Horse Racing Random

[Fastbackss]

I got excited when I saw that "midnightbourbon" was trending on Twitter and then I realized it was not the bourbon named horse I care about.

[dryrunguy]

I got excited when I saw that "midnightbourbon" was trending on Twitter and then I realized it was not the bourbon named horse I care about.

Unfortunately, Midnight Bourbon was not trending for a good reason. At all. Fortunately, both Midnight Bourbon and his rider, Paco Lopez, are okay. Paco says he plans to ride again at Monmouth tomorrow in spite of falling off Midnight Bourbon in the stretch when the horse clipped heels with Hot Rod Charlie (who was veering in during the Haskell and ultimately disqualified after crossing the line first).

Sidebar: After Hot Rod Charlie was disqualified in the Haskell, Mandaloun was declared the winner. In case y'all have forgotten, Mandaloun finished second at the Kentucky Derby behind... Medina Spirit... and may ultimately declared the winner of that race as well. So that would be two Grade 1 races won by Mandaloun in the past 2.5 months where Mandaloun didn't cross the finish line first.

[dryrunguy]

In other news, Cryptic Creed's race for July 21 at Colonial Downs did not fill. I'm baffled as to why it didn't. They put the same race up again for Monday, July 26. We'll enter again on Wednesday. Hopefully, this time it will take.

If I read the condition book right, he'll make his debut in a maiden claiming race with a price tag of $30K. As a handicapper, I'm generally suspicious of this move. The thought I always have in my mind is, "He hasn't even run yet, and you're willing to let him get claimed? You're giving up already? Trying to cut your losses?"

But connections also play a lot of games in these situations. E.g., "He needs a race, he'll almost certainly NOT be claimed (in part of the perceived suspicions I stated in the previous paragraph), and a weak field full of horses that genuinely have no talent might be just what the doctor ordered."

I don't know which paragraph (2 or 3) is the actual case, but we'll see. Again, as a handicapper, I have seen a lot of horses that showed absolutely nothing in the morning training sessions but turn out to be something radically different in the afternoon or evening when they run in a race.

[dryrunguy]

Cryptic Creed is on his way to Colonial Downs in Virginia.

[JazzNU]

That's not that far. Are you going to this one or another one soon?

[dryrunguy]

That's not that far. Are you going to this one or another one soon?

Do you mean me personally? As in, physically attending? I'll get to that in a bit.

::

Cryptic Creed got in the opener at Colonial Downs on Monday, July 26. It is a $50K maiden special weight race, so he will not be for sale. It will be a field of 8 colts running 5 furlongs on the turf.

These are 2-year-olds, so you never really know what to expect. Only two in the field have experience. But if you go by the connections and pedigrees alone, it's a brutal field. You have a $320K purchase by West Point Thoroughbreds, a much bigger and more lucrative partnership than either of the two I'm in, that's trained by Graham Motion, who excels on grass. There's a son of American Pharoah, which should adore the grass. There's another Graham Motion trainee and another trainee from Michael Stidham.

And then you have a horse that has run three times and done everything BUT win in all three starts (2 on dirt, 1 of grass) with 2 seconds and a third. He also happens to be a son of Jimmy Creed, just like Cryptic Creed.

::

Unfortunately, I cannot attend because I'm already stacked with meetings on Monday, have a proposal due Monday, and we're leaving Tuesday for Ohio to observe my mother's 80th birthday on July 29. But I'll watch it.

[JazzNU]

Do you mean me personally? As in, physically attending? I'll get to that in a bit.

That's exactly what I mean, you're in a strange area that seems very remote because it is in a regular sense, but it's actually a doable road trip to plenty of areas so I just wondered if you were going to try to see the race in person this time. I don't know exactly where this place is, but there's no way it's over a 6 hour drive. The number of places worth visiting that are under a 6 hour drive from you is substantial, an odd quirk about your rural location.

Have a great time celebrating your mom's birthday.

[Ribbons]

Speaking of road trips -- Dry, what are the odds of your horsies making it to Keeneland in October? My honorary big brother lives in Lexington, and his hints about me coming up for a visit have become increasingly pointed (as in, he sent racehorse-themed socks for my birthday . . .).

[dryrunguy]

Speaking of road trips -- Dry, what are the odds of your horsies making it to Keeneland in October? My honorary big brother lives in Lexington, and his hints about me coming up for a visit have become increasingly pointed (as in, he sent racehorse-themed socks for my birthday . . .).

I'd say there's a very real possibility that could happen since all but one of them (Unconscious) are Kentucky-bred and both partnerships I'm in have roots in Kentucky. Rock Along is definitely good enough to be competitive at Keeneland, Danceswithbourbon MIGHT be, and Unified Dreams is still a question mark since he's just now starting training. But October is roughly the timeframe for when he should start to race, if his training goes well.

Cryptic Creed is probably a different story, which I will explain in a separate post. Unconscious is a Florida-bred, so she'll almost certainly do her running at Gulfstream or Tampa. But we're still being very patient with her.

Sidebar: I watched quite a bit of the 2020 Keeneland Fall Meeting. Just by seeing it on TV, I could see how picturesque it is, particularly that time of year, so it would have to be even more compelling in person. So, whether any of my horses make the trip or end up at Churchill instead, I'd encourage you to go--just for the scenery, especially the "burning bushes".

And FYI, while watching the Keeneland Fall Meeting last year, I swore to myself that I'd make the trip this year. So maybe we can get together for a TAT2 Tailgate.

[dryrunguy]

So, about Cryptic Creed...

Like I said before, when a horse is starting for the first time, you never know what to expect. You can only go by what a horse shows you. So in today's race at Colonial, here's what Cryptic Creed showed us:

1) He was 100% professional and looked great. He behaved perfectly, entered the gate as if he's done it 100 times, and broke pretty well.

2) He never raced and showed absolutely no speed or any sense of urgency. He just ran--like he was running in a half-circle with his friends. He didn't pick up his feet at all. He showed little to no interest in the task at hand despite appropriate urging from the rider (J.D. Acosta). It was almost as if he had no idea what he was doing there--or what he was supposed to do. Compare that to Rock Along or Bold Article last year. From the first pop out of the gate, both of them clearly understood why they were there.

3) As I expected and noted in my last post about this race, he was completely out-classed, especially by his paternal half-brother that had run three times and done everything BUT win. He finally got that win today--and in fairly impressive fashion. So at least we got to keep the win in the family, so to speak.

4) At least we didn't finish last (6th out of 7). But on a positive note, at least we didn't spend $320K for Cryptic Creed, which is what West Point Thoroughbreds spent on the horse that finished 4th. Ouch. And then you have the horse that finished 5th, Savage Sailor. I mean, good grief... A home-bred son of American Pharoah out of a Tapit mare (but she never raced) that was conceived back when American Pharoah's stud fee was $250K? I'd be sick to my stomach. But that's the way it work sometimes... You roll the dice and then those dice turn around and come back at you as bullets.

::

So, Cryptic Creed certainly deserves a few more attempts to see if the lightbulb goes off and things turn around. It might. In training, he really seemed to like the synthetic track, but the only synthetic track on the East coast or Midwest right now is Arlington outside of Chicago or Presque Isle in PA, which is a pretty low-level track. Saffie has never shipped horses to either track. Turfway Park in Kentucky won't open until December. Golden Gate is in California. The synthetic options are severely limited.

But if he doesn't turn around, then it would probably be in everyone's best interest to find a different career for him, maybe as a lead pony or as a teaser gelding. Because an Equibase speed figure of 19 won't even win you a maiden claiming race at Charles Town.

Yeah, it was THAT bad.

[ponchi101]

He didn't pick up his feet at all. He showed little to no interest in the task at hand despite appropriate urging from the rider (J.D. Acosta). It was almost as if he had no idea what he was doing there--or what he was supposed to do.

Easy fix: change his name to Nick Kyrgios and...

[Ribbons]

Sidebar: I watched quite a bit of the 2020 Keeneland Fall Meeting. Just by seeing it on TV, I could see how picturesque it is, particularly that time of year, so it would have to be even more compelling in person. So, whether any of my horses make the trip or end up at Churchill instead, I'd encourage you to go--just for the scenery, especially the "burning bushes".

And FYI, while watching the Keeneland Fall Meeting last year, I swore to myself that I'd make the trip this year. So maybe we can get together for a TAT2 Tailgate.

Hah! I literally ran in circles around Lexington as a kid (the horse park hosted major cross-country meets, including regional and state finals), so I'm familiar with the scenery. If you make it to Keeneland, we're buying you bourbon and burgoo inside, as I'm native enough to wear hat and heels to these things, plus the parking lot isn't close enough to the horsies or the betting stations. And you can then either talk Big Brother and his husband into betting on horsies with more going for them than musical theater or Southern Gothic names, or just join me in laughing at them.

And if you end up with entries at Churchill as well or instead, well, that's an easy drive from Nashville as well, and I'm still friends with a guy there who was my senior prom date. So.

[dryrunguy]

Hah! I literally ran in circles around Lexington as a kid (the horse park hosted major cross-country meets, including regional and state finals), so I'm familiar with the scenery. If you make it to Keeneland, we're buying you bourbon and burgoo inside, as I'm native enough to wear hat and heels to these things, plus the parking lot isn't close enough to the horsies or the betting stations. And you can then either talk Big Brother and his husband into betting on horsies with more going for them than musical theater or Southern Gothic names, or just join me in laughing at them.

And if you end up with entries at Churchill as well or instead, well, that's an easy drive from Nashville as well, and I'm still friends with a guy there who was my senior prom date. So.

I would totally talk them into betting. Hell, I'd probably convince them to put our money together and play a Pick 5 or Pick 6.

I play the free Super 5 every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It's a free shot at winning $5000 (or a share of it). Last fall they had it set up where the Super 5 was the last five races one day at Keeneland. So that's where I played the free Super 5 (you pick ONE horse to win each race in the sequence--only one) and also did a Pick 5 ticket where you can choose as many horses across five consecutive races as you can afford. It was the ONLY time I ever tried a Pick 5 at Keeneland--and I won it. The payout wasn't huge at all, about $200 IIRC, but hey, I made a profit.

::

The problem we'll run into is that I only know 3 or 4 days in advance if we actually get into most race. And at a track like Keeneland, it's common for 12 horses to get into a field with 4 additional Also Eligibles... But the Also Eligible horses ONLY get in ON RACE DAY if 4 horses from the main field scratch. So there can be some uncertainty around it. But hey, let's give it a shot.

Last year, a trip like this was out of the question. It's really nice to at least be able to entertain the idea.

And FYI, if we decide to meet up on a day when one of my horses is racing, I THINK I can get additional owner passes.

[JazzNU]

1) He was 100% professional and looked great. He behaved perfectly, entered the gate as if he's done it 100 times, and broke pretty well.

2) He never raced and showed absolutely no speed or any sense of urgency. He just ran--like he was running in a half-circle with his friends. He didn't pick up his feet at all. He showed little to no interest in the task at hand despite appropriate urging from the rider (J.D. Acosta). It was almost as if he had no idea what he was doing there--or what he was supposed to do. Compare that to Rock Along or Bold Article last year. From the first pop out of the gate, both of them clearly understood why they were there.

Yeah, it was THAT bad.

Kind of sounds like his behavior and instincts are a bit Cryptic.

[ponchi101]

^