H @ Santa Anita day 3 122814 The great race place meeting got off to a pretty good beginning at least in terms of racing excitements as Shared Belief, proved best in a fast time and emerged Malibu Stakes hero of 2014-15…. A deep thinker might have concluded that Shared Belief and Chitu, were obviously “in the money cinches” and boxed those two and wheeled them with the field to obtain the more lucrative trifecta (a 70-1) chance finished 2nd in the Malibu Stakes)- deep thinking is not my forte when it comes to “gambling”- but the idea seems a sound one when two strong horses appear in the field- for some reasons thespian and hall of fame rider G. Stevens made Chitu, work like a Parchment Farm convict running at him throughout the early stages of the Malibu Stakes-- I’m sure B. Baffert had some ringing dialog for G. Stevens to memorize after the race- for Chitu, was bone dry in the last 16th but still managed to straggle in 3rd- The outcome of the Malibu Stakes only wetted the appetite for more stakes starring Shared Belief, who advanced into the winners circle hardly out of breath and seemingly ready for another 7 furlongs against anyone who cared to toss down some purse money- The prospect of a “Big Cap” in March 2015 featuring California Chrome, and Tonalist, and Bayern, and Shared Belief, and maybe even Take Charge Brandy, and whomever else gets into the field seems like the best “Big Cap” possibility in years- Santa Anita day 3 122714 Race 1- I really am perplexed in this opening heat and my doggies paw landed on Twenty Percent, a progeny of classic sire Dixie Union (see: Union Rags) - anyhow the 4th dam was sired by triple crown champion of 1941 Whirlaway, and the mare was a 8-F item a fine tribe jetting back in turf time to the Remembrancer Mare of 1807- Race 2—as a long time baseball fan can’t pass up the 2yo gelding first time starter Cal McLish, a pitcher who toiled for a couple of decades- it was said that Cal was a full blooded Native American whose full name is Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuscahameh Franklin Roosevelt Abe Lincoln McLish or something to that effect- The four legged manifestation of Cal McLish, is a son of Grazen, a steed I know not of- so let’s look him up in the sacred texts- well Grazen, is a grandson of Alydar, so that will be enough for me- might be a real sleeper, as Cal has a broodmare sire stack of >Lyphard>Caro>Dr. Fager- a very fine underpinning- bon voyage Cal McLish- Race 3- A filly first timer named Nature’s Alley, gets the nod here (better see if Quicken Loans is in my rolodex) Peter Miller trains and A. Gryder is the rider- the broodmare sire array is a indication that Nature’s Alley, may have a pretty good sojourn as a broodmares one day >Forestry>Forty Niner>Sir Ivor>Reviewer> and the 5th dam Lovely Morning (5-F) is a daughter of the mightiest of west coast stars Swaps- Race 4- a mile turf race and I am clueless in this one as well- I’ll take a flyer with Cassidy’s filly by New Approach (might have won the English Derby) - Bunairgead she is a dame who flashed some early speed in the G1 Rodeo Stakes a while back – and the hope here is that rider Flores can catch this bunch napping and steal away- her fifth dam ran second in a long ago Italian Oaks- Race 5- the gelding Starzilla, has ate me lettuce on a number of occasions and he’s back- jumping off horses is a thing I really dislike doing- so as much as I doubt Starzilla’s motivative forces I’m in- Art Sherman trains him for billionaire racing man G. Krikorian- riding is Elvis Trujillo, who rode Starzilla back in the fall session at Santa Anita- under the hood, the female family looks back to a full sister to Mad Hatter, the latter eternally famed for his stretch fisticuffs with Head Play, down the stretch at Churchill Downs in a long ago Kentucky Derby- Race 6- Fighting On, is a recent claim; looks like Nakatani is up for the first time, maybe all that can get this son of Sky Mesa, home against most of these- under the canvas Fighting On, has 3 G1 dams along his immediate five generation pedigree printout and they are Chic Shirine (Ashland Stakes) & Too Chic (Maskette Stakes) & Monade (Twice European champion filly)- Race 7-King of Santa Anita B. Baffert, has a hot filly set for this stakes – on a 3 win streak is Awesome Baby, a daughter of Breeders Cup Classic hero Awesome Again- her only losing races have been G1 heats- her ff are the heralded 16-C bunch stemming from the WW Woodward cull Agnes Sard- the only animal that seminal horseperson ever regretted parting with- she became ancestress of Bornastar & Free For Me & Chanlea, who won the 1953 Santa Anita Derby! Overseas the Spy Song, lass Sly Pola, was a stirring racer- as were Blue Prince and Faraway Son calling Agnes Sard “Auntie”! Race 8- is a G3 heat called the Daytona Stakes, and I’ll take a ride with Sweet Swap- a horse by top sire Candy Ride, recently a stakes sire via Shared Belief, in the Malibu Stakes opening day Santa Anita- the distance and Grade of this event seems not beyond the comprehension of Sweet Swap, who holds the G3 San Simeon Stakes, under its girth- grandma ill- fated Exchange (1-M) died in foaling- she was in the money around 90% of the time- the 4th dam of Sweet Swap, was sired by one of Europe’s greatest stayers Crepello – owned and bred by Sir Victor Sassoon, he was under the horsemanship expertise of Sir Noel Murless, rated as one of the best 20th century “Darby”: winners Crepello, beat a very good race horse in the 1957 renewal in Ballymoss- inspiring thousands of race fans with his stirring Derby triumph, a immense crowd filled Ascot to watch Crepello, go at it in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and shortly before the parade he was scratched, the excuse offered was unsuitable ground- and there was mayhem amongst the throngs and quite of bit of vitriol was directed at Crepello’s camp- he never raced again as he was unsound in the “legs”- but as a stallion he was excellent in my opinion as well as others I’m sure and finding him in a pedigree is a Big plus I’d say when evaluating a racing or breeding prospect- Race 9- Pleasure Point, tries to move up in class after failing in 30K maiden claiming (the tag here is 50K) Martin Garcia, is riding well these days and that is a plus- Nightcaps are perhaps the next to most important race of the day if you happen top show up at the track with an itchy C-Note burning a hole in your pocket- getting off to a good start in the 1st race is at least to my Cro-Magnon psychology of the utmost import- handicapping all-night, dashing off to catch the special to Aqueduct, after having had one measly English muffin for breakfast and “ soggy bottom” coffee, ones spirits and hopes are never more elevated than when getting a winner in Race 1- but if that fails the day is an uphill battle; which brings us to the nightcap, where supper money and the payment for smokes and drink and the “Form” hang in the balance-…… the 3rd dam in this “melodrama” was sent forth by the greatest long shot I ever saw Star Appeal, who paid around 275-1 and maybe 400-1 in certain parlors when he won the Arc in randy France a long time ago- maybe some of Star Appeal, has journeyed thru the DNA channels and entered the cosmology of Pleasure Point- we’ll find out late Sunday afternoon- h
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 20:20:45 +0000
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