Two great days of racing at Del Mar.  My opinions on Gun Runner and Mendelssohn were rewarded, and the two early horses on Friday, Soglio and Spiced Perfection were in the money.

Bolt D’Oro did not embarrass himself in the Juvenile, though Nakatani’s ride should have.  Parked 3+ wide all the way around, he still had a mild late kick.  I still peg him as the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby; let’s see if he can recapture his form in the spring.  If I owned the horse, I’d walk him over to the Baffert barn and ask him to win a Derby for me.

Saturday, the rail did not appear to be the place to be, particularly if on the turn for home.  I’ll be taking a look back at who was buried inside and possibly look for those horses to move up next time out.

Was disappointed to hear Lady Eli came back with her back legs cut up and lost a shoe.  A disappointing ending if this proves to be be her last race as planned.  I was on hand at the Spa this summer to see both of her wins.  Very classy horse with a lot of heart.  Wuheida ran to her looks and works and was on some of my tickets.  Really look like she took to the turf (which looked to be firmer than firm  . . . did anyone see a clod fly up either day ?).

My anti-Sharp Azteca position worked out, getting $30 Battle of Midway on to my horizontal tickets.  Alas, my Champagne Room position did not.  She led them on a merry chase before folding late.   In hindsight, the anti-rail bias may have hurt her.   Big mistake to not have Forever Unbridled on the ticket.   The summer Del Mar speed bias did not surface, which was the biggest reason for my position against her.  She clearly more than fit on class.

The Breeders Cup makes for a great study in handicapping and particularly wagering strategy.   Kinchen’s adage “You have to make them pay you when you’re right” is never more true than it is here.   It’s a conundrum whether to string together multi-race wagers (knowing that potentially huge payouts loom if you beat a favorite or two, but it’s hard enough to get one winner, let alone three!) or to simply invest heavier in your W/P/S show wagers (knowing that the return will be far greater than an average race day with many overlaid and underlaid prices).  If you are right with 2 or 3 of these on the weekend it can also make for a rewarding weekend.

A future post will analyze my course for next year, and the big wagering weekends of the year for the weekend warriors.