was heading out today.
He asked if I'd handicapped for the day and when I said no he asked if I knew that there were not one, not two, but three stakes races on the Belmont card. I was surprised to hear that so as we spoke I looked at the entries for the day. Lo and behold one of those runners was a standout. So after we got off the phone I went through the other tracks I follow and found a second standout at Betfair Hollywood Park. Not only did they look like near-certain winners, but appeared to be "slam-dunks" / singles in multi-race wagers and thus worthy of a "prime time" investment. The first, based on post time, was the selection at Hollywood. Teddy's Promise is the best female sprinter on the west coast. She was my "best" a week ago Saturday on Gold Rush Day, but scratched out. Which I was not surprised because the distance that day was 7 1/2 furlongs, which might have been just outside her comfort zone. Today this multiple graded stakes winner was entered in an overnight stakes. This so much reminded me of the Comma to the Top race yesterday and I thought maybe, just maybe I'd get an overlaid price. Not sure if the crowd had learned it's lesson from Saturday or something else they saw, but Teddy's Promise was pounded down to 2/5. That still was a "free money giveaway" promotion to me. A five furlong race for a sprinter of this quality was almost like telling the owner and trainer, "Hey, want to have a five furlong workout in the morning for nothing, or how about we pay you $50K to workout in front of the crowd in company?" Duh, hello. Teddy's Promise broke sharply, let a longshot run with her for a quarter of a mile and then kissed the field goodbye. She won by daylight with the rider never moving a muscle, geared down through the final sixteenth. The $2.80 payout was small, but it was an easy payday for this handicapper!
Next up was the third of the feature stakes at Belmont. The You Go West Girl Stakes was set for a mile on the turf and the favorite was multiple graded stakes winning Dayatthespa. The race was carded as a prep for a state-bred stakes in a month, but Dayatthespa had her eyes set on the Grade 1 Just A Game the week following that stakes. Trainer Chad Brown and jockey Javier Castellano are a dynamic team, especially on the turf and this filly could win this race without even working hard, in my opinion. My only concern was that if one of the longshots had targeted THIS race as their "big race" would Dayatthespa be asked for her best and/or be ready to give her best off the long layoff? In the end I thought she simply was better even without being required for a full blown effort. As they hit the far turn one of the other fillies decided they would test her. While Castellano was merely handriding her around the turn, the other jockey was asking his mount for her best. She ranged up to Dayatthespa's hip and threatened to make a race of it. Castellano looked over his shoulder, as if to say, "Really?" He shook the reins and it was all over. She cruised through the lane in an open gallop and I was a two-time winner on the day.
Again, the price was miniscule, but the $25 payout meant another "free money" promotion to me. AND, with the two wins and $13 profit on the day I not only took my weekend win total above 30% (12-for-37, 32.4%) but I had also erased the tiny loss on Saturday and made weekend a $50 profitable experience. WHOOOO HOOOO!
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