Two at Toga (2023)

[theguarantee]

Wine and Whiskey broke poorly, rushed up and had nothing late. Anna's Arabesque was OK and I thought was needlessly pulled off the pace but was probably second best anyway.

Bet: $16.00
Returned: $26.50

Saturday 7/15:
Best Bet - Race 11: #1 Monet Never - Been waiting for this one to return off the last start. He's got good tactical speed and I thought had very subtle but less than ideal trips in his first two at Gulfstream. He again had a bit of a trip in the last but I'm moreso drawing a line through that event as something clearly went wrong. Blinkers come off today and hopefully that allows him to settle a bit better and finally finish a race off.

Best Value - Race 6: #11 Waterville - Maybe seeing something that isn't there but I wonder if we can get her to show some real improvement today. Her races last year were fine but not exactly anything to write home about however I thought the best of them came on the Toga Inner and this time she's coming in with a race inbetween...a race that will likely have most jumping off but I'd contend was a subtle but horrible trip where nothing went right for her. She starts out chasing a blistering pace three wide...Manny eventually eases off and she doesn't lose a ton of ground but after being used a bit early she now finds herself near the back of the pack, then the 8 drops anchor early right in front of her without much room and Manny decides to pull the trigger early which also necessitates a wide move around the turn. It's quite possible she's just not very fast, but I think a series of minor things conspired against her last out and I want to give this one a final shot at what should be a square price.

Good luck.