The Nominations Are In: February 6, 2010; Gulfstream Park Races 9-11 Pick Three

"Hey good looking, what cha' got cooking."

The handsome four year old son of Elusive Quality to the left is the Turk's heavy chalk in today's Grade I Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park, Quality Road. Our gate loading bashful superhero is the headliner in a late pick three that includes the Grade I Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap and the Grade III Suwannee River. Good Stuff!

We thank Sarah K. Andrew for the wonderful photo of Quality Road chillin' at Saratoga, please visit Sarah's website when you get a chance, you won't regret it! Let's get it on.

Gulfstream Park Race 9 - Race 10 -Race 11: Race 9 post time 5:18 ET (spreadsheet attached).



Keep checking the scratches, as there have already been four scratches from Race 11 and just as I'm writing this, You and I Forever just scratched from the Donn. The weather has been dry but that can change and you can find the hour by hour at the hyperlink. The track is currently listed as fast and the turf as good.

I smoked a Gurkha Dragon Fury as I handicapped. It was heavy and meaty, and it was a bit too lumbering for me. My mood was already a bit sour with Santa Anita closing again with the heavy rains and an all weather track that doesn't drain.

In Race 9, a smallish field of six horses go to the gate. I've been a big Court Vision fan, Mr. R. Duttrow not withstanding, and I like him in this spot. Trainer Duttrow has just gaudy stats, but the 32% on wins off a 60 day layoff and 25% of routes are pretty hard to ignore. R. Albarado is up. I'm taking a low risk approach today and I'm only looking at a second choice, Take The Points for the pick three selection. If I bet the race and I'm looking for possible value, Yate's Black Cat most likely will be the 4th or 5th bettor's favorite and has a legitimate shot coming off a nice GP 1 1/8 turf win January 22.

In Race 10, The Donn Handicap, I'm singling Quality Road. That said, I like the exotic opportunities here although 10 Cent Supers aren't in fashion, I'll be looking at my base handicap and the tote board to find some value exactas. I'm a fan of Delightful Kiss and I'm happy to see him go to the starting gate today. Duke of Mischief and Kiss the Kid cannot be ignored.

And finally Race 11, because I'm at 2 X 1 so far, I'm going to add five choices to this race and we'll see if we are still alive if we can't find a way to not screw this up! I don't really like any of these runners that much but the top four in my base handicap I think are all capable and I like Long Approach and Cable the best.

Have Fun, Turk Out!

Post Race Analysis: November 15, 2008

Race 8 at the Big A, the 1 1/8 G3 Stuyvesant Handicap was raced across genuine NYS dirt turned to pure slop. Helsinki and Phil the Power scratched and exercised good sense. My choice, Temporary Saint, went to the front and only surrendered the lead at the end of the stretch run. The Little Turk's eye for horse flesh was rewarded again today as he cashed tickets on Dry Martini who paid $10.20 to win. Stud Muffin, whom I dismissed as a pre-race contender, had a good run to take Place. To those who read the Blood Horse, there was a great article on Trainer David Jacobson (who claimed Temporary Saint earlier this year) in the issue that arrived today.

Race 9 at CD, the 1 1/8 turf stakes G3, Cardinal, was a race I watched the tote board closely on up until post. Pre-race I liked Callwood Dancer, but the prerace chalk went off at paltry odds and I decided to look in other places. I settled on a Kent Desormeaux mount, Indescribable. I liked Lady Digby, but her odds were unacceptable as well, going off as the bettors second choice. I'd call this bet a flyer, an informed guess.

The Little Turk liked Long Approach. I placed a straight exacta bet down on the 10-3, Indescribable and Long Approach and was rewarded with a $15.40 win bet and a $199 exacta take.

One of those good, semi-unexpected days.

I did take sometime looking at WO Race 8, the 7f Glorious Song. I thought the chalk, Selva, would win and she did. No bet, but a horse to watch is just as good.

For those keeping track, Big Turk is now up $157.64 in operating income in this current Breeders Cup to Breeders Cup cycle. I bought a month's worth of PP's today from DRF, but I hit big on the win and exacta.

My current expenses are at $67.45 and earnings are now $225.09. The two dollar bettor can scratch out good days.