toga play along 7/30

[ScottJ]

Originally Posted by pointman

I knew that was s*** field, for a mule like the 5 to win it really confirms that.

Brandini was consistently posting closing quarters in 27+ seconds going a mile. If you look at the mile time in that second race (1:41 and change), this made the four year old money-burning filly a player.

Three noteworthy rides from that second race.

First, Manny Franco at least made the effort to control the race with his race position given the short run to the first turn, setting honest fractions on a main course that might be duller than I originally thought it would be.

Second, Junior Alvarado again finds trouble where none existed by getting hung up three wide for the entire first turn without any real purpose of moving forward or finding a pocket. He looked completely clueless as to how to move his mount in the 48 and change half. Should have realized that this trainer/jockey combo would have no real game plan when the hooves hit the dirt.

Third, Taylor Rice was glued to the pine up the backstretch and found space at the three-sixteenths to come through. While she was never catching the winner, I sure would like to see her bring a mount or two tipping off cover into the lane as opposed to being the leading graduate of the Calvin Bo-Rail school of horsemanship.