Sunday Night Notes

- Livin Lovin won the G3 Tempted at Aqueduct under a confident and efficient ground-saving ride by Ramon Dominguez. This two-year old filly is the first US graded stakes winner for freshman sire Birdstone; his Mine That Bird won the Canadian G3 Gray Stakes just last month. Birdstone (Grindstone) is 7th on the first crop sires list; ten winners from just 22 starters. Livin Lovin is out of a Captain Bodgit mare.

Another Birdstone offspring was a winner this weekend; Jazzandthemagician won in his first start for trainer Dale Romans on the all two-year old card at Churchill on Saturday. 8-1 in the morning line, this colt won by three at 7-2, woo hoo! He's out of a Cape Town mare, and he's a half to the stakes placed filly Dagger.

Romans had three winners on the day, including Sara Louise in the G3 Pocahontas. This daughter of Malibu Moon was moving up from maiden specials; and, as reader ballyfager pointed out (amongst several other valid points), juvenile graded stakes races basically serve as entry and, sometimes, second level allowance races these days. Two-year old racing doesn't have any character these days, at least to me. The juvenile stakes this year seem like a mish-mosh of horses coming off maiden wins, from different tracks, running on different surfaces, going from turf to dirt. Haven't had much desire to get involved on betting on most of them.

The tote board was probably the best clue that Sara Louise belonged; 6-1 in the morning line, she paid $9.80 as the third choice.

Back to Aqueduct, Break Water Edison was extremely wide, and going pretty easily while circling the field on the final turn of the G3 Nashua on his way to an easy win for trainer John Kimmel. That was Kimmel's second winner of the day; his fifth and sixth winners, from 43 starters since he won seven in a row during the final week at Saratoga. Two in a row now, time for another streak? The winner is by Lemon Drop Kid out of a Storm Creek mare.