In the My Charmer Handicap at Calder Race Course, odds-on favorite DENOMINATION set soft early fractions with CALLMETHESQUEEZE and TRIP FOR A.J. stalking close behind much of the way. Things looked good for me at the 1/4 pole as these three were side-by-side across the track. But, OREGON LADY slipped through on the inside as TRIP FOR A.J. took the lead. In deep stretch, OREGON LADY ($7.80), ridden by Paco Lopez and trained by Roger Attfield, broke through, took the lead, and won by a neck over TRIP FOR A.J. while SNOW TOP MOUNTAIN rallied for third ahead of DENOMINATION. The exacta paid $41 and the trifecta returned $186. My exacta finished 2-4-5 so I didn't make too much of a mess of this one, but a loss is a loss.
SUNRISE SMARTY set wicked fractions early, running the half in 44.31 but somehow managed to save enough to hold off FLAT BOLD and NATHAN'S H Q, whose last gasp effort to catch the winner came up just a bit short in the Fall Highweight Handicap at Aqueduct. All three of Pletcher's horses were scratched along with FRAZIL and PARENT'S HONOR. SUNRISE SMARTY, the son of SMARTY JONES, was bet down to 2-1 and his main threat, GENERAL MAXIMUS, was pulled up around the far turn. Ramon Dominguez was aboard the winner for trainer Michael Hushion. SUNRISE SMARTY retuned $6.90 to win and keyed exotic payouts of $26.00 and $65.00 for the exacta and trifecta, respectively. Despite liking the eventual winner, I stayed out of this one partly due to the short field and the 2-1 odds on my selection. I doubt I would have come up with NATHAN'S H Q underneath, either.
The loose early lead for JUANITA in the Fall City Handicap did not materialize as FLEETING LADY provided enough early pressure on my top selection. ARENA ELVIRA took up a nice stalking trip on the inside and came out in the stretch and took the lead from FLEETING LADY in deep stretch as JUANITA gave way mid stretch. IT'S TEA TIME came late to grab show honors. Junior Alvarado was aboard the winner who gave Bill Mott his 4th win in the Fall City Handicap. The favorite paid just $4.00 to win, but the exacta returned $43.80 with the 13-1 shot running a game 2nd. The trifecta with the odds-on favorite on top paid a robust $419.00. JUANITA hung on for 4th but my other selection, SECRET FILE, was never in it finishing 2nd to last.
With just one graded stakes race left and 0-for-2 with my wagering selections, I needed a victory in Hollywood Prevue to make a small profit or at least break even. SO BRILLIANT broke away sharply and took the early lead along with HODGE and GALEX. GALEX broke down entering the far turn as SO BRILLIANT took a neck in front and turned away SHEER TALENT. BROTHER FRANCIS came with a run and tried to run down the leader, but was a little too late and finished 2nd by a neck. 21-1 longshot HODGE held 3rd over SHEER TALENT and EMPIRE WAY failed to fire in this one, finishing 6th and last among those that finished the race. SO BRILLIANT was bet down to 7-5 by the knowledgeable West Coast handicappers and paid $4.80 to win. The $1 exacta returned $12.50 and the $1 trifecta paid $84.90. Garrett Gomez was aboard the winner who was trained by Dan Hendricks. SO BRLLIANT could be a solid 3yo sprinter next year, but I'm not sure if the son of MEDAGLIA D'ORO has the endurance of tactical speed to cause much trouble in the Triple Crown races. BROTHER FRANCIS, on the other hand, may just get better as he gets more distance to work with. I had $6 either way on the top two finishers in the exacta, giving me a $75 win and a huge profit on the day of $1. I'll take the push as there are five graded stakes races today and a feast of them waiting for me on Saturday.
It was a chalky day with the four winners paying $7.80, $6.90, $4.00, and $4.80 to win, but there was money to be made in the exotic pools if you could have put together the right longshots. I'll be back later today with my thoughts and wagering strategies on today's races and may even do some live blogging since I was able to get my Black Friday shopping out of the way last night.
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