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Story by MC_Excelsior "The Stick" The Biggest day of racing in upon us, The Breeders Cup. You may Order our *GOLD RUSH* Expanded Selections Sheet for $50. 8 Grade 1 Stakes will be run to determine the best thoroughbreds in the World. What an outstanding day we are looking forward to !.....
*Note - If you turn on your sound and speakers, you should hear pleasant Stick News Music in this article !* OUR EXPANDED *GOLD RUSH* SELECTIONS FOR THE BREEDERS CUP WILL FEATURE MORE COMPREHENSIVE COMMENTS FOR ALL STAKES RACES. non breeders cup races at expert level. TO ORDER OUR EXPANDED *GOLD RUSH* SELECTIONS FOR THE BREEDERS CUP, *PRESS HERE* 9/29/05 - B.Cup Preview Day - Web Site News 10/27/05, The Stick Studio, NY
*THE BREEDERS CUP ENTRIES FOR BELMONT PARK 10/29/05* THIS OUR SUPERSTORY NEWS, THIS IS NOT OUR *GOLD RUSH* SELECTIONS *JUVENILE FILLIES* DISTANCE : 1 1/16 MILE PURSE : $1,000,000 *RESULTS CHART* 1 Folklore Edgar S. Prado 6.70 4.20 2.70 10 Wild Fit Alex O. Solis 6.40 4.30 2 Original Spin Jerry D. Bailey 3.70 Fractional Times :22.65 :45.34 1:10.39 1:36.81 1:43.85 *Stick Comments After the Race : We told you Lukas was the king of the 2 yr old fillies. This was always his bread and butter division, and he kept this group alive for himself even in the late twilight of his career as the Worlds greatest trainer. Once Folklore hit the front she was impossible to defeat. A strong ride by Prado helped her, and the fractions were favorable. The mile split in 1:36 and change was well within her range to keep going strong. Impressive late close by Wild Fit was a powerful late run, but there was no catching the winner. *Stick Sound OFF : This race was probably one of the closest to form and has no real sound OFF value. Where was Adieu at the finish ? is perhaps all we can say. Post Horse Trainer Jockey Odds 1 - Folklore -- D. Wayne Lukas -- Edgar Prado / 5-2 2 - Original Spin -- Anthony Mitchell -- Jerry Bailey / 6-1 3 - Along the Sea -- Ralph Ziadie -- Javier Castellano / 20-1 4 - Diamond Omi -- Bob Baffert -- Victor Espinoza / 12-1 5 - Knights Templar -- Danny Vella -- Gary Stevens / 12-1 6 - Adieu -- Todd Pletcher -- John Velazquez / 3-1 7 - Sensation -- Stanley Hough -- Eibar Coa / 8-1 8 - She Says It Best -- Vickie Foley -- Eddie Martin Jr. / 15-1 9 - Ex Caelis -- D. Wayne Lukas -- Rafael Bejarano / 15-1 10 - Wild Fit -- Jeff Mullins -- Alex Solis / 6-1 *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW COMMENTS : (NOT OUR SELECTIONS FOR THE RACE - JUST HORSES OF INTEREST) Adieu gets homefield advantage in her backyard. Johnny V and Todd Pletcher looking for a huge day, but remember, this is the Breeders Cup, and everyone in the race has a solid chance to win. Folklore is the master, D.Wayne Lukas with his original strength, fillies ! Did Lukas teach Pletcher everything he knows ? We shall see Stick Fans, we shall see. Poor Wild Fit.....here is an awesome California horse who is going to wonder why is the weather and air temp soooooo cold at Belmont ? Poor baby, we would think this one would be much better at Santa Anita or Gulfstream hen the unforgiving cold of New York in late October. *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW NOTES : You do realize that this field has 2 yr old fillies, right ? That means we could run this race back and forth and get a different winner every time. You might say that about all the Breeders Cup races, but this one has to be considered more wide open then Adieu's favortism will show. *JUVENILE* DISTANCE : 1 1/16 MILE PURSE : $1,500,000 *RESULTS CHART* 12 Stevie Wonderboy Gomez 11.00 5.90 3.80 10 Henny Hughes Stevens 8.80 4.90 9 First Samurai Bailey 2.50 Fractional Times :23.14 :45.75 1:10.61 1:35.34 1:41.64 *Stick Comments After the Race : Gomez nails a perfect trip to catch tired Henny and Samurai in a race that was solid through the stretch. It was abit of a surprise to see Henny Hughes hold on as gamely as he did through fast fractions. First Samurai looked like a tired horse with a lot of heart at the 1/8th pole. Give him a rest and bring him back fresh and he may be something special next year. *Stick Sound OFF : Large Fields produce fast early fractions that make the races unrealistic compared to how the horses ran all year long. While it looked like a two horse race on paper, the unknown quality of some 2 year olds made it a very difficult race to win. Post Horse Trainer Jockey Odds 1- Superfly Nick Zito Eibar Coa / 30-1 2- Ivan Denisovich Aidan O'Brien Kieren Fallon / 12-1 3- Leo John Gosden Frankie Dettori / 20-1 4- Set Alight Criquette Head-Maarek Rafael Bejarano / 20-1 5- Jealous Profit Doug O'Neill Corey Nakatani / 50-1 6- Dawn of War Dale Romans Javier Castellano / 20-1 7- Stream Cat Patrick Biancone Gary Stevens / 30-1 8- Sorcerer's Stone Patrick Byrne Mark Guidry / 12-1 9- First Samurai Frank Brothers Jerry Bailey / 8-5 10- Henny Hughes Kiaran McLaughlin Edgar Prado / 5-1 11- Private Vow Steve Asmussen John Velazquez / 8-1 12- Stevie Wonderboy Doug O'Neill Garrett Gomez / 8-1 13- Brother Derek Dan Hendricks Alex Solis / 20-1 14- Dr. Pleasure John Ward Jose Santos / 20-1 *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW COMMENTS : First Samurai and Henny Hughes have already been awarded this race in many other handicappers selections and news reporting. Its been called the easy race, or lock race of the Breeders Cup. Dr.Pleasure is only 20-1 ? Why not give us 50-1....all the way to the bank ! We are not giving out our top pick here, but Dr. Pleasure has every right to run big in this race. and with Jose Santos up, you can be certain this one will try to middle move into the turn or into the stretch. But then again ... how can First Samurai lose ? Sorceror's Stone is undefeated. Whats wrong with him ? Guidry and Byrne go well together, its a shame the cup was not at Arlington this year for them. *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW NOTES : If you have the courage to bet against First Samurai, then you will be well rewarded if he can be defeated. Its always a crap shot with 2 year olds, but this group seem very solid. Why not try and find a decent longshot and box them together with the favorites and hope for a semi-decent trifecta ? Ok, you want to throw caution to the wind ? Bet Everyone to Show, except First Samurai. If by some random chance, he does not run his race, you might find some decent show prices with the others. Even if he wins, you would get back two of your wagers with a big 20 cent profit ! *FILLY AND MARE TURF* DISTANCE : 1 1/4 MILE(TURF) PURSE : $1,000,000 *RESULTS CHART* 10 Intercontinental Rafael Bejarano 32.20 13.00 8.40 13 Ouija Board Jerry D. Bailey 5.90 4.30 2 Film Maker Patrick A. Valenzuela 6.40 Fractional Times in :24.10 :48.92 1:13.62 1:38.17 2:02.34 *Stick Comments After the Race : We liked Intercontinental. You had to try to figure out if she could get the extra distance, but with her arch nemesis, Sand Springs running against the boys in the mile, it left Intercontinental the controlling speed in the race. She used it to her advantage and a powerful stretch running victory.For those of us who know Belmont Park, the "Inner" Turf plays to speed, and they always card the distance races on it. Everything worked to her advantage and she won impressivly and in a big way. This was Frankels best performance of one of his trained horses in the Breeders Cup, even better the Ghost Zapper ! Ouija Board ran her race and a very respectable 2nd place. Film Maker, was another we pointed out and she ran her heart out for third...great ride ! Post Horse Trainer Jockey Odds *Stick Sound OFF : Uncoupled Entries have the plus and minus of giving you value on the horse that is not likely to win, but that you like and want to play. The downside is that when horses run uncoupled, you have to pick the one horse from that stable that will win. If Megahertz and Intercontinental were an entry, you would have seen 9/2 instead of 15-1 on Intercontinental. However, the logic behind making any two horses anentry has always escaped me, what possible advatange is an entry to the betting public ? 1- Luas Line David Wachman Christophe Soumillon / 15-1 2- Film Maker James Toner Pat Valenzuela / 12-1 3- Sundrop Saeed bin Suroor Frankie Dettori / 30-1 4- Riskaverse Patrick Kelly Jose Santos / 15-1 5- Wend Bill Mott John Velazquez / 10-1 6- Flip Flop Ben Cecil Garrett Gomez / 20-1 7- Wonder Again James Toner Edgar Prado / 8-1 8- Megahertz Bobby Frankel Alex Solis / 5-1 9- Favourable Terms Sir Michael Stoute Mick Kinane / 20-1 10- Intercontinental Bobby Frankel Rafael Bejarano / 8-1 11- Mona Lisa Aidan O'Brien Kieren Fallon / 15-1 12- Karen's Caper John Gosden Robby Albarado / 15-1 13- Ouija Board Edward Dunlop Jerry Bailey / 5-2 14- Angara Patrick Biancone Gary Stevens / 20-1 *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW COMMENTS : Film Maker has surprised before, and she might surprise again. Then again....well, Megahertz looks interesting too. Intercontinental makes another interesting Bobby Frankel entry that is not coupled(Megahertz). If your trying to decide which one is better by which jockey got up on each of them, its not going to help. Solis vs Bejarano is unresolvable unless you want to say experience verses youth. Karen's Caper looked like she won last time out, and it was an incredible finish for her. She does not have to face Sweet Talker in here. *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW NOTES : If they did not just get off the plane from Europe, then they came over a year ago. Its hard to find a filly or mare in this race that did NOT run in Europe. That being said, it looks like the entire field will be comfortable with a cold, damp day. This race is not just open, its completely wide open. You can box the three longest shots and still have a great chance at winning big. Dont be fooled into taking the favorites in this race. Lets look for longshots here and WIN BIG ! - MC *SPRINT* DISTANCE : 6 FURLONGS PURSE : $1,000,000 *RESULTS CHART* 3 Silver Train Edgar S. Prado 25.80 10.40 8.10 1 Taste of Paradise Garrett K. Gomez 10.60 7.20 5 Lion Tamer John R. Velazquez 7.60 Fractional Times :22.01 :44.56 :56.65 1:08.86 *Stick Comments After the Race : We mentioned on our *GOLD RUSH* Selections page that Silver Train had run a 1:07 4.5 time for 6 Furlongs at Belmont in an ALLW race and that a repeat of that effort would put this one in the winners circle here. We feel badly for Lost in the Fog, and he simply got pushed early through very fast fractions which softened him up for the fiel to pounce on him. Everyone kept forgetting that Lost in the Fog is a 3 year old ! Older horses always have an advatange in this type of race. A key point I mentioned to my father was that for all his victories, Lost in the Fog had never won over $1,000,000. Most top runners in their divisions make over a million dollars in two or three wins, and Fog had many more and still did not have that much money in earnings. Post Horse Trainer Jockey Odds *Stick Sound OFF : In a race like this, everyone had a legitimate chance to win. Most of these horses would win against the others depending on what track the race was being run at. Silver Train loves Belmont, and his bias proved enough to defeat a large group of similar horses. If we ran this race at Gulfstream, it would be very interesting to see the result. Post Horse Trainer Jockey Odds 1- Taste of Paradise Gary Mandella Garrett Gomez / 12-1 2- Attila's Storm Richard Shosberg Pat Valenzuela / 30-1 3- Silver Train Richard Dutrow Edgar Prado / 8-1 4- Battle Won Charles Simon Ramon Dominguez / 10-1 5- Lion Tamer Todd Pletcher John Velazquez / 12-1 6- Wildcat Heir Ben Perkins Jr. Stewart Elliott / 10-1 7- Lost in the Fog Greg Gilchrist Russell Baze / Even 8- Elusive Jazz Bobby Barnett Robby Albarado / 12-1 9- Lifestyle Wesley Ward Alex Solis / 30-1 10- Imperialism Kristin Mulhall Victor Espinoza / 15-1 11- Gygistar Mark Hennig Javier Castellano / 12-1 *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW COMMENTS : Rich Perloff from TVG, whom I have a very good on line relationship with, almost bit my head off when I suggested that to get a monster pick six price, we should look for horses that can defeat Lost in the Fog. After formulating my Stick Speed figures, well, Rich, you were right to bite my head off about this one. Its no secret that Lost in the Fog is undefeated and the finest sprinter in America today. He's won at Belmont before, he's won on an off track before. It looks very difficult to try and go against this one. With all that being said, we still have a lot of good ideas for you in the exotics pools. Imperialism nailed the Pat O Brien at 7 furlongs, and would be a serious consideration in the Classic. The only thing bothering me about him is does he want to go 6 Furlongs, and even if he uncorks a wicked late run, can he possibly catch the leaders in the race ? Elusive Jazz may be much stronger then you think. He ran a hole in the wind at Keeneland, and the slow final time is not indicative of the power he used to win it. Big time sleeper here, with Robby Albarado up. *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW NOTES : You know this is another race that everyone will say "LOCK". However, it is important to realize that many Breeders Cup Sprints have had their share of folly. Like jumping shadows, or late closers. Dancing Spree at Gulfstream comes to mind. NO RACE today is a "LOCK". For big money, the trainers, jockeys, and owners all want to win an they will pull out the stops. Do not think Lost in the Fog in unbeatable, but with that in mind, dont go crazy on some wild longshot either. *MILE TURF* DISTANCE : 1 MILE(TURF) PURSE : $1,500,000 *RESULTS CHART* 2 Artie Schiller Garrett K. Gomez 13.20 5.00 3.90 11 Leroidesanimaux John R. Velazquez 3.80 3.00 8 Gorella Gary L. Stevens 6.00 Fractional Times :23.47 :46.68 1:11.15 1:36.10 *Stick Comments After the Race : We feel very sad for Singletary and his connections as he loomed large at the top of the stretch but came up empty through the stretch run. A valliant effort for a great champion on his way to stud. We told everyone who ordere our selections sheets that Artie Shiller had a great love for Belmont Park. Also, it is Jimmy Jerkens year. After his wonderful Belmont and Saratoga meet's, its obvious that Jimmy Jerkens has arrived and will be a powerful talent in the future of racing as a top trainer. Post Horse Trainer Jockey Odds *Stick Sound OFF : Not only did Whipper run better then Valixir, but he was much longer odds. WHY ? What was it about Valixir's two races BEHIND Whipper that made everyone play this one and lower his odds ? Even the morning line had Valixir a lower odds then Whipper. In the end, Whipper again finished aheadof Valixir, and I would love to bet on a match race between the two of them. Valixir could be 1/9 and Whipper could be 5-1. Whipper would be ahead of Valixir again ! Post Horse Trainer Jockey Odds 1- Host Todd Pletcher Rafael Bejarano / 12-1 2- Artie Schiller James Jerkens Garrett Gomez / 6-1 3- Whipper Robert Collet John Murtagh / 12-1 4- Sand Springs Bill Mott Jerry Bailey / 20-1 5- Ad Valorem Aidan O'Brien Kieren Fallon / 20-1 6- Funfair H. Graham Motion Edgar Prado / 12-1 7- Majors Cast Jeremy Noseda Frankie Dettori / 15-1 8- Gorella Patrick Biancone Gary Stevens / 20-1 9- Singletary Don Chatlos Jr. David Flores / 8-1 *SEE OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH OWNER BILLY KOCH* 10- Valixir Andre Fabre Christophe Soumillon / 10-1 11- Leroidesanimaux Bobby Frankel John Velazquez / 7-5 12- Limehouse Todd Pletcher Jose Santos / 20-1 *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW COMMENTS : SINGLETARY....SINGLETARY.....SINGLETARY ! Thats our battle cry for the day. We have an extremely personal bias in favor of Singletary to WIN in the Breeders Cup Mile. Aside from winning this race last year, he also has a solid win last time out, and his style suits the race. 8-1 morning line ? Wow, thats pretty nice on a horse who has won almost 1.8 Million dollars and is the defending champ from last year. Sand Springs is a great turf mare....but did we miss something ? Why is she in here instead of being in the Filly Mare Turf ? Bailey/Mott always have to be respected on the Turf. Both are cagey veterans, but the logic of racing here is lost on this writer. We wish her the best and im sure you can get 40-1 or better at post time on a girl who likes this distance. Why is Valixir 10-1 and Whipper 12-1 ? Does that make any sense ? In their last two meetings, Whipper finished in front of Valixir. Maybe Valixir has a nicer sounding name them Whipper. Or maybe Valixir is bred from a Breeders Cup winner, so her daddy might have told her in the shedrow everything about American racing ? No, you dont think so ? Well, then you look at their last two races and tell me why Valixir get 2 less odds points then Whipper ? This question may never be answered, but it is thought provoking ! *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW NOTES : You think this race is going to finish 1-2-3 from odds favortism.....no chance. This race looks deep and tough. The favorite in the race seems paper unbeatable, but there are so many different combinations of pace and speed figure we have come up with in our figures, that anyone can win this race. We still hope very strongly that Singletary does it though. *DISTAFF* DISTANCE : 1 1/8 MILE PURSE : $2,000,000 *RESULTS CHART* 11 Pleasant Home Cornelio H. Velasquez 63.50 25.60 13.40 1 Society Selection Edgar S. Prado 12.80 7.90 3 Ashado John R. Velazquez 3.30 Fractional Times :23.33 :46.31 1:10.74 1:35.82 1:48.34 *Stick Comments After the Race : A filly who lost in 7F Opt CLMG coming into a distance race of supposedly the best fillies and mares in the country and blowing them away by open lengths ? It was next to impossible to select this horse in this race. If you were a Shug fan and you knew the Phipps family always runs well bred, homebred horses in NY, perhaps you could have used this one in exotics. We told you Society Selection was very live as a longshot in here. Ashado ran in the money and a decent effort after a demanding campaign earlier this year. Post Horse Trainer Jockey Odds *Stick Sound OFF : Did this race give us a divisional winner ? The main problem with an end of the year championshpi is that many of the divsional leaders are tired and in need of a rest at this point in the year. While the winner of this race ran a great race, we have very little else to show her off as the best filly or mare of this year. ITs shame they could not have run her in some of the bigger races earlier this year so we could have seen her at a distance winning. Post Horse Trainer Jockey Odds 1- Society Selection Allen Jerkens Edgar Prado / 8-1 2- Stellar Jayne Saeed bin Suroor Frankie Dettori / 5-1 3- Ashado Todd Pletcher John Velazquez / 2-1 4- Nothing But Fun Michael Hushion Alex Solis / 30-1 5- Yolanda B. Too Richard Violette Eibar Coa / 30-1 6- Healthy Addition John Sadler Garrett Gomez / 10-1 7- Happy Ticket Andrew Leggio, Jr. Victor Espinoza / 6-1 8- Island Fashion Marcelo Polanco Rafael Bejarano / 12-1 9- Hollywood Story John Shirreffs Pat Valenzuela / 20-1 10- In The Gold Nick Zito Gary Stevens / 20-1 11- Pleasant Home Shug McGaughey Cornelio Velasquez / 20-1 12- Sweet Symphony Bill Mott Jerry Bailey / 8-1 13- Capeside Lady Todd Pletcher Chris DeCarlo / 30-1 *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW COMMENTS : Ashado may be the only solid favorite on the day. While this one has faltered at longer distances, from a pure figure angle, she looks very strong and powerful. Johnny V and Pletcher will look to capitalize their day right here. Well, wait a minute, did I say this one was a lock ? No I did'nt. Island Fashion is great horse who absolutely hates Belmont Park ! Did those two giant losses from '03 come into the considerations to run her back here again ? 12-1 offers no value at all. Maybe 100-1 might make you want to invest 2 dollars, but anything other then that is not worthwhile. Dont get us wrong, we love the horse, but there is no way, she is suddenly going to like Belmont Park after showing such a huge bias against it. She won the Alabama and Delaware Oaks only to come in 4th and 6th by a combined 21+lengths at Belmont. She then fired 4 monster races assoon as she got away from Belmont, so why come back here ? Sweet Symphony was doing just fine until she ran against Ashado and Happy Ticket, and Society Selection. I could see running back against them to prove that she was really better then they are. Mott/Bailey again, should be tough, but will have to show a lot more. *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW NOTES : Great field, Top connections, this is a great race. Anyone (except Island Fashion) can win this race. We should see some decent prices also. *TURF* DISTANCE : 1 1/2 MILE(TURF) PURSE : $2,000,000 *RESULTS CHART* 2 Shirocco Christophe Soumillon 19.60 11.80 4.70 6 Ace Kieren Fallon 15.40 10.00 5 Azamour Michael J. Kinane 4.70 Fractional Times :23.95 :47.89 1:13.20 1:39.53 2:05.05 2:29.30 *Stick Comments After the Race : This was a very tough race to do well with. Shirocco has not defeated the best in England or France, although he did win in Italy and Germany. Its very hard to play a horse who lostto some of the others in the race, especially when your ot even sure the horses that beat him were going to win in here. The same could be said for Ace. Of all the Europeans, Azamour was the only one other then Bago that I liked. American runners came up empty, Shakespear and Gun Salute were nowhere at the finish. Better Talk Now loomed large coming into the stretch, but was empty in the final 1/8th. Post Horse Trainer Jockey Odds *Stick Sound OFF : European runners continue to dominate the Belmont Breeders Cup turf races. Is it the conditions or the weather that helpsthem so much, or are American horses not up to the task of racing against the Europeans ? If this race were run at Gulfstream or Santa Anita, would the same horses have done so well ? Post Horse Trainer Jockey Odds 1- Shake the Bank-- H. Graham Motion-- Tom Turner / 99-1 2- Shirocco-- Andre Fabre-- Christophe Soumillon / 20-1 3- Bago-- Jonathan Pease-- Thierry Gillet / 5-1 4- Better Talk Now-- H. Graham Motion-- Ramon Dominguez / 8-1 5- Azamour-- John Oxx-- Mick Kinane / 7-2 6- Ace -- Aidan O'Brien-- Kieren Fallon / 12-1 7- Shakespeare -- Bill Mott -- Jerry Bailey / 3-1 8- Silverfoot-- Dallas Stewart --Rafael Bejarano / 30-1 9- Fourty Niners Son -- Neil Drysdale-- Corey Nakatani / 15-1 10- English Channel -- Todd Pletcher-- John Velazquez / 10-1 11- Laura's Lucky Boy -- Richard Mandella-- Gary Stevens / 20-1 12- Leprechaun Kid-- Mike Mitchell --Garrett Gomez / 20-1 13- Gun Salute -- Bill Mott -- Cornelio Velasquez / 20-1 *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW COMMENTS : Azamour comes in off a pair of group 1 stakes race(grade 1 here) in europe. Gets Mick Kinane, and will probably be the toast of the Euro crowd favorites to win at Belmont Park. Fourty Niners son has one of those names you just have to look at a few times. Duuuhhhhh, he must be the son of Fourty Niner, right ? WRONG ! He's the grandson of Fourty Niner. So why not call him Fourty Niner's GRANDson ! Who names a horse son when it is the grandson ? Well, on the plus side, Neil Drysdale and Corey Nakatani have a solid runner with a late kick here. The only question is,will this one take to a cold day at Belmont Park ? Gun Salute has a name that figures. His daddy was Military and his mommy was Hail Roberta. The last three were all solid wins against tough horses, but it looks like the margin has been getting smaller and smaller. Will he win by a half of a nose hair this time out ? *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW NOTES : Anybody's race here. This one knocks all the pick six players who were alive to this point out of the pool ! Take some prices, because its a distance race with no clear favorites. You think Shakespear is solid ? Fine, then why run Gun Salute in the same race ? Not for the purse money, but to give your stable every chance of winning. After all, who wants to come in second in the Breeders Cup ? Do you remember who finished second in the Turf 10 years ago ? What about 5 years ago ? How about last year ? No fame or glory in 2nd place. *CLASSIC* DISTANCE : 1 1/4 MILE PURSE : $4,000,000 *RESULTS CHART* 13 Saint Liam Bailey 6.80 5.10 4.20 9 Flower Alley Velazquez 8.70 7.10 5 Perfect Drift Guidry 7.80 Fractional Times :23.98 :47.68 1:12.23 1:36.87 2:01.49 *Stick Comments After the Race : The top three were all legitimate handicap horses who ran great races. Saint Liam stamped himself the king of the older horses. Flower Alley was not destroyed in a speed duel, so he ran his race and was a solid second place finish. Perfect Drift ran a solid race, but just met tougher horses. The only negative to this race was that Borrego, the powerful closer of the JC Gold Cup did not fire and was not seen at the finish. Also Rock Hard Ten did not run due to an injury, so we did not have this West Coast runner to add competition to the mix. The $800,000 supplement of Starcraft proved that even in Horse Racing a person can gamble and lose $800,000 not just in one day, but in one race ! And we thought we knew how to gamble ! Post Horse Trainer Jockey Odds *Stick Sound OFF : Everyone and their brother showed up to run in this race. There were so many unknown quantity horses, it wss conforting to know our top picks ran their races(except for Borrego). If you put up a big enough purse, instead of getting the very best horses, you get all the dreamers and hopefuls aiming at the purse money. Saint Liam had proven himself over the last 2 years, and was going to take a lot of beating to lose in here. Except for Borrego, Saint Liam, had a big class edge on this field. Post Horse Trainer Jockey Odds 1 - Rock Hard Ten -- Richard Mandella -- Gary Stevens / 7-2 2 - Sun King -- Nick Zito -- Rafael Bejarano / 30-1 3 - Choctaw Nation -- Jeff Mullins -- Victor Espinoza / 15-1 4 - Oratorio -- Aidan O'Brien -- Kieren Fallon / 10-1 5 - Perfect Drift -- Murray Johnson -- Mark Guidry / 12-1 6 - Sir Shackleton -- Nick Zito -- Javier Castellano / 20-1 7 - Super Frolic -- Vladimir Cerin -- Eibar Coa / 30-1 8 - Suave -- Paul McGee -- Edgar Prado / 20-1 9 - Flower Alley -- Todd Pletcher -- John Velazquez / 10-1 10 - Jack Sullivan -- Gerard Butler -- Frankie Dettori / 50-1 11 - Borrego -- C. Beau Greeley -- Garrett Gomez / 7-2 12 - A Bit O'Gold -- Catherine Day Phillips -- Jono Jones / 30-1 13 - Saint Liam -- Bobby Frankel -- Jerry Bailey / 3-1 14 - Starcraft -- Luca Cumani -- Pat Valenzuela / 12-1 *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW COMMENTS : The wonderhorse from Down Under, Starcraft, has won in New Zealand, Australia, France and Britain. This one is a very special horse. I wonder why C-P Lemaire would not be here to ride this horse ? I mean, this may be a great, great horse, and C-P was his rider in both of those huge stakes wins in Europe. Also, some of his Down Under riders might have known this horse a little better then Pat Valenzuela. I love Pat, I think he is one of the greatest riders on the planet. We all know of his adversity with substances, and how he overcame them to great success on the track. All that being said, I just cant see a Great California rider coming into Belmont in the cold and never having ridden this horse and coing away with a win. Unless this horse is superhuman, which he just might be. Sun King ? Sun King.......ok. Yes, Sun King is entered in the Classic. Flower Alley might have a chance in this race if he does not have a stablemate rabbit go head to head with him. Did you watch the Jockey Club Gold Cup and say to yourself...why the hell is his rabbit stablemate pushing him through fast fractions ? With a more realistic pace, this one might do a lot better then he did last time out. The Travers and Jim Dandy were big wins for him and if he runs big here, you have to ask who is the 3 year old of the year ? I would say Flower Alley can win Divisional honors in here if he can win this race big. Choctaw Nation is a California horse who might actuall relish Belmont Park. A big closer with a lot of power late. This one may make the exotics very worthwhile. *STICK HORSE RACING PREVIEW NOTES : We have a great field of solid stars in here. You cannot be faulted for whomever you play in here as they all have a solid chance to win. This race is also one of those races, which never finishes exactly as you thought it would. Look for a value horse in your exotics, and you might get a much bigger payoff then you would on any other racing day.
OUR EXPANDED *GOLD RUSH* SELECTIONS FOR THE BREEDERS CUP WILL FEATURE MORE COMPREHENSIVE COMMENTS FOR ALL STAKES RACES. non breeders cup races at expert level. TO ORDER OUR EXPANDED *GOLD RUSH* SELECTIONS FOR THE BREEDERS CUP, *PRESS HERE* ` Best Regards and Racing, MC_Excelsior ___________________________
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