4th Fair Grounds: A Little Tipsy.
5th Fair Grounds: Tensas Why Gin.
9th Fair Grounds: My Three Sisters.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Closing weekend at Fair Grounds
This weekend is the final weekend of the Fair Grounds 2007-2008 meet. I think this has been one of the top two, if not the best, Fair Grounds meet that I have experienced. The racing at the top levels was outstanding, the jockey colony was the toughest I have ever seen it thanks to newcomers Bridgmohan and Leparoux, and the prominent new stables such as Larry Jones and Bill Mott were a welcome addition. Jones in particular made many of the dirt MSWs and Nw1x allowances for young horses competitive and thus, attractive betting events. While the racing at the higher claiming levels was average at best, that is mostly a reflection of the pool of available horses from which Fair Grounds draws.
I always have mixed feelings at the end of every Fair Grounds meet. It is relief to some extent because it becomes a burden to follow each day of racing at Fair Grounds. Yet, I am still sad knowing that it will be approximately eight months until horses are racing again at the Gentilly oval. The knowledge that the major 3yo preps and the Keeneland Spring meet are up ahead certainly makes things better.
I always have mixed feelings at the end of every Fair Grounds meet. It is relief to some extent because it becomes a burden to follow each day of racing at Fair Grounds. Yet, I am still sad knowing that it will be approximately eight months until horses are racing again at the Gentilly oval. The knowledge that the major 3yo preps and the Keeneland Spring meet are up ahead certainly makes things better.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Selections for Louisiana Derby Day
The big day is here for Fair Grounds fans, and the track has put together an outstanding card.
4th Race: Pectoralis Major had no chance when closing well behind a slow pace to finish a good fourth in a February race at this condition. The pace should be more honest in this race, and she gets an extra 1/16th of a mile to run.
Kenner Hcp: Noonmark ran respectable races as a 3yo while facing the better sprinters of his generation. He headed to the sidelines for nine months after running far behind Discreet Cat in the Jerome, but has returned to the run well in his next five races. Noonmark, who shipped to Gulfstream to win the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector in his last start, has trained at FG since November. He has enough early foot to remain close to Euroears without compromising his closing kick.
New Orleans Hcp: Brass Hat has been carefully managed while running against the best older horses in the world. When he is on his game, he is top-class, as shown by his win in the 2006 Donn Handicap, and his second in the Dubai World Cup that same year. He loves the distance, and shipped to Fair Grounds early to get a four furlong work over the track.
Muniz Hcp: This is a very tough race. Grade 1 winner Daytona returns from Southern California after a huge win in the Fair Grounds Handicap, but I don't think he will run as well this time as he will be facing yielding conditions. Brilliant would normally be tough to beat, but this is his first race in eight months, and he is obviously pointing to other races down the road. Fracas makes his U.S. debut for Barclay Tagg, after winning multiple Group events in Ireland and England. He is competitive with this group, and will be ignored in the betting. I also like Twilight Meteor, who lost a photo to Nobiz Like Showbiz in a turf stakes last summer at Delaware Park.
Louisiana Derby: Pyro is the hot horse after his dynamite win in the Risen Star, but I wonder if he is set up for a top effort in this race. He has earned enough money in graded stakes to cement his spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby, so I think all his connections want from this race is for him to get enough out of this race without knocking him backwards. I like two horses in here. J Be King has never raced past six furlongs in two career runs, but has been explosive in both his debut at Saratoga and his win last month at Fair Grounds. He may find himself on an easy lead and head straight for the winner's circle. Blackberry Road has the opposite running style as he likes to run from far back. He did not have a chance at beating Pyro in the Risen Star, but his trouble in the stretch cost him a much closer finish. He gets a new pilot in Robbie Albarado. If Blackberry Road can get a cleaner trip, his potent late run will make him competitive in here.
4th Race: Pectoralis Major had no chance when closing well behind a slow pace to finish a good fourth in a February race at this condition. The pace should be more honest in this race, and she gets an extra 1/16th of a mile to run.
Kenner Hcp: Noonmark ran respectable races as a 3yo while facing the better sprinters of his generation. He headed to the sidelines for nine months after running far behind Discreet Cat in the Jerome, but has returned to the run well in his next five races. Noonmark, who shipped to Gulfstream to win the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector in his last start, has trained at FG since November. He has enough early foot to remain close to Euroears without compromising his closing kick.
New Orleans Hcp: Brass Hat has been carefully managed while running against the best older horses in the world. When he is on his game, he is top-class, as shown by his win in the 2006 Donn Handicap, and his second in the Dubai World Cup that same year. He loves the distance, and shipped to Fair Grounds early to get a four furlong work over the track.
Muniz Hcp: This is a very tough race. Grade 1 winner Daytona returns from Southern California after a huge win in the Fair Grounds Handicap, but I don't think he will run as well this time as he will be facing yielding conditions. Brilliant would normally be tough to beat, but this is his first race in eight months, and he is obviously pointing to other races down the road. Fracas makes his U.S. debut for Barclay Tagg, after winning multiple Group events in Ireland and England. He is competitive with this group, and will be ignored in the betting. I also like Twilight Meteor, who lost a photo to Nobiz Like Showbiz in a turf stakes last summer at Delaware Park.
Louisiana Derby: Pyro is the hot horse after his dynamite win in the Risen Star, but I wonder if he is set up for a top effort in this race. He has earned enough money in graded stakes to cement his spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby, so I think all his connections want from this race is for him to get enough out of this race without knocking him backwards. I like two horses in here. J Be King has never raced past six furlongs in two career runs, but has been explosive in both his debut at Saratoga and his win last month at Fair Grounds. He may find himself on an easy lead and head straight for the winner's circle. Blackberry Road has the opposite running style as he likes to run from far back. He did not have a chance at beating Pyro in the Risen Star, but his trouble in the stretch cost him a much closer finish. He gets a new pilot in Robbie Albarado. If Blackberry Road can get a cleaner trip, his potent late run will make him competitive in here.
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