By Thomas Chambers
Peace of mind. I’ve got it.
I chuckle because I don’t care about Milton Bradley, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, and Jay Cutler. The names alone send chills, and not the good kind. I’ll never feel the embarrassment of having a closet full of Favre or Urlacher or Cutler jerseys, because I will invest nothing of my soul to these guys. And I will never reach for a ball or throw beer on a player, first reason being that I won’t even be there.
I gravitate towards the greatest game, Thoroughbred horse racing. The great ones, like Cigar, or John Henry, or Secretariat, or Affirmed come only once a generation. The beautiful thing is that you usually don’t invest your soul or crushable emotion into an individual horse. You love the game. That’s because if a horse gets beat – and even the magnificent Man o’ War and Secretariat both got beat – he either got beat by a better horse, or a better horse on that day. Upset and Onion ran just as hard as those two legends. These are truly noble, honest animals. This, we horseplayers know.
Sure, there’s the human stupidity of a badly spotted horse or a bad jockey ride, but the horse will do all he can to overcome that.
Rachel Alexandra wows in waters normally uncharted. She’s great to watch, and yeah, I’d like to see her keep winning. But she’s going to have to earn it, as we look for The Upset.
So as Wrigley Field descends into the grotesque, I’ve got a weekend of races that send up the good chills. Great horses and great wagering possibilities. There’s nothing more I want or need from my sporting world.
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It’s Travers Day at Saratoga Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPN); The Midsummer Derby. It’s the 140th running of America’s oldest race, which is also now the longest continuously run race in the U.S., since 1912. They run for the Man o’ War Trophy. And it’s traditionally one of the best cards of the year. Make sure to handicap it with rain in the forecast.
In race order:
The Victory Ride. Race 7, Grade III, 6 furlongs for fillies three years old.
Sara Louise is your 2-1 morning line favorite. She’s been on the bench since November, and they usually need one. That’s a drawback, but guess what? She beat Rachel Alexandra back in the Pocahontas on November 1! Rachel evened the score in their next race. Sara will take a ton of money. I also like Step Out Smartly and Bold Union, and Selva has good backclass and Alan Garcia. Juliet’s Spirit is my price wiseguy, who’s best race in her life was on dirt.
The Ballston Spa Handicap. Race 9, Grade IIt, 8.5 furlongs for fillies and mares three years old and up.
Cocoa Beach is the 2-1 morning favorite, but she might require this race to stay on the turf, firm turf. May not happen. Rutherienne is right behind at 5-2. This warrior by Pulpit definitely has what it takes. I’ve been backing and waiting for My Princess Jess to score. My reasoning Saturday is that Jess has been in either a bit over her head or has unlucked into some hot horses. If she inches north of her morning line 5-1, I’m all over it. Closeout has a chance on off turf.
The Ballerina. Race 10, Grade I, 7 furlongs for fillies and mares three years old and up.
This could be a kooky, though bettable, race. Who wants the lead? It looks like Tar Heel Mom, but she has little class and generally weak(er) speed numbers. But she likes the course and has won here in the mud. To win, she’ll basically have to get the lead, make Informed Decision – who I think will go off the favorite – chase her in quick fractions and burn up, and then hold on. Indian Blessing is 8-5 on the morning line. I dunno, I think she needs dry and recent Hall of Fame inductee Bob Baffert is talking some great talk, but I really think her best form was last year at this time. Baffert said he should have had her here at Saratoga all along instead of returning from Dubai and running her at what looked like an easy score in June at Hollywood. Then why didn’t you do that, Bob? Music Note and P.S.U. Grad (Kent Desormeaux) will need the big ones to chase the pace and then mop up. It could happen.
The King’s Bishop. Race 11, Grade 1, 7 furlongs, for males three years old.
This might be the best race of the day. Take your pick: 2-1 favorite Munnings; 3-1 Big Drama (you can say that again); unwarranted wiseguys, 7-2 Vineyard Haven and Everyday Heroes (running as a single entry); or a looks-great-on-paper Capt. Candyman Can. Munnings has been running some large speed figures, but who’d he really beat in the Tom Fool or the Woody Stephens, just before getting trounced by Rachel Alexandra and Summer Bird in the Haskell Invitational last time? And I’m not sure I like him in the mud.
Capt. Candyman Can is good at this distance but has either been beating some good horses or has run into the quality Quality Road (more on him later). Everyday Heroes is the good one in the entry, hopefully in shape after the Grade II Amsterdam. Big Drama is a maddeningly inconsistent horse. But he’s 3-0 at 7 furlongs (best speed figure in this field for this distance), and is in his “in” cycle for this race. He’s cutting back in distance right into his wheelhouse. I would take 3-1 on him. I need you Eibar Coa.
Not for Silver is in tough here, but if he runs the race of his life . . . He had a bad start and was 12 lengths back in the July 11 Carry Back at Calder, got all the way back to second at the eighth pole and won by almost five lengths. All of that happened in just six furlongs. That shows me heart and he’s had a very good workout tab coming into this for trainer Michael Trombetta and rider Jose Lezcano.
The Travers. Race 12, $1,000,000 Grade 1, 10 furlongs, three year olds.
Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird was declared out of this race earlier in the week. He was only 90 percent after throat surgery and they made the right decision. Don’t worry, he’ll be back fine. He’s going to do a meet-and-greet for the Quarter Horse championship at Ruidoso Downs. Seriously.
More later, but Rachel Alexandra also skipped this race. So we’ve got Belmont winner Summer Bird facing a horse most believe would have been the Derby favorite if he hadn’t had to withdraw with a hoof crack, Quality Road.
Quality Road came back in smashing fashion, setting a track record in the 6.5 furlong Amsterdam August 3. He’s fast and visually impressive. His work tab shows his feet must be doing well. The only question mark will be the 10-furlong distance coming off just a sprint prep. All I can say is, you can’t ignore him.
You’ve got some guns in this race. Like Charitable Man, Warrior’s Reward, Kensai, and the unfathomable money-taker Hold Me Back.
I think Kensai will go for the front, and while his numbers are impressive, how does he hold off stone closer Summer Bird and the versatile Quality Road? After these, with Charitable Man being possible, I’ll wiseguy the race with Our Edge. The Nick Zito/Alan Garcia connections are just fine by me. He should get the distance, but will have to hold off some classy horses. He just won the Barbaro and won the Coronado Quest in the mud at Monmouth just before that. I only hope I get 10-1 or better.
Where The Turf Meets the Surf
Don’t forget a good weekend at Del Mar. It’s the $300,000 Grade II Del Mar Mile on the turf Saturday.
David Flores will ride Monterey Jazz, who looks to come back after a bizarre fifth in the Eddie Read. (The horse he was professionally stalking, Thorn Song, bolted out of the race, to the popcorn stand or something. Monterey then found himself alone on the lead and couldn’t hold on.) Fillies Allicansayis Wow and Lethal Heat are also entered. I’l put a couple down on the veteran Becrux.
On Sunday, it’s the 1-3/8 mile Grade II Del Mar Handicap on the turf. Spring House will be favored with Artiste Royal and Obrigado also figuring.
The Rachel Update
Rachel Alexandra will next run in the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes on Sept. 5 at Saratoga. It’s clear that owner Jess Jackson and trainer Steve Asmussen figure they’ve already beaten the three-year-old boys, so why take on the Travers?
The Woodward is against older males, a deep belt notch in Jackson’s quest to nail down horse of the year honors for her.
She’ll run against the likes of Whitney upsetter Bullsbay and Whitney runner-up Macho Again, as well as Cool Coal Man, Da’ Tara and It’s a Bird. Not exactly a stellar bunch. Consistent with his stated dislike for synthetic surfaces, Jackson is keeping to his word that he will not be taking Rachel to the Breeders Cup at Santa Anita.
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Thomas Chambers is the Beachwood’s man on the rail. He brings you Track Notes every Friday. He welcomes your comments.
Posted on August 28, 2009