[Dr.SwineSmeller]

8/11/08 Coast to Coast with Dr. SwineSmeller
Del Mar Race's 2 and 3, post 2:32 Pacific time.

Should Chocolate Lava fail to set the grass afire at Del Mar today, I'm buying a two dollar ticket on a Pacific freighter bound for Mauna Loa, Hawaii. Once there, I'm going to hike my happy @** up Mt. Kilauea and experiment with bungy jumping into Kilauea's active volcanic crater using kite string for a bungy cord. That is if I don't have to just swim out and feed myself to the California coastal great white sharks because I didn't have a lousy two dollars left in my pocket for a cheap freighter ticket. I think I can get the kite string donated. I can probably get the two dollars and the kite string donated.

Four year old filly Chocolate Lava is listed as the 3/1 second choice in this short field of five going one mile for the top Del Mar kitty of the day at $75,000. She was entered on July 28th at Del Mar, but subsequently scratched that day. Top 3 Del Mar jockey, J Rosario, is the lone ranger carrying the 124 pound top weight. Rosario will navigate the magma flow for top Del Mar trainer John Sadler. Early 8/5 favourite, Irish Bred European grass specialist Bahama Mama, may indeed be deserving of her early line, but in her first out on American soil she was disqualified, as going backwards evidently caused her to experience an acute episode of dyslexia. I'm hoping that Bahama Mama's acute dsylexic condition can be upgraded to chronic dyslexia today after she takes another right in the first turn, I hope.

Chocolate Lava is another high dollar girl, puchased at the March 06 Ocala Breeders' Sale for a hefty $400,000 by owner Mona Talla. I can't say that I'm the least bit familiar with Mona, but a blind assessment says Mona has plenty of someone's money to spend. Some well known fast racers show up in Chocolate Lava's three deep pedigree check. Her four great grandpa's include French turf champion Blushing Groom, Coxs Ridge, Deputy Minister, and Risen Star. Her sire, Orientate, won 10 of 19 lifetime starts for 1.7 million. In 14 lifetime starts, Chocolate Lava has posted a 3-2-3 mark, banking $128,000. This hot to trot babe should make a strong run for the wire today, as she appears to be sound and in a spot that suits her well.

As the gates erupt open today at Del Mar, I'll play Chocolate Lava for $50 WIN.
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Race 3 looks to be a wide open event for a $25,000 maiden claiming tag. Obscure owner/trainer John Glenny entered two, scratching the 1st half in preference of the 1A half of the entry, In The Poconos. Obviously Glenny goes with the filly he thinks is best prepared here. M A Pedroza takes the reins and will break out from the 3 hole in a race where all the serious competition starts from the outside in this a field of 8. At 10/1 on the morning line, if In The Poconos can grab a ground saving trip on the rail in this two turn event, she may indeed find herself in serious contention when the field straightens for the stretch. She looks as good as any and potentially better than most on paper here, and her pedigree ranks tops along with the 5/2 favoured Shade of Moonlight.

Shade of Moonlight will a tote top weight of 124, and at four years old, she just now begins racing, putting a soundness question mark into her chart. At three years old, In The Poconos gets a 4 pound weight allowance, which can only be of aid when going a distance.

I'll play In The Poconos for $20 WIN. I'll also play a $5 exacta box coupling #1A In The Poconos with #7 Shade of Moonlight.

Dr. SwineSmeller