News Last Updated: 7/28/05
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TO ALL NEWSHOUNDS ! : Please Write in with anything you hear from around the Track. The Stick will post it here and give you the credit for it.  *"STICK IT" TO ALL HORSE ABUSERS. REPORT ANY AND ALL INSTANCES OF EQUINE ABUSE TO THE STEWARDS OF YOUR LOCAL TRACK* If you agree with The Stick Horse Racing Dot Com, simply put up anywhere on your web site, "STICK IT TO HORSE ABUSERS". Everyone is accountable for their actions. If a horse cannot protect itself, then it is up to all people of good will to speak out for them and protect them against those who would harm them for their own profit.
 CALIFORNIA:  SELECTIONS SHEETS*
6/26/03 : The new Seabiscut movie will be out next month and we can't wait to see it ! The trailers looks awesome and the racing sequences look as if jockey Gary Stevens(George Woolf) had a camera in his hip pocket. The race scene's look first rate and very exciting. Don't miss a movie about a true American Legend. Seabiscut is a rags to riches story that shows you can overcome hardship and be successful. Follow your dreams and NEVER give up ! Champagne has been a little busy as of late, so we are going to report the news, as we often do, for California this week. Champion older Mare, Azeri continues to impress the racing world. In the Grade 1, Vanity HDCP, Azeri was all business. She won with very light urging from Mike Smith and dew off easily after moving very effortlessly. We really have yet to see anyone push Azeri to her limit. That must be because she is in her own league. $2.60 was a giveaway gift on Azeri, who now looks to deserve .05 on the $1 the rest of her career. Trainer Laura DeSeroux was having a big year last year, but Azeri still continues to be the star of her stable. Its great to see, one of our favorite jockey's from back east, Mike Smith, get such a wonderful mare to ride. Mike looked like he was just exercising Azeri into the far turn. Sister girl blues, 2nd place, wanted to be brave on the lead, but she was no match when Azeri put her head down. Bare Neccessities, 3rd place, with Alex Solis up had the best late move, but it looked like they could run around the track again and she would not have caught Azeri. With a handful of races waiting to be won by Azeri, wil she equal Cigar and Citations's stakes win mark ? She's proved she is a champion, will she prove she is a legend ? Right now, you have to ask yourself, who can run with Azeri ? She looks unstoppable, and unbeatable if she retains her form. while we see she loves California, nothin can be taken away from her overwhelming victory in the Breeders Cup at Arlington Park. Azeri may be the next BIG thing in racing, and the sport needs and appreciates her very much. 6/12/03 : 6/03/03 : The Following is from our good friend and west coast reporter, Champagne Joe. "Hollywood Update Dateline May 24 On Sat. May 24 Azeri showed why she was voted 2002 Horse Of The Year with her performance in the Gr. 1 Milady BC Hdcp. She went to the front at the 1/2 mark and when Affluent came up to challenge for the lead Azeri just pulled away with relative ease to take her 2nd consecutive Milady Handicap winners trophy. She has now won 11 of her 12 starts! The question now remains if trainer Laura DeSeroux decides to pit Azeri against the boys in any upcoming events. From here it sure seems she could certainly compete favorably & on a high level against colts. At this point she has already beaten just about all of the leading fillies around, and so it may be time to step up and take on all comers in group racing during the rest of 2003. Track condition: Hollywood main track remains the most honest track of any in So. Calif.. Speed reigns & continues to reign. The main track has not varied much from day to day, & the speed bias on the inside lanes has remained intact from day 1, just as it was so prevalent last fall. The very consistent track condition at Hollywood makes it a bit less difficult to figure the pace scenario, and to come up with potential winner selections. Desormeaux returns for a few days, back from Japan, this weekend, & Jose Santos (Winning Derby & Preakness rider) comes into town for a special appearance on Mon. Memeorial Day May 26. Meanwhile the California Horse racing Board has announced an investigation into one particular race outcome (the 2nd on Wed May 21) where Flyindownbaylaurel was victorious. (Trained by Jeff Mullins). They have questioned the win by Flyindownbaylaurel at 7-2 odds, following a prior race where he was sent off at 40-1 against a lesser caliber of horses. Mullins claimed him out of that 40-1 race, & Mullins is now 7 for 7 with claimed horses running on the turf. Mullins seems to be doing something very right, or very wrong. CHRB promises a full public disclosure of its' findings. Could be another "something in Santos hand" fiasco. Stay tuned! " 5/13/03 : The Following story is from our West Coast Reporter Champagne Joe, Thanks Joe ! "Hollywood Happenings 15 days into the spring/summer 65 day meeting & already certain obvious trends have emerged. 1. Favorites have been winning at a much below average 28%, & thats even with 4 of 9 favs winning on Sun May 11th! And come from behind closers have been virtually nonexistent. 2. Speed is the King! The bias seems to be towards speed horses & front runners. Most winners have come from the 1st tier of runners, 1st thru 3rd positions, & a high pct. of those have been at least 3rd entering the stretch. IE: On Sat May 10, Hollywood offered a 10 race card, with full fields (8 runners or more) in all save 2(which had 7 runners each). In every instance except for the 1st race the eventual winner was positioned in at least the #3 slot at the head of the stretch, including 2 wirw to wire winners. In the one exception, the 1st race, the eventual winner was 4th, but was still only 3 lengths behind the leader at that point. 3. With the retirement of Eddie D, Chris McCarron, & Laffit Pincay Jr, & because of injuries to Julie Krone & others, along with the departure of Kent desormeaux, who moved his tack east, the So. Calif. jockey colony has opened up for some new young riders, & has opened new opportunities for those veteran jockeys whose riding abilities were oftimes shadowed by those jockey greats. Victor Espinoza has been awarded many more mounts & has responded well, & young Tyler Baze has also notched some wins due to some open mounts as well. Look for Almeida, Valdivia, Martinez, & reliable Nakatani to join P. Val, Solis, Flores, & Pedroza more often in the winners circles, thus making the winningest jockey title for this Hollywood meet another real horserace. As of Sat 5/10 Espinoza leads with 17 wins from 87 starts. P. Val is 10 for 75 & Alex Solis is 10 for 43. In the trainer category Doug O'Neill leads all trainers at Hollypk with 10 wins. John Sadler & Paul Aquirre have 5 apiece. 3 others are tied with 4 wins each, Mullins is 4 for 5, Drysdale is 4 for 12, & McAnnally is 4 for 13. Jeff Mullins has been picking his spots carefully (his only non winning entry ran 2nd), as has Craig Dollase who has sent forth just 4 runners & has won with 3 of the 4. Meanwhile Bob Baffert has thus far been an unlucky participant in the trainer dept., posting 8 seconds & 5 thirds, but just 3 winns to this point. Baffert is just 3 for 31! No one should expect that dry streak to continue much longer. RE: That unsubstantiated story RE: Jose Santos & the Derby, as they say back where I come from "FORGETABOTIT"! It's a phony story! I'll C U at the races! Good Luck all!" 5/02/03 : Our Stick Kentucky Derby Special may be ordered from any of the Quick ORDER NOW Menu's, or from the Credit Card page. The Derby Special will include the Derby at Expanded *GOLD RUSH* level with the Top 5 Horses showcased with Extensive Comments and detailed Wager Strategy. The Entire Churchill Downs Undercard will also be sent at Starter Level. Both sets of selections will be sent in Full Graphics mode in Email using our Victory Box(c) format. An Additional last minute News page will be sent out with last minute updates and information we think you will need to Win ! Jeff Mullins sure has a nice horse in the Derby this year. Buddy Gil has won the Grade 3 Baldwin, the Grade 2 San Felipe, and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby this year, and he may just be getting started ! With one of our favorite All Time jockey''s in Gary Stevens up, Buddy Gil looks like a very live longshot at 8-1 morning line. Of all the jockey's you might want in a Grade 1, Gary Stevens ranks in the top 5. He knows how to handle the traffic, he has a plan, and he will save enough of his horse to make a late charge. Bob Baffert has won more Derby's in the last 6 years then any other trainer in this field. Baff won 3 times ! Silver Charm, Real Quiet, and War Emblem. Oh, and that 2nd place finish in '96 that we don't talk about for Cavonnier. So who does Baff have this year ? His name is Indian Express, and he is a UTAH bred ! Also, he raced his early career in .... tah-dah, Panama ! Ok, how many taboo's does Baff want to break this year ? With that said, Buddy Gil was pushed to his absolute limit through the stretch to hold off Indian Express in the SA Derby, and that is a race that gives him a lot of respect. However, will Tyler Baze be able to rate him in traffic and find a spot to sit in, or is he committed to pushing up front with the leaders ? Despite Baff saying he Tyler will follow Gary Stevens on Buddy Gil, they may be separated by about 10 lengths and 12 other horses on the backstretch. Did you notice all the California horses in the Derby this year ? Atswhatimtalkingabout is Ron Ellis and David Flores. Domestic Dispute has Alex Solis up for Pat Gallagher. I remember when coming in from California was a negative in the 70's. Now its not only in vogue, but there are a lot of hopefuls and they all have a shot ! While Buddy Gil looks to be the best of the west, don't discount the others, we sure won't ! *PLEASE NOTE - ALL NEWS IN OUR OPEN NEWS SECTION DOES NOT REPRESENT OUR SELECTIONS FOR THE KENTUCKY DERBY, AND IS JUST FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF OUR LARGE INTERNET FOLLOWING. 4/16/03 : Buddy Gil looked very dominant and strong in the Santa Anita Derby. While holding off longshot, Indian Charlie, Buddy Gill seemed to have the stretch run measured right down to the inch ! Kudos to Indian Charlie and Bob Baffert for a very strong performance at long odds. Tyler Baze helped out and this combination may prove to be lethal if they should get a clear run and an open rail. Gary Stevens was in the saddle for Buddy Gil, and we welcome back one of our favorite riders to the ranks from which he belongs. Gary was on again, off again from retirement in the past few years due to a severe knee problem. Riding through the pain, Gary has been showing us the heart of a champion and we wish him all the success in the world. Go Gary Go ! The Following report is from our West Coast correspondent and Good Friend, Champagne Joe. "Was up at Santa Anita Sat for the big race. Collected! Also got a T-shirt! Happenings At Santa Anita. Dateline April 6th. Chris McCarron, hired on as operations manager at Santa Anita, saw his 1st full week in that capacity end up with the largest crowd of the meeting, over 33,000, coming out to watch the highly touted Atswhatimtalkinabout falter badly, running out of the money, in the 2003 Santa Anita Derby! The Santa Anita Derby (1 1/8 mile, $750,000 purse), viewed as the West coasts premiere Kentucky Derby prep race, was won by Buddy Gil ($14.60), an often overlooked and under rated 3 yr old colt, ridden by Gary Stevens (Garys record 9th Santa Anita winning ride). Why this 3 yr old did not go favored in the Santa Anita Derby remains a mystery to me! He had already beaten many of his S. A. Derby rivals before, including the over hyped Atswhatimtalkinabout. This win should now put Buddy Gil near the top of the list of Kentucky Derby hopefuls, almost on a par with Empire Maker. I say almost because the pace & final time (1.49.36) of the 2003 S.A. Derby was not really outstanding in any sense of the word, and Buddy Gil seemed to me to be just barely hanging on to the lead over the fast closing longshot Indian Express. It was a very profitable win moneywise for Stevens, trainer Jeff Mullins & the owners (Desperado Stables, & Merril Stables) albeit not truly very impressive. Buddy Gil has won a few big ones now, but he has not yet won in as impressive a manner as the recent wins of Empire Maker. Kafwain, another Kentucky Derby bound colt finished 3rd in the S.A. Derby, so with 4 weeks to go, the top contendors for the May 3 Classic appear to be 1. Empire Maker 2. Buddy Gil 3.Kafwain 4.Badge Of Silver. At least that's how it looks from here. Jockey/trainer roundup. P.Val leads all jockeys with 80 wins. David Flores has 63 & Alex Solis 62. Bob Baffert leads all trainers (Surprise! Surprise!) with 41 wins. Jeff Mullins is 2nd with 26 but actually sports the best win pct., & Vladimir Cerin has scored with 24 winners. We'll be at Hollywood in a few weeks. See you all there!" 4/05/03 : We will have the Entire Card and ALL the Winners for you on Santa Anita Derby day Stick Fans. Will Longshot Joe Special, Buddy Gil get the job done in the rich race ? Bob Baffert has Kafwain in for another try, and I am willing to "BET" that Kafwain will run a better race at his home track in California then he did at the Fair Grounds. A Big Hello and Wave of The Stick to our Favorite "NY" Jockey, Mike Smith. Mike has been getting very hot recently and we think he is up to his old winning ways that we enjoyed so much at Belmont Park. Mike always used to say hello to us when he was in the big walking ring at Belmont Park. We were guessing he thought he knew us, and we always said hello back. However, we are BIG Mike Smith fans. Best Regards to a Top Rider. 3/13/03 : Patrick Valenzuela, better know to Stick Fans as "P.Val", has really turned his life around and is back on top again. We are very happy for Pat, and we were one of the few voices offering him support in our columns, while many others would have relegated him to oblivion. You have to give people a 2nd and even 3rd chance in Life. When other people give up on you, they are only showing personal insecurity, and anger with themselves. We are strong supporters of P.Val, simply look at our old articles below. From 345 starts, P.Val has a huge 69 wins, and 70 second place finish's. That is 139 1st or 2nd from 345, or almost 48% in the top 2 every time he rides ! This is the Jerry Bailey of the West Coast. P.Val can be the same level and calibre of JD so long as keeps himself on the right course and free from distraction. You can do it Pat, keep up the Good Work ! We have big racing coming up at Santa Anita this weekend, but we are overwhelmed with the sudden and unexpected injuries of Julie Krone and Laffit Pincay. Did you see the terrible gate spill of Julie Krone on the turf chute when watching your simulcast ? She got kicked by either her horse or another horse and from that she suffered 2 bones broken in her back. She is expected to be out for at least 2 months. The All Time leading lady rider, Julie has told her fans she will be back as soon as she can be, and we salute her 'go get it' attitude. We were very happy to see her making a return as we watched her ride in NY and NJ before we moved to Florida. Julie made a stint at the Fair Grounds, and then decided to go to Santa Anita, where she has been riding a lot of Winners ! Julie had 33 winners at the time of her injury. In fact, the other day it was like a NY reunion with Jerry Bailey, and Edgar Prado riding in the SA HDCP and Mike Smith, another transplanted NY rider, racing at the same track on the same day. The All Time Leading WINNER of races run in history, Laffit Pincay, was also seriously injured in a separate incident about a week earlier. Laffit suffered 2 dangerous fractures in his neck, and facial cuts. At this time it is not known if Laffit will return from to ride again or retire. Whatever his choice we salute this amazing man. We remember his Summer invasion of Belmont Park, where he totally dominated our jockey's which at that time included the great Angel Corder, jr, and Jorge Velasquez. Best Regards and GET WELL Wishes to Julie Krone and Laffit Pincay from The Stick, and our Entire Staff, and our Very Large Fan and Customer base. GET WELL SOON GUYS ! 3/04/03 : We will be mailing our *NEW* Blue Gold Horse THE Stick Rules . Com Hats to Champagne for his March 8th Handicapping seminar at Del Mar. Supplies will be limited, but the new hats are available to be ordered for $20. They are similar to the TSR ! hats, but these feature our new Logo for our TheStickRules.Com and the golden horse. They are very clean and neat. "Big Day At Santa Anita!
Leaderboard at this point; In the jockey category, P. Val (31 wins) went winless this Saturday but still leads the pack. Pincay, Flores, & Solis each have scored 26 wins. In the trainer category, no surprises here either, Bob Baffert leads all trainers with 15 wins thus far, Frankel and the hot Jeff Mullins are tied 2nd with 10 apiece. Some horses that recently ran well and should be watched for include Throwin Heat, ran 2nd in the 2nd 3/1 & seems ready to break maiden very soon. Golden Bonus (11th race 3/1) also placed in 1st start following claim. Watch for him to run big in same type low level claimer within a few weeks. Pickled Bay (ran Fri. 2/28 3rd race) Led all the way to the stretch in a mile event. Looks like an easy winner when shortened up. So long for now. Good luck at the races!" 2/21/03 : In the San Louis Obispo, a Grade 2 for $200,000 at 1 1/2 Mile on the turf turned into a runaway romp for the favorite. The Tin Man with one of our favorite jockey's, Mike Smith, really flew home after setting controlled, well rated Mike Smith fractions. You could see Mike smiling on the simulcast and we give a Big Wave of the Stick to him for a convincing victory. Way to go Mike ! Special Matter was 2nd and Harrisand was 3rd in a time of 2:31 1/5. If you saw the races live or on the simulcast, you had to be jumping out of your seat as out Longshot Joe Special that we agreed to place as our Top Selection for the Boo la Boo literally(and we mean literally) FLEW like he had rocket engine's on his back to nail a win from DEAD LAST. The race looked hopeless fans, we broke dead last and it was only a 6 furlong race. In fact, jockey Alex Solis had tucked in from last and looked very content to be 5-10 lengths off the Last Horse !!! I have seen that before, and I told myself this horse is going to come home strongly. It did not look as though he had any chance at the top of the stretch, as he was still next to last and at least 15 lengths from the lead. As they came through the stretch, the scorching fast early fraction of 21:2 made everyone leg weary in the final furlongs. NOT Long Term Wish ! Long Term Wish, a Ceasar Dominguez trained, and Solis ridden horse moved so fast, the camera could only pick up a blur on the outside. Only when they slowed down the video could you see that YES, Long Term Wish got up for the win and returned $30.40 to Stick Fans who played him using our sheets. My Kai with Julie Krone was 2nd and Market Garden and Matt Garica came in 3rd in a time of 1:11 2/5. In the Santa Maria, a Grade 1 for $200,000 4 yr old Fillies and Mares at 1 1/16 mile, we had a battle of champions. It was billed as You vs. Starrer, and it lived up to the hype. You really having trouble stretching out her speed, was once able to run longer then she could. Everyone thought the 1 1/16 Mile would be perfect for her, and it almost was. Starrer had the unenviable task of trying to down horse of the year, Azeri and was thought to be a champion beyond racing with that one. As they turned into the stretch, Longshot, Se me Acabo who lead most of the way was stopping under Gary Stevens. You, along with Rhianna were both making moves on the lead and Starrer was sweeping to the lead. Through the stretch it was all Starrer and P.Val to a convincing victory. Starrer paid $4.20 in a final time of 1:42 3/5. 1/22/03 : The *Instant View*(c) Stick Selections Sheets have proven Exceptionally Popular, and especially from people in the Mid-West and West Coast sections of the country. Santa Anita, Golden Gate, and Turf Paradise selling at a record rate in *Instant View* format. We may start offering Santa Anita at *Expert Level* on the Instant View pages, we have to see how well the AQU and Gulf Expert Level sheets sell. Thank You to All the Fans ordering ! The following report from Santa Anita is from our good friend and West Coast co-respondent, Champagne Joe. "Santa Anita Mid-Jan. Report
Attendance; It's just about 1/4 into the Santa Anita winter/spring meeting, & early on track attendance figures are not encouraging at all. On some days the box seats & grandstand appear virtually deserted. Attendance of less than 5,000 is commonplace, & on some days dips to less than 4,000. The no show fans are certainly missing something. Off track wagering is OK but there's nothing like experiencing the races in person. On one of those low attendance days ( Thurs. Jan 16, on track attendance 3,979) a new track record was set on the 6 1/2 Furlong turf course by Cayoke, a rather undistinquished 6 yr old horse with no real exemplary breeding credentials, sired by Always Fair out of the mare Sarah Annita. Cayoke was trained by Julio canani & was ridden by David Flores. They beat Kachamandi (2nd) by a head, & Ecstatic, the 2-1 fav, (3rd) by 1 1/2. Cayoke covered the downhill course in a sizzling 1:11.45 & paid $9.20 to win. It was a thrilling finish with Cayoke & Flores surging in the stretch to just get up by a head. (Flores went on to win 4 from 7 mounts on that day, with 2 2nds). However, despite the declining on track attendancedaily handle remained at nrear 10 million. So, now, what's the reason for the precepitous drop in attendance? The answer is clear and obvious. There are now within the southern California triangle, ranging from L.A. to Palm Springs & down to San Diego, 4 state operated off track wagering facility sites, and 15 Indian Casinos, many of which also offer off track horserace wagering. This is the primary causitive factor for declining on track attendance. Horserace wagering remains a popular form of gaming, but here in So. Calif. the battle for the gaming dollar is in full swing, and on track attendance is suffering! Track Condition; The track surfaces have been mostly fair, with the main dirt track slightly favoring speed, and the grass course showing no real bias. Note, however, when handicapping races on the turf, always take into account the placement of the inside rails/fence. Notice when rail is at 0, inside horses tend to tire in the stretch and those running in the 5th or 6th lanes come on strongly. When rails are at 15 ft. those on the rail hand tough in the stretch. This is because the turf along the natural rail is usually softer, the dirt beneath the grass having been extensively stomped on in earlier races. The outermost lanes not having nearly as much traffic present a firmer footing for horses running a bit wider. Jockeys;
As noted in Hollywood wrapup the jockeys to follow at
Santa Anita are Flores-Pincay-P. Val. Recently Julie
Krone has been signed onto an ever increasing number
of mounts & she has been scoring on some nice priced
winners. Her ROI is among the highest. Add her &
Victor Espinoza as two more jockeys to never count
out.
12/24/02 : We are in the process of experimenting with *INSTANT VIEWING* Stick Selections Sheets at Starter Level. The links to purchase them are located on the main entry page and the Free Selections page. We plan to offer our most popular tracks from New York, Florida and Southern California permanently. The Instant View Pages are Victory Box(c) Starter Level pages with Every Race posted on the pages. As soon as you pay with your credit card, the selections page will appear on the screen for the track you clicked on. We may offer different tracks on days the main tracks are dark for *INSTANT VIEWING*. *ALL RACING TRACKS ARE AVAILABLE EVERY DAY THEY RUN AS EMAIL DELIVERY* *EMAIL DELIVERY MAY ALSO ORDER HIGHER LEVELS OF INFORMATION SUCH AS EXPERT OR GOLD RUSH(c) STICK SELECTIONS SHEETS.* The following story is from our good friend and West Coast reporter Champagne Joe. Hollywood Wrapup & A Look Forward to Santa Anita "Hollywood Parks' Autumn/Winter meeting finished with disappointing numbers. All figs were down from last year. Kafwain & Toccet delivered some exciting moments when they finished 1-2/2-1 in the Futurity (including a win via DQ for Toccet). That race may well have been a preview of the 2003 Kentucky Derby. Santa Anita opens Dec 26 with their great opening day Calendar Giveaway. Here's what to look forward to at the Great race Place. Trainers: Look for Bill Spawr to rack up a number of wins early on in the meet.Bill maintains his So. Cal. stable at Santa Anita year round (except for 8 weeks at Del Mar). His horses train on this track. He ships his horses crosstown to race at Hollywood. That gives him a sort of home field advantage here. Expect Bob Baffert to rebound and Doug O'Neill to remain hot. Doug took the training title at the just concluded Hollywood meet with 16 wins, his first training title in So. Cal. Jockeys: Jockeys to watch include Pincay, he always does well at Santa Anita, Flores and P. Val. Pincay was 3rd in the jockey standings at Hollywood, Solis & Espinoza were tied with 34 wins apiece, Laffit had 30. Also watch for Mike Smith to increase number of mounts and number of wins. Mike should be up again riding Toccet, the potential favorite, in the 2003 Kentucky Derby as well. Horses: With so many European imports now racing in the US, many fans have requested the formula for equating timeform figures with our own speed figures. In order to figure the approximate speed number the basic formula is this. If the European timeform number is 105 and up=subtract 13. If the timeform number is 96-104=subtract 12. Timeform 86 to 95=subtract 11. Timeform less than 86=subtract 10. This will give you the approximate speed figure in US numbers. This should help in your personal handicapping. Good Luck at the races & Happy New Year to all!" 12/14/02 : Before we get to Champagne's report we wanted to let all our fans know we had a wonderful Superfecta score on Saturday at Hollywood Park with a $8,342 payoff for a $1 wager and we spent $120 on a Key with the $13.60 winner on top. We emailed the info along with info about our free selections to our opt-in email list. If you want more Stick news and information, join our opt-in list by emailing us today with "JOIN" in the subject line. The following report is from our West Coast Reporter and Friend, Champagne Joe. " Tues Dec. 3. It's just about the 1/2 way mark thru this fall meeting at Hollywood, and althouugh the crowds have been a bit anemic the racing has been healthy & very competitive. Last weekends' Turf Festival included some of the best horses in the country. Fields were not thin but not overcrowded either, and offered many very good wagering opportunities. On Sat. Pat Day flew in from the East coast to pick up a nice win aboard Good Journey. (It seems whenever he makes a trip to So. Calif. he returns home with some nice purse money in the bank. Keep in mind he doesnt come out west just for the weather.). Meanwhile, the Ole Pirate Laffit Pincay has been racking up the wins & leads the jockey colony here with 25 wins from 103 mounts (50 in the money finishes). Laffit has been riding like the Pincay of yesteryear, and because of that has been getting a good share of some very good mounts. He is set to ride Wild Tickle on Sunday in the Corona Hdcp. Success breeds success! Pincay hold a substantial lead over 2nd place Victor Espinoza who has scored 19 wins from 104 mounts (57 in the money). Rounding out the top 5 jockeys at this point are Mike Smith with 17 wins from 80 (38 in money), Alex Solis with 16 wins from 95 (50 in money), & David Flores with 13 wins from 71 starts (32 in money). Check the "Hot Jock Lock" method in my little book "Systems, Simple & Sophisticated" to see how these numbers can work in your favor everyday. Espinoza leads in money earned with just under $985,000 Altho Kent Desormeaux has only 6 wins from 65 starts (26 in money finishes), he is 6th in money earned with just under $450,000. In the trainer category Doug O Neill leads with 8, with Baffert, Frankel & Leonard Duncan scoring with 6. The trainer standings are close with Sadler, Mitchell, Hendricks & James Cassidy marking 5 wins apiece. Frankel has most purse money earned with just over $470,00 & he leads all trainers across the USA with over 17 million in purse money so far. Best win pct among trainers belongs to Duncan with 6 wins from just 13 starts. Best in the money pct. at this point is held by Dan hendricks with 9 in the money finishes from 11 starts. Here's proof that horseracing has definitely become an international sport. Texas Glitter, winner of the Hollywood Turf Exp. Hdcp. has been flown to Hong Kong where he is scheduled to go in the Hong Kong Sprint on Dec. 15th. Also going to Hong Kong will be Falcon Flight, 3rd in the BC Turf. He's entered in the Hong Kong Vase on that same day. If the trip doesnt take too much out of them, both loom as potentially easy winners in their respective competitions. That's it for this report. I'll be back when Santa Anita opens Dec. 26. Good Luck to all & Happy Holidays." Champagne Joe is offering his own handicapping books for sale through the Stick ! Learn from one of the best in the industry, we highly recommend Champagne's books, and if your more hands on and want to handicap yourself, Champagne will show you how. They are extremely limited and once they are sold out, there will be no more. Please email us for more information on how to purchase, we will accept credit card or money order/check payment for them. Limited supplies. "Winning With The Thoroughbreds" 283 pp. Part history/part handicapping. Recaps of all Kentucky Derby races to 1994. How to spot the look of a winner. How to use the Beyer figs to box exacts/quinellas. A concise history of thoroughbred racing, its origins, its developement. Much more. For sale out of Gamblers Book Shop, Las Vegas for $14.95, & on Amazon.com for $11.88 both plus shipping. For Stick Fans now...just $6.00 plus $2 shpping. Order early..very limited number available at this price! "Systems, Simple & Sophisticated"..56 pp. Explains various wagering methods & simple systems. Includes "Hot Jock Lock", how to play favs using the "1-2-Skip-Doubleplay" wagering pattern, "Daily Double & Criss Cross" pattern of wagering. Explains the "Excitement/Pain Threshold". Sold coast to coast for $6.95 at NYRA, Fla., & Calif. tracks. For Stick Fans...$5.oo plus just $1 shipping/handling. Only 10 available at this price! Don't get shut out! Order now. "All About Horserace Wagering". 46 pp. This little book is regularly sold at Champagne Joe Seminars for $6.95. Tells what a player must & must not do in order to become a consistent winner. Step by step rules to follow. It explains what you must know & do in order to enjoy your best day at the races. For Stick Fans during this closeout..just $4 plus $1 shipping & handling. Remember..supplies are very limited so get in on this special deal now! 11/16/02 : Oak Tree Roundup The short Oak Tree at Santa Anita meet began with high hopes for a successful meet, but concluded on a down note with some rather disappointing figures. Attendance was down, as was total handle. Laffit Pincay captured the riding title with 27 wins, while Patrick Valenzuela (who was arguably the best rider at the meet) ran 2nd with 26, & David Flores 3rd with 25. P. Val was DQ'd off two other winners via what many still feel were very questionable infraction calls. His "Return On Investment" (ROI) figures were highest amongst all top riders with two of his winners paying over 30-1, and many others paying double digits to his backers. P. Val is now sitting out some time serving a 15 day suspension but he will return to action at Hollywood Park before the end of November, and rest assured, he will be back in the winners circle soon after. He says he is in top condition and is chomping at the bit to get back in the saddle. In the trainer category, Jack Carava was red hot from day one, and finished well ahead of all other trainers to take the top trainer spot. Neil Drysdale, Paul Aquirre, J K Dolan, and Bob Hess all had somewhat disappointing meets this year. The actual high point of the Oak Tree meet was the public announcement of Breeders Cup Day 2003 being awarded to Oak Tree racing. That should revive attendance & handle figures for next years meet. In other news, Kent Desormeaux will be the "roastee" at the Orleans, Las vegas, on Tues Nov 12 in what is being billed at the 1st Jockey Roast Dinner, a fundraiser for the Shoemaker Foundation. This fun banquet may well be the forerunner of a series of banquets similar to the old Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts. A dias of jockeys, trainers, turf writers, etc. are each scheduled to say a few light hearted words about the guest of honor. Dinner tix are available to the public at large for $45. Call the Orleans Casino/Hotel. Should be fun! Meanwhile Champagne Joe wishes all a very Happy Thanksgiving! See you at Hollywood! 11/01/02 : We told Shane Sellers in our FL news that if he wrote in and wanted to say hello to our fans, we would post anything he sent us. The same goes for our CA jockeys, who we appreciate and support very much ! Mike Smith was a 2 time B.Cup Winner this past Saturday. Vindication, $10.60 and we picked him on TOP in the Juvenile ! Mike also won on Azeri, the favorite in the Distaff who went wire to wire. Mike always said hello to us in the walking ring area at Belmont, and although we did not know him to our knowledge, we said hello back. Its great to see Mike back a Big Winner this B.Cup. GO MIKE GO ! The News about Julie Krone is that she will be back in the saddle and out of retirement to ride at Santa Anita this weekend. Julie is very well known back east, when she was the leading jockey in the nation from her winners on the NYRA and New Jersey circuits. Julie is also the only lady rider to win a Belmont stakes, which she did with Colonial Affair. We also welcome her back to the races and wish her well. Julie knows how to win guys, don't leave her out of your plays. There was another California jockey who rode this Breeders Cup and although he did not win, he rode his horses to their fullest and was in the money. Falcon Flight did not win the B.Cup Turf, but he sure came closing in a big way through the stretch for a 3rd place finish as the rank outsider in the field. P.Val we salute your return to racing, and know next year you will win a B.Cup race ! So says The Stick ! Excelsior ! 10/08/02 : At the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains stands the finest track west of the Mississippi River, Santa Anita. More Family playground then Gamblers haven, Santa Anita is a theme park that offers Horse Racing. The mountains in the background, the well developed infield, and the finest horses on the West Coast, make Santa Anita(avec Oak Tree or sans Oak Tree) is a very nice venue for horse racing. While Kalookan Queen was always a nice mare who would win her share of graded stakes against the girls, who knew she could sprint against the boys ? At a very nice price of 4 1/2 to 1, The Queen rocked home under Alex Solis for a HUGE win. Crafty TC and Pat Val were both seen with thier tongues hanging out of their mouths as they were passed by her. Pat Val, clean and Incredible, we stand 100% behind the P.Val and want to see him WIN some B.Cup races this year ! Go Pat Go ! Mellow Fellow and the Iron Man of Jockey's Laffit Pincay was 3rd. Favorite Swept Overboard and Corey Nakatani was 4th at odds on of 90 cents to the dollar. Final time of 1:08 .26 is by far the fastest B.Cup prep race we have seen, but just remember, So.Cal is known for fast times with a downward sloping stretch. Horses who run that fast in So.Cal, sometimes equal those times back East and sometimes they do not. Remember, in Arlington Park, the weather will be much colder then Santa Anita. The Norfolk Stakes a G2 for $200K was won by favorite Kafwain and Victor Espinoza by a nose ! Bull Market and Mike E Smith were 2nd, and Listen Indy was 3rd under Alex Solis. Favorites 1-2-3 in order. Also of note, Bob Baffert, Double B trained the winner and 2nd place horses. The Oak Tree Mile a G2 for $250K was won by longshot, Night Patrol at 9-1 with Jose Valdivia riding. P.Val brought 12-1 longshot Kachmamandi up for 2nd and 10-1 Nicobar was 3rd under Laffit. The Triple, a juicy $1,408.80. ALL STICK FANS WHO ORDERED SANTA ANITA THAT DAY HAD THE TRIPLE IN ORDER ! GO STICK GO ! The Yellow Ribbon Stakes, a $500K G1 race was won by Golden Apples and P.Val ! Voodoo Dancer and Gary Stevens was 2nd and Banks Hill, the defending B.Cup champion was 3rd at even money with Corey Nakatani. If you look at the race closely, Banks Hill ran a good race, she simply could not catch the horses in front of her who had a lot left after modest fractions. Banks Hill still very much in the hunt for a Back to back B.Cup victory. 9/25/02 : Who were those people seen at Bay Meadows and Fairplex wearing Stick Staff Embroidered Logo shirts ? Was it really the staff, or was it just some lucky fans ? All Logo Shirts are available for delivery immediately, including our Special Racing Stripe Staff Shirts. Logo Tee's are available for FREE to all orders over $50 in one week. Del Mar closed and Fair Plex opened for its very short meet at the California Fair. Know locally as the "Bull Ring", Fairplex has no turf course and very sharp turns on its small dirt course. Quite often, horses blow the sharp turns, so make sure your horse has the inside and the speed ! In the Jockey race, Tyler Baze and Martin Pedroza are neck and neck. 1 win separates them and Matt Garcia and "IGGY" Puglisi are not that far behind with 1/2 as many mounts. HUGE NOTE, Chance Rollins(Formerly a Arizona rider) would be in the lead if he could have converted most of those 13 2nd place finishes into victories. A lot of 2nds for Chance, more then any other jockey at the meet. The trainers are very closely matched. Doug O'Neill has a 1 win margin over Wesley Ward(Yes, he was a rider in NY). Many trainers close behind with 2-3-4 wins, so this race is wide open. Are you ready for Santa Anita ? 8/23/02 : You know we're back, we have moved all our operations from NY and we are taking orders and sending out many Winners to our fans. Order today by making a payment on the Credit Card Pay Links page. *IGNORE THE REDIRECT WARNING, IT TAKES YOU TO THE RIGHT PLACE AND SAYS OUR NAME AND PAY PALS AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE* Order Today for Special Incentives and FREEbies ! Pat Valenzuela returned to Hollywood Park and won the title ! Now he thinks he can just go to Arlington and win the Beverly D and just win at will ! GO PAT GO ! This is a Recovery Story of Mythic proportions ! WE LOVE P.VAL ! Pat is just what the So.Cal jockey colony needs right now after Chris McCarron's retirement. Don't leave off P.Val in your Exotics ladies and Gentleman, you will need him to Cash ! Saratoga is beautiful and has the very best racing in the World, BUT BUT BUT, Nowhere else in the World does the Surf meet the Turf ! You literally sit opposite the Pacific Ocean, its right across the highway ! The waves, the Sun, the breeze. Why do they only run 6 weeks ? They should run 6 Months at Del Mar ! Trevor Denman, The wonderful atmosphere, Del Mar is really on par with one of the finest racing experiences in the World. We HIGHLY Recommend going while they run. 3 Weeks left as of today. Pacific Classic looks like its all War Emblem. He is so hard to go past, it makes for a low priced winner, but what a monster he looks like. The Derby and Preakness winner ate them up at the Spa, now he concludes a near Perfect year at Del Mar. Tape this one, it will be History. 4/15/02 : Remember the good old days, when all you had to do was find a D.Wayne Lukas or Bob Baffert trained horse and feel confident that this was the next Kentucky Derby favorite ? Well times have changed. One of our favorite, and very underated trainer's, Paco Gonzalez, is back in the spotlight. You may remember Paco from such horses as Free House, the runner up or 3rd place finisher in all three Triple Crown races of his generation. Paco sent out Came Home and jockey Chris McCarron to a huge victory in the $750,000 Grade 1 SA Derby. For those fans who requested our help in the Futures Pools, YES, we did play Came Home in Pool 1 for some decent odds if he should win the Kentucky Derby. Easy Grades came in 2nd, and Lusty Latin finished 3rd. The Exacta paid $21.80, and the Triple paid $315.20. What was important to notice was the final time of 1:50 1/5 for the 1 1/8 Mile distance. While it is a fast time, the Wood Memorial in NY went almost 2 seconds faster. You rarely see Southern California speed tracks running races slower then in NY, and especially at Aqueduct, the Winter palace. Early hot horse, Dan the blue grass man, finished a disappointing last place after showing a strong win in Northen California. I'm sure all our Southern California fans have noticed that many of their top jockey's have been racing all over the country this past weekend. Here is a brief synopsis of who's were and for how long. Gary, Kent, Corey, and Eddie D are enjoying the racing in Blue Grass country at Keeneland. It looks as if Kent and Corey are there for the entire meet, which is a short one. Laffit and Chris, Mike and P.Val have been spotted in NY and Kentucky, and at Oaklawn, but it looks as if they will return to Santa Anita for regular duty and only venture away for Big stakes races. Alex, Martin, Tyler, Chance, and Victor are happy with all the Top mounts they can pick and choose from and have not ventured away. Will anyone be enticed to come to Belmont Park for the Spring/Summer Meeting ? Corey, Chris, Gary, and Laffit have all come in to win the title in previous years. Lets see if anyone out West is willing to take on the "Amazing Edgar Prado". I warn you ahead of time guys, Johhny V was at the top of his game and still is, and Edgar still dominated Gulfstream. You might think Jerry Bailey is all you have to beat, but Jorge Chavez is here also. NY jockey's vs. CA at Belmont Park ? WE sure hope so ! 3/27/02 : Everyone reading this article that came to us from Woz.Org are Very Welcome at The Stick, and we are happy to open up your hearts and minds to the beautiful world of Horse Racing. Also, ALL Stick Fans are encouraged to visit Woz.Org to enlighten themselves about the Internet and the World of Steve Wozniack, the father of modern computers, and co-founder of Apple Computer. *The Following Article is from our Good Friend, and West Coast Reporter, Champagne Joe* First off, let me congratulate those STICK readers who picked up on my jockey clues (Re: Desormeaux & Pincay) in my last report, composed Feb 28 & posted March 1st, and to those who began following the 2 named jockeys therein. Here's a rundown of winners recorded by the aforementioned riders in the subsequent days following that report. Sat 3/2 Desormeaux 8 rides=3 winners (Decarchy $18.00, Milwaukee Brew $11.40, Highly Tempting $28.60). Pincay 6 rides=1 winner (Friendly Wager $ 20.20). Sun 3/3 Desormeaux 4 rides=1 winner (Warm April $8.00). Pincay 8 rides=3 winners (Yankee Pirate $8.40, Bingo Card $8.00, Tracemark $17.20). 2 day totals both jockeys=8 wins from 26 rides with $2 win payoffs totaling $119.80 ROI. Total profit on $2 win wagers $67.80 or 128%! Desormeaux kept up his winning ways during the following week posting 8 wins 6 seconds, & 5 thirds from 26 mounts in the 5 day period March 6-10 for an incredible 73% in the money pct., and an outstsnding 30% win pct. Coupled with the previously noted 2 day record of 4 wins from 12 mounts, Kents' 7 day win pct. stood at almost 32% for the first 7 days of racing in March! Meanwhile, Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel continued his streak as 2002's winningest stakes trainer. Frankel has once again saddled winners in some of the most prestigious and lucrative stakes races so far at the meeting, including wins in the $75,000 Some Sensation, $75,000 Blue Northern, $200,000 Malibu Stakes, $200,000 Las Virgenes, $250,000 San Felipe Stakes, $300,000 Frank Kilroe, $300,000 Santa Anita Oaks, and topped by the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap. *NOTE: The Frankel trained Milwaukee Brew was the only entry in the Santa Anita Hdcp. to have never raced in Calif. Brew was shipped in from Louisiana (See SA 1/2 way reports RE: shippers at SA). Good news! It appears that Desormeaux & Bob Baffert have repaired the slight tear in their association and all things between the two have normalized. Kent is again riding many of Bobs' entries. Their rift was born mostly from a series of non-communication & misunderstanding. Similar to that short break a while back between Laffit Pincay & Bob Spawr, and those of us who follow jockey/trainer combinations in wagering are grateful for the mend in both cases. Pincay/Spawr & Desormeaux/Baffert are 2 very productive combos. Speaking of mending, So. Cal racing fans, and especially yours truly, were so happy to see Joy Scott back in the irons following over 13 months of recovery and rehab after her awful spill back on Jan 19, 2001. On that day she was riding in an 870 yd. quarterhorse race when a horse in front of her mount fell, and her mount tripped and fell over that fallen horse. All told, 5 jockeys went down. Joy was the most seriously injured, broken tibia & fibula (large leg bones). 2 operations and many months of physical therrapy were needed before full recovery could be achieved. (Joy was leading rider at some Calif. fair circuits some years ago, and with over 300 lifetime wins, she's a proven competitor. I know Joy, and I know she's tough! Its good to see her back on the track! And thats where I'm heading, so I'll see you all there. Good Luck! 2/22/02 : While we await our next installment from Champagne Joe, we thought we would let you know about the California horses getting the Eclipse awards. Champion Point Given walked away with the 3 yr old and Horse of the Year Title's ! Gary Stevens had a great year with this one. 4 Grade 1's, including 4 $1 Million races. Baffert/Stevens, well, what else needs to be said ? Point Given won the Preakness, Belmont, Haskell and Travers, Well Done ! Tiznow is the older champ. This was a good choice also. Tiznow, mostly campaigned in California last year, but the former Horse of the Year did win the most Prestigious race, The B.Cup Classic for the 2nd year in a row. Our guess is that, he just did not win enough other races to get the nod over Point Given, who simply had a smashing season. California Racing will also shift into KY.Derby fever mode in the coming months, look for some Top G1 Preps, including the finale, the SA Derby ! Follow us for all The Action and Updates. The Stick Pique Polo shirts are being delivered Monday, and will be for Sale for $35. Email us for Details or to order one for yourself. 2/07/02 : We now accept Visa, Mastercard, DISCOVER(*NEW*), and AMERICAN EXPRESS(*NEW*) through our Credit Card payment Links. We are offering Special Deals(2 For 1 Ordering-Email us for details) on our well regarded Stick Selections Sheets to all Credit Card customers. *PRESS HERE FOR CREDIT CARD PAYMENT* The Following is from our West Coast Correspondent and Good Friend, Champagne Joe M. Thank You for your report Champagne ! Santa Anita Happenings It appears we may have a bright new star about to emerge on the So. Cal. racing scene. I'm talking about Elvis Trujillo. The young apprentice rider has been getting the most from his mounts and seems to improve with every ride. He's up early in the AM working horses for anyone who may request his services and though he hasnt yet latched on to any really big name stables (as it usually is with young riders), his book of mounts has steadily increased. Owners & trainers like his work ethics and dedication, & he appears to be a daring & courageous rider who has that strong competitive drive to win. Last Wednesday he maneuvered a 38-1 shot (Sea Rover) from 6th at the 1/2, 6 lengths back, to a fast closing 3rd, beaten just a length off the winner in a 5 1/2 Furlong event. On Sat Jan 26 Elvis had just 3 mounts, scoring a win in the 1st ($20.20 on Our Here Tiz), a 2nd (beaten a head) in the 4th aboard 16-1 Under Surveaillance, & then nailed the show spot in the 7th on Lady Cara, a 57-1 shot that paid $13.20 for 3rd, & helped push the tri in that race to $719.80, & the superfecta to $12,317.60! Keep an eye out for Elvis Trujillo! Meanwhile, my friend Kent desormeaux has been heating up & not only on John K Dolan & James Cassidy mounts. Riding as he has lately, Desormeaux must again be considered a threat to take just about any race he rides, & for any trainer or stable, & at any odds. Kent hopes to turn the tables on Alex Solis at this SA meeting. (Solis was 1st at Holly, Kent was 2nd). In case you didnt know, It was a Californian Herman Miller of Oakland, who won the NTRA handicapping contest finals in Las Vegas last week! Now here are some horses to watch for at SA. Theatre Script: Just beaten by a ns in Ca. debut. Dixie Thrill: Was a credible 4th in comeback try/next time out he should go on dirt & win easily. Sentimental Secret: Just missed at 5 1/2 F., ran out of track! Needs 6 or 6 1/2 F. for closing style. Good Luck & I'll see you at the races! 1/23/02 : The East Coast may have a Southern migration in Winter months to warmer climes, but nobody in Southern California cares about Winter ! Santa Anita carries on as a Standard bearer for how racing is conducted in the USA. Other then the NYRA triumveret, Only Churchill Downs Inc. can be compared as a true Annual Racing Organization. The BIG 3 have the formula down for Year Long racing. All other tracks simply shut down after their season, and become simulcast outlets. A short note to Welcome back P.Val to racing. We cannot say enough Good things about your riding, and we wish you success and triumph over adversity of the past. Go get them Pat ! Win Big -The Stick. In the JOCKEY's Race, there is a 3 way tie among Top So-Cal Legends, Laffit Pincay, Kent Desormeaux, and under rated local Star Alex Solis. All have 18 Wins. Despite his Breeders Cup win, and our feeling that Alex Solis is one the best jockey's in the country, we almost never hear about him outside the So.Cal circuit. Of course, if you are a star on that circuit, you exude National quality. Chris McCarron is 4th with 16 Wins from many less Starter's. Chris equal to the JD Class of riders, and if you leave him out on a Paco Gonzalez or Ron McAnally trained horse, you deserve to lose ! Victor Espinoza has 11 Wins, and after having a lot of spotlight from his title's last year, would love to move up back into the limelight. Former NY Star rider, Mike Smith has 10 Wins. We can tell you for certain that Mike Smith has the ability to be #1 anywhere, just give him the mounts and watch him win ! Possible Mike has yet to break the barrier of all trainers who may not know him or consider him an East coast jockey. Garrett Gomez also has 10 Wins, followed by "Jambalaya Cajun" Eddie D. and Jose Valdivia with 9 Wins each. In the TRAINER's Race, Bill Spawr(Uses Laffit a lot) has a clear 5 win lead of 13 at the top. Perenial leader Bob Baffert is in 2nd with 9 Wins, but 11 2nd and 11 3rd's. IF more of those 2-3 finish's had been Wins, Baff would be the leader. The King of last years's Stakes action ANYWHERE in the USA was Bobby Frankel. Frankel has 8 Wins and is currently 3rd. Ron McAnally is next with 7 Wins. A 3 way tie is next with 5 Wins for Darrell Vienna, John Sadler, and Jeff Mullins. A Huge number of Trainers has 4 Wins each after including Bruce Headley and D.Wayne Lukas. Santa Anita main track playing to closers on a regular basis. Middle Moving or stone cold closing seems to work well for those with a strong late run. Turf also favoring closer's. Hard to win on the front end in So.Cal unless you catch a lot of mud. 7/03/01 : We have all the old data files and stats for Del Mar, Saratoga and the Best Summer Racing in America ready and prepared for a Solid Del Mar and Spa meeting starting up shortly in the next 1 and 2 weeks. Mary over at Del Mar has sent us 2 press releases, and to everyone's delight, there will be downtown valet parking for Del Mar this year ! Champagne Joe has informed us he will be reporting in from the Coast and we will post all his info for you when we get it ! We look to nail down Saratoga and Del Mar with the same high % winners we had last year. Email us for special Season Meeting rates at Del Mar and Saratoga, we know there are regulars of our site who go every day. We will discount the entire meeting for you. Email us for details. 7/03/01 : The best recent coverage of Horse Racing was seen on CBS last Sunday as the comments, people, and coverage of the races were Top Notch and World Class ! A Big Wave of The Stick from us in Salute to CBS, Dave Johnson, Randy Moss, Caton Bredar, Gary Sibelle, and the Arlington coverage(forgive us we did not catch your name), for the Best recent coverage of Horse Racing we have seen ! Like Randy Moss said on the CBS telecast of the races, How often have you seen a trainer Win two major races on a DQ within 15 minutes of each other ? Senure in the United Nations at Monmouth Park was placed first for a $300K winners share to the Owners and the 10% share of that to Bobby Frankel. Ok, its all over after that, right ? Wrong ! The Hollywood Gold Cup looked to be a 2 horse race between Captain Steve(Baff trained), and Aptitude(Frankel trained). We had Gary Stevens on the Captain, and we were more then ready to forgive him for his loss in the Stephan Foster. Aptitude looked to have an entry mate to set up a hot pace for his late power closing move. Aptitude had Laffit Pincay up. Well, no one told Chris McCarron he was not supposed to be able to win on Futural. Futural is a very nice locally based horse in the So.Cal black type ALLW ranks who has shown he can move up nicely in class ! As the horses came through the stretch, it was apparent that Captain Steve still needs more recovery time from Dubai. Lets pray we do not see the same thing happen to him that happened to Silver Charm after Dubai. The Dubai race is a once in a Lifetime win race, and is worth the trip and the pushing to win it, but it seems to take a lot out of our horses, and the last two Baff winners appear to be very tired after winning that race. Well, needless to say, Futural brushed with NOT-Aptitide, but his entrymate, Garret Gomez ridden, Skimming. While it looked like Skimming was done for as Futural was passing/brushing with him, Aptitude came flying up for 2nd place. A long Stewards inquiry then occured after the race was run. You can certainly feel for Chris McCarron and Craig Dollase for the purse money involved. The Stewards DQ'd Futural and placed him behind Skimming, the 3rd place finisher. This resulted in Trainer Bobby Frankel being placed 1-2 in the Hollywood Gold Cup, and resulted in a racing oddity as Frankel trained horses were placed 1st through disqualification in two Major Grade 1 Races on East and West Coast of the USA within a matter of 15 minutes. As they say in Brooklyn Bobby, "Go Figure !" Best Regards to a top trainer. 4/11/01 : WE RECEIVED ANOTHER EMAIL INFORMING US ABOUT STICK SELECTIONS SHEETS BEING SOLD AT SANTA ANITA BY SOMEONE OUTSIDE THE GATES OR NEAR THE ENTRY. THEY ARE NOT FROM US AND WE DO NOT ENDORSE OR SUPPORT THEM. WE ONLY SELL OUR STICK SELECTIONS SHEETS DIRECTLY TO YOU FROM THE INTERNET.
DO NOT BUY ANY FALSE COPIES OF OUR SELECTIONS SHEETS, THEY ARE NOT OFFICIALLY FROM US AND IF YOU WANT OUR OFFICIAL SHEETS, YOU HAVE TO BUY THEM DIRECTLY FROM US OFF THE INTERNET. California based runner, Millenium Wind, is headed for the Blue Grass at Keeneland this Saturday. He is facing a tough field of 3 yr olds as AP Valentine, Dollar Bill, Hero's Tribute, and Song and a Prayer are all ready and waiting for him. In addition, 'Wind' has been recovering from a slight foot problem that has the experts wondering if he will be 100%. Well, we at The Stick have our figures, updates, and news flashes neatly filed in some large metal cabinets, and a lot of folders, but we also have our favorites. Dave Hofmans would not run a horse in any race unless that horse was 100%, and he was ready to win. There are always trip concerns and track surface considerations, but 'Wind' is the real deal and he should be respected. Point Given aside, this may be the California Ky.Derby horse this year...DUCK AGAIN ! Bob Baffert just threw his other shoe at the computer screen ! Well, all kidding aside to Bob Baffert, we think of you as the King of the Mountain among trainers, and we are just joking when we say you are throwing your shoe's at the screen when we say who is the best for this years KY.Derby. The Thoroughbred Corporation, Bob Baffert, and Point Given with Gary Stevens up have to be considered the ones to beat and should be heavily favored for this years Derby. If they get the right trip(and trip in the Derby is the single most important factor), Point Given could be a BIG winner at this years Run for the Roses. After wondering if Corey Nakatani was leaving for good, or just a vacation from So.Cal, it looks as if this is just an extended vacation. When interviewed by the DRF, Corey said last week he thought he might be back for Del Mar. Well, you can't surf at Saratoga ! However, if you ride at Belmont, you can always enjoy the warm Summer rays at Jones Beach. For those who have never been to Jones Beach state park on NY's Long Island South Shore, once you get there, you would think you were in the Caribbean with all that White(rock free) Sand, and the waves of the Atlantic crashing on the shore. However, leave your surf board home, this is not Hawaii. But for 3 months every Summer, it can sure be a nice escape. The San Juan Capistrano, named for the famous mission in California where the Swallows always return, will be run this Saturday. The race carries a respectable $400K purse and will be a marathon event at 1 3/4 miles, just a 1/4 mile short of 2 miles(Bring your running shoes !). The race is an invitational, and Baff has a potential star in Blueprint, a European distance specialist who has won at the distance. Bienamado is the morning line favorite and the highweight. Also expected in here are Subtle Power, Persian Lux, Tanassa, Mister Kick, and Indigo Myth. This race should prove to offer substantial value, and the exotics should offer some nice prices. We will have all the action for our Many customers this week and weekend. *PRESS HERE TO ORDER STICK SELECTIONS SHEETS* __________________________________________________
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