Sunday Morning Notes - July 13

- I haven't seen Rap Tale's race, since Colonial for some reason does not make their races available on Cal Racing; nor on its own website. So I'm depending here on Bob's account from the track. He called with five minutes to post to inform me that she was 6-5. With only $5,000 in the win pool, this was due largely in part to his own wager. She drifted up only to 3-1 however, and if I'd known that, I probably would have bet less on her, and more on Thou Swell ($45.60), who I mentioned here yesterday morning (how about some props for that).

Jockey Nick Santagata was "overmatched" by the filly I'm told, and never had a handle on her as she fought his restraint and tugged up to put a head in front, albeit a good 5-6 wide on the backstretch. I didn't hear the call either, just Bob's moaning and groaning, but I'm told that the announcer noted on two occasions how difficult she was to handle. She's extremely headstrong, and has fought the rider now in each of the last two races. Rap Tale had nothing left in the stretch, and finished 7th of 8, thus earning a grand total of $0. Call it a wasted trip if you'd like; I still think it was worth the shot. Bob said afterwards that he wants to put her back on dirt for now, perhaps cut back to a sprint, and just let her run. Hopefully, she came out of the whole ordeal none the worse for the wear.

- Jess Jackson and Steve Asmussen are now faced with a decision that I'm sure they didn't want to have to make. Deep down, they might have wished that Curlin would either win the Man O'War, or run 7th himself, thus definitively showing whether he liked the turf or not. His second place finish certainly wasn't bad, but wasn't good enough to make their reservations to Paris today. He certainly wasn't the Curlin we've come to know, drifting very wide turning for home, and offering a rally that seemed half-hearted. "Class might have been the reason he got second today," said Robby Albarado. I also might question whether he wants more than a mile and a quarter; note that he's now been beaten in both tries beyond that distance. The guess here is that he goes back to the dirt and aims for the Classic.....which, actually, isn't on dirt either. Nobody really knows exactly what the fuck it's going to be run on, actually.

- Wow! That's all I can say about Somebeachsomewhere, and his dominance in his elimination heat for next Saturday's Meadowlands Pace. No breathers at all for the still-undefeated colt in this race; driver Paul MacDonnell (MAC-duh-NELL) actually tapped him with the whip to get him past John Campbell and Meant to Be Me (Campbell won his 10,000th race in a later elimination heat), and up to the lead in a quarter of 27.1. They got to the half in 55, repelled a challenge in a third quarter of 27.1, to 1:22.1. Then, with no urging at all, and MacDonnell looking around for competition, Somebeachsomewhere rolled home in a final quarter of 26.2; the final time of 1:48.3 was the fastest Pace elimination ever, and tied the stakes record set by Rocknroll Hanover in 2005. A phenomenal performance, and you'll find me at the Big M next Saturday night, wouldn't miss this for the world. (Fortunately, no weddings or 40th birthday parties for me next weekend.)

- Yesterday's Long Branch Stakes at Monmouth and today's Barbaro Stakes at Delaware could have made for an interesting three-year old stakes had they been combined. Instead, as we often see in this fractured industry, the races were scheduled for subsequent days; thus, we had five horses yesterday, and five scheduled for today's race. How ridiculous (and I'm not even including the Swaps Stakes, since it is at least on the other coast). Also ridiculous is the way Atoned always seems to get himself beat, this time by a neck to longest shot on the board Truth Rules. Atoned now has a record of 12-2-7-0; and no less than six of those defeats have been by a head or less, amazing. That's three in a row for Truth Rules, a late developer for Zito, and one son anyway of the late Vindication who has been able to stay sound, improve, and stretch out at age three.

Tres Borrachos looked done on the turn in the Swaps as the anticipated duel between Two Step Salsa and Colonel John looked to be getting underway. But just like that - seemingly in just a couple of strides - Tyler Baze, taking advantage of the inside turning for home, had his horse clearly in front. And, despite a slow final furlong of 13.18, he was never really challenged after that, as the two favorites battled it out for second. You can offer the excuse that it was Colonel John's first race since the Derby. But the 'off-the-layoff' excuse doesn't go as far as it used to; and he apparently just isn't that fast. "I thought he was a little fitter than he probably was," said trainer Eoin Harty.