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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Jumbo News

- You know that things are quiet when the top headline on the Form site reads: Clark serves as Magna Graduate's finale. I got nuthin'......though you may already have noticed.

So I expanded my reach overseas, and here's a couple of notes:

Legalized wagering, of sorts, on legalized horse racing is coming to the People's Republic of China for the first time since the Communists took charge in 1949, and banned gambling because they believed it was an immoral capitalist pursuit. [USA Today] The track, presumably built with more care than the country's schoolhouses, is located in the city of Wuhan. It has seating for 30,000 people, and contains the largest video screen in China, at 480 square meters. [Shanghai Daily]




Wo! Man, now that is a Jumbotron!! That makes the one at Aqueduct look like this.









The betting is some kind of lottery, and it's reported here that any winnings are prizes other than cash. So it doesn't sound as if there will be any pick six carryovers of note. The track is dirt, and no word if they'll try some weather modification on big race days.

From the UK comes a story about a Flopping favourite. Shiwawa was, according to a race preview, poised to strike in the catchily-named Call 01636 814481 To Sponsor A Race Maiden Stakes at Southwell. That's almost as bad as the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands.

But unfortunately, things went awry for this Darley-bred son of Halling, out of a Seattle Slew half-sister to Arc winner Rainbow Quest.

His price drifted out beyond 2-1 before the off, however, as money arrived for several of Shiwawa's opponents, including West With The Wind, without a win in six previous starts, who started as the SP favourite.

Shiwawa was slowly away and immediately under pressure from his jockey, who eventually pulled up with over half a mile still to run. West With The Wind, meanwhile, was soon at the head of the field and drew further clear from two out to win by seven lengths.

"Our betting intelligence team alerted the stewards after the race as to patterns on the horse," said Owen Byrne, a spokesman for the British Horseracing Authority.
[Guardian UK]
Hmmm, I don't think we have any betting intelligence teams here. Maybe the TRPB, but they don't seem to display much of the way of intelligence, so I guess not. I'm picturing a staff of statisticians in their BIT jackets poring over betting data, ready to call the stewards on the red phone at the slightest deviance.

As for Shiwawa, he was found to have an irregular heartbeat....so just maybe the conclusion to this story won't be that funny, though it would make for a good Dick Francis novel. The BHA expects to receive the results of Shiwawa's dope test within the next three weeks.

2 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Saw where Alan mentioned that things are slow right now, so i thought i'd post the most recent page of my Horses to Watch list, which i post on a free horseracing forum called HorseRacingTalk.com

Feel free to chime in with any thoughts you might have, adding your own horses-to-watch or whatever:

Our original horse-to-watch Street Hero broke his maiden in the Grade 1 Norfolk Stakes today, paying $14.20 to win.

I have to be honest though, i went in a different direction and bet Midshipman to win. That one did run second however, resulting in a nice exacta that paid better than 24/1. Pretty much the only good news i've had lately, as my picks have been running ice-colt of late.
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09-29-2008, 03:50 PM #52
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that was a very good race yesterday and now street hero will get plenty of action in the breeders cup now and I was hoping midshipman would win but he just needs to be a little closer because he is just a horse that plots away. Discreet Cat i have to say i was hysterical lady won but you were right Zenyatta should run against the boys because she is just an absolute freak. She has my total respect now.
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09-29-2008, 10:27 PM #53
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Zenyatta is simply phenomenal. I actually tried to bet her to win the Distaff today @ 8/5, but the odds had been lowered to 6/5, so i passed. It's not worth sweatng the injury factor for a month, when she may not be much lower on raceday. Possible she goes off as low as 3/5, but i would tend to doubt it with Music Note (among others) also lining up for the race.

Personally, i do think Shirreffs should run her in the Classic. It won't happen, but it should. She's quite possibly the best horse on the planet right now, male or female. And you'd have to think the extra distance would be a plus.
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09-30-2008, 08:34 AM #54
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DC did you hear any reasoning both Azul Leon and Regal Ransom not firing? Azul Leon just didn't have that closing kick he showed in his last two (atleast he ran straight this time though). Regal never showed anything after that very impressive maiden/key race.


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09-30-2008, 11:31 AM #55
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I haven't heard a thing. No telling with Regal Ransom, but he certainly wasn't the first Eastern horse to ship to California and run poorly. Throw in the fact that it was his two-turn debut, and it's not entirely surprising. I doubt synthetic was a factor, but who knows.

Azul Leon, i dunno. One thing i DID notice was that he seemed to be dead on the board. Despite being the morning-line favorite for the race, i believe he opened @ 10/1. Regal Ransom opened @ 7/5, for all that was worth. Probably doesn't mean a whole lot, but just something that caught my eye.
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09-30-2008, 02:12 PM #56
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DiscreetCat
Zenyatta is simply phenomenal. I actually tried to bet her to win the Distaff today @ 8/5, but the odds had been lowered to 6/5, so i passed. It's not worth sweatng the injury factor for a month, when she may not be much lower on raceday. Possible she goes off as low as 3/5, but i would tend to doubt it with Music Note (among others) also lining up for the race.

Personally, i do think Shirreffs should run her in the Classic. It won't happen, but it should. She's quite possibly the best horse on the planet right now, male or female. And you'd have to think the extra distance would be a plus.


I'm afraid that good showing by Tiago may keep that from happening.


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10-11-2008, 09:19 PM #57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DiscreetCat
Royal Taat (8/29 @ DMR, Race 2)

New Zealand import from the John Sadler/Doubledown Stable combo made her American debut in a 5-furlong turf sprint that really wasn't conducive to her running style. As you may know, the short Del Mar turf sprints are dominated by speed-types, and Royal Taat dropped straight to the back and was trailing the leaders by 7-8 lengths down the backstretch. She was still far behind when turning for home, lugging in a bit (and late changing leads) coming off the sharp turn. However, she was then shifted out by Gomez, changed leads, and took off like a rocket down the straightaway, clearly moving best of all and wound up missing by just a length or so at the wire.

As you may know, Sadler has had a great deal of success with these New Zealand/Doubledown horses, winning multiple stakes with Crossing the Line and Black Mamba. It appears that Royal Taat has a good bit of talent as well, and should do quite well for herself when running over the downhill course @ Santa Anita (which is much kinder to late-runners). Definitely one to keep an eye on.

Royal Taat won impressively on the downhill course today, paying $7.00 to win.
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10-12-2008, 08:16 AM #58
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Thanks for this one. I put it in my stable alert and cashed!


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11-02-2008, 07:07 PM #59
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I was struck by the performance of Hello Broadway in the Nashua today. The half-brother to Nobiz Like Shobiz was bottled up in traffic most of the way and had no room to run, then finally got out for some room around midstretch and was able to kick it in pretty well despite having already lost all chance (as Break Water Edison had opened an insurmountable lead). He was closing the gap noticeably and was only beaten a couple of lengths at the wire. Looks like he may appreciate some added distance, and Tagg has had some success with Derby-types, winning with Funny Cide some years ago and running a surprising third with Tale of Ekati this year. Interesting prospect here.
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11-02-2008, 08:20 PM #60
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DiscreetCat
I was struck by the performance of Hello Broadway in the Nashua today. The half-brother to Nobiz Like Shobiz was bottled up in traffic most of the way and had no room to run, then finally got out for some room around midstretch and was able to kick it in pretty well despite having already lost all chance (as Break Water Edison had opened an insurmountable lead). He was closing the gap noticeably and was only beaten a couple of lengths at the wire. Looks like he may appreciate some added distance, and Tagg has had some success with Derby-types, winning with Funny Cide some years ago and running a surprising third with Tale of Ekati this year. Interesting prospect here.





Cat totally agree with you on this one, look for him next out and will be a graded winner soon.


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11-04-2008, 02:26 AM #61
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I was @ the Wynn today, and according to the Derby sheet they had Hello Broadway listed @ 75/1. That was actually BEFORE Sunday's race however, as the sheet was dated 10/30. He's probably lower now, but who the hell knows. I didn't even bother to ask....even @ 75/1 he's still too short. At least at this point in time.
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11-04-2008, 05:39 PM #62
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I Agree 75-1 Is Too Short Especially When The Season Hasnt Even Started Yet. I Do Like The Pamplemousse At 150-1 Even Though He Is A Maiden.....
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11-19-2008, 12:02 AM #63
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Burna Dette (11/14 @ HOL, Race 5)

Upwardly-mobile filly coming off a late-running win over the sharp return winner Unworldly Heat was tucked in nicely behind the speed while along the rail in this 6-furlong turf affair, moving well and ready to pounce into the lane but found herself trapped behind horses as the hole never opened for her. In fact, she tried to force her way out around midstretch, bumping hard with another horse and losing all of her own momentum in the process (she was subsequently DQ'd into last, i believe). Looked to handle the turf quite well, and can clearly handle the same type of company with a clean trip. Would definitely have some interest in a similar spot.
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11-19-2008, 06:37 AM #64
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Royal Taat running in the 4th at Hollywood today


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11-20-2008, 02:40 AM #65
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Another nice run by Royal Taat today, making it two straight wins since she was added to this list...
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11-24-2008, 11:25 PM #66
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Captain Cherokee (11/22 @ CD, Race 10)

Half-brother to Midnight Lute got bet down to 8/5 for his debut (from a 7/2 ml), and ran extremely well despite breaking sideways and being off very slowly. Made a strong sustained run to gain a striking position on the turn, but lost some more ground while angling wide into the stretch and then flattened out just a bit from his early efforts. Likely would've won the race with a clean break, i think.

No fluke either, as this was the sale-topping colt from the March Barrett's sale, bringing $650k despite coming from a sire with only a $7,500 stud fee (Arkansas Derby winner Sir Cherokee). Obviously, the female side (i.e. Midnight Lute) played a large part in that price, but Captain Cherokee had breezed a furlong in 10.1 at the under-tack show, and clearly made quite an impression at the sale.

Anonymous said...

Shiwawa is a Juddmonte bred. Not a Darley bred, as stated.