Santa Anita Handicap
Game on Dude was unbelievably impressive in his front running style win to take his second Santa Anita Handicap. He is one of only 4 horses to win two Big Caps. It is always special to watch history being made. There has been a lot of criticism over Mike Smith's ride. Shortly after the break once Game on Dude had cleared the majority of the field, Mike Smith guided him sharply toward the rail. Handsome Mike was on the rail and altered his course to the outside of Game on Dude. I've watched the replay several times, including the head-on replay. The head-on reply can be found at calracing.com. One important thing to note is that no contact was ever made and that is evident from the head-on. Also, I'm not convinced that Mario Gutierrez had to change paths with Handsome Mike. When watching the head-on replay it seems he could have stayed put or more easily have guided Handsome Mike to the outside of Game on Dude. Either way the steward did not feel a need to take down Game on Dude or even post an inquiry. There have also been a lot of post that Baffert always gets away with this type of stuff or if Handsome Mike had been a Baffert horse then there would have been an inquiry. That argument simply doesn't hold water, and all you need to do is watch the 2010 Kentucky Derby replay where Lookin' at Lucky (a Baffert horse) had to check sharply after nearly being run over by horses coming in shortly after the start. The fact is, I don't think any of these horses were going to deny Game on Dude today - no matter the ride. Even when challenged on the far turn Game on Dude brushed it off and kick home easily. The real race to watch was for second between Clubhouse Ride and Called to Serve. Clubhouse Ride got it by a nose, but Called to Serve ran great for his first out in 2013 and will likely be a good bet back in his next out. Ron the Greek ran evenly, but not his best and was hampered by Game on Dude's easy lead.
One thing that the race clearly pointed out was the ability to use a heavy favorite and still cash a good ticket in the exotics. Game on Dude went off as the 6/5 post time favorite. I actually thought this was a steal, considering you could double your money on a horse that seemed to be primed. The way I viewed the race was:
A - Game on Dude - loves Santa Anita, Baffert had been pointing him to this race, he was working well and Mike Smith is as good as any jockey for getting a horse out of the gate and into a rhythm that fits the running style of the horse. Also, when looking at the other horses, only Ron the Greek had his class and I just couldn't find who was going to run with Game on Dude.
B - Ron the Greek - the next horse in class and he won the Big Cap last year, but his style figured to hamper him should Game on Dude run his typical front end race.
Past these two there where three horses I thought could run second. Those being, in order preference - Called to Serve, Guilt Trip and Clubhouse Ride. Now had Ron the Greek run second the payouts would have been extremely suppressed, but that wasn't a sure thing. And by getting Ron the Greek out of the Exacta and the Trifecta you were likely to cash a decent ticket since the majority of bettors would have boxed Game on Dude, Ron the Greek and one other horse of their choosing. To see how true this is, just look at the payouts:
$1 Exacta - Game on Dude / Clubhouse Ride = $31.70
$1 Trifecta - Game on Dude / Clubhouse Ride / Called to Serve = $152.00
Those payouts are really good for a 6/5 horse winning! And by singling Game on Dude in the top spot, it would have allowed you to keep your cost down.
Tom Fool Handicap
Comma to the Top has the one thing I like to see in a race horse - Heart! And a will to get to the wire in front, no matter what. These horses are great bets, because you can always count on a great effort. They may throw a clunker every now and then, but they are few and far between. In the stretch, Comma to the Top looked like he was going to have to run hard just to hold 2nd or 3rd, and winning was out of the question. But he battled back and nailed Saturday's Charm at the wire. Saturday's Charm ran a good race having to swing wide in the lane for room. He ran hard to he wire, but couldn't fight of the resurging Comma to the Top.
Gotham Stakes
I wasn't crazy about Vyjack going into this race, but I do like him coming out. Rallying from off the pace he gamely came wide to run down West Hills Giant in late stretch. I thought West Hills Giant ran a big race and it will be good to watch where he goes from here. Overanalyze, despite post 12 sat a really good trip and was in the right spot to win. He finished 5th and was never a factor. Still unbeaten and with a run like that, Vyjack has the potential to be a major Kentucky Derby player. But, there is still a lot of time between now and the Derby.
No comments:
Post a Comment