For the Week of: 06/12/2023 through 6/18/2023
By 2YO EdgeMan
ELP2:061523 – Holy smokes, #2 Rhyme Schemes performance was an absolute tour de force. Ricardo Santana, Jr. got him out of the gate first and fast, was never headed and then ran off in the stretch to score by what seemed to be a country mile, but it was officially 9 1/2 lengths. Norm Casse clearly had this one sitting on ready, peeling off fractions of 22.56, 45.51 and 56.96, before stopping the final timer at 1:02.82 and a hasty Equibase Speed Fig of 86. Sent off at odds of 7/1, our pick – #1 Pass the Hat – ran a credible race, earning the third-place money after chasing on the rail, in the ‘show’ position, much of the way around – but he clearly never threatened the winner. This colt has not been minted in the Game of Silks, so get into the game, you may become the lucky owner of this talented dude. Learnings – The winner was one of only two that started that had a prior run under his belt and that race is becoming a key race with Gold Sweep, the runner up that day, coming back to score in a stakes race at Belmont Park on 6/11/23 with a 94 E-Speed Fig. With that said, I still could not have foreseen his performance today. Sometimes it just goes that way.
ELP6:061623 – Our Pick – #3 Streaming Now – was the easiest of winners, leading at every pole and was finally geared down late to convincingly score by 3 3/4 lengths. This exciting young lady set honest fractions of 22.92, 46.63 and 58.43, before tripping the final timer in 1:04.69 earning a 76 E-Speed Fig. She was 5/1 when we put our name beside hers and bet down slightly to 7/2 (probably because folks know what we are talking about) and ended up paying $9.40 for $2W tickets. Learnings – Paulo Lobo is the real deal and definitely an ‘up and comer’. Larry Best / OXO Equine doesn’t fool with anything other than first class horses. Two eye popping works as prep coming in and an All-World Spendthrift sire (Into Mischief)? Say no more, we were all over this one, with both feet!
ELP8:061623 – We were treated to another dynamite performance in this one with #10 Into Champagne doing it all herself to win with seemingly no effort at all. Julien Leparoux let her settle into third around the turn before allowing her to run shortly before the head of the stretch and then there was no doubt about who was going to coast under the wire first. The official margin was 6 3/4 lengths, but if Julien had pushed her at all, it could have been several more. This is a filly with a super bright future and the owners have to be excited for the summer. She paid $6.78 and her final time was 1:04.18 with an E-Speed Fig of 81. Our Pick – #5 Too Fast for You – scratched, which was probably fortunate. Learnings – Into Mischief made it a perfect two for two today – what can I say? Plus, I loved this gal’s last work at 5/8 in Louisville. Our only reservation was the fact that Ian Wilkes typically doesn’t win first out.
ELP4:061723 – Jack Gilligan and #2 Woodcourt sprung the upset and lit up the tote board with a big number – $40.66 for $2W tickets. He cruised along in second, behind post time favorite and our pick – #7 Balta who set fractions of 22.17 & 45.07, then when that one faltered late in the stretch, he moved past to win by 1 ¼ lengths with a final time of 1:04.90 (67 EBSF). Balta hung on for the runner-up money. Note: #5 Normandy Hero was a last-minute scratch. Learnings – The winner was the only horse in the field who had a race under his belt, however, it was less than impressive. Ennis had put him back to work after that race at KEE and he did have some reasonable works, but honestly, I would have never been on this guy, similar to Rhyme Schemes win (above).
Back at it later this week with several of our races scheduled at both ELP and BEL, with one at each venue on Thursday. Thanks for all of your support and always let us know if you have any questions or ideas of how we can help you even more with these baby races. Be safe and take care.
