Notes - Oct 15

- Tuned into TVG for the feature at Santa Anita, the ungraded Harold C. Ramser, Sr., and noticed that Missvinski was entered. This was the filly that came into the Garden City at Belmont off a half length loss to Darjina in the Pris D'Astarte (this the day before that filly beat the boys in the Prix du Moulin). I wrote in this post how she was the 4-1 second choice in the morning line, but was totally dead on the board....and, as it turned out, on the track as well.

So here she was at Santa Anita; this time, she was 6-1 in the morning line, but the 2-1 favorite on the board! However, though I'm always susceptible to piling on when the money shows like that, not this time. I thought that the running line for the Garden City looked not quite as awful than her effort really was. So I went for Jeff Mullins' 6-1 Silky Smooth over three others in the exactas, including the eventual winner Gotta Have Her. My horse finished second, and for a brief instant, I thought I had a chance to get my first win-by-DQ in some 25 years. Frank Lyons pointed out how the winner bore out and how Aaron Gryder had to take up on Silky Smooth; but I didn't even make it to an inquiry.

Meanwhile, Missvinsky was just awful in this race; she never made a move and checked in dead last.

Another winner at Keeneland for Pletcher, who took Sunday's 7th with Meal Penalty. It was the second win in as many tries for this two-year old son of Tale of the Cat. Nice ride by Bejarano, who saved ground on the turn, moved out a couple of paths, and had to wait a bit for room between horses before exploding through. Meal Penalty didn't change leads until the very end, which may have given him enough to hold off Unbridled Vicar by a long nose. He's out of an Unbridled's Song mare, and his second dam is a full sister to the two-time champion sprinter Housebuster.

The Toddster fell short, however, in the featured Bryan Station Stakes, when his even money favorite Distorted Humor came up nearly four lengths short of the pace-stalking Inca King ($22.60), who drew away smartly in the stretch. A three-year old son of Sir Cat Trained by Steve Asmussen, this colt had quit badly in his last two following his win at 8-1 in the G2 Jefferson Cup....but not on Sunday, shortening up to a mile.