- Just Zip It has finally found a race, and it hasn't been easy. We've been notified repeatedly of races she was entered in, only to be told subsequently that the race "wasn't used." It was on Jan 1 that she returned after a 13 month layoff with a solid second in state-bred maiden special company. She's been ready to go since Jan 19, but that was the first in a series of races that weren't run. We'd had trouble finding her a race last time too, and Castle Village's managing Steve Zorn recently discussed his take on what the problem is:
It always seems that the filly races are the hardest to fill. Even when, as for Sunday, they're in the condition book, the racing office often decides to use races that draw more entries. I think part of the problem at NYRA is that the racing secretary, PJ Campo, has gotten into the habit of using too many "extras" -- that is, additional races which are announced on the "overnight" the day before entries are to be taken. He'll sometimes list up to 10 or 12 extras, in addition to the normal 12 or so races in the condition book for that day. That means that there will be something like 24 races, from which to draw a card of nine that will actually be run. That's way too many, and makes planning difficult, to say the least. In the good old days, a racing secretary would say "the book goes," and trainers would somehow find a way to enter their horses in the book races. But with the coming of simulcasting, there's strong pressure on the racing secretary to get the biggest fields possible, as each additional entrant increases the betting handle on that race. This pressure is particularly severe at NYRA, which faces constant financial stress.Finally, she got into an open maiden special, and one in which she seems to fit quite well; no monsters here! The race has a purse of $48,000, and since she's a NY-bred by an, at the time, NY stallion (City Zip), she's eligible for an additional $9,120 in bonus money, so this is some nice purse in a race in which she appears to have a real shot.
When a "book" race isn't used, as was the case for Just Zip It today, the racing office will normally bring it back as an extra for the next racing day, in this case Wednesday. But if it isn't used for two days in a row, then it typically disappears. That's what happened with the open-company maiden last weekend. Let's hope we have better luck this time around.
5 Comments:
She got just the number on Ragozin that you'd want her to run in her comeback. But no workout in 5 weeks? What's up with that?
>>But no workout in 5 weeks? What's up with that?
I know, a bit strange, and not the way Turner usually operates. But we're told that she's had "a couple of three-furlong blowouts that were not recorded as official works, just trying to keep her sharp while we were waiting for a race."
Thanks, Alan. With the explosive Sheet pattern (just a tick better than her 2 yo top and enough time off) I'll use her in tris if there's half a price, and no I won't blame you if she's up the track.
But I don't think this is such an easy spot, and I wouldn't be surprised if she needs a drop back to state-breds to break through.
If it rains like it's supposed to, I may, on breeding grounds alone, key the rail filly Very Funny, by Distorted Humor, with Kris S on the bottom. She had a big excuse her only off-track race. This is another one with no workouts for a month, though.
The chalky Levine filly with Dominguez has the best speed figs and should be live off the layoff with hood off. Using the Formulator filters MSW, sprint, and switch to blinkers off, Levine comes up with a 6-5-1-0 record over five years, with the one out-of-the-money horse being 28-1. Every horse in the sample had at least a month off and two of the winners were off more than 6 months.
Anyway, good luck with Just Zip It. I hope she stays sound so you can have some fun with her.
A few years back I had a filly that kept rallying but falling short in NY Bred Maiden sprints.
We finally entered an open race in February that the racing secretary told us was coming up light.
She rallied for what turned out to be her lone win beating five "open" but modest competitors by a neck, and we got the "owner" subsidy to boot.
Not much diffence this time of year.
Hope history repeats, good luck.
PS - Campo has a mandate to use the races with the most horses, regardless of class.
At some point he needs to stay true to the book. Unfair to prep for a book race that draws six, only to be skipped over for a Mdn 25 claimer that draws eight.
Same for all these optional claimers, once in a while he needs to write a NW2 other than without the optional claiming tag. An up and coming three year old should not have to face these grizzled vets to get through this condition.
Brisnet's Handicapper's Edge named Just Zip It one of their Spot Plays for Wednesday. Good luck, Alan!
Post a Comment