GULFSTREAM PARK NOTEBOOK
JANUARY 13
by Dick Powell
Frank Stronach may not be Aldous Huxley but his Gulfstream Park entered a
brave, new world for the 2005 racing season and the journey from today’s tents
to next year’s state-of-the-art racing center promises to be a strange one.
The less said about Gulfstream’s opening day, the better. A series of snafus
made what should have been a difficult opening a near catastrophe. Many of the
issues faced last week will be corrected and I don’t want to spend any time on
them since most are irrelevant to those watching and wagering on Gulfstream
racing.
However, some things are different this year and will remain so for the
remainder of the meet.
The most dramatic is the lack of a racing grandstand/clubhouse building has
made the camera angles very difficult to follow. The shots in the paddock, which
is located up the track away from the finish line and on the front side, are
virtually useless. When the horses walk out on the track, the camera is ground
level behind the railbirds and it’s usually impossible to see if the horse is
wearing front-leg bandages. A cameraman on the ground facing the horses coming
out on the track would solve this problem.
Until they fix this problem, it will be hard to tell on a simulcast how the
horses look and what they are wearing on their legs.
When the races are run, once again the cameras are located at a low angle and
too close to the track for the stretch run. Without having a building to mount
them on, camerawork throughout this year’s meet is going to be spotty at best.
As far as the racing surfaces go, Gulfstream has hit a home run; maybe even a
grand slam.
The main track looks to be very safe with a generous cushion. For most of the
first week of racing, it was very dry and a cloud was kicked up during the
races. Usually racetracks that have these characteristics are cuppy and somewhat
slow. Yet, the Gulfstream main track played fast despite the apparent lack of
moisture.
Just like the training center at Palm Meadows that Stronach’s Magna
Entertainment Corp. built, the horsemen in south Florida have been raving about
the dirt racing surface. It is safe and kind and will enable horses training on
it to get fit quicker and stay sounder longer. Barclay Tagg, who has been
stabling at Palm Meadows to keep his horses off what used to be the rock-hard
dirt track at Gulfstream as much as possible, is now stabling on track because
it now resembles the Palm Meadows racing surface.
One factor that I noticed on the main track is that horses rallying at the
top of the stretch have often lost their momentum turning for home. You would think
that a 1 1/8-mile track would have easier turns than a mile track, but horse
after horse who looked like they were going to blow by the leaders spun their
wheels at this crucial part of the race and lost all chance.
Horses were able to rally from behind the first week of racing, but most of
those made their moves after they entered the homestretch.
The turf course looks like the horses are racing on the 15th fairway at
Augusta National. It is wide, green and the horses seem to run over it like it’s
a trampoline. There haven’t been any divots kicked up and any running style
seems to work.
On opening day, MR. LIGHT (Numerous) won the 9TH race while covering a mile in
1:31.41. Naturally, the skeptics were out in force questioning the length of the
course or the timing, but it has been verified that the time was accurate and a
new world record for a mile on turf was, in fact, set.
Further confirmation on the accuracy of the turf course came on Friday when
MOVE THOSE CHAINS (Polish Numbers) covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:45.75 and on
Saturday when BIG BOOSTER (Accelerator) covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:39.07. On
Sunday, ANGELA’S LOVE (Not For Love) won the Marshua’s River S. covering the
same distance in 1:39.39 despite a rather slow pace and UNION PLACE (Out of
Place) won the Ft. Lauderdale S. in a blazing-fast 1:38.26.
If you are going to have any success at this year’s Gulfstream meet, forget
anything you knew from the past. This is a new racing environment and for now, I
will favor inside speed on the main track until proven otherwise.
The beginning of the Gulfstream meet always features some of the best maiden
races and this year is no exception. On Thursday, Bill Mott sent out AROUND THE
CAPE (Carson City) to a sharp two-length win going the six furlongs in 1:09.30.
Out of the good race mare Song of Africa (Alzao), Jerry Bailey sent the bay colt
to the front and never looked back. It looks like Around the Cape will be a
factor in sprints the rest of the year.
Later on Thursday, Todd Pletcher sent out BANDINI (Fusaichi Pegasus) to a
dominant 4 1/4-length win going seven furlongs in 1:22.47. Out of the
stakes-placed Dixieland Band mare Divine Dixie, Bandini ran poorly in his career
debut at Aqueduct in November but trained brilliantly since then at Palm Meadows
and went off as the 4-1 third choice in the wagering.
On Saturday, DEAREST MON (Maria’s Mon) showed that his fantastic maiden win
at Aqueduct in November was no fluke when he came back to beat first-level
allowance foes by a half-length covering seven furlongs in 1:22.82. Unlike some
of the other three-year-old colts who impressed the first week, Dearest Mon was
able to come from off the pace and showed a determination that will help as the
races get longer.
Later on Saturday’s card, HIGH FLY (Atticus) won the $125,000 Aventura S. by
nine easy lengths going the new, one-turn mile distance in 1:35.88. He had to
survive a claim of foul by Jose Santos, who rode the runner-up Drum Major
(Dynaformer) to a game effort despite being clobbered by High Fly as they headed
down the chute.
The next race was the Mr. Prospector H. (G3), a sprint for three-year-olds
and up going six furlongs. The bettors had a hard time deciding on a favorite
and eventually made Shake You Down (Montbrook) the tepid 7-2 choice with four
other horses 6-1 or less.
SARATOGA COUNTY (Valid Expectations), winner of the Gotham S. (G3) going a
mile last March at Aqueduct, was able to loop the field and win going away by 2
1/2 lengths in the good time of 1:08.99. Despite a pedigree slanted toward
speed, this was his first win going six furlongs.
The final race on Saturday was the Hal’s Hope H. (G3) with older horses going
1 1/8 miles on the main track. It attracted a terrific field of 12 with many of
the entrants looking to be on the verge of having big seasons.
Nick Zito sent out the undefeated Commentator (Distorted Humor), who was
going for win number six but trying two turns for the first time. He hadn’t
raced since November 25 and showed only one published workout in the interim.
Obviously very talented, he was untested and overbet at 3-1.
If you go back and watch the 2003 Louisiana Derby (G2), you see BADGE OF
SILVER (Silver Deputy) pass Peace Rules and Funny Cide (Distorted Humor) around
the far turn like he was going to win willingly. Unfortunately, things went awry
and he was off for 10 months before returning to a four-year-old season that
reinforced the impression that he had huge talent despite not being able to find the
winner’s circle in a graded stakes. His last start in the Cigar Mile (G1)
was a good second, and Badge of Silver seemed on the verge of tapping his potential under the
tutelage of Bobby Frankel.
Commentator was used hard by Pat Day to take an early lead down the
backstretch and spent a lot of energy in doing so. He covered the first half
mile in :45.78 and just when it looked like Day might be able to give him a
breather around the far turn. Jerry Bailey made his move on Badge of Silver.
They went up to challenge and loomed boldly at the top of the stretch. When it
looked like we might see a dramatic duel to the wire, Commentator gave no
resistance and backed up.
Badge of Silver had the lead and his last remaining challenges would come
from longshot Contante (Arg) (Interprate) and Dynever (Dynaformer), who is
always coming but doesn’t always get there. Dynever cut the margin to a neck at
the wire but wasn’t good enough to get to Badge of Silver. It was another 1 1/4
lengths back to Contante and Commentator finished out of the purse money in
seventh place.
Ken and Sarah Ramsey had a terrific 2004 season and are now off to a great
start this season with Badge of Silver, who might be to stablemate Roses in May (Devil His
Due) as Peace Rules was to Medaglia d’Oro. He figures to make a lot of money
while his stablemate is pointed for the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) at the end of
March.
On one final note — how many times do players get upset when odds drop
during a race? On Sunday, HARBOR CHIEF (Boston Harbor) gunned to the front and
won the 4TH race easily. When the judges posted the official results, he was
listed at 7-1, but we had the “mutuel prices pending” sign on the TV monitor.
However, Harbor Chief actually paid $18 to win, or 8-1. Just remember, in the
zero-sum game of pari-mutuel wagering, for every horse who drops in odds someone
has to go up and those who had Harbor Chief received a very pleasant surprise.
Horses to Watch
Monday (1/3)
2ND — MAGNITUDE OF ONE (Richter Scale) lost all chance with a slow break in
her first start in six months.
5TH — MAGIC MOUNTAIN (Woodman) was used hard setting a contested pace when
pressed by a 64-1 shot.
9TH — CELTIC MEMORIES (Tabasco Cat) couldn’t overcome post 12 going a mile
in world record time but showed he likes this turf course.
Thursday (1/6)
3RD — BULL POWER (Holy Bull) dropped down to maiden claimers for the first
time and showed good speed to the deep stretch.
4TH — PROPULSION (Malibu Moon) chased a runaway winner through fast
fractions but still held on for second against a deep field.
5TH — TAX DEFERRED (Defrere) lost all chance after stumbling at the start.
He’s run well here in the past and should improve for John Zimmerman.
Friday (1/7)
6TH — LEMONETTA (Lemon Drop Kid) flew home in a maiden turf event with a
last quarter of under 23 seconds.
9TH — PISCES (Prized) was shuffled back from post 1 against a bulky field
and finished full of run.
Saturday (1/8)
3RD — DYNAMIC CAT (Dynaformer) rallied furiously from dead last to get up
for second in her U.S. debut.
7TH — Drum Major was clobbered soon after leaving the gate but still was
able to rally for second.