First Post: Sunday, January 12, 2014

Time to close out Malkmus Weekend. Enjoy your Sunday!

Free ones: Rundown…

Aqueduct 8
Calder / Gulf Calder 4, 6, Gulf 5, 7, 8, 9
Santa Anita 5

Pay-side: Today…

Fair Grounds 1, 7, 8
Golden Gate 1, 5, 7, 9
Oaklawn 2, 4, 5, 6, 9
Sunland 9
Tampa 5, 8, 9
Turfway 6, 8

Today’s Stakes Pageantry: Aqu 3 has already gone off. In it, #5 Mamdooha was one of ’em Triple Threat Horseys. He won and paid $6.10 up top. When ya snooze, ya looze!

Neither that bad luck nor a prediction for the day’s other stakes, in Race 7 at Santa Anita.

Yesterday’s Activity: As always, Welcome to The Home of The Runner-Up Finish, this time led by Second Bonkersmate UNITEd States Won in the finale at Gulf.

UNITEd States Won, 12-1 on the morning line and bet down to 10-1 in real life, was buried toward the bottom of the V6 Betting Line in a contentious-race configuration; however, he was in the lineup for second-best LifeLiner Speed Column score (93) in the field, and had the lead in deep stretch before yielding by a neck late.

The race winner was, interestingly, a Triple Threat Horsey: top of the Betting Line, farthest-out ‘X’ on the Pace Graph and top LifeLiner Speed Column number (98) among the 12 entrants. So the saver exacta was quite in play at a respectable $96.20, for $2, 4-1 over 10-1.

As well, the show-horse was the top-touted Kid Lightning, 10-1 on the morning line and 11-1 on the toteboard. The trizacta returned 80¢ shy of $500, for $1.

The 7-5 fave rounded-out the super-duper; this fave was tied with UNITEd States Won for second-best LifeLiner Speed Column score in the field, with the superperfecta coming back $2,562.10, for $1.

The fifth horsey in the superquintapenta also qualified on LifeLiner Speed Column, odds of 8-1, and that crazy hyperexotical wager paid $14,730.60, for $1. These are exciting possibilities.

Also running with honour in defeat was sole-touted Designer in the second at Santa Anita. He got beat a dirty head at 13-1, up from a morning line of 10-1.

Designer was top of the V6 Betting Line and the farthest-out ‘X’ on the Pace Graph and the highest-rated issue on the LifeLiner Speed Column ratings (98). He led part of the way and mixed it up pretty good in the lane, losing by about 1 or 2 feet of distance. Pity.

Even more pity would be doled out in the seventh at Turf Paradise. Top-touted Sun City scratched, which left lone Bonkersmate Margo’s Delight in as the surviving recommendation.

Margo’s Delight, buried at the bottom of the V6 Betting Line in a contentious-race configuration but with the second-best LifeLiner Speed Column score (88) in the field, was 12-1 on the morning line and an even 30.00-1 when the bell rang. She made the front at the quarter-pole and kept leading for another furlong after that. She could not withstand the winner, succumbing by a lousy length.

After all that, there were some winners to mention.

Sole-touted Cuppy Cake ate up the sixth at Tampa, paying $11.80 up top. The race was wildly contentious — only three of the 10 horseys entered received Fair Odds on the V6 Betting Line, and those three were listed by the software at 6-1 apiece! — and Cuppy Cake was fifth of 10 on the Betting Line, no Fair Odds.

However, Cuppy Cake did have the second-best LifeLiner Speed Column score (87) in the lineup, and she closed well to draw off by 3¼ lengths at the wire.

Sole Bonkersmate Kiss Moon went gate-to-wire in Race 7 at Oaklawn. He paid $21.20 straight.

Kiss Moon somehow got to the front, battled for a while, then opened up by 9½ by the time he made the finish line. He was 10-1 on the morning line and tied for best LifeLiner Speed Column score in what the Betting Line considered a random-type race.

Finally, it took four touted horseys in Race 8 at Tampa, but the money was gotten nonetheless.

A bunch of first-timers contested this one, and one of them was 12-1 morning-line hopeful Saturday’s Light. Saturday’s Light, Fair Odds of 5-1 as the fifth-ranked horsey on the V6 Betting Line, had the requisite connection line we like to see for a debut runner: 15pc/17pc/18pc. Saturday’s Light went off at that 12-1 and closed to win by 1 length at the wire at $27.60.

Top-touted Rock ’n Roman, the lone experienced horsey in the field to get the qualifying 80-plus mark on the LifeLiner Speed Column ratings, was bet-down to 5-1 from a morning line of 8-1. The exacta, for $2, paid $215-even. Some crazy 46-1 upstart with a poor connection-line completed the trizacta, which eluded us. Sorry.

WMF Report:

Early
Los Alamitos 4½f
Keystone 6f
Portland 6f
Santa Anita 6f
Sunland 1m

Rally
Golden Gate 6f

Nocturnal Submission: Sifting through the wreckage…

Thank you. Best wishes. Goodbye. Take care now.