Harry’s picks 082914 There will be many graded stakes being offered this Labor day holiday weekend- as the summer of 2014 gradually fades from current events and the moth balls soon to be whisked from our autumnal cloaks- and before too much longer the “new years bubbly” will be defrosted upon the frosted and 2015 will come in like a squawking babe only to be replaced by 2016 until the sun emits its last flares- but by then we all should be living on planet X in a young star system revolving about it and opening up the form to review the entries in Breeders Cup 5,000,000,963,321! Some of the major races this weekend in North America will be the Spinaway at Saratoga as well as the companion Hopeful Stakes- Secretariat the best runner I’ve seen in my lifetime won the 1972 Hopeful Stakes- he came off the pace set by Sunny South (Native Charger x Song of Glory) the race turned out to one of Secretariat’s best scampers and he wound up around 7 lengths the best over Mrs. AA Wilcox’s, Flight to Glory (Native Charger x Flying Fancy-) and Greentree Farms, Stop The Music, the svelte half brother of the formidable brute Hatchet Man- Also on tap at Saratoga will be the Woodward Stakes- another race Secretariat, raced in - that was to prove perhaps the most shocking defeat of any turned in the last 50 years - if recollection serves a sickly Secretariat stripped for the event as a last minute replacement for Riva Ridge- only 4 foes turned out to face the 1973 triple crown champ- the mare Summer Guest and Amen II, and Cougar II, a very fine race horse- HA Jerkens arrived at the gate with 17-1 Prove Out!! The result and race will be discussed forever I suppose- with Secretariat and Prove Out dueling for a mile and quarter or so- (in those days the Woodward was a 12 furlong marathon!)- Prove Ou, a son of high gloss Graustark, ran one of the greatest mile and a half’s of the 20th century and as the chart maker pointed out Secretariat was “no match for the winner” sick and tired as L. Laurin and Miss Tweedy said he was, Secretariat still finished a good 10 lengths in front of vaunted Cougar II- HA Jerkens, a man of much reputation before the Woodward Stakes of 1973 went on to become a household name and the very essence of the word “upsetter”- The Woodward that year was run at Belmont Park- Other races to keep an eye on will be the Yellow Ribbon Stakes and the Del Mar Derby out west of the Pecos- another run on the east coast will be the G1 Forego Stakes at 7 furlongs- this was the distance of one of Forego’s most masterful triumphs- when he buzz sawed past Mr. Prospector as if that magnificent machine were wearing cement “horseshoes” -fans who saw Forego steam past Mr. Prospector that day will never forget the 17 hands Forego- for once that altered son of Forli got his running action in order he was nearly impossible to keep at bay- and he was the last major runner to carry significant weight as a “handicap” star- we live in an age in which handicap races have top weights of 124 pounds~!! But it is understandable, with the immense purses being offered around the world, who would want to run their horse with “Happy Humphrey” weight on their back and in the saddlebags. Woodbine 1-5 2-3 3-2 4-5 5-11 6-2 7-3 8-7 9-4 Saratoga 1-5 2-1 3-5 4-1e 5-2 6-2 7-6 8-3 9-2 10-2 11-4 Arlington 1-1e 2-5 2-1 4-5 5-5 6-2 7-3 8-3 9-6 Del mar 1-6 2-7 3-3 4-1 5-5 6-9 7-3 Ellis 1-5 2-1 3-2 4-2 5-1 6-7 7-1 8-6 Finger lakes 1-7 2-2 3-6 4-1 5-5 6-5 7-1 8-5 Hastings 1-5 2-2 3-4 4-2 5-6 6-8 7-3 Los Alamitos 1-7 2-2 3-2 4-5 5-2 6-2 7-2 8-3 Timonium 1-2 2-2 3-1 4-7 5-8 6-4 7-6 8-4 9-2 h/
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 06:55:50 +0000
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