Sunday morning, August 5^th

 

Rags update!  She worked out this morning; my brother and father saw her, but I got there in time only to see her gallop past the finish line, so no photos, unfortunately.  Most of us weren’t even sure that she was out there—even Mary Ryan, the announcer, kept calling to Todd Pletcher, on the track on his pony, “Is that Rags?  Todd, is that Rags?”, but either he didn’t hear her or he didn’t want to answer—and the buzz in the crowd was palpable.  I was lucky enough to be standing next to Seth Benzel, Todd Pletcher’s main assistant, and I’m fairly certain that, in response to a spectator’s question about Rags, I heard him answer that she’d worked from the 3/8ths pole and galloped out in 58 and change.  There was a huge crowd at the workouts this morning (it was a gorgeously cool morning, rumors about Rags abounded, it’s T-shirt giveaway day), and Mr. Benzel was incredibly gracious as he entertained questions, all with a stopwatch in his hand and his eyes on the track.

 

Octave also worked out this morning, and I did get a few snaps of her, which I will post this evening. 

 

There was a wonderful “only at Saratoga” moment as I walked to the car; a horse was coming out of the paddock on its way back to its barn, and its exercise rider paused by a small group of people along the rail; she let them and their children pet her mount, a three-year-old, for a good five minutes.  She talked at length about the horse (whose name I have forgotten!  I may remember enough to find it out later today) as he pawed the ground and relaxed his head onto the shoulders of the onlookers.  He utterly charmed the whole group before heading off.

 

Hoping to meet up with Carolyn from Baltimore later today—will be at the track for much of the card today with my family, and looking forward to another beautiful day at the Spa…

Teresa, thanks for taking us with you to Saratoga~ I enjoy reading your adventures!

Teresa
I'm Lov'in your updates! Thanks for taking all of the FOBs to Saratoga!
jan

Thank you so much, Teresa. I really appreciate your reports. You make me feel as if I am there!

 

Sunday evening, August 5^th

 

Is it tiresome for me to remark again on what a beautiful day it was at Saratoga today?  It really was—cooler, no humidity, blue skies that went on forever.  As I’ve mentioned, today was T-shirt giveaway day, and that meant that paid admission was upwards of 60,000—which means that a LOT of people were “spinners,” paying admission multiple times to get their free T-shirts.  I’ll bet that those T-shirts are already posted on E-bay.  Lots of those folks got their shirts and went home, but many stayed, and the track was pretty crowded—estimated crowd of about 40,000.  There were so many people that at times it was pretty hard to move around.

 

I spent the day with my brother and father, but abandoned them for a while to hang out with Carolyn from Baltimore in the Turfside restaurant on the third floor of the clubhouse.  We had a great view of the finish line and watched several races from there, before she joined me in the backyard.  We’re hoping to meet up on Tuesday night at the Saratoga select yearling sales; more on those tomorrow.

 

A terrific racing day, and I confirmed my suspicion that I’m a reasonably good handicapper but not such a great bettor.  My losing exacta took a new twist today (second and fourth), and I decided to take a new approach.  Last year the New York Racing Association instituted a new bet, the Grand Slam—it costs only a dollar and its payoffs are generally pretty small, but I figured I’d take a shot.  It’s a multi-race bet; in the first three races, the horse you choose has to finish in the top 3 (loading the bases) and your pick for the fourth race has to win.  So for a buck, I took a shot.  Today, the Grand Slam covered races 6 – 9.  Leg 1:  This was the Barbaro/ Secretariat race today, and I chose Miss Blarney Stone, a daughter of Dynaformer.  She finished third, so I was alive.  Leg 2:  I LOVED Duchess of Rokeby after watching her finish third at Belmont last month, and she won nicely, coming out of nowhere to nip at the wire.  She paid $11.20 to win.  Did I bet her to win?  No—but in the Grand Slam, we fight on!

 

Leg 3:  I used Zito’s entry, one of whom finished fourth, the other last, so my Grand Slam was dead.  Leg 4, the featured Fourstardave:  If my GS were still alive, I needed to pick the winner…and I did, the seven-year-old Silver Tree who ran a terrific race and paid $8.70.  Did I have him to win?  Don’t ask.

 

So—while I lost some money, at least my faith in my handicapping was restored.  It didn’t hurt, either, that I had win and place money on Any Given Saturday in the Haskell. 

 

You will find photos of a horse I believe to be Octave and other scenes from this morning at this link.  Pletcher had two greys on the track this morning, so I can’t swear that this is Octave, but I think it is.  And contrary to what I wrote earlier, I think I did get a photo of Rags galloping out past the finish line.  She was on the track just as I arrived and I thought that this photo wouldn't come out...but it did, and I am inclined to think that this is she because Cordero was on her, and he wears a red vest in the morning.  http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x243/TeresainNY/August%205th/

 

I have a benefit committee meeting for the Belmont Child Care Association tomorrow, so I may not post a morning report.  That meeting unfortunately conflicts with the Hall of Fame induction, and I’m sorry that I can’t attend it.  But Nobiz races in the feature tomorrow, and the seventh race has two interesting choices:  Aristocrat, a full brother to Ghostzapper who has never come close to his brother’s success on the track, and Court Folly, who upset highly favored Songster in last year’s Amsterdam (and yes, I did have that bet!) and who finished third to Henny Hughes in last year’s King’s Bishop.  There’s a forecast for rain, so Nobiz’s race may come off the turf; I’ll be interested to see whether he’ll be scratched if the race moves to the dirt. 

Hey Teresa,

Thank you so much for the play-by-play from Saratoga! Very exiting to read about the Duchess of Rokeby in your "column" as she is a client-horse on  our farm. Mr. Whitbred, the owner, held up his cellphone during the race for all of us not at there to hear. Everyone was thrilled! Evidently, she got bumped 3 or 4 times and caught in a box but still got around everyone. They said she wasn't going to let anyone else win! Kudos to the jockey and the Chief!

Leg 2:  I LOVED Duchess of Rokeby after watching her finish third at Belmont last month, and she won nicely, coming out of nowhere to nip at the wire.  She paid $11.20 to win.  Did I bet her to win?  No—but in the Grand Slam, we fight on!

Duchie is a small and sweet girl with a big heart. She came home this Spring due to ulcers and a trainer change. Once she was feeling better, all she wanted to do was run. She's been doing great at Belmont under Allen Jerkens and everyone is tickled she got to show her stuff at Saratoga!

Thanks so much for sharing this with all of us!  I thought she ran well at Belmont--maybe even went off the favorite?  When I saw her name this week I thought that she had another good run in her, especially with the change to turf. 

She came up right at the end, slipping through horses--it was VERY exciting!  Is her "home" in the NY area?  I'd love some photos of her.  =)

Teresa,
just wanted to let you know, the drawing is on it's way to Donna~ I'll post the image once I've spliced the two scans together in a way that looks decent.
Anna

Hey Teresa,

DoR is a NYbred 3yo out of our big, beautiful mare Palace Lady by City Zip (which is why she is on the small side). The farm is in VA but Belmont is her home for right now. I'll get so pix when I go up in the Fall (unless I can get some at Saratoga).  Her mama, Palace Lady, has had several Stakes winners and is the nicest and the biggest mare you'll ever want to meet. PL's yearling filly (a.k.a. Miss Manners because she doesn't have any -- except with me!) is a spitefire the likes of Rags and it should be very interesting to see her come up.

I'm thrilled that Duchie is feeling good and running well. She is as sweet as her mama and good girl to boot!

Now, I'm talking to myself -- yikes!

I meant to say that Duchess of Rokeby is by City Zip out of Palace Lady.