Rachel Alexandra and A Breeders’ Cup Update

Here are the news and notes from this last weekend in horse racing.

- Rachel Alexandra was a runaway winner (19 1/4 lengths) in the Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park on Saturday. There was a small entry list to begin with (5) but when two horses scratched there was only a field of 3 to run the race. Rachel Alexandra was in third and just off the pace up until the third turn but then she turned it on and ran by the other horses in dominating fashion.

- In Breeders’ Cup news: Dar Re Mi raced into a Breeders’ Cup birth in the Filly and Mare Turf Division via a win on Saturday in the Pretty Polly Stakes. This record has been updated on the HTB Breeders Cup 2009 tab where all automatic qualifiers will be tracked.

Rachel Alexandra Returns!

Rachel Alexandra returns to the racetrack today for the first time since her Preakness win. She will be Running the Mother Goose Stakes (Grade 1: $300,000) which is the 9th race at Belmont Park today. The race can be seen on HRTV and post-time is 5:17 EST. In most cases HTB would provide picks but there are only five entries in the field. We will most certainly watch the race and give a complete follow up though. Here are the race entries:

1:  Hopeful Image (30-1)

2: Don’t Forget Gil (15-1)

3: Rachel Alexandra (1-5)

4: Malibu Prayer (10-1)

5: Flashing (4-1)

Win And You’re In!

The AP brings news of one of my favorite times in the horse racing season, Breeders’ Cup automatic qualifying races are about to start! Hundreds of owners, trainers and jockeys will be working that much harder to win a single race to get them into the Super Bowl of horse racing. There is nothing like it in all of sports, no matter who you are it’s win and you’re in and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Be sure to visit HTB as all the races unfold as we will keep a running list of who has raced their way into the Breeders’ Cup.  

NEW YORK (AP)—The Breeders’ Cup Challenge has added more races to its program of automatic qualifiers, bringing the total to 62 races in which the winner clinches a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Championships in November.

The $25.5 million two-day Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita features 14 races, including the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. The races are Nov. 6-7.

Last year, there were 57 challenge races.

Most of the qualifiers are in the United States, with six other countries— Australia, Canada England, France, Hong Kong and Ireland—also hosting races.

The qualifying races begin July 4 with the United Nations Handicap and the Salvatore Mile, both at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

Click THIS link if you want to see the original story in all it’s glory.

A Quick Look Back At The Belmont

Bird Was The Word At The Belmont

Last Saturday’s Belmont was another enjoyable race to watch even though I was less than impressed by the ABC’s coverage. I prefer the coverage that NBC offers but that is a whole other set of issues.

In terms of the HTB picks they were pretty much spot on! If you swap the order of the “Birds” (Mine That Bird and Summer Bird) we would have been sitting on the trifecta! I guess we should have boxed those picks but hey what can you do? Summer Bird had a great finish and showed some of the promise and talent many knew he had. Mine That Bird had a good race as well but the Belmont is a long and difficult race. Calvin Borel and the owner have nothing to be ashamed of!

 I was very impressed by Dunkirk. He hit the board and finished strong even though he was in the lead or just off the lead for most of the race. The Belmont marks the end of the racing season for the spring/summer for the casual fan but in the coming days I will have a list and preview of horse races I will be looking forward to in the coming months!

Belmont Stakes Payouts

Yet another exciting Race! Full analysis will come in the next few days…….

#	Horse	Jockey		Win	Place	Show
4	Summer Bird	K. Desormeaux		25.80	9.30	4.70
2	Dunkirk	J. Velazquez			5.40	3.60
7	Mine That Bird	C. Borel				2.60
$2 Exacta (4-2) Paid $121.00 $2 Trifecta (4-2-7) Paid $295.00 $2 Superfecta (4-2-7-6) Paid $852.00

Belmont Stakes Predictions

Horse Racing New York Style!

Here are the official HTB predictions for this years Belmont Stakes. The picks for the Derby and the Preakness did not go so well so let’s hope I’ve got my horse sense back!

Win: MINE THAT BIRD (2-1)

This is the second easiest pick HTB has had to make in the triple crown season (after successfully picking Rachel Alexandra to win the Preakness of course). Calvin Borel once again has the mount and this horse should love the mile and a half facing him. Look for Borel to take a similar trip to the last two races by stalking the pace early and closing the gap quickly at the end. It would take something quite unexpected to happen for Mine That Bird not to win this race. Could that happen? It sure could, but don’t count on it.

Place: DUNKIRK (4-1)

HTB has been high on this horse before and this time that confidence should be rewarded. Dunkirk had a horrible Kentucky Derby because he stumbled out of the gate. If he gets off to a clean start in the Belmont he has the speed to stay near the front and should be a factor in the last half of the race. Veteran jockey John Valzquez has the mount so Dunkirk is in good hands.

Show: SUMMER BIRD (12-1)

This years Belmont could be a battle of the birds, if things go how HTB predicts. Summer Bird should run the race similar to Mine That Bird dropping off the pace in the first half of the race and charging hard in the second half. This colt has finished strong in his last two major races and this distance should suite him just fine. Kent Desormeaux  will have this mount for the first time.

4th: CHOCOLATE CANDY(10-1)

Chocolate Candy should be a factor in this race. Five of his last six speed figures have been above 100 and he will probably stay just off the lead for most of the race. Garrett Gomez has the mount and he won his last start aboard Cocolate Candy in November of last year.

Belmont Stakes Post Positions

Belmont Stakes

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	ML Odds
1	Chocolate Candy	G. Gomez	J. Hollendorfer	10-1
2	Dunkirk	J. Velazquez	T. Pletcher	4-1
3	Mr. Hot Stuff	E. Prado	E. Harty	15-1
4	Summer Bird	K. Desormeaux	T. Ice	12-1
5	Luv Gov	M. Mena	D. W. Lukas	20-1
6	Charitable Man	A. Garcia	K. McLaughlin	3-1
7	Mine That Bird	C. Borel	C. Woolley	2-1
8	Flying Private	J. Leparoux	D. W. Lukas	12-1
9	Miner’s Escape	J. Lezcano	N. Zito	15-1
10	Brave Victory	R. Maragh	N. Zito	15-1

Borel Calls His Shot

Mine That Bird jockey Calvin Borel, guaranteed again yesterday at the Belmont media lunch that his colt would win the race. That’s pretty fitting I guess because the Belmont is ran in New York and the most famous called shot of all time was done by Yankees great Babe Ruth. It’s a bit of a stretch I know but hey………..

NOTE:Post positions for this years Belmont will be held today and can be seen live on ESPN News at 11:00am EST. Comeback here later today for analysis of the post positions.

It’s Belmont Week!

Hello folks! Sorry for the long layoff between posts but I’ll try to make up for it this week as it is time for the Belmont. Below is the list of the projected field along with a few notes. Be sure to check back here during the week to stay on top of the post draw as well as predictions and analysis of the race.

Charitable Man: Last raced on May 9th winning the G2 Peter Pan. Has already ran three workouts at Belmont this month, including 4 furlongs in 49 seconds on May 31st.

Chocolate Candy:Last raced in the Kentucky Derby but wasn’t a factor. This colt has also been at Belmont for the month of May. That along with the fact that 8 of his 10 starts have been over a mile give Chocolate Candy a shot at hitting the board.

Brave Victory: Finished third in his last start (Peter Pan) and has ran two workouts at Belmont in the last few weeks.

Dunkirk: Was last seen in the Kentucky Derby after skipping the Preakness. The Derby was the only start where Dunkirk did not hit the board, look for a strong race.

Flying Private: Wasn’t much of a factor in the first two triple crown races and I would expect the same here.

Luv Gov: I have no idea why this horse is even being considered for this race after a very poor Preakness.

Mine That Bird: If it wasn’t for Rachel Alexandra this horse would be in line to win the triple crown. Which is quite the story considering he was a Kentucky Derby longshot. Calvin Borel is back on board for this race.

Miner’s Escape: Won his last two starts in non-graded races. Probably won’t be much of a factor at this distance.

Mr. Hot Stuff: Last ran in the Kentucky Derby finishing 15 lengths behind. If he’s within 20 at this distance consider it a good thing.

Summer Bird: Was last seen at the Kentucky Derby where he had a good late charge. Considering the length and weak field at this years Belmont he might just be a factor.

Joe Talamo Gets Belmont Mount

From Yahoo Sports and NYRA.com:

ELMONT, N.Y. Belmont Stakes contenders Summer Bird, sixth in the Kentucky Derby, and Charitable Man, winner of the Grade 2 Peter Pan Stakes, are both scheduled to breeze Saturday morning on the main track at Belmont Park in preparation for the 1 1/2-mile “Test of the Champion” on June 6.

Summer Bird, owned by Kalarikkal and Vilasini Jayaraman, will breeze seven furlongs after the break under Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado, said trainer Tim Ice. Charitable Man, owned by William K. Warren, will also work after the break, going a half-mile with exercise rider Renzo Morales aboard.

“We have Joe Talamo to ride Summer Bird in the Belmont, but Edgar said he didn’t mind working him,” said Ice Friday morning. “I’ve known Joe since he was 14 years old, hot-walking in Louisiana. I think the rider change (from C.R. Rosier) will help him.”

This is very much great news for the young jockey. He was slated to ride Kentucky Derby favorite I Want Revenge before the horse was scratched. Summer Bird is nowhere near the caliber of horse but it is great to see Talamo get a shot on horse racing biggest stage.