For the Week of 09/25/2023 through 10/01/2023
By 2YO EdgeMan
CD5:093023 – #6 Honor Cat gained the lead as they came out of the chute and led until close to the ¼ pole after running fractions of 22.93, 46.15, and 1:11.36. At that point, our pick – #8 Pursuit of Liberty – wrestled the lead away and gradually opened up as runner-up finisher, and the 2/1 tote board favorite – #12 Lady Moscato – tried to make up ground, but was unable to do so. At the wire, Pursuit of Liberty and jockey Tyler Gaffalione coasted home by three lengths. The final time was 1:37.54 (76 Equibase Speed Figure) for this filly by Constitution, and she covered the last panel in 13.33 seconds. The fans sent this impressive Brad Cox filly off at odds of 3/1, so she paid $8.58 for $2W.
Learnings – One mile is a difficult distance for these babies, but this winner handled it quite professionally in only her second start. Tropical Stables owns this gal in the Game of Silks.
CD4:100123 – Brad Cox saddled another Constitution runner, this time a colt – #6 Catching Freedom – who made his first-ever try a winning one with Florent Geroux managing the reins. They didn’t break sharply and got pinched off a bit early, so Geroux patiently guided him to the rail for the run down the backstretch, five lengths or so back in fifth or sixth place, trailing an opening half-mile done in 46.79 seconds. The duo was in no big hurry until they spun into the turn and then they started to angle out a bit before swinging four of five wide entering the stretch. Catching Freedom gained the lead by the eight pole and easily won by 3 ¾ lengths on the wire. I picked this colt on Twitter and although he only paid $4.32 for $2W tickets, he was 3/1 on the Morning Line and much the best. His final clocking was 1:36.58, which earned him a fine 83 EBSF.
Learnings – This guy was very professional, especially as a First-Time Starter, again at the challenging distance of one mile. A big congrats to Gazza28 Stables as the winning owner in the Game of Silks!
CD7:100123 – Our pick on Twitter at the healthy odds of 10/1 was #7 Track Phantom who ran a game race as another firster, this time by Quality Road. He made the lead soon after leaving the gate and held that position until about the ¼ pole when the eventual winner – #5 Stronghold – moved pass to demand the lead. Fractions were solid – 22.86, 46.30, 1:11.33 and 1:23.45 with the final time clocking in at 1:35.99, giving Stronghold and very impressive 89 Equibase Speed Fig. His winning margin was 1 ½ lengths over #3 Resilience, with Track Phantom finishing another length back in third. The winner was a big favorite and only paid his backers $3.10 for $2W tickets. Phil D’Amato was the victorious conditioner and Joe Talamo was the winning jockey.
Learnings – I got a little caught up in the odds, but should have stayed focused on the fact that D’Amato had already put one race into the winner (sired by Ghostzapper), and he clipped that first run off in an excellent EBSF of 83, while finishing runner up. Join me in giving Ocala Racing a big ‘shout out’ as they are the lucky owner of this guy in the Game of Silks.
