Category: Horse’s To Watch

IRREPROACHABLE (July 24): Four year old gelding for Phil D’Amato made start #2 on Friday and ran much better than his debut when dropped down into the claiming ranks. Off at 8/1 in a full field of maiden claimers for a $50,000 tag, he made the running right from the start under Velez and ran a quick opening quarter down on the inside. He put the other speed away turning for home, opened up two at the 1/8 pole, but couldn’t hang on as an outside closer wore him down late. On a day when rally wide closers had all the best of it, this horse was beaten by the bias, in fact it was a double bias. He’s a soon winner for the D’Amato barn as long as they keep him with Cal bred maiden claimers, which I’m sure they will do. These fields are often full but the

Tiz the Law maintained his status as a top tier Kentucky Derby 2020 contender after winning his third graded route of the year in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 20. Kentucky Derby Points Race Recaps Belmont Stakes (G1) Recap (6-20-20) – Winner: Tiz the Law ($3.60) Tap It To Win went straight to the front from the rail as expected, and he was about a length ahead of Fore Left through six panels in 1:09.94. Tiz the Law was in a perfect spot behind the aforementioned duo, and pushed right on by to score by an easy 3-3/4 lengths under Manny Franco. My value top choice Dr Post stalked wide from midpack and finished a good 2nd, and my live longshot Max Player showed nice energy in the stretch to finish a solid 3rd. Pneumatic stalked wide from the outside post and worked his way up to 3rd in

OVER ATTRACTED  (June 12): Three year old filly from France made her U.S. debut in Friday’s opener for trainer Carla Gaines at a mile on the turf for 3 year old fillies. Off at a robust 13/1 in just a five horse field, she broke a tad slow under Mike Smith and settled in 4th down the back side just 4 lengths off the leader. Smith asked her to pick it up just after the ¼ pole and she put in a nice rally turning for home while four wide down the lane. She was motoring out in the middle of the course and ran the fastest final quarter of the group, but couldn’t get to another who got the jump on her at the top of the lane. She came up just short at the wire by three parts of a length but had a strong gallop out. This

BUYBACK  (June 5): Four year old filly for Matt Chew is a real trier every time she goes to the post. She took on 9 others Friday in a $35,000 claimer, non winners of three, at a mile on the lawn 3 and up. Off at 7/1, she broke running under Van Dyke with a good trip on the outside of horses just two lengths off the lead. She looked all in at the ¼ pole when Van Dyke started scrubbing on her, but she never stopped trying. She found another gear at the 1/8 pole and almost caught the even money favorite at the wire coming up a length short. This was her 8th trip to the post and she has hit the board in 7 of those with a 4th place finish in her debut. She can run short or long, turf or dirt, and though limited somewhat

DUPLICITY (March 20): Three year old colt for John Sadler made his debut in Friday’s third, a maiden special weight at five and a half on the turf for 3 and up. Off at 15/1 under Victor Espinoza, he made the running right from the start, and battled for the lead from the inside through quick fractions of 21.94 and 45.17 on a course labeled good. He put the other speed away at the top of the lane but couldn’t hold off a perfect tripper, who just nailed him very late right on the wire. It was a superb effort for this son of the good stallion Into Mischief and he will be much tighter for start #2. He is bred to run long as well so Sadler has plenty of options for a colt, who looks like he could be very good down the road. Follow. ROUTE SIX SIX

TIZ A MASTER  (March 14): Four year old filly for Richie Baltas, off for five months, appeared in Saturday’s opener, a 7 furlong sprint on the main for older runners with a claiming tag of $20,000. Off at 6/1 after taking considerable early action, she came out running under Cedillo and set all of the pace with fractions of 23.08 and 46.02 over a track rated as “good”. She opened up two lengths at the top of the lane, battled gamely down the stretch and got nailed late by a perfect tripper, to lose by a half at the wire. The five month layoff and the demanding distance of 7 furlongs cost her in the drive. She will come out of this race much tighter and she can go short or long and is a Cal bred to boot. She’s a soon winner for the leading barn and they will

PREACHING TRAINER (March 6): Four year old gelding for Carla Gaines, who had not been to the post since last May, returned in Friday’s opener, a five and a half furlong dash on the lawn for the first allowance condition for Cal breds. Off at 4/1, but had a lot of early action, he broke running under Van Dyke and was part of the pace picture. The rider sacrificed at least a length by getting him to the outside down the back stretch, put the other speed away at the 1/8 pole, opened up a length with a 1/16 to go, then just failed to last and got nailed right on the wire. The long layoff got to him at crunch time. This son of Lucky Pulpit loves the turf, can go short or long, and was working lights out coming into this race. He’s a soon winner for a

• As much as I’ve criticized Santa Anita Park the last few weeks due to short fields and inferior racing, I really had to eat some “crow” this past weekend, as the Great Race Place re-discovered their name with good quality and quantity fields, three days in a row. And Saturday was by far the best, with four graded stakes, good weather, no incidents, and a good crowd on hand. Even 87 year old Ron McAnally won a race, his 706th winner at this track, 4th on the all time list. And what’s really been amazing, is that there have been zero fatalities on the main track from afternoon racing for 10 consecutive weeks. How many tracks in North America can say that? Yes, there have been some fatalities from the turf course and some from training in the morning, but the track overall has certainly righted the ship and

Fast Figs continues to provide impressive results in the exotics. Below are Fast Fig results from February 24, 2020 to March 1, 2020. As can be seen a $2 bet on the top Fast Figs in the exotics would have doubled your money last week. The results are based on the horse with the highest Fast Fig would be used 1st, the horse with the 2nd highest Fast Fig would be used 2nd and so on. Races where 50% or more of the horses did not have a Fast Fig were thrown out of the results. In the case of 2 or more of the horses sharing the same Fast Fig the horse’s most recent FIRE Number and CPR earned (both can be found in Today’s Racing Digest’s race sheets) was used to provide a ranking. Read more about Fast Figs results

BORDER TOWN (February 28): Four year old colt for Richard Mandella made his 3rd start off a layoff a winning one on Friday by breaking his maiden in his fifth start. Off as the even money favorite in this maiden special weight at 9 furlongs on the lawn with a field of 7, the key was the addition of blinkers. Prat kept him well off the pace early and he made his move at the ¼ pole, then smoked by the leaders at the top of the stretch, and went on to win by four very handily even with the rails all the way out at 30 feet. He ran the final quarter in a smart 23.29, and he will have no problem with the first allowance condition vs. older runners. This son of the great turf sire War Front looks like stakes material in 2020 for a barn having