Notes - Oct 3

- There were a couple of stakes with possible Breeders Cup implications on Sunday. At Belmont, Funfair edged Artie Schiller in an exciting finish in the G2 Kelso BC Handicap, and trainer Graham Motion said he’ll run in the BC Mile, which many people have already conceded to Leroidesanimaux. But it was Artie Schiller who really impressed, pressing a lightning pace - :45 and 1:08.2 - finally putting away the tough Keep the Faith, and then digging in to battle the winner to a bitter loss by a head. Funfair has won three in a row in the U.S., but didn’t face the quality of competition in England that one would expect (hope) to find in a Breeders Cup contender.

The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Hank Wesch noted that the three stakes at Santa Anita yesterday produced one winner of reasonable promise for the [Breeders Cup]. And it produced two for whom the sport's day of champions would seem a stretch as long as the one at Santa Anita Park.

That winner was Fourty Niner’s Son, who took the Clement L. Hirsch Turf Championship, following up his three in—the-money finishes in graded stakes company, most recently a troubled closing third to Powerscourt in the Arlington Million. He’s a possibility for the Turf. This was a nice against-the-grain win in a slow-paced race; he was 5 1/2 back through six furlongs in 1:14.2, and rallied to win going away despite a closing half mile of :46.3. The Turf would be the four year-old’s first try beyond ten furlongs. This is a real nice late developer for Neil Drysdale, and another success story for his young sire Distorted Humor. He’s out of a mare by two-time Arc winner Alleged, and has 4x4 inbreeding to turf influence Tom Rolfe; he’s also 3x4 to Mr. Prospector. He’s a half-brother to G1 winner Cindys Hero, and his second dam is a half to Rokeby Rose, a graded winner on turf and the dam of the beloved racemare Silvetbulletday.

Stevie Wonderboy scratched from the Norfolk, leaving a rather non-distinguished group in that two year-old stakes. Trainer Doug O'Neill explained that they didn't want to run him around two turns only to turn him back to one on the big Belmont track; so he'll train up to the Juvenile.

- Grade 1 races are not my handicapping specialty; if I kept the detailed records that I know I should, I’m sure that would be clear. So though I felt fresh after two full weeks off from betting when I walked into Belmont on Saturday, I knew it would be a tough haul. My Pick 4 strategy was to single Shakespeare and Melhor Ainda and to try and beat Ashado and Flower Alley; but unlike the San Diego Padres, .500, or even slightly above, doesn’t do the trick at the track; in fact, I was out after the first race. I also lost keying Imperialism and Sand Springs on top in their races. But I fared better after the big races, nailing the 9th exacta at Santa Anita for $57.40, the 8th race triple at the Meadowlands for $130.20 and on Sunday, the 5th race triple at Delaware for $162.40. Just thought I’d mention that. :-)

I’ve been hitting my fair share of triples lately, mostly with inexpensive part wheels. I find these are a great way to get some nice payoffs on hittable combinations with a relatively small investment. The one thing you do need is to have one horse you like to win. I’m not much into three-horse boxes – that implies that you like each of the three horses equally to win. If I can’t come up with less than three for the top spot, I’ll either pass the race, use them in a multi-race wager, or use one of them on top if I think it’s a big overlay.

But if you have one you like on top, and three other contenders you like to come in the money, it costs only $12, or $6 for dollar bets, to wheel those three under your top horse for second and third. And if there’s one or two others that you’re just terrified to leave out of the show spot, it’s just another six bucks (three for dollar bets) for each one you include for third.