Harry’s picks 080414 One of the nicest things about summertime is that Saratoga races on Mondays- and if ever there was a cure for the Monday Blues it is the Saratoga meeting- conversely one of the toughest things to deal with every racing meet at the “spa” is the amount of scratched horses, particularly from Turf events- On this past Sunday’s card at Saratoga, I counted around 28 scratched entrants! That seems like an awful lot of no-shows- big as they are, horses are fragile creatures, running 40mph on slender legs and exerting “G” forces upon ankles and hooves and suspensor ligaments of enormous stresses- One thing that has persisted throughout my period of interest in the activities of race horses is a dislike for “scratches” As ridiculous as it may sound I’m in favor of a rule which declares “enter a horse, then run the horse”- the only out being if said critter shows up for the event in an oxygen tent. Anyhow, enough crabbing- let’s have a look at the Saratoga program for Monday 080414 and see what it is that catches my eye and perhaps the kind readers as well- Saratoga Race 1 – I don’t have to look far for a seemingly ambulatory Beyond Empire, who will carry jockey I. Ortiz Jr. the nine furlongs to “victory”- although this gelding lost its last race by 9 lengths, he stems from the family which produced the sire of Ribot! And at a distance it seems like a good thing to have in ones saddlebags- I’m speaking of Tenerani, a foal of war-ravaged Italy circa 1944- Tenerani, won 17 from 22 races stamping himself as one of the all-time best horses ever to come out of the Italian horse farms- the pedigree of Beyond Empire, whose lifetime record is a dubious 1 for 8 with its win coming in March of 2013 is an interesting balance seeking speed & stamina and apparently achieving neither result. Race 2- state bred sprinters will seek to distract the jaded and entertain the optimistic amongst us- trainer B. Levine also owns this son of Congrats, Party On, and the latter makes his debut herein- and amazingly Party On, is a very close relative of Beyond Empire! Thusly a double from those two “cousins” would not only be extremely profitable but a tribute to 1955 Italian Oaks heroine Theodorica, who is 5th dam to Beyond Empire, and 6th dam to Party On – so Party On! Race 3- According to Schopenhauer, a “good” man should practice “chastity” and voluntary poverty, fasting and self-torture!” – All tell-tale signs of the classic “handicapper”- and tossing some hard earned “cake” at Winnitude, who will try and upset a bunch of state-bred types in the New York Stallion Stakes should insure that I remain locked into the principles laid down by A. Schopenhauer in his book “World as Will and Idea”- R. Maaragh picks up the mount, a colt by Japanese bred and popular Empire state stud Utopia- the female family for the dark bay 3yo colt are 16-A thru Acorn Stakes champion Hostility, who was raced by the Wheatley Stable, the famed string which I believe tended to Bold Ruler, sire of mightiest Secretariat. Race 4- turf maidens need be dealt with here and again I’ll take a poke at Iced Over, like my previous race choice, a 3yo Utopia colt- Utopia, a very handsome stud, had a shine common to many of those ushered into being by Raise A Native and sons- the Raise A Native and Graustrak offspring being the most impressive looking “animals” I ever saw when visiting the race track- Utopia, retired to stud after winning many of the top races offered by the JRA and at the moment may be serving as a stallion in far-away Turkey- the 12th dam of Iced Over, may have been sired by my favorite “ancient” Thormanby- Race 5- shipping into Saratoga from the Mid-Atlantic circuit will be Back Forty, a son of top stud Speightstown- J. Castellano rides- last year Back Forty won a 50K stakes type event at Delaware park- this race carries a 62K purse and is for sprinting claiming horses- the grandma of Back Forty is outstanding Northernette a full sister of Storm Bird. Race 6-inner-turf course fillies go for black-type in another New York state Stallion Stake. One Mile is the test. - right now I have the contest in the “hands” of Henry’s Gal and Selenite- the latter carries an 8-1 ML and the former a bay lass by recently departed Disco Rico is listed at 15/1 ML- Henry’s Gal shows that My Babu a winner of the 2000 guineas sired her 6th dam (?) so I’ll give her the edge – risky business for sure in the 6th at Saratoga- Race 7- trainer Chad Brown has a reputation of being a “good man” with fillies and in this turf sprint has the favorite or close to it- Thundering Gale a 3yo daughter of semi-useless sire Thunderello- Mr. Riccio I believe owned Disco Rico and claimed the filly for seems 40Karound Preakness time 2014- the female tribe is the excellent group tracing back to Herd Girl a daughter (1917) by unbeaten Colin. The latter a grandson of the Black Whirlwind” Domino won 15 consecutive races setting the mark up to that point in time for consecutive victories- Race 8- an inner turf mile is as perplexing as a finding a street in Peking! At 15/1 ML Stock Fund might pay a dividend comparable to the degree of difficulty this sort of race poses- the chestnut 5yo daughter of poor stallion Stonesider, has found it within her skills to win a turf race at Belmont Park in 2014- the 3rd dam is a full sister to Upper Nile and De La Rose – both striking presences in post parade- Race 9- trainer Levine send forth Cast A Doubt a 5yo gelding sired by excellent stallion Wildcat Heir- on the board in 11 of 19 career starts, last time in the winner’s circle for Cast A Doubt was at the BIG A and upon their inner dirt track- Cast A Doubt was claimed in California and brought east where it has faced better company- the all-time Euro based Tudor Minstrel sired the 5th dam of Cast A Doubt- I can’t say that any of the above selection fills me with confidence- here is hoping your prospects are better than mine for tomorrow’s racing program at Saratoga. h/
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 05:23:51 +0000
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