Post Race Analysis for Race Day 14 May 2011: BEL Race 9: The Peter Pan Grade 2

Ramon Dominguez! You know Ramon helped make my wallet over $800 thicker this afternoon with his win on Alternation in the Grade 2 Peter Pan, the key single in my Superfecta win.

I betcha Ramon carries a wallet; it's the one that says bad mother f**ker on it! I reckon I digressed, anyway....

As a handicapper I get a sense of when the seas are parting. Don't get me wrong though, that is no sure sign of dollar bills being handed my way, but that feeling underlies what I call pattern recognition. On paper, The Peter Pan unfolded for me in terms of class and pace. While I didn't pick the order 1-10 perfectly, I did clearly see the line between the top four and everyone else, and thats as close to clarity as you get in this game.

The Arkansas Derby to me has become one of the key dirt races of every season and Oaklawn Park seems to be a great place to launch your campaign. Alternation took defeat in Arkansas, added some sharp work and gave a nice final kick to win today.

BEL Race 9: The Peter Pan Grade 2



The gambling part of the day involved singling Alternation. Sometimes you just have to take a stand and thats how strongly I felt about the quality of the Arkansas Derby field and how ready I thought this colt was today for conditioner Von Hemel. The rest of the bet just involved making the cut off just below my sixth favorite, leaving five horses in the red, four horses when Isn't He Perfect scratched.

The Turk is a pretty happy cigar smokin', bourbon drinking bald fella right now. The Little Turk's U-11 Soccer team won both games today and made the Championship game in the tournament which is tomorrow, yet I still found time to handicap, bet and take down a superfecta. Life is good.

Have fun, Turk Out!

The Nomination Is In: May 14, 2011 Belmont Park: The Peter Pan Grade 2

You focus and focus and focus on the Kentucky Derby and then boom, it's over! Are you feelin' Animal Kingdom in the Preakness? The Ol' Turk isn't thinking about it yet, I'm putting that off for a few days and just engaging my brain on a nice looking Grade II contest of three year olds racing at Big Sandy. It's starting to feel a lot like spring time now and one of my favorite races, The Met Mile, isn't that far off (can I get an Amen?).

I took a look at the Grade 2 Jimmy Murray Handicap as well that goes at Hollywood Park over the grass at 5:03 ET. The stayers will be running 12 panels but with the scratch of the mare, Restless Soul (no relation)we are left with a five horse field of which only three have any real chance and you have to ask yourself, what's the point? I'm not going to rant, I've been ranting a bit too much lately but I need a better group than this for a grade 2, really graded stakes committee? Isn't the Breeders' Cup Marathon at 14 furlongs only a Grade III?

OK, let's just get it on!

Belmont Park Race 9 Post Time 5:17 ET: The Peter Pan Grade 2



This is a deceptively nice field of colts and geldings: Alternation comes in off a troubled trip and a good finish in the Arkansas Derby and is 4 of 5 in the money on fast dirt. Will it be fast? Check the track conditions as well as the weather and scratches and changes before you go too far. I'm gambling it will still be fast at 5:20 PM.

Newsdad has no wins on dirt and no wins at the distance and I'm thinking the Mott/Garcia runner will fire big in this spot and comes in off a nice late kick over fake dirt in a Grade I at 1 1/8.

Joe Vann comes in off a win in the Grade 3 Illinois Derby at Hawthorne: 5 of 7 in the money on fast dirt for Trainer Pletcher who places Castellano up who is clipping along at 37% at BEL right now.

Uncle Brent has been training sharply since winning a stakes race at Oaklawn in mid April at 1 Mile.

I'm thinking Prime Cut and and Adios Charlie round out the top 4 contenders and I'll build some sort of superfecta out of this as the time draws closer.

The Little Turk's U-11 soccer team, the Fire have a tournament tomorrow and the Big Turk is going to start thinking about the Black Eyed Susan/Preakness double, his main betting goal next weekend.

Have fun with it, Turk's out