First Post: Saturday, February 21, 2015

Jim Beam! Good enough for Mila, good enough for us! This’ll warm you right up!

Put some hair on your scalp, too!

Free ones: Rundown…

Aqueduct 6
Gulfstream Park Proper 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 12
Santa Anita 5, 6, 9

Pay-side (Weekend/Weekday): Today…

Fair Grounds 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8
Golden Gate 4, 5
Hawthorne 8
Sam Houston 5, 6, 9
Laurel 7, 9
Oaklawn 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Sunland 5, 10
Tampa 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11
Turfway 1, 2, 6, 7, 9
Turf Paradise 7

Today’s Stakes Pageantry: On the free page it’s Gulfstream 7, 8, 10. On the pay-side it’s Fair Grounds 7, 8, Sam Houston 9, Oaklawn 8, Tampa 10.

Aqueduct 3 has the Triple Threat Horsey #6 Condo Commando, 50¢ to the dollar on your morning-line, temperatures permitting.

If the layoff hasn’t made him too rusty, #6 Riposte can do it in Gulfstream 5. Staying in South Florida, #3 Happy My Way is a live third-choice on your morning line in the sixth. Looks like a private match race going on in Race 9, between the two obvious horseys. In Race 11, #5 Itsaknockout may upend the fave.

It’s #4 Delaunay, again, this time in Fair Grounds 4. If #6 Quadrivium goes in Race 9 (instead of in the eighth), he’s OK. The 10th has #5 Lovely Maria and #1 Shook Up looking best. In Race 11, #4 J S Bach has the potential to put the rest in a fugue state.

Race 5 at Turf Paradise finds #10 Hip Ninety Three in with a mild-upset chance. Next race there, #9 Why Two is the one to beat.

Extra for experts: Fonner 9 is a tossup, with #2 Beach Cooler no worse than any of the rest.

Yesterday’s Activity: As always, Welcome to The Home of The Runner-Up Finish, this time nearly led by the following:

In Gulfstream 7, Second Bonkersmate Tale of the Heart, 13-1, leader in deep stretch before settling for second-best 1¼ lengths back.

In Gulfstream 11, top-touted Mygalsal, 50¢ shy of 20-1, rallying like the champion he might have been, beaten just a half a length for it all. At least he was beat by a LifeLiner Speed Column analysis top number, with the saver exacta, 3½-1 over almost 20-1, coming back at $144.40.

In Hawthorne 8, top-touted Thundering Hoofs, 34-1, not really close to the winner but still 4 lengths ahead of the others; at least she was bested by a 95 on the LifeLiner Speed Column analysis, at 4½-1, with the insurance perfactor returning $223.60.

In Sunland 6, sole-touted Roxy’s Gold, 25-1, neck-and-neck with the eventual winner with a furlong to go before fading to lose by 3, 3 ahead of the third-place finisher.

Yes, some winners thrown in there, not mentioned, but sometimes there’s more validation in the honourable losses.

WMF Report:

Early
Aqueduct 6f
Chas. Town 4½f, 6½f
Mahoning 1m
Sunland 5½f, 6½f

Nocturnal Submission: Sifting through the frozen wreckage…

Thank you. Best wishes. Goodbye. Drive safely.