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Saturday, May 13, 2006

Another Futile Try

- Another dismal effort on the dirt for Highland Cat, though, as reported by Nick, he at least impressed Simon Brey with his pre-race appearance. Unfortunately, he’s a horse who likes to be dead last shortly after the start, and that’s not going to win many races. He was last, then second to last, then last again. He at least showed a bit of interest in the stretch, rallying past two horses to get 7th, of 9, and earning $114 in purse money. The Head Chef was so taken by that little move that she almost had me convinced on the way home that he had finished 5th, which I would have considered a moral victory.

Well, the race didn’t tell us anything we didn’t know. He doesn’t race well on the dirt, and we need to try him on grass, which will happen, hopefully, on May 26.

- I dumped Dish Network for Direct TV shortly before the beginning of the NHL playoffs. Dish had dropped OLN at the beginning of the season over the usual fees dispute, and though I had little problem getting through the regular season without it (only because no Rangers road games were part of their exclusive telecasts), it was a must for the playoffs. I knew this meant losing HRTV. But I waited until after the essential parts of the Gulfstream and Santa Anita meets were over, and just figured I’d worry about them next year.

So what happened? Four days after I switched, Dish Network reinstated OLN (and a few days after that, the Rangers were swept out of the playoffs). And now, I’m already missing HRTV. Even though it’s not their prime season, they do offer exclusive coverage of tracks like Lone Star, Remington, Woodbine, and the Meadowlands. And besides, they just do a really nice job. Not only are their hosts knowledgeable, but, with one notable exception, they eschew the histrionics that we all too often hear on TVG, where they try to elevate every race to the importance of a Grade 1 stakes. And besides, I miss Millie Ball, especially when seeing TVG’s new Lady Luck program.

In trying to compensate for the loss, I do get some of the tracks on a feed from an upstate OTB, via a link that a reader sent me last year. Other tracks, like the Meadowlands, offer their video live on their website. But I’m shut out entirely these days from Lone Star, a track that I do like to play. It seems to me that providing a convenient video feed of the races online is an easy and logical way for a track to attract business. Yet, when I go to the link for “Live Racing” on the Lone Star, and other Magna track sites, I’m told that I have to sign up for an Xpress Bet account. It seems to me that it’s counterproductive for Magna to make it a hassle to get their video feed; I just make my wagers at other tracks, and that’s lost business for them. With all the competition, you’d think they would make access to their signals as easy as possible.

And if this isn’t all bad enough, now TVG is going all loopy with their new programming. The hosts look extremely uncomfortable in their new chairs and make me feel the same. You can see their programs and Forms strewn all about, along with a laptop computer placed awkwardly in the foreground (or on their laps!). I'll be even sorrier once the big stakes at Meadowlands harness start. They have a great harness guy, and treat those races like a major sport, complete with replays of relevant past races during their analysis. The only advantage now of Direct TV (other than their far superior technology) is the Yanks on YES Network, and I lived without that just fine last season. And, I’m locked into Direct TV for a year. Oh man...

- Barbaro galloped a mile and a quarter at Fair Hill yesterday, and Michael Matz said, “he’s doing terrific.”

He may put in a "stretch gallop" at Fair Hill next week before shipping to Pimlico for the race. Date and time of arrival have not been set. Matz could ship on the morning of the race or a couple of days earlier to gallop over the track. [NY Daily News]
- Cindy Noll Murphy is experiencing what is being called “temporary paralysis” from a bruised spinal cord suffered in a spill at Prairie Meadows on Thursday. Her husband Travis told Bloodhorse: "She regained a lot of feeling that she didn't have right after the injury....Although it's not coming around super fast, she can move her fingers and toes, so she has a minimal range of motion."

7 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Hang in there. Looking more like the route of ground will do wonders for his form.

What's the $$ on Christening? I race a claimer at Del and I'll take a peak.

Anonymous said...

...i saw in Dave Liftin's column today that Secretariat ran the last quarter of his Derby in 23.20...anyone have the fractions from that race?...

...this of course was brought up while he mentioned Barbaro's final quarter in 24.34, the fastest since Secretariat...but Liftin also mentioned that the second half mile of this year's Derby was run in 50.95, "making it the Derby's slowest second half mile since fractions were first recorded in hundredths of seconds back in 1991"...i still think there's something wrong with that mile fraction...while Keyed Entry and Sinister Minister were no doubt getting tired on the lead, those two are nothing if not accomplished milers...and it's not as if fractions of 22.63, 46.07, and 110.88 are gonna cause those two horses to crater as they approach the one-mile mark...on the contrary, those fractions are slow compared to what they're capable of...it's hard to believe those two went six furlongs in nearly 1:11, and then ran the next quarter in over 26 seconds...and even if they had, i think they would've been passed left and right...as it turned out, the only horse that had passed Sinister Minister after that 26-second quarter was Barbaro...i dunno...i guess it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, as Barabo was obviously finishing pretty well (he did open up several lengths on the field), and nobody douts it was very strong performance...it's certainly not a reason to try and beat him in the Preakness...i do believe he's gonna be underlaid though (i've seen DRF people speculating 3/5)...i don't think he's THAT much better than Brother Derek and/or Sweetnorthernsaint, assuming he's better at all...i guess we'll get some confirmation next Saturday...

John said...

Alan,

I watched HC's race on Youbet streaming video. I was tempted to put 2 bucks on him about 15 minutes before post time, I really like Pablo Fragoso and I figured maybe lightning would strike but then the odds started drifting up, way up and I chickened out. As for your trainer's strategy, hmmm.
The upside is that I would kill to get to hang out in the paddock at Belmont....

Alan Mann said...

Thanks for the comments..

Bank Check: Christening was supposed to be entered for a 50k claiming tag today at Del Park, but the race didn't fill. Contact me via email if you want to know more.

That is a strange fraction for that 4th quarter in the Derby, no question about it. It's like nobody wanted to (or could) make a move while the leaders were tiring. And Walter is right - that pace wasn't SO fast that the speed should collapse like that. But on the other hand, Baffert said that Sin Min had nothing left after the Blue Grass, and Keyed Entry has been going backwards steadily since the Hutcheson. So who knows.

As for Highland Cat, I'm glad that John saved his money. The race was a waste of time, really. Turner wanted to give him the race regardless. He's planning on running him in a grass race on May 26.

Anonymous said...

Turner has no clue anymore...he just re- arranging the deck chairs on the Titantic...

Anonymous said...

...thanks a lot to Jesse for those Secretariat fractions...i had never seen those before...what a finish by Big Red...i actually saw a tape of the race a couple of times during Derby week...what really struck me about it was Secretariat's powerful stride, and the amount of ground he opened on the rest of the pack...take Sham out, and he must've had 10 lengths on everyone else...Secretariat was really pouring it on thru the lane...what's really incredible is that it wasn't even his best performance during the Triple Crown...btw, i've read several years ago that he apparently set a track record in the Preakness, but there was some kind of problem with the timer, so he wasn't officially credited...what an animal...

Anonymous said...

Walter, if you can find a tape of the Sec's Preakness on line, watch it, he made the most incredible move I have ever seen. Circling the entire field in less than an eighth of a mile down the back side. I have been going to the track for over 40 years. He was the best I saw at a variety of distances. The old timers used to talk about Citation, that Sec never would have beaten him, who knows? but he was one hellava race horse. Straight up for 7F to a mile, Dr Fager. After that, my money would have been on the big red horse. Nick