Ron the Greek powers away with the Lecomte

24 01 2010

Heading into the gate for Saturday’s 66th running of the Lecomte (G3) at Fair Grounds, one of my favorite last second “tells” was on full display.  Watching through the track feed, the 3-year-old bay Ron the Greek calmly waited for his moment to load into the extreme outside post position.  He looked regal, stoic, and absolutely determined.  Minutes later we would learn just how determined he actually was.

The $100,000 purse for the Lecomte was thought to be Maximus Ruler’s for the taking.   As anticipated, he had been bet down to favoritism by post time from his 4/1 odds on the morning line.  Rather than settle comfortably into a pace pressing position as we had anticipated, the son of Roman Ruler instead wound up setting the early pace of :23.42 with longshot Depaul just off of him.

By the opening half mile call of :46.80, Ron the Greek was all the way at the back of the pack, as Maximus Ruler continued to lead the field into the far turn.

At the top of the stretch, it may have appeared to the untrained eye that the race was boiling down to Maximus Ruler and Cool Bullet, who had come up to challenge the leader from just off the pace.

Way in the back of the pack though, Ron the Greek had shaken loose and was powering down the center of the track.  The final sixteenth was all his, as he ran right past Maximus Ruler to hit the wire in 1:40.09.

Ron the Greek returned $17.60 for the win, with Maximus Ruler finishing 2nd and paying $4.40 to place.  Letsgetitonmon finished 3rd and returned $5.00 to show.

No definitive information has been announced yet that I’m aware of, but it’s probably a good guess that Ron the Greek will stick around locally at Gulfstream Park  and allow trainer Thomas Amoss to think about the Risen Star (2/20) and/or the Louisiana Derby (3/27).

For Maximus Ruler, while the defeat was tough, I doubt that we saw the bottom of this horse with this effort.  It will be interesting to see where trainer Clark Hanna points him after this race.  Will they want to continue to stretch him out, or do they feel he’s more effective going one turn?  Only time will tell.

For now though, hats off to Ron the Greek.  I’m not sure which performance was more impressive between his victory in the Lecomte and Winslow Homer’s victory in the Holy Bull (considering Winslow had to split horses at the top of the stretch – a move you like to see from an improving 3-year-old), but Ron was certainly the best score of the afternoon.

Congratulations to those who took a shot with him.  Obviously, despite thinking of him as a contender, I wasn’t one of those folks.  :)


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Categories : Fair Grounds, horse racing, Horse Racing News, Kentucky Derby Trail

Winslow Homer outruns Jackson Bend to win the Holy Bull

24 01 2010

The Kentucky Derby prep season got underway with a bang on Saturday as Fox Hill Farms’ 3-year-old Winslow Homer staged a mild upset in the $150,000 Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park. Bet down from his morning line odds of 6/1, the son of Unbridled’s Song split horses in the stretch to power his way home in front of the favorite, Jackson Bend, who was coming off a 5 race winning streak.

Right out of the gate, several horses shot to the front to challenge the early goings, including Piscitelli (who had shown this style last out in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile), Litigation Risk, and Homeboykris.

It was Homeboykris who ultimately had the lead at the opening quarter mark in :23.86, with Thank You Philippe having motored on up to a close 2nd from his position along the rail.

At this point, both Jackson Bend and Winslow Homer were in stalking position, with Winslow Homer getting a slightly easier ride just off the pace pressers.

As the field turned for home, Ramon Dominguez finally asked Winslow Homer for his run, and the colt responded by splitting Homeboykris and Thank You Philippe , emerging from the pack ahead of Jackson Bend.  By the sixteenth poll it was a two-horse race, but Winslow Homer would not be denied, hitting the wire 3/4 of a length in front of Jackson Bend.

The final time for the Holy Bull was 1:35.97 for the one-turn mile.  Winslow Homer returned $9.60 for the victory with Jackson Bend completing the Exacta and paying $3.40 for place.  William’s Kitten was moving well late, finishing 3rd and returning $4.40 for show.

Following the race, trainer Anthony Dutrow indicated that the Fountain of Youth Stakes (Grade 2) on February 20th at Gulfstream Park would likely be Winslow Homer’s next race.


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Categories : Gulfstream Park, horse racing, Horse Racing News, Kentucky Derby Trail

The Pamplemousse looks to “Wow” in the Sham

27 02 2009

You knew it would simply be impossible for me to resist a gratuitous Sham Wow reference when covering Saturday’s 9th running of the Grade 3 Sham at Santa Anita.  Twelve runners have gathered for the Sham to take on trainer Julio Canani’s Kentucky Derby hopeful, including a likely late shipper from the east in Todd Pletcher’s colt Take the Points.  The field for the Sham sets up like this:

Past Performances for the Sham are available here

  1. Hi Flyin Indy (A. Quinonez/E. Harty) 30/1
  2. Smart Bid (R. Bejarano/G. Motion) 8/1
  3. Tiz True (A. Gryder/ D. Hofmans) 30/1
  4. Lifeline SCRATCHED
  5. The Pamplemousse (A. Solis/J. Canani) 9/5*
  6. Balfour Park (B. Blank/C. Lewis) 30/1
  7. Mr. Hot Stuff (C. Nakatani/E. Harty) 7/2
  8. Bourbon Bay (J. Rosario/N. Drysdale) 15/1
  9. Ventana (J. Rios/B. Baffert) 15/1
  10.  Mark S the Cooler (J. Talamo/D. O’Neill) 15/1
  11.  Unbridled Roman (M. Smith/ C. Paasch) 12/1
  12.  Take the Points (G. Gomez/ T. Pletcher) 3/1

The Pamplemousse ran huge last time out after getting the perfect trip in the San Rafael (G3) on 1/17.   The son of Kafwain (Cherokee Run) has improved on the Beyer scale in each of his 4 lifetime races.  He’ll be stretching out an extra furlong today in the 1 1/8 mile Sham, but also owns a victory at 1 1/16 miles, so distance would not seem to be a concern.  A more pressing question might be what kind of pace scenario the grapefruit (in case you’ve ever wondered what “Pamplemousse” means) gets on Saturday.  Regardless, he’s clearly the horse to beat and is definitely eligible of another gate to wire romp if he gets loose on the lead.

The obvious rival will be the recent maiden graduate and full brother to Colonel John, the Eoin Harty trained Mr. Hot Stuff.  After struggling a bit in his first four races, he seemingly put it all together last out against obviously softer competition.  He’ll get the acid test today as he moves up to face tougher, although it’s not like this field is loaded with stakes winners.   Only the favorite can lay claim to that honor.  Besides The Pamplemousse, the only runners in the field with victories outside of the maiden ranks are Smart Bid and Take the Points.   Obviously he’s a thread if he runs back to his last Beyer figure. 

Looking over the rest of the field, Smart Bid is a horse I think will love the distance of the Sham, but it’s a bit of an unknown how he’ll take to the Pro Ride surface.  If you’re looking for a positive sign on his otherwise forgettable debut over synthetics last July, note that at least he was moving decently late, as indicated by the “mild rally” note in his comment line.  He’s coming off back to back wins, is trained by one of my favorites in Graham Motion, and obviously shares sires with a certain chestnut colt you might say I’m somewhat endeared to.  All of that and 8/1 make him a very attractive play underneath.

Take the Points is a horse who looks like a major threat on paper, but I’m probably going to pass at odds anything like 3/1.  Don’t get me wrong, I think this is a nice colt and he can definitely hit the board;  I’m just not fond of horses shipping from east to west.  Especially when they don’t have any workouts posted on the surface.  It’s a crap-shoot, and the odds to me don’t favor the risk/reward potential. 

Ventana is a runner who might be worth giving another look.  He was favored last out on the morning line in the San Vicente, something that many horseplayers scoffed at.  He ran 4th that day, but was only beaten 2 1/4 lengths, and a couple of the horses in that race (namely the winning filly Evita Argentina and runner up Leedstheway) are horses who should do well this year.  He offered no value in the San Vicente as chalk, but now the opposite is true as he’s 15/1 on the morning line.  I think when all is said and done he is a classier horse than many of the runners in here, so I’ll be using him underneath as well.

Bourbon Bay is another I think could be sneaky in here at long odds.  While his previous running has been on the grass for trainer Neil Drysdale, I like that he’s improved with each start.  Another move forward puts him right in contention in this field.   He handled stakes company rather well last November in the Generous (G3) at Hollywood.  Still, he’s been off for essentially 3 months, so his prospects at winning are rather slim.   As an underneath play on the exotics he should offer some value though. 

I’ll eat chalk here and play The Pamplemousse for the win.  I don’t expect very good odds on him though, so we’ll likely pass on the win bet and focus instead on the 10 cent Superfecta.   Ill use Smart Bid, Mr. Hot Stuff, and Ventana in place.  Add to them Bourbon Bay and Take the Points for show.  I’ll toss in Unbridled Roman and Mark S the Cooler for 4th.

Selections:

$.10 Superfecta: 5/2,7,9/2,7,8,9,12/2,7,8,9,10,11,12 ($6.00)


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Categories : Handicapping Selections, Kentucky Derby Trail, Santa Anita


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