An interesting evening at Churchill Downs last night, on a cleat evening with a huge capaccity at the Twin Spires for night racing.
We looked at Races 5-11 yesterday in my selections, and I gave you 28 runners I thought might contend forr "the money". With a couple of scratches, a bit of last minute adaptation was needed, but...overall...I had four winners out of the seven races, five places and four shows. That is a 46% "in the money" percentage. Out of the 21 payable spors up for grabs, I filled 14 of them, or 66% of them. It isn't the best work I've ever done, but, in a seven race sequence where there was nothing over 5-1 that won, it wasn't bad.
Here the race-by-race recap:
RACE 5 -- SCONSIN (1-1), my top pick, got the win over FRANK'S ROCKETTE, the favorite,, who finished third, and RISING SEAS ran second. I had all three in my selections -- not hard to do in a five-horse race in the Winning Colors Stakes. So far, so good. Hot Tyler Gaffalione was the pilot. BAYERNESS got scratched, I substituted HEADLAND, who never fired.
RACE 6 -- DUPLICITOUS (5-1) was the best, with VINTAGE READY running second and MY GIRL LEXI getting up for third. I had VINTAGE ReadY in my picks. Miguel Mena had the winning ride in this lower level claiming affair.
RACE 7 -- SEASIDE RETREAT (5/2) hit the line first, he was my top pick in the race. Longshot PRINCESS LEA held on for second and BOLD TACTICS completed the trifecta. The Pick 3 paid $32.20 on the .50 cent attempt. Corey Lanerie was on the winner.
RACE 8 -- (5-1) EMPTY TOMB got his picture taken for Tyler Gaffalione and was one of my picks. MAILMAN MONEY delivered second and favorite BIG DREAMING collected show money. GUEST SUITE was scratched, so I substituted FINNICK THE FIERCE, who ran huge for fourth at 29-1 odds. The Pick 3 paid $85.20 and the Pick 4 got you $243.70.
RACE 9 -- TEMPLE CITY TERROR (5-1) caught up with front-running DALIKA just in time to take the Keertana Stakes. Adam Beschizza was on board. TWEETY SHAW was a huge price for third. The Pick 3 got you $89.00. I was disappointed in Pass The Plate and Delta Kingdom's performances, they were my top two picks and are "still running" I guess.
RACE 10 -- ALOHA WEST was my top pick and dominated the field in this one, at 3/5 odds with Florent Geroux getting the ride. SCHMOOZIN was a surprise for second and INCORRIGIBLE hit the wire third. The Pick 3 returned $48.15.
RACE 11 -- I didn't like CASANOVA KITTEN in the final, but Ricardo Santana gave her a good ride to win at 9/2 odds. I did like CHANTRY FALLS who ran second and SUMMER PALACE, who got third. The Pick 3 was worth $35.50 and the Pick 4 $256.95.
So, a sequence where there were no major upsets last night. The difficulty lies, sometimes, in wondering how deep to go in a race -- compared to what the payout might be. I experimented with a few "price" longshots and neglected a couple of 5-1 shots in the five-race sequence that ultimately made me a non-winner overall on the card.
Tyler Gaffalione is really taking the meet by storm so far and is a rider you don't want to "go to sleep" on. Florent Geroux has ridden considerably less mounts than Tyler, but is nipping at his heels for the title of leading jockey.
We'll give it a go next Saturday .
paulie
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