How many things is too many ?  I think I found out on Saturday.

I was leading the NHC free qualifier after one race.  It got worse – much worse –  from there.   I don’t love the ‘pick and pray’ format, as I have mentioned before. I don’t think it particularly plays to any of my strengths.   But I decided it was finally time to jump in and join the NHC tour.  The free contest with direct qualifying seats was finally enough to get me to jump in.  As a semi-public handicapper, I figure I should win a contest or two somewhere along the way to add to my bona fides. 

I was also on a text chain with friends playing the races, had 21 playbacks that ran, was writing trip notes, thinking about this week’s blog, and probably had a few other things cooking, figuratively, if not literally.   12 of the 21 playbacks ran in the money and five of them won.  Many were short priced, but unbelievably I missed the two best prices – 10.60 and 7.80.

I played two contests – splitting the field in one, and bottoming out (well, bottom 1/3 anyway) in the other.

On Sunday I wasn’t planning to play much, if at all.  I didn’t have any significant playbacks or opinions, and went for a walk in the late morning and then to the grocery store. (Did I mention how exciting pandemic life has been?) At the grocery store, I got a text about joining in a syndicate for a pick 6 pool.  I ended up in four different tickets.   Well, that got expensive.

One of the interesting things about handicapping, and then self-analyzing your play, is that there’s nowhere to hide, and no excuses when things go wrong.   Sure, there’s the occasional bad ride, or rough trip (See: Lisheen, one of our playbacks, who got bounced off the rail midway through the turn.  Yeah, we’ll be playing him back again.), but ultimately you live and die with your own mistakes.   The self analysis ss revealing – and ultimately applicable to other areas of your life.  Is what you are doing working ?   Why, or why not.  What could you have done better.  Are you putting in enough effort ?

My playbacks on Saturday would have ground out a 25 percent profit for the day, had I placed them solely and correctly. (I did not).  My attention was far too divided, and I got caught up playing a couple of back pick tickets.   Sunday was no better – I should have spent more time in the fancy foods section.

Older horses.

I’m not going to update the older horse rankings this week.  I’d like to see what the Dubai World Cup has to offer, as well as the Essex Cup at Oaklawn.  The Big Cap turned out to be a very interesting race.  My choice, Express Train got nailed at the wire by Richard Baltas’ Idol, who I had generally dismissed.  The redboard yielded some buzz that the horse wants every bit of 1-1/4 miles, and looking at the race shape, there was enough pace to set him up.   Mike Smith gave Express Train a great trip, and race-rode the beejeezus out of Florent Geroux on Maxfield, who pressed outside throughout and never had a chance to get in.   That trip, combined with the tiring track, the fact that he shipped, ran a mile and a quarter for the first time, AND faced the best field he’d ever met – I look at Maxfield’s race as still pretty good, and I think will be one I will be looking to play next out based on this result (price pending, of course).  A lot of positives to take forward.

In the Kilroe Mile, Hit The Road was on my watch list, but somehow I still missed him.  The east coast surfers going west thing proved just enough to throw me off, and he won without me.  I guess he enjoyed the weight break !

Count Again is the horse that I’m interested in again flying finish and just missed.  Would love to see him at Saratoga this summer, but probably he’s Del Mar bound.

Finally, all I can say is ‘wow’ about Brickyard Ride in the San Carlos.  I wasn’t buying him before the race off a diet of optional claimers and state bred races, but he was super impressive on Saturday.