Monday, June 14, 2010

Weekend Beyer Speed Figures

It was a great weekend of racing in which we saw many of the best take to the track.

Headlining that was Horse of Year Rachel Alexandra returning to form with a huge win in the Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs on Saturday and Zenyatta's gutsy win Hollywood's Vanity Handicap on Sunday.

Thanks to my friends at the Daily Racing Form, here are the key Beyer Speed Figures from those races.

Fleur de Lis
Rachel Alexandra       108 (winning margin  - 10 1/2-lengths)


Vanity Handicap
Zenyatta                     103 (winning margin - 1/2 length)
St. Trinians                102



Stephen Foster
Blame                           102 (winning margin - 3/4 length)
Battle Plan                    101
General Quarters            96

Californian
Rail Trip                       108 (winning margin - 2 3/4 lengths)
Sangaree                       103

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Who Saw Zenyatta Run?

Everytime you see Zenyatta run, it is hard not to remain in awe of one of the greatest thoroughbreds in history, regardless of gender.

The six-year-old mare ran her record to a perfect 17-for-17 with a gusty performance as she wore down St. Trinians in the final furlong to capture her third straight Vanity Handicap. Her win was even more impressive for a litany of reasons which included the fact she was giving a lot of weight to the rest of the seven horse field and her jockey, Mike Smith, kept her wide on both turns.

The one part that is a little disturbing to me is that only around 12,000 fans saw her awesome performance. That attendance figure is becoming more accepted as a good day but for a horse like Zenyatta in a market like Los Angeles, it is actually pretty sad.

What makes that attendance figure even worse is the fact that Hollywood Park offered a Zenyatta Bobblehead Giveaway. Those gimmicks used to help bring in a handful of extra people but even the allure of a "freebie" wasn't enough to catapult the crowd figures.

This sort of racing ambivalence in big city racing markets is becoming very commonplace. Huge markets like New York, LA, Chicago and Miami are drawing a fraction of the racing crowds they used to. Even in Louisville, home of the greatest race, getting people to the track has been an ongoing struggle. (Big exceptions, of course, are Derby Week, Friday night racing and the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend.)

Big city sports fans only seem to come out to the track when it's a big day (i.e. Belmont Stakes, Big Cap, etc.) but today should have qualified as one of those days. And those people who didn't make it out to Hollywood, missed out on a great race and an even greater horse.

For years, racing has been crying out for stars and we have two genuine ones in Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta yet why don't people come out to see them run on a consistent basis? Promoting the stars has been a challenge and the fact that Daily Newspapers have cut back their racing coverage significantly is a hindrance. But it's also incumbent upon the individual racetracks and the sport to promote when it's top notch stars run.

I don't know how much Hollywood Park promoted Zenyatta's appearance outside of the Bobblehead giveaway but you have to think it wasn't enough.

We are simply running out of time before both Rachel and Zenyatta are retired and racing loses another golden opportunity to win over new fans. We are very lucky that Zenyatta is still racing but the window is about to close as you have to assume that she only has three more races left before she is done.

And for those that didn't see her run, you have missed out. We may not see anyone like her for sometime.

Photo courtesy of Eclipse Sportswire - www.eclipsesportswire.com

Will Zenyatta be Perfect Again?

Zenyatta, who remains on top of her game at age 6, will put her perfect record on the line today at Hollywood Park in the Vanity Handicap.

(Post Time - 7:37 ET and you can watch the race at NTRA.com)

She is not only looking to move her record to an unprecedented 17-for-17 but she is attempting to win her third straight Vanity. It will certainly not be a "walk in the park" but a typical Zenyatta effort should give her another win.

Here's a quick look at her opponents.

1) Miss Silver Brook - It would take a monumental effort to win this race. She's never beaten these type of horses before and is 0-for-3 at Hollywood Park.

2) St. Trinians - The five-year-old is dangerous here as she won four straight races since coming to the United States early in 2009. She beat 2009 Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic winner Life Is Sweet in February but her trainer got a little too ambitious when she took on the boys in the Santa Anita Handicap in March when she finished sixth. St. Trinians hasn't run since so she is well rested and gets jockey Martin Garcia for the first time. (Garcia is best known for winning the Preakness aboard Lookin at Lucky).

3) Zardana - The stablemate to Zenyatta is best known for beating Rachel Alexandra in March down in New Orleans but she followed that up with a bad fifth place effort at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day. She's also an all or nothing performer as she has a record of 8-0-1 in 20 starts. She'll need her an effort better than her win in March to beat the champion.

4) Will O Way - Another horse that appears overmatched against Zenyatta, She's never beaten these type of horses in her career and also hasn't win since January 2009.

5) Zenyatta - No introduction needed

6) Cherryblossommiss - Even though she's trained by one of the better conditioners in Southern California, she also will need a monumental effort to knock off Zenyatta. She does have a win at Hollywood Park but that wasn't against these type of horses.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Foster Day Beyer Speed Figures

Thanks to my friends at Daily Racing Form, here's a look at some of the key Beyer Speed Figures from today's Stephen Foster Day card at Churchill Downs.

Super filly Rachel Alexandra had the best Beyer of the day after her smashing win in the Fleur de Lis. Meanwhile, Blame continued his great run with a hard fought win over Battle Plan in the Stephen Foster.

Fleur de Lis
Rachel Alexandra       108 (winning margin  - 10 1/2-lengths)

Jefferson Cup
Gleam of Hope            86 (winning margin - 1/2 length)

Northern Dancer
Colizeo                         95 (winning margin - neck)
Worldly                        95

Regret
Caminadora                  84 (winning margin - 3/4 length)

Stephen Foster
Blame                           102 (winning margin - 3/4 length)
Battle Plan                   101
General Quarters         96

Strong Top Tier

Now that the Triple Crown is behind us, we start to turn our attention to the best horses in the country.

That's not a sleight against the top sophomores like Lookin at Lucky, Super Saver and Drosselmeyer. But the Triple Crown race winners are still growing and developing while the older horses are in their prime.

On Saturday, we saw some of those stars in action in Kentucky and California.

Blame stamped himself as one of the elite when he wore down the regally bred Battle Plan in the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs. The win was Blame's fourth in a row and now has seven wins in 10 starts.

Battle Plan meanwhile suffered his first loss in his last five tries but should still be a force in the second half of the season.

Earlier in the day at Churchill Downs, defending Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra (right) reminded everyone she's still a super filly as she obliterated the Fleur de Lis by 10 1/2 lengths.

Her 108 Beyer Speed Figure from Saturday is identical to her record victory in last year's Kentucky Oaks and Preakness. Her record now stands at 12 wins from 17 starts. Not too shabby.

At Hollywood Park, Rail Trip pronoucned himself as the top male on the West Coast as he easily captured the California Handicap. He's now 2-for-2 this year and has won eight of 11 career starts. His only question mark for later in the year is will he duplicate his fantastic form on traditional dirt as all his victories have come in California.

On Sunday, Zenyatta, the undefeated superwoman, will likely stay perfect when she runs in the Vanity at Hollywood Park. (Post time - 7:37 EDT)

The only other horse to watch might be the best of them all. Quality Road, who captured the Met Mile on Memorial Day, has been super since he turned four. He is unbeaten in three starts this year and his win in the Donn Handicap produced the highest Beyer Speed Figure of the year - 121. In fact, Quality Road has two of the four best Beyers of 2010.

And, by the way, Todd Pletcher trains Quality Road, Battle Plan and Super Saver. Talk about a loaded barn.

The summer racing season should be fantastic and culminating with the Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs in November.

Photo courtesy of Eclipse Sportswire - www.eclispsesportswire.com

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Belmont Day Speed Figures

For those that follow the sport of racing regularly, the Daily Racing Form's Beyer Speed Figures give you some insight into how fast the horses ran. The 2010 renewal of the Belmont produced some very moderate (and disappointing) Beyer Figures but some other horses on the card shined.

One of the stars from Saturday was 3-year-old Trappe Shot. He has won his last three very impressively and ran a Beyer of 105, the second best the entire day. Expect to see him take on the "big boys" in the near future.

Here are the Belmont figures plus others of note:

BELMONT STAKES

Drosselmeyer            94
Fly Down                  93
First Dude                 93
Game on Dude          91
Uptowncharlybrown  90
Stay Put                    86

Ice Box                     81
Make Music For Me 75

MANHATTAN

Winchester               102
Gio Ponti                  101

ACORN

Champagne d'Oro     95
Amen Hallelujah        94

TRUE NORTH

Bribon                     107
Snapshot                 103

JUST A GAME

Proviso                    96
Phola                       95

WOODY STEPHENS

D'Funnybone           100
Discreetly Mine        93

Saturday, June 5, 2010

2010 Belmont

Coming into this year's Belmont Stakes, with the absence of Super Saver and Lookin at Lucky, it certainly took something away from the "Test of Champions" but we still saw a fantastic race on Saturday.

Drosselmeyer finally lived up to his early season hype (and $600,000 price tag) and grounded out a win over Fly Down and First Dude. But it is hard to get excited about Drosselmeyer and I am trying to put my finger on why.

Is it because the final time of the race was an uninspiring 2:31.57?

Because trainer Bill Mott isn't the most exciting personality in racing?

Is it because Drosselmeyer is a horse that has found a way to lose six of his eight starts when most expected him to win nearly off them?

I am certain there are even more reasons that I can't think of but not as the sun is setting here at Belmont Park.

It was was a bummer that Ice Box, the Derby runner-up, never fired and finished 9th. Also not running his best was Make Music For Me, trained by Alexis Barba, as he finished 10th. Both horses had excuses but never good to see some of best out of the Kentucky Derby run so poorly.

One thing to get excited about is that we have a very murky 3-year-old picture and no one has emerged as the best. Now Super Saver, Lookin at Lucky and Drosselmeyer will slug it out during the next four months to determine who is the best sophomore.

Also was exciting to see First Dude run another gutty performance as he set the pace in the Belmont and hung on for a 3rd place finish.

After next week's big races at Churchill Downs and Hollywood, most of the stars in racing will get some time off until the summer racing seasons at Del Mar and Saratoga. Then it should be tons of fun to see the best battle for supremacy.

Bill Handleman

I hope people made this event. Bill passed away this week but was one of the nicest people I have come across in racing. The world and the game will not be the same without him. I hope every ticket in heaven is a winning one for him.


From a Press Release....


Friends and colleagues of Bill Handleman, longtime sportswriter and columnist for the Asbury Park Press, will hold “A Tribute to Bill Handleman” on Saturday, June 12 at a Monmouth County restaurant.

Handleman is currently battling a severe illness.

The tribute will be held from 9:30 a.m. until noon at Mister C’s Beach Bistro, Ocean and Allen Ave., Allenhurst, N.J.


The $50 donation to the tribute includes Brunch at Mister C’s, and two clubhouse passes to Monmouth Park.

Belmont Order of Finish

1) Drosselmeyer
2) Fly Down
3) First Dude
4) Game on Dude
5) Stay Put
6) Interactif
7) Stately Victor
8) Ice Box
9) Make Music For Me
10) Dave in Dixie
11) Spangled Star
12) Uptowncharlybrown*

*Uptowncharlybrown finished fifth but was disqualified and placed last