Sarah Secret 5 in a row?

8th race at Del Mar, 43rd running of the San Clemente Handicap (G2) over a mile on grass.

What isn't there to like about #5 Sarah Secret. 4 for 4, cutting back in distance, front runner that wired her last race, the Honeymoon (G2) at a mile and sixteenth. David Flores is back in the irons and two consecutive bullet workouts. From a fan perspective, I would like to see her win and then ship back to Saratoga, and enter the Alabama. What a match up, with Zazu, St. John's River, Inglorious and Its Tricky.

Now that I have touted her to be one of the best, is she vulnerable? Well, yes. She is a 3 year old and sometimes you never know what can go wrong. Yes, she is the speed in the race and will get clear of this large field. Interesting is that in the Honeymoon she did not run away from the field and right in the pack at the line was #1 Up In Time (GB) beaten by 1 1/4 lengths. Bejarano (who rode Sarah Secret in the Honeymoon now rides her). This will be her 5th start in the states and she is rounding into form. The other filly that pressed Sarah Secret last out was #4 Bonita Star (GB), she finished 6th and 3 3/4 out. This will be Bonita Star(GB), 5th start, as well, not quite showing the speed or form as Up In Time, but you have to wonder could either one or both be coming into their own?

For me, when looking for the upset, I fall to #9 Mizdirection. A Mike Puype lightly race three year old. Last out finished 2nd in the Manhattan Beach stakes. What intrigues me with her, is the Manhattan Beach was her first race after breaking her maiden, she raced forwardly, got bumped at the sixteenth and did'nt pack it in. In fact, there is a little "come and go" set up here, she ran evenly at 1 1/2 off the pace, dropped to 3 back and rallied to finish off by 1 1/2. Her speed figures are there with Sarah Secret, breeding is solid, Puype is 21% on the sprint to route angle (her breeding says the distance is no problem), and a nice workout over the Del Mar turf. Lastly, Garrett Gomez is riding and he has been hot of late.

Will take Mizdirection to upset but will be just as happy if Sarah Secret takes her 5th in a row.

A powerful source for winners ... those early years

Monmouth Park closed for the second day due to extreme heat and humidity, that put’s the Survival At The Shore tournament on hold. That gave me some time to catch up on reading and other turf blogs. I tweeted about Dean Arnold’s TVG blog about 2 y/o’s at Saratoga coming out of the one hole. It was insightful and gave some excellent tips on how to play them. I also enjoyed Todd Schrupp’s write up on his childhood experiences at Del Mar. When I finished it, I started to think back on my first exposure to horse racing. For me it wasn’t going to the track, even though my parents were handicapping nomads on the SoCal circuit.

It was evenings sitting with my dad in his ’58 Nomad listening to race re-creations. I can still see and hear it. After dinner, dad would grab me and tell my mother, who was cleaning the kitchen, that we had an errand to run. We would go out into his gun metal gray Nomad, doors open , and turn on the radio. He would sit there with his folded up Herald Examiner, figures and notes written all over it. What captured me totally was not my dad winning or losing, it was that golden voice of JR Richards of Horse and Jockey. Today, I can still here his deep voice calling out the shows tag line, “Horse and Jockey a powerful source for winners.”

I would sit there staring at the radio, listening to every race replay, I was so enthralled with it I barely heard my dad bitch and moan about some nag still running up the track. What I did learn from my dad in those days, was that speed wins more than their fair share, he was a total speed ball handicapper. Secondly, I learned the phrase, “horses for courses”. He had Pomona nailed down (now Fairplex), it was a bull ring, so when horses came in from Del Mar or Hollywood and show lousy form, he would pull out his notebook and if the horse showed hitting the board at the ’ring, he’d bet them. He would laugh and say, “horses for courses” and grin like a mad hatter.

So for me it wasn’t the train to Del Mar, the opening of the season at Oak Tree or the afternoons at Hollywood Park, it was those early evenings sitting with dad, in his station wagon on the driveway, feeling the ocean breeze, hearing JR Richards bring home another day of races.

Thanks dad, for those wonderful memories and a lifetime of winners!