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Friday, July 27, 2007

Heat Takes the Startch Out of TVG Crew

- Because of the twilight racing, I got home from work in time to catch the last couple of races from Saratoga on TVG. I must say that the body language of Todd Schrmmppff, Simon Bray, and G. Stevens seemed to be saying "Get us back to California...please!" They did NOT look comfortable in the Saratoga heat and humidity. They were wearing these stiff-looking white dress shirts that were making me sweat just looking at them; they looked like they had more startch than the Freihofer's Outlet store. Whatsmore, they were sitting in a remote spot on the clubhouse turn; I think Michael could have scored a better location from NYRA. The camera angle made them look so far removed from the action that they might as well have been at the Crossgates Mall. And once the FOX Sports portion of the show ended after the 8th race, G Stevens was outta there faster than Point Given.

Another losing two-year old first-timer for Pletcher; Tribolet was sent off at 2-1 and finished dead last. I posted the dismal relevant stats yesterday.

Two stakes winners on the grass for Clement and Garrett Gomez, including the ultra-consistent Rutherienne taking the Lake George. And Gomez had four on the day.

Even though we're leaving for Del Mar in a matter of hours, and I'm midway through handicapping tomorrow's card, you can see I'm still having a hard time letting go of Saratoga. There's just a natural attraction, and I guess my east coast bias is showing. But I gotta stop because we're off to the west coast for a new adventure, so eat your heart out Todd Schrmmppff! Speak to you next from the other side of the country.

5 Comments:

Unknown said...

Two stakes winners on the grass for Clement and Garrett Gomez...

That right there is the reason I'm keeping an eye on Meribel in the Diana H. - because if there's one thing I learned living in the SoFla circuit, you don't bet against Clement on the Turf. ^-^

If only there was OTB betting on horses in Pima Co., I'd put money on her and My Typhoon and rake in a pretty penny...

Anonymous said...

alan,

i couldn't stop thinking about saratoga as well before my first visit to del mar. but after a few races, heat without humidity, a fish taco, a del margarita and a look at the saratoga simulcast just as one of those oh shit i think the roof of the grandstand just blew off thunderstorms rolled in i got over it.

here's a food tip:
http://www.arterrarestaurant.com/
it's in the san diego/del mar marriott. sounds fishy i know but it's excellent.

have fun.

Harl said...

Alan,
Great analysis on the Whitney and the other Saratoga stakes races. I haven't been this excited about the races in quite some time.

Forget about Saratoga for awhile. You'll love Del Mar and San Diego. It's literally a paradise out there. It's the only city in America that could lure me away from the Midwest and something that, if the stars are aligned just right, may happen next year.

SantaBarbarian said...

Save a little money to go to dinner at Il Fornaio.

:-)

inthebeginningtherewasace said...

In fairness to TVG, they did a great job covering Del Mar on Friday, especially when Gonzo Almeida was thrown to the ground right in front of the stands when his mount Lupita'sluckyangel fell at the start of the fourth race. Having their own cameras at the track, they were able to provide us with full video of the gate crew and track ambulance crew doing a great job of triaging the incident, making the right decisions, and preventing a potential disaster.