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The weekend at Gulfstream and Santa Anita was something special this past saturday. With NBC coverage and large crowds, Magna showcased its Winter dominance. 17,500 people packed Santa Anita, while 8,500+ were at Gulfstream. Story by The Stick Staff - "B.L., S.F., KRL, FWC, AJC" 1/31/05 Starting off with Gulfstream, the weather in South Florida was really nice. This time of year, Florida is much cooler then the rest of the year. You can leave your windows open, and not be so dependent on the AC. All of us in the staff were really excited about the days races. We talked about the upcoming races and everyone had an opinion about the days card. Instead of doing our usual handicapping and running around, we all were glued to the wide screen tv we have in the office. NBC's coverage was very good, and in an age when racing is largely ignored in favor of "Drunken, mud wrestling, college qualifier's", we were very happy to see a whole program devoted to Horse Racing. The Stick Horse Racing Selections card was exceptional for the day. Congratulations to the many customers who ordered it for $4.95. Also, for those who preferred it in email at the slightly higher price, you more then made back your investment ! To see the Stick Racing Selections Card for Gulfstream on 1/29 : press here . Gulf Sunshine Millions F & M Sprint $300K at 6 Furlongs
Alix M and Cornelio Velasquez came home in a nice time of 1:10 2/5. Alix M laid off the pace in 3rd place and powered home with a strong flurry through the stretch. Favorite, Bear Fan had the lead, but could not hold off a determined Alix M through the stretch. Double Slew made a modest close for 3rd place in the compact field of 6. Pacesetter, Mooji Moo faded to 5th. Congratulations to trainer, Ronald Spatz for a job well done ! We have been telling you for the last 3 years that Cornelio Velasquez is a very talented rider. In fact, the South Florida colony is one of the most competitive around. Watch the breeding grounds for future great jockey's in their off season, when all the big names are not here. Javiar Castellano, Rene Douglas (he had an incredible day at Santa Anita), Eibar Coa, Cornelio Velasquez have all made their mark after proving themselves in South Florida. Ocala Dash for recently turned 3 yr olds (for the last month) $250K at 6 Furlongs
We had a great East/West match up in this race. GGF/BM regular trainer Greg Gilchrest, and his goto jockey, Russ (King of the..)Baze connected to score impressivly. Russ is the elder of the many racing Baze's, and the 2nd All Time Win Leader for jockey's following his surge earlier this month ahead of the great Bill Shoemaker. John Velasquez and Todd Pletcher had something to say about the finish though, and the Eclipse winning team were charging hard at the end of this one. Johnny V was aboard Santana Strings who finished a strong 2nd after a powerful rally from last place. Monster longshot Lucky Frolic (77-1) also made a determined middle move for the lead at the top of the stretch under veteran Iron Man, Earlie Fires. Final time of 1:09 4/5 was faster then the older girls ran in the race before. Gulf Cloverleaf F & M Turf $500K at 1 1/8 Miles on Turf.
It looked like California sensation, Moscow Burning was going to be a winning "Stick" or "Chalk", which is another work for the favorite in a race. However, the field proved to be much deeper them anyone anticipated. Valentine Dancer gave us the performance of the day, and maybe even the year with a determined score. Under Jon Court, Valentine Dancer stayed on the pace and with the front runners, before taking the lead and digging in. Both 3rd place Changing World, and 2nd place finisher, Marwood came flying up on the outside, but neither could pass "the dancer", as she waltzed all the way home. Final time of 1:47 1/5 was impressive and respectable this early in the season. Look for good things from Valentine Dancer. Congratulations to Jon Court, and Craig Lewis. Gulf Ocala Breeders Classic $1,000,000 at 1 1/8 Miles
A $1 Million race, and its just the 28th day of the year ! Wow ! This race was just what the doctor(LS Joe) ordered. A full field of 12 went to post, and the race lived up to its billing. Frankel trained Midas Eyes looked to stretch out in the same way his stablemate, Ghostzapper had last year. If you look at the race on replay, you will see Midas Eyes was on track to nail this race if it was 7 furlongs instead of 9 furlongs. Rallying up at the top of the stretch, Midas Eyes simply came up short for the distance. We promise you, this horse back at a sprint distance will be tough. How about a longshot to give the day a big finish ? We're not talking about a 10- or even a 20-1 longshot here folks. 70-1 bomb, Musique Toujours, under veteran rider, "Chop Chop" Jorge Chavez went wire to wire. 25-1 Zackocity under Eibar Coa rallied from 2nd, and gave a grade one effort to catch the winner. P.Val and Classic Endeavour finished third at 7-1. Final time of 1:49 1/5 very substantial this early in the year. You like big exotics ? How about $142 to win for Musique Toujours, and a $6,857 triple, and a $46,800+ Superfecta ? As LS Joe would say, thats one to have a $10 ticket on ! Now on to Santa Anita for the sister track's compliment of Sunshine Millions. The Stick Horse Racing selections were also very strong for Santa Anita. To see the Stick Racing Selections Card for Santa Anita on 1/29 : press here . Santa Anita Sunshine Millions Oaks $250K at 6 Furlongs
More girls, more sprinting, what is it about sunshine and warm weather that make beautiful women want to come outside and run around ? Well, we think all horses are beautiful ! Did you notice that California riders, Pat Valenzuela, and Jose Valdivia were at Gulfstream on Saturday ? Well, Florida's most famous resident(to us anyway !), Jerry Bailey spent the day in California at Santa Anita. The first stakes race, and who is aboard for the win ? You guessed right, Jerry Bailey on 21-1 Hot Storm thundered their way through the stretch for a lightning victory. 6-1 Shes a jewel with Rene Douglas was 2nd and 3-1 Memorette finsihed third under Kent Desormeaux. Final time of 1:09 1/5 the California equivalent of the girls sprint at Gulfstream. Due to differences in the slope of the stretch and differing surface materials (more clay in California dirt vs more sand in Florida) creates a noticeable bias in times. Many Speed and Pace figure handicapper's, like our own MC know this and incorporate them into our figures. Santa Anita Padua Sprint $300K at 6 Furlongs
The longshot bombs continued through the day. 47-1 Red Warrior and Garret Gomez came from near last place, and had to negotiate 2 DNF horses. Green Team and Bang did not finish the race. We assume from the nature of Green Team's injuries, 2 fractured sesamoids, that the horse was unhappily put down. Our condolences to the connections, its never a good day when you lose a horse you love and race. Red Warrior finished in a time of 1:08 4/5, a length ahead of 11-1 Full Moon Madness. NY expatriate jockey, Mike Smith rode a masterful race with ull Moon, waiting to pounce at the right moment, but came up a length short. Favorite, Areyoutalkintome finished 3rd under another Baze. Making a great name for himself in So.Cal is Tyler Baze. This youngster has shown a great deal of maturity and talent, and we look for him to firmly entrench himself in the powerful west coast jockey colony in the coming years. The $1 Superfecta was a wonderful $10,472. Not bad if you could just have isolated Red Warrior on top. This race was very playable, but as with most grade 1 races, very wide open. Santa Anita Sunshine Millions Turf $500K at 1 1/8 Mile on Turf
Determination is the word for this race. When you hear the term, "Would not be denied", you know we are not talking about a mortgage for a mansion in Old Brookville. This term is used when a horse simply refuses to lose a race, even in spite of the laws of physics ! Star over the bay and Tyler Baze got the lead, and refused to relinquish it under any circumstances. Favorite A to the Z made a late run that looked like it would be a winning one, but was denied the victory by a stronger adversary. 5/2 2nd choice, Silver Tree under Jerry Bailey was third. Final time of 1:48 2/5 really underscores the winner's effort. Big Wave of The Stick to Tyler and trainer Mike Mitchell. Hey, Cozzene was really a well bred Turf horse who won the Breeders Cup as well. Will we see Star over the bay in this years B.Cup ? Only time will tell. Santa Anita Sunshine Millions Distaff $500K at 1 1/16 Mile
Sweet Lips, gave all the fans a big Smooch through the stretch in this race. Rene Douglas and Bobby Frankel got this one right, and Sweet Lips was very straight and strong through the final eighth in this one. Fencelineneightbor under Luis Jauregui, (jah-ruh-ge) - nice phenetics, huh ?, at odds of almost 40-1 flew home for 2nd place. 6-1 Dream of Summer and Mike Smith got up for third. Final time of 1:42 3/5 was ok, but not the normal times we have in our log books for Southern California stakes races. Taking nothing away from the winner, favorite Yearly Bid did not put up much of a race tiring back to 6th at odds-on of 80 cents on the dollar. Congratulations to the winners. All in all, this was probably one of the best days of Horse Racing we have seen outside of the Triple Crown and Breeders Cup races. The NBC coverage was first rate, and we had a whole program that was not interupted by some idiotic college basketball game or the finals of the beer chugging mid western mountain division. From the Stick Horse Racing and All our Fans....THANK YOU MR STRONACH, THANK YOU NBC, Lets see more race days like that in the future and we can revive our sport back into the mainstream. Horse Racing is about more then just gambling !
Good Luck Stick Fans, The Stick Staff reporters
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