Recapping the weekend that was at Saratoga and my local track Monmouth Park
Kevin Gazzale
Buckle up because I have a lot to get into this week between Saratoga, spot plays, reminiscing about Travers Weekend, and going to the races at Monmouth Park it made me sad. Let’s get into it!
Thursday
My week started Thursday and it was filled with empty stretches or just getting nailed. I leaned on 3 horses in 3 separate turf races and all 3 did not cash. 3 Into Diamonds in Race 2 and got bet like crazy, went off favored and was just empty turning for home. He did get cut off down the back stretch but had every opportunity to kick in gear and just didn’t.
I took 3 A Little at First in the feature and he kicked clear mid stretch and looked home but Chummers kept coming and nailed me. I tossed Chummers so I didn’t get the benefit of the back up exacta but that’s racing baby. This was another horse that got bet and went off much lower than I was expecting. In today’s CAW age that sometimes feels like an added vote of confidence but for me personally it never ever works out.
In the finale I leaned on 2 She’s Got Will and again she had clear run top of the stretch and just turned for home empty, another one who went off favored with smart money. I know that placing win bets on horses going off favored isn’t the best long term strategy but in the age of working full time I place my bets right after scratches are in and I let the chips fall where they may. For me it ends up losing win bets on 2/1 or 9/5 shots which stings just as bad!
Saturday
Saturday I watched the races from Monmouth Park (i’ll get into that later), My spot plays from last week went 2/4, Play with Fire was scratched, Asbury Park could not get up in time, Heads in Beds and Cat On Time ran beautifully cashing for us. I posted it to my twitter but Maria Callas ran into all sorts of trouble and she was going to dominate that race. I did not get to watch that race live which was probably for the best.
Overall it was a good day but man oh man Segesta just plain sucks. She has to be the luckiest multiple G1 winner going. She needs every aspect of the race to go her way or she just lugs along in the 2nd flight with no will to run past horses. She got mildly closed off at the break by the eventual winner but from there I knew the race was over. They turn for home and she gets into the clear and just does zero running. Watch for yourself.
Thankfully My Guns Loaded closed off a solid day, I did the ole place bet, cancel, repeat bet move as I flip flopped on if she had a legit shot against Counting Stars. She fired a huge race and looking back the benefit of being so lightly raced and going the 10f against Counting Stars who just has to be totally exhausted after the spring/summer she had.
Monmouth Park is Dead
Saturday I went to Monmouth park for the races with my Dad was we have done for as long as I can remember. My fondest memories of horse racing are going to Monmouth Park every father’s day, Haskell Day, and random Saturday’s sprinkled in. We went opening day which was a total washout so they had an excuse for the sparse crowd and small fields. Father’s Day was jammed but still the racing was whatever, small fields, minimal turf racing, only 8 carded races on the 2nd biggest day of the year. But still the place was jammed so I thought ok, maybe there’s a little life here. They recently got their purse issues sorted out with the state and that was another seemingly positive vote of confidence.
However I went this past Saturday and left sad and pessimistic about it’s future. It was a beautiful day, again only 8 races carded, half on the turf including a 100k stake. They run the first race on the turf and following that race they immediately pull the rest off the turf aside from the stake race. The stake race by the way that was scratched down to 5 horses anyway. Immediately destroyed the rest of the card, 5th race was run with 3 horses. I lost track of the amount of times I overhead casuals trying to place a bet and the teller would tell them “hey doing a 4 horse exacta box in a 5 horse field isn’t going to win anything”. It felt like it was every race. We had an awesome spot at an open air bar where we could see the whole track and the finish line from our seat at the bar. I couldn’t imagine a better place to take in the races but the product was just terrible. I don’t know how they fix it but, I really wish they do. The idea of me bringing my kids to Monmouth the way my Dad brought us just doesn’t seem likely anymore. And that sucks.
Final note: City Girl is another one in the Chad Brown barn who has zero balls literally and figuratively. She should have dominated the feature here and I would have cashed my cold double but nope, she got shuffled back and got mowed down mid stretch and caved in. 5 horse field of a bunch of tomato cans, JUST GO TO THE FRONT AND MAKE THEM CATCH YOU! Watching that race and then going home and watching Segesta made me want to puke!
An Ode to the Travers Stakes
The Travers is the race I have watched live the most amount of times in my life. We went to Saratoga yearly as a family from as early as I can remember until college and many more after that. We were on the rail at the top of the stretch when they rushed up the 2004 Travers because the skies turned black. Lion Heart got injured and Birdstone ran on. I was 11 and I still remember how black the sky was. Look at this replay, they’re basically running at night. This weekend will always hold a special place in my heart, always filled with hope to cash a major ticket. This year is the year.
My personal coup de gras (is that the saying?) was 2019 Travers. 2019 was a jump off point for me diving into horse racing and falling back in love with the sport. Me and Big Race Jim had our first big score in the 2019 Kentucky Derby after the DQ of Maximum Security, and that summer I was willing to tell anyone who wanted to listen that Tacitus was one of the biggest pussy horses the sport had ever seen. The entire 3.5 hour drive to Saratoga I talked about 1 horse who I circled, Code of Honor. When Code of Honor unwinded at the top of stretch and mowed everyone, including Tacitus, down, I was standing on a picnic table in the backyard silent with both hands over my head. I’ll never forget making eye contact with my Dad, noted Tacitus believer, and without saying anything we knew what I was telling him, “suck it, I’m right and you’re wrong” and that to me is why I love horse racing. Now let’s talk about this years rendition.
Travers Week Look Ahead
Big week and weekend ahead so I looked at the cards leading up for any plays and found a few.
Thursday
Race 9 – 2 Final Denile, can finally get a pace set up in here at a class level he fits at. Coach Case and Naguile will be tough in here but Coach Case has some seconditis lately and Naguile really had a lucky maiden win. Finale Denile fits in here and lately feels like closers have been winning on turf.
Friday
Race 8 – Massarat, gets the prefered mile and 3/8 distance as opposed to the full mile and half. Last two runs at this distance produced her best figures, espeically LP. She fits in here from a class stand point and at 9/2 you are getting a fair price. Also firing bullets on turf workouts helps the cause.
Race 10 – Joker on Fire, going back to the well here with Joker on Fire, I was all over him last out and he got nailes by Dakota Country. I’m going to run it back from an outside post here. Will be up on the pace here and I think he’s better from a pace and figure stand point than the ML favorite Illmatic.
Saturday
Race 3 – 6 K Gun, the rare dirt spot play from me but this horse stood out. 2nd race after a longer layoff, should be able to sit off a wall of front runners and pounce top of the stretch. Working well and sits at the top of the class rankings.
Race 4 – 1 Noble Dynasty, the lone true closer in the field. Tons of horses in here that want the front which will hopefully lead to a hotter pace. Junior has been riding well and should get this horse into a ground saving trip and tip out at the right time. Speed figure on Brisnet posted a new top last out with lasix after a few races without, he gets it again here. Print was also interesting.
Race 5 – 4 Caroline St. Beat looks primed to explode here, second start at 3, first Lasix, Clement positive ROI with first Lasix. Hopefully sits close enough to the front where pace doesn’t become too much of a factor. Single for me.
Race 7 – 1 All of It, lightly raced and fits in here class wise. Gets Lasix back and is 2-2 with it. Rail draw is tough but I think she can drop back save ground and let the pace get hot up front. She was entered Sunday but scratched when they went off turf, entered right back in here shows some confidence to me. 8/1 is plenty.
Race 10 – 4 Deep Learning, my 1B best bet of the day. This horse has a beautiful pattern here, second start at 4, ran well last out finishing 2nd in the Lake George, very much fits on a class and speed standpoint. Naomis and Queen of Hawaii are both tough but have their own question marks. Ultimate Love is one I’ll be using in multis as well as this feels like the bottom of her market. She went favored in the juvenile fillies turf last year and now gets back to her preferred flat mile.
Race 11 – 1 Tip Top Thomas, my best best of the day. This horse is primed for a huge effort, second start at 4, rail draw. Last year his first start at 3 he posted an 84 speed fig on Bris, second start he improved by 11 points to a 95. This year he posted a 93 first off the layoff, can we get another double digit improvement? I know it’s hard to go against my roots and the Jersey Bred Book’em but I think Tip Top Thomas runs huge in here. Also, I can’t quit Crazy Mason, he may get another good pace set up here to be in the mix, he is 5 for 5 hitting the board at 7f.
Race 12 – 2 Kilwin, has won from the 2 hole sprinting at Saratoga. 2nd start at 4, has experience sprinting over this track. Should get a hot pace up front with a ton of horses who want the lead. I like Kilwin to mow them all down late just like she did in the Test last year. Beauty Reigns was another closer who is trending in the right direction and I’ll be using.
Travers – There were plenty of ways to go here and I’ll be using a few in multis but 4 The Puma feels like he can sit the trip and be in the right spot come crunch time. He had some time off after scratching from the derby. Got back on the word tab regularly on June 6th and has kept a regular weekly schedule since. Bobbled start in the Haskell and had to drop back and attempt to close into a slow pace in the slop was just a recipe for disaster. After the Haskell he jumped back on the work tab and has fired bullets over the Saratoga surface. His father Essential Quality won this race in 2021 with me in attendance. I was interested in Silent Tactic but realized his dad was Tacitus, wouldn’t it be fitting for him to finish just short again. He offers some value at 8/1 ML and may get lost on board. He’s my pick to win, though a few others were very interesting.
Feels like we’re at the bottom of the market for Emerging Market (no pun intended), I think he has a chance to get back to his Fair Grounds form. Silent Tactic as noted earlier was interesting but before the Jim Dandy Mark Casse kept saying that he didn’t have his fitness level where he wanted it to be and he’s only logged 1 official work since. I’ll look for him this fall. Golden Tempo and Renegade obviously make sense, Leading Change is interesting from an unknown stand point, 3rd career race but my hunch is he gets too involved with Napoleon Solo and they wear each other out. If Sea Strike wins I will lose as for far too long I have fallen in love with the Curlin winner and this year I take a stand against.
Only a few weeks of my Spa Recaps left until next year. Look out for my SEC College Football round up articles starting next week every Tuesday!
Good luck to everyone! I’ll leave you with this, who’s going to carry the boats? You, you’re going to carry the boats.
