Saturday October 19

October 19

Empire Showcase Day

We were in Houston this weekend to visit with our son Jeff, his wife Antoinette, and our adorable grandson Cameron.  The main reason we had planned this trip goes back some four years........Kim's twin sister was visiting and mentioned that there was a concert in town headlined by singer Michael Buble, who I'd never heard of.  We didn't go and then she had me copy a CD of his to my music files.  Well, I quickly became a huge fan and made myself the promise to get tickets the next time he was on tour and take Kim on a getaway weekend to see him as a birthday surprise.  For two years he didn't tour!  Then he went on tour, IN EUROPE!  Finally last spring I saw his first US tour in several years, as I periodically kept searching to make this surprise come true.  There it was, he was on tour.  My first thought, since I had several trips planned already was to go locally if he was in town.  And sure enough he was coming to Sunrise - but on the weekend I'm in Los Angeles for the Breeders' Cup!  So I revealed my idea to Kim and asked what city would she like to visit for her "surprise."  The first question she asked was if Buble had a stop in Houston so we could see him AND visit with our grandson!  What a great idea, and yep, he was in town on this weekend.  AND as an added bonus it was a weekend when Jeff's college team was off so he and I could spend a football Saturday together.  So we booked the trip.  The time with the family was great, but let me tell you my grandson is just THE cutest little man ever! 

So, the racing stories for the weekend.  With the Breeders' Cup just three weeks away I didn't think there would be much racing of any significance so my plan was to completely take the weekend off.  But then I read it was "Empire Showcase Day" and so I checked out the entries to see if anyone of interest to me was running.  Sure enough, there were three horses that I knew well and thought would win for fun; another that I'd won with in her last outing; and once I'd handicapped I found a fifth of interest as well.  I downloaded the past performances on Wednesday and handicapped the card.  I took my selections with me to Houston and on Saturday when Jeff and I started watching the early college games he asked if I had any races on my schedule and turned on TVG so we could watch the races play out.  The first of the NY-bred stakes I liked was the Joe A Gimma Stakes.  It looked to me like Court Dancer would be a short priced winner.  She had earned speed figures in both career starts better than anything her rivals had earned, and in her first start against winners she had run in an open graded stakes, finishing a good fourth.  The drop into this state-bred stakes should prove to be a winning spot I thought.  Still, lightly raced juvenile fillies I wagered just the minimum.  She left the gate at 3/5 (after opening at 1/9).  She tracked the speed into the stretch, but could never catch the loose-on-the-lead front runner, second best.  Next up was the Bertram Bongard, a state-bred stakes for juvenile colts.  I thought it was so obvious that the winner would be Wired Bryan; check out his pp's......

As you can see, he's run in three graded stakes and two state-bred races.  Both state-bred races were BLOW OUT wins, including a nice NY Breeders' Stakes last time out.  He'd won an OPEN Grade 2 and had missed by a nose to a tough Pletcher loose-on-the-lead front runner in another open Grade 2.  The only question was the 7 furlong Grade 1 Hopeful, which was a dismal effort.  Was it the 7 panels?  If it was, that raised questions about today.  My thought was since it was in the mud, and in Grade 1 company, it was a toss out in handicapping today's state-bred stakes on a fast track.  The crowd agreed and sent Wired Bryan off as the 1/5 favorite.  He bolted out of the gate and was LONG gone!  I had tripled the bet and was rewarded for my investment.  Made it an even sweeter win when Jeff also had the winner :) 

 

The 4th was my "BET OF THE DAY" and featured Cluster of Stars.  This filly looked similar to Wired Bryan when considering today's state-bred Iroquois Stakes..... 

Just like Wired Bryan, Cluster of Stars featured multiple graded races, and in fact was unbeaten in both graded stakes; was UNBEATEN overall, and had only raced in state-bred company once - in her debut win.  She had been ultra-impressive in winning the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom, and off that effort was one of my top contenders for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint in a couple of weeks.  When I saw her connections had opted for this state-bred stakes instead it looked like easy money to me.  The only question was getting the seven furlongs.  However when I handicapped the race, not only was she the class of the field, but she was the L-O-N-E speed.  She looked to easily control the pace and stretch her speed with ease.....and she did!  WHOOO HOOO!  And again Jeff was on board. 

 

I didn't have another race until the 8th, the Ticonderoga Stakes.  I did not get to watch this race live, and missed a couple of hours of college football with Jeff when we felt pressured by the non-college-football fans in the family to "get out of the house" and enjoy the weather.  So we drove to Sugarland's cool city center to meet everyone.  But - at least to me - it was a wasted afternoon.  We looked at some cool Jaguar cars in a small car show, but that took all of fifteen minutes; then we went to an outdoor café where the table we got was in the sun.  So Cameron and I took a walk while we waited on two of the girls, who were enjoying "the weather outside" by shopping for jewelry for about 45 minutes.  We got back in the car and headed to the grocery and then back to watch the second half of some good football games.  I watched the replays of the last two races on the card on my phone.  In the Ticonderoga I had selected Effie Trinket.  She had won a state-bred stakes for me last time and my first inclination had been to go against her.  But when I looked over the field she looked to sit a perfect trip; was at an even better distance than when she'd won last time; and simply looked best of these.  I was fortunate that she went off at a very generous 7/2.  She saved ground all the way through the far turn but couldn't find any way off the fence, so jockey Luis Saez squeezed up the rail an was JUST up in time!  My third winner! 

The $9.40 payoff netted a cool $23.50 and I was guaranteed to be a winner for the day!  The last race on the card for me was the 10th, the Mohawk Stakes.  Like the Ticonderoga, it was on the turf at 8 1/2 furlongs.  When I'd read that Cluster of Stars was running today and I went online to look at the early entries I also saw that in this spot King Kressa was running.  I knew this guy because he'd run some great races this summer, most notably in the Grade 2 Fourstardave at Saratoga against defending Horse of the Year, Wise Dan......

But you'll notice in his past performances that he runs best on the lead.  When I handicapped the race I saw that there were others with front-running speed.  And while I was nearly certain they wouldn't win, I was leery that they could either take King Kressa out of his game, or soften him up for a closer. Still, his three consecutive triple digit Beyers, and that good second to Wise Dan were enough to make him my bet.  I was willing to toss the last out dismal effort in a Grade 1 going 1 1/2 miles - both WAY beyond his element.  But I wasn't as confident in him as I was Wired Bryan or Cluster of Stars.  But in considering the bet I felt better about his chances than those of Effie Trinket, so I doubled the bet.  Sure enough, a cheap-speed front runner (at better than 60/1) went to the front.  Jockey Irad Ortiz smartly let that one go and "took the lead" on the rest of the pack while chasing the longshot.  As they moved through the turn King Kressa blew by and was more than clear before the late runners had a chance to make a serious run at him. 

Best part about this race, other than it being my FOURTH win in five selections on the day, was that despite what I thought was pretty definitive handicapping angles, he paid a nice $6.20.....so my double investment paid out over $30!  For the day I'd won over $40 with just five selections! 

Wow - what a great day of racing!  Couple this with my selective handicapping last weekend and in my last two days at the races I've won TEN races from just sixteen selections!  That my friends is an outstanding 63% WINS!  Just a little bit about the rest of the weekend.  We enjoyed every minute with the family overall.  Sunday we went to Antoinette's soccer game and let me tell you she is a STAR!  Even in this co-ed league - she made the male goalie look stupid on both of her goals :)  Kim and I headed back to the hotel about 5 pm and got ready for Michael Buble.  We were a touch early for the concert, but considering it was in downtown Houston, to a place we'd never been, the last thing we wanted was to be either lost or caught up in traffic, especially at about $150 per seat!  Our seats were great and we really enjoyed the concert.  When he was on the main stage there was a gi-normous video screen behind him (as well as two huge ones on either side.  It had to be HD quality because it was like he was singing right in front of us.  And later in the concert he walked back through the crowd to a raised stage RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!  It was very, very cool.  See the pics below.....

Michael Buble on stage

Michael Buble RIGHT in front of us

 

Have to admit that taking the in-laws to the airport, a nearly two-hour adventure when I could have been spending the morning with Cameron was my first pick, but it made it possible for them to meet him for the first time.  It was very hard to say goodbye to the little man, and to my first-born son - much more so than when we visited in August because then we knew we'd be back in a relatively short span of time, but this time we have no immediate plans to return.