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Florida Handicappers Dominate Fall Challenge
Floridians Frank Pullara (Most Wins) and Joe Silenzi (High R.O.I.) claimed the top spots in the Fall $25,000 Brisnet.com Online Handicapping Challenge. The co-grand prize winners each won $5,000 and a trip to Las Vegas. The two champions will join Spring Challenge winners Floridian Jerold Shocker and West Virginian Richard Stillwell on the Brisnet.com team heading to Las Vegas for the $200,000 DRF National Handicapping Championship.
"I don't know how I won," Silenzi said. "Going into the last week I was $40 out of first place. I knew I had to have a big final week to make it. To win (the R.O.I.) by fifty cents is amazing. I have been with you (BRIS) the last couple of years. The information in Ultimate's is about 500 times better than a program. I like everything about Ultimates. To learn how to use all the ratings (in Ultimates) I read the online guide (in the BRIS library). "
Obviously, the homework paid off. Congratulations on winning $5,000. "I have been playing the horses for over 40 years," said co-grand prize winner Pullara. "To win the Challenge is sweet. This is the first year I have been in the hunt. For the contest I used Quick Play Page Savers and the Scratch Sheets. Quick Plays have all the information I need. I use the Scratch Sheet to double check I am not missing anything. Thanks to the weather forecast for rain at Keeneland in the newsletter (Handicapper's Edge), I picked longshot Orka at Keeneland."
Oklahoma native Max Lanier took home all the money in week 4 of the Challenge. Lanier's eight wins and $85.40 bankroll were more than enough to capture the weekly prize money for most wins and high R.O.I.
"Jim 'The Hat' Bradshaw taught me everything I know about handicapping," Lanier said. "I attended one of his Sartin Methodology seminars in 1988 and he became my good friend and mentor. Coincidentally, I have been a member of BRIS since 1988. I use Jim's program A-Odds as well as ALL-Ways. I just missed having 9 wins. ALL-Ways had the (Leg 2) winner in the key contenders and I didn't use it. In the sixth leg I knew Astrobilt would wire the field. He had just such a huge early pace advantage. In leg five I noticed the owner and trainer were related. Usually that is good sign. In leg seven, Earlie Fires switch of mounts to the 10 horse Smilin' Slew was enough for me to pick him."
Lanier's $2,500 score represented the third time in four weeks a BRIS member pulled off the double for most wins and high R.O.I.
Put your hands together for week three Challenge winner Gloria Hyjek. She swept both halves of the Challenge to win $2,500.
"I still can't believe I won," Hyjek exclaimed. "I had a rough start the first two weeks but this makes up for it. My daughter found out about the contest last year surfing the net. We both entered this year but I am the serious horseplayer in the family. I try to look for horses that fit the bias of the track. If the track is playing to speed I look for speed and vice versa for closers."
ALL-Ways software user Thomas Varelli earned the top spot for most wins in week 2. The New York native has been a member of BRIS since 1993!
"I like everything about ALL-Ways," Varelli said. "I am a big proponent of Brohamer. I look for horses with good early and late pace. Of course, I can't give away all my handicapping secrets. The articles in the Handicapper's Edge are great. I really enjoyed the recent article on turf and dirt speed."
Varelli's seven wins in week 2 earned him $1,500.
Week 2 High R.O.I. honors went to Kansas native Jason Larson. A Challenge regular, this is Larson's fifth time competing in the Brisnet.com online tournament.
"I usually use the Premium Past Performance, but Saturday I decided to try the Ultimates," Larson said. "I like the way the information is laid out. The (Ultimate) Race Summary really helped out. I have been playing the horses since I was a little boy. My dad used to own a string of quarter horses when I was a kid. He is also playing in the Challenge. Right now, I guess I have bragging rights."
Go ahead and brag. You won $1,000!
Long time member Gordon Jones struck lightning in week one of the Challenge scoring victories for most wins and high ROI. The dual victory earned Mr. Jones a cool $2,500.
"I have been member of BRIS for years," Jones said. "This is the first year I have taken a serious whack at the Challenge. (BRIS) Condensed Past Performances have all the information I need without overwhelming me. It's hard to describe my handicapping because I use a couple different systems. For instance, the longshot winner ($122.60) at Arlington showed a lot of improvement in her previous start at a nice price. That usually is a good indicator of a horse getting ready to pop a big race."
Congratulations again to all the winners and thanks to everyone who participated in the Fall Challenge. Your participation has helped make the Brisnet.com Online Handicapping Challenge the best on the Internet.
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Wizard Nails Them on Cup Day!
On a very difficult day for handicappers nationwide, the Wizard performed his magic on the Breeders' Cup card.
His daily sheet for Arlington had four top winners, including the following highlights:
His popular Breeders' Cup Sheet, which offers wagering strategies on each and every race, gave out the
following winning plays:
HOT! Wizard's Pick of the Day
$7.80 Winner IVAN JAY PERRY on Sunday (10/27) at Arlington brought the month-to-date total to 11 top winners from 26 playable days (42%) and 14 winners from the past 31 Pick of the Day plays (45%)!
Highlights from the PICK OF THE DAY Sheet:
The Pick of the Day is available 7 days per week and only $6 at Brisnet.com. This popular sheet offers the best value play from anywhere in the nation along with the pace scenario, race analysis and wagering strategies.
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Stable Alert now in HTML format!
Racing's best e-mail notification service now offers a slick, new HTML format. The enhanced format offers the full entries on a given race as well as the complete result chart after the race is run!
NEW Stable Alert features:
Signing up and building your stable takes only a few minutes! Make your life easier - visit Stable Alert today!
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NEW BLOOD ON THE BLOCK, PART TWO:
Ten Sophomore Sires to Watch on the Turf
(reprinted from Owner-Breeder International magazine)
By Brian P. Turner
In an effort to help handicappers spot young sires with turf potential, we covered the attributes of sophomore sires Spinning World, Boston Harbor, Lost Soldier, Atticus, and Chequer in the first part of this article (Sept. Handicapping Times). In this installment, we will take a look at the remaining five.
Geri never tried the lawn until late in his career but finished with a bang, capturing the Woodbine Mile (CanG1), the Citation H. (G2), and finishing second to Spinning World in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) in his final three career starts. His progeny are winning 25% of their turf races and a very solid 17% first on the turf. Geri is by legendary grass sire Theatrical (Ire) and out of Garimpeiro, a daughter of Mr. Prospector, who never had much success as a runner herself but produced four foals who were winners on the grass including Clure, a stakes winner and full brother to Geri. With in-breeding to Nearctic, Northern Dancer, Native Dancer, Natalma, and Nashua appearing in the first five generations of his pedigree, Geri definitely brings the potential for turf success.
Benny The Dip is by perennial turf sire Silver Hawk and out of Rascal Rascal who is by average turf sire Ack Ack. Though she never tried the turf in her brief career, Rascal Rascal has thrown stakes winners on the lawn such as Cryptic Rascal and Beggarman Thief. Benny The Dip had only a mere 11 starts in his short career but managed in that time to compile earnings of nearly $1.5 million in Europe, winning such events as the Vodafone Derby (G1) at Epsom and the Gtech Royal Lodge S. (G2) at Ascot. To date, his runners are winning 17% of the time in their first turf attempt and 13% of the time overall on the turf. While a great number of his runners are competing in Europe, many are in North America and deserve respect anytime they are on the lawn.
Native Regent, by respectable grass sire Vice Regent, was a winner of nearly $500,000 on the turf including victories in the Generous S (G3) at Hollywood and the Everglades S. at Hialeah. His dam, Barkerville Belle, was a stakes winner on the turf herself and produced another turf stakes winner in Morriston Belle who, during the course of her career, won such turf stakes as the Natalma S. at Woodbine and the Herecomesthebride S. at Gulfstream. To date, progeny of Native Regent are winning 17% of the time in their first turf attempt and 13% of the time on the turf overall. His most prominent runner to date is Native Mark, a third place finisher in the Black Gold H. on the Fair Grounds lawn this past January.
Outflanker never managed to break his maiden in 10 career starts but he owns a tremendous turf pedigree and his progeny are more than making up for his short comings. Outflanker is by Danzig and his dam, the stakes placed Lassie's Lady, is a half sister to European turf star Wolfhound and to Weekend Surprise, who, in addition to being an accomplished stakes runner in her own right, is the dam of A.P. Indy and Summer Squall. As a matter of fact, Outflanker's entire pedigree is filled with accomplished stakes winners on the turf and the dirt. His most accomplished runner to date is the stakes winning Regiment, who had reeled off three turf victories in a row before coming up a nose short in the Cinema Breeders' Cup H. (G3) last out at Hollywood Park.
Cat's Career is definitely a sire to watch out for with the ever-growing popularity of the turf sprint, though his progeny should be able to have an impact at the shorter route distances as well. Cat's Career was a stakes winner himself sprinting on the turf as was his half brother, Al's River Cat. The dam, Comical Cat, was stakes placed sprinting on the turf and her sire, Exceller, was of course a turf legend. Many of Comical Cat's siblings were stakes runners on the grass in Europe, including Half A Year, who won the St. James Palace S. (G2) in England before finishing her career in North America. By Mr. Prospector, Cat's Career has already produced a stakes winner sprinting on the grass in Ragin T Rex who captured the Manahttan Breeders' Cup H. at Hollywood this past June.
Although there are many young sires out there whose pedigrees indicate that their progeny will run well on the lawn, these 10 have shown an inclination in that direction. Still this is only part of the equation. The rest lies in the pedigrees of the dams these sires are bred to and the ability of the trainer to recognize the grass potential in his trainee and help it flourish.
In the ever difficult game of handicapping though, recognizing the turf potential of a sire is definitely a key piece of the puzzle and one that can make the difference between leaving the track with money in pocket or just losing tickets.
Visit the link under Pedigrees & Lifetime Starts at Brisnet.com for information on Owner-Breeder International magazine.
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