Breeders' Cup Hangover

The blur that is the Breeders' Cup World Championships is over for another year - my picks did okay, 3 winners (Dreaming of Anna, Ouija Board, Round Pond) but Bernardini losing was a kick in the stomach. Too bad his first serious test had to result in him losing by just over a length. Perhaps he was asked for his move far too soon before the long, long Churchill stretch. Perhaps.

Woodbine's Summer Stakes got some good press since Dreaming of Anna came out of the race to win the Juvenile Fillies; Skip Code was 9th in the Juvenile, better than expected!

Thor's Echo saved the day for California horses (Wait a While, ick, Aragorn, not too bad, T.H. Approval, who? Lava Man, 'nuff said.) and the gelding simply forgot to bounce off the career best 116 Beyer Figure.

Miesque's Approval won a weak Mile - okay, it looked like a good field with all those Euro's and Aragorn but really, it was not that great a race as the Euro's were overmatched.

Round Pond rode the golden rail on Cup day but Asi Siempre may have been best but had a horrible journey and then was dq'd when she had to push a horse out of the way.
Sad that a horse has to die almost every year it seems. Pine Island's accident, which was barely noticed by TV types, was tragic.

Red Rocks? Won a very average Turf for "Canadian" owner J. Paul Reddam.

Invasor was deemed the only horse that could beat Bernardini by this corner but I couldn't bet it that way. Giacomo, a very gritty 4th, was absolutely pummeled with the whip by Mike Smith. Ouch.

On the homefront, WOODBINE'S POLYTRACK (Polydust is what it's being called these days) continues to play...well, confusing. Fast fractions in sprints, slow, slow times in routes and so much kickback that it looks like a snowstorm. Speed is doing well because the kickback is so bad. Apparently jockeys are getting cut in the face by the surface now. Eeks.
SHOT GUN ELA, owned by my friends Rocco and Frank, led all the way to upset the Ontario Fashion Stakes over over-the-top fillies Count to Three and Hide and Chic.

Oh, and from the "Now you know how much a jockey makes a difference" file, learningn apprentice MATT MOORE won his first career race at Woodbine yesterday without a whip and his mount, Arden Belle, did not wear shoes. At 11 to 1, she wore down 3 to 5 Song of a Lark, owned by Sam-Son Farms and ridden by Todd Kabel. And, while admitting the kid is just learning, you had to see his style down the stretch to believe it. Never has a rider looked like he was actually slowing down a horse while totally out of sync.