FOREVER YOUNG

"Say hello to my little friend":
Blog reader RICK wants us to meet his newcomer, a colt by MEDAGLIA D'ORO and the 2nd foal from champion MY VINTAGE PORT, by Porto Foricos. The colt is 14 days old in the pictures at left and below.

CANADIAN TRAINERS WIN

READE BAKER and LORNA PERKINS won allowance races yesterday at Gulfstream and Oaklawn Park respectively - the first win for the latter of 2008.

Baker sent out the lightly raced Canadian-bred filly BOLDCORP to win a maiden race at 5 furlongs in the slop for Jim and Susan Hill.

The 3yo is out of the Corporate Report mare Incorporated and was bred by Lucille Wakefield.

At Oaklawn, Perkins won an allowance race with REAL JUBILANT, a Kentucky bred, owned by the Unstable Stable. The 4yo is by High Yield and it was her 2nd win in 12 starts.

$9.7 million guy JALIL WINS AGAIN

He may have a nasty paddling action (see the video I posted a while back, do a Search up top) but $9.7 million yearling JALIL is starting to show some ability. The Storm Cat colt won his 2nd straight race at Dubai yesterday and is headed to the Maktoum Challenge.

NAD AL SHEBA, United Arab Emirates, 5th, February 21, Hcp, Zawaj,

$110,000, 4&up, 2,000m (9.94f), fast, 2:01.81.

1st—JALIL, Dk b. or br. c. 4, Storm Cat iSD—Tranquility Lake, by Rahy. O—

Godolphin; B—Mr. and Mrs. Martin J. Wygod (Ky.); T—Saeed bin Suroor.

6-3-2-0, $147,188. $9,700,000 2005 KEESEP.

2nd—=GLORIA DE CAMPEAO (BRZ), B. h. 5, =Impression (Arg)—=Audacity

(Brz), by =Clackson (Brz). O—Estrela Energia Stables.

3rd—DYNAMIC SAINT, B. h. 5, Sweetsouthernsaint iSD—Le Nat, by Dynaformer

ARRAVALE WORKS

Horse of the Year (2006) ARRAVALE worked at Payson Park yesterday, four furlongs in 51.20. The Arch mare did not win in 2007 but gets another chance to come back to her top form for 2008.

RECORD SANTA ANITA PICK 6 TICKET SOLD AT MEADOWLANDS

The lone winner of Santa Anita’s $3.1 million Pick 6 on Monday purchased his ticket at the Meadowlands Racetrack.

The $4,320 ticket yielded a $3,120,256 payout, a Santa Anita record. The winner netted $2,381,423 after federal and state taxes. He also cashed the $7,786 five-of-six consolation payout 24 times, for another $186,878.

A three-day carryover of $1,269,223 heading into the Monday Pick 6, combined with the $3,337,881 that was bet during the card, resulted in a total pool of $4,607,104. Santa Anita’s Pick 6 requires players to pick the winners of the final six races on the card.
The winner is a New York City resident and entrepreneur who wished to remain known only as “D.” He was, however, willing to discuss how he approached Santa Anita’s record Pick 6. His ticket was the following: (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10) with (1) with (4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12) with (1, 4, 5, 7, 9) with (3) with (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13).

D singled the favorites in two races, Norway House ($4.40) in the sixth and Medjool ($8.20) in the ninth.

“I thought the No. 1 was the standout in the second leg,” he said. “Normally, I only single one horse on the ticket. [Race nine] was an open race. [Medjool] was the favorite and was 5-1, then went off at 3-1. I didn’t feel totally confident that he would win, but I felt he had shown the most ability at the distance. If I didn’t single another horse I would not have had an affordable ticket.

“In the first leg, I really liked the No. 4 horse,” he added. “If he went with shorter odds, I might have singled him, but he went off at 13-1 and I didn’t want to be dead in the first leg.”
The biggest upsets in the sequence were Mymomawzafandancer, a first-time starter who paid $47 in race seven, and Paparazzi Charm, who paid $69.60 in race 10.

“In the maiden race (race 7), I had a lot of negatives against a lot of the ones that had run before,” he said. “These were low profile connections, but the filly showed good works at Hollywood. Then I just hoped for the longest shot in the last race.

D’s prayers were answered when jockey Saul Arias and Paparazzi Charm, a 33-1 shot who had not raced since June, came flying from between rivals to win the last leg.

“Many horseplayers would not play a horse off a layoff like that,” he noted. “The jockey [Arias] does not win that much because he does not get that many live horses, but when he does, they are longshots. I try to put in horses that have some remote possibilities. Otherwise, it’s not going to pay anything.”

Luck certainly appears to be on D’s side. He purchased a $4000 betting voucher when he arrived Monday afternoon at the Meadowlands. However, when he went to make his Pick 6 bet, he realized it totaled $4,320. He searched his pockets and came up with an additional $331 – giving him just enough to make the bet and buy a couple of hot dogs for lunch.

D is a regular horseplayer who has had several significant scores in the past. He hit a $500,000 Pick 6 at Del Mar, along with one of the largest in Churchill Downs’ history.

“I’ve been playing horses for a long time, so it does not really change anything for me,” he said. “I’m getting married in three weeks, so it is great timing. I am still in shock. There are large syndicates playing the Pick 6 and I am sure there were syndicates who put in $40,000 or $50,000 into the pool. The Pick 6 has been very tough lately. All the canceled dates because of the weather have produced huge fields at Santa Anita. There are a lot of longshots, horses coming off different racing surfaces, layoffs. It becomes a lot trickier. I play the Pick 6 when there are large carryovers. I focus a few hours on handicapping and only focus on the Pick 6 races.”

FRESHMAN SIRE CONTEST

Over 20 some-odd entries for the contest...Mar. 1 is the deadlinen to send in team. Don't forgeta stable star (if you haven't sent one...you have until Mar. 1 as well)

Mike R. send in his Freshman team (and stable star)

Chapel Royal (Stable Star)

Congaree

Friends Lake

Lion Heart

Medaglia d'Oro

Perfect Soul

Smarty Jones

Speightstown

Strong Hope

Tenpins