FG 4

Started with 39 entrants but the weather has significantly reduced that figure. While not an attractive sequence it was on the schedule.

7) La Ville Chocalat clearly is quick from her works and double C as good a first out sire as there is. Chestnut brought 47K in unusual Overbrook foal sharing and the family is good. A tepid nod for potent connections. Conversely Wilson Terrace has little pedigree but was not culled, Beppin from notorious weak debut barn but Robbie lands here and Orange Crush whose best race was on a sealed course.

8) Cosmo has had one dirt race and it was acceptable. Stone farm homer the only play as the others do not entice and no better wet track sire line.

9) Desert Sea loves a sealed surface, is a five time winner and drops substantially. Colt claimed four out of five races earlier in his career and should get a good trip. Also Flanders who will get first run on the Texas speed and is the one to beat.

10) Goleador did not get along with the bug from a wide post... not that the rider upgrade is material but well bred gelding earned almost fifty grand as a five year old and IF right rolls by these. Four were claimed out of the 5K sprint yesterday and given the purse for this bottom nickle claimer Rayburn will have picked this spot carefully. Call it 2,3,4,7 / 2 / 1,6 / 1 Playing Sunday. Anxious to see the pool with hot springs open. Good cappin. BBB

Rehash

Watched several early races and was aware of the extraordinary bias yet still had many choices in the opening leg. Went four deep and for me that is a good sign I do not have a clue. The winner was a pricy January sale grad and her second dam won the Test at Saratoga, however there were ugly gaps in her works. She had two halfs that were best of 56 and best of 72 yet in between were gaps of 40 days and 26 days and for me that is cause for elimination! Cascio is a terrific horse trainer on his way up and the "Pletcher pattern" coming in (three weeks off, a maintenance 5/8's, then a solid blowout six or seven days later, then a race six or seven days after that) is always a good sign.

Cosmo ($4.40) did not have to win but he was the only horse that could have been played. His competition was 2 for 17, 4-55 and 2-9 which hardly matches up with 14 exacta finishes in 29 trips.

Earlier in the week we wrote about track bias and how slow/fast it can change and when the sun came out the track went from sloppy to muddy in about twenty minutes. While everyone has a different slant, to me sloppy is standing water covering at least half the racing surface. Do not read much into the charts that will say the last two races were on a sloppy surface, they were not. At any rate Flanders Fields sat a perfect trip opened up then virtually stopped. This son of A.P. Indy/Flanders has had some physical problems and Lonnie did not hit him left-handed although the situation called for it. Hope he is OK. Two total plodders came and got him late and it may have just been the surface becoming very tiring.

The last leg was quite formful with the class of the field Goledor getting up in the last stride. The jock (zero for 2006) hit him lefthanded and he ducked out inside the sixteenth pole and then had trouble putting the stick in his right hand. Once he got it there one whack and the gelding fnished up well while right on the crown of the track and therefore the best footing. The $1 pick 4 came back about $485 which was good value. Of note is the total pool of $26K which was a couple grand more than in Hot Springs. Playing Sunday. BBB