6/1 (BEL): Toy Cannon Sunday..

[Kasept]

2nd (1:51)

1 Mile (Turf) | Open | 3 Year Olds And Up Starter Allowance | Purse: $50,000

2 Distorted Dream Castellano J J 122 L
3 Loveisheartandsoul Ortiz J L 122 L
4 Northern Tripp Rice T B 117 L
5 Hot Sand Ortiz I Jr 122 L
1 Toy Cannon Alvarado J 122 L
1a MTO Vona Ortiz J L 116 L
7 Smokey Brown Saez L 122
8 MTO Old Upstart Saez L 118 L
9 Best Play Velasquez C 124 L
10 MTO Scare City Rice T B 113 L
11 Madam I'm Adam Rosario J 122 L
12 Prophet's Cat Mejias L 113 L

A-Coupled: Toy Cannon and Vona

[Storm Cadet]

Steve
I'm planning on watching TC race in person with some other owners. Who is our contact person at the paddock area to gain entrance?

Thanks in advance

Ron

[Kasept]

Me?

[Storm Cadet]

Great I will look for you there!
Thanks

[Kasept]

2nd (1:51)

1 Mile (Turf) | Open | 3 Year Olds And Up Starter Allowance | Purse: $50,000

2 Distorted Dream Castellano J J McMahon Hugh I 122 L 6-1
3 SCR'D
4 Northern Tripp Rice T B Ryerson James T 1175 L 20-1
5 Hot Sand Ortiz I Jr Goldberg Alan E 122 L 10-1
1 Toy Cannon Alvarado J Mott William I 122 Blk-On L 7-2
6 Smokey Brown Saez L Toscano John T Jr 122 10-1
8 Best Play Velasquez C Jacobson David 124 L 4-1
10 Madam I'm Adam Rosario J Rice Linda 122 L 5-2
11 Prophet's Cat Mejias L Sciacca Gary 1135 L 30-1

A-Coupled: Toy Cannon and Vona

Exacta, Quinella, Trifecta (.50), Super (.10), Pick 3 Races (2-4) Pick 4 (.50) Races (2-5), Double Wagers

[Kasept]

Race 2 -- DRF Closer Look By Brian Pochman

Distorted Dream
This gelding flashed some real ability once upon a time and it was nice to see him get things turned around a little bit in his latest outing when breaking his maiden over the Pimlico turf course, but this does have a chance to prove to be a tough spot for him to make his first start against winners; intrigued by the presence of Castellano, but others entice more.

Loveisheartandsoul
He put together a couple of nice performances over turf to close out his 3-year-old season and this does appear to be a reasonable spot for his first start as a 4-year-old; he deserves to be listed among the top contenders while going out for a barn and rider that team up with success.

Northern Tripp
Not wild about his 1-for-18 race record, or that he's winless in his last nine starts going back through 2013, but his latest start after a layoff sprinting can serve as a useful conditioner for this, and wouldn't be totally shocked if this stone-cold closer snuck his way into the exotics mix.

Hot Sand
With a pedigree like this, it's a concern to see how willing his connections have been to offer him up for a tag in his first four starts, but he has shown a little bit of ability; he's out of a G1 winning dam who won 9 of 26 turf starts for $1.2 million, and he's a 1/2 to stakes winner Our Entourage (5-20, 209k, including 2 of 7 turf starts for 74k).

Toy Cannon
Late running type usually shows up and runs his race and on his best day he is capable of producing a pretty solid stretch punch; he has struggled to get himself over the top through the lane, but he fits right in with competition of this caliber.

Smokey Brown
Like to see the improvement he demonstrated in his first start as a 4-year-old in his latest outing, and it looks like that level of performance can get him into the mix against these; he's another late running option to consider in here.

Best Play
Of the horses in the main body of this race, he sports the best last race Beyer Speed Figure, and it's worth noting that was his first start for the Jacobson barn; he's out of a G2 winning dam who won 4 of 21 starts for 244k, including 3 of 14 turf starts for 212k; C.V. has won with 6 of 13 (46%) mounts for this outfit at the current meeting.

Madam I'm Adam
He's consistently produced performances that are strong enough to suggest that he can put in a serious bid for the top prize against these, and this looks like a decent spot for him to take a shot at securing his first turf victory; that said, it might be worth noting the presence of Velasquez aboard another in here.

Prophet's Cat
Sire wins with approximately 8% of his turf starters and dam won 6 of 46 starts for 146k, including 3 of 32 turf starts for 83k; this gelding will really need to improve over what he's shown in his first six starts over dirt in order to threaten the top contenders in here.

[BigBlue]

Looking forward to today's race. Good luck to TC, Junior and everyone there in person.

I'll give my handicapping another shot - please let me know if you see some glaring errors.

• This appears to be a minor step down for TC in class - maybe that will help him.
• On the front end, the #2(Distorted Dream) looks formidable. He may try to go start to finish on the front. By the numbers it appears that he can do it - but it's a step up in class for him.
• The #8(Best Play) has a strong late kick and had the highest speed figure last time although that was on the dirt. He may come running late.
• The #10(Madam I'm Adam) looks good and seems to do well on turf although his best turf finishes were at shorter distances. He also appears to have the highest class races in his background. Will the drop in class help him with the longer distance?

So, the #2 goes to the lead with TC, #8 and #10 midpack. On the far turn, the #10 starts to fade and TC and #8 chase #2 to the finish. A victim to the fast early fractions, #2 starts to slow. #8 realizes that his dirt performance will not translate to turf. TC shows his late move and edges out to win.

WP bet on Toy Cannon.

Let's start the season off right!!! Good luck to us.

[Alabama Stakes]

i hope y'all get your picture taken today guys.

[casp0555]

I second that Alabama...good luck DT and safe rides/trip to Jr. and TC

[Kasept]

Gorgeous day on Long Island! Safe trip to Cannon & Junior.. See everybody there.

SCR/CHG'S: http://www.nyra.com/belmont/changes/

2 1A Vona Early--Main Track Only
3 Loveisheartandsoul Early--Veterinarian
7 Old Upstart Early--Main Track Only
9 Scare City Early--Main Track Only

[Lava]

GL TC and Junior. It is so nice out today at Belmont park.

[Conrad]

Dammit Junior - how about getting down to the rail in the stretch !?
You had a lot of horse and somewhere to go, but you stymied yourself by not ducking into the rail.
Then it looked like you didn't ride very hard for 3rd near the wire

[pointman]

Originally Posted by Conrad

Dammit Junior - how about getting down to the rail in the stretch !?
You had a lot of horse and somewhere to go, but you stymied yourself by not ducking into the rail.
Then it looked like you didn't ride very hard for 3rd near the wire

That was a bad ride that made a tough trip for TC getting blindswitched at crunch time. Probably was best today.

[Alabama Stakes]

i got a nice hole that just opened right in front of me. i decided to dick around instead of hit the hole and win. I finally move after the winner had closed the hole so i no get through. Poor ride.

[BigBlue]

Man....tough trip at the end - a little congested. He was comin' .... again. Seemed more focused today - maybe the blinkers helped.

Hope all is well for next time.

[Lava]

I don't think it was that bad of a ride, looked like TC didn't want to go into the hole. Plus he got pinched back after the break if you watch the head on. I think if he was outside he wins to day.

[Kasept]

Just getting chance to catch up on Sunday. Overall, a positive experience to kick off Cannon's 5yo year despite having to settle for show money. The trip wasn't awful with the perceived 'trouble' -- as usual -- brought on by Toy Cannon's own interest in how close horses are to him. And even with the blinkers, he was trying to lug in in the stretch, which Alvarado tried hard to control.

Toy Cannon's failure to 'hit the hole' when available stems from him not having his head pointed forward when needed. You can't accelerate forward when you're turned sideways. And his falling out of it a bit early was due to clipping heels in the first 50 yards and the slight stumble that you can see best from the head on. Junior let him settle after that before starting to engage him on the backstretch.

On the plus side, he was away 6 months and is not a horse that can get fit with morning exercise since he won't work hard, so he had to need this and racing will tighten him up. When he came back through the tunnel after, he was still blowing pretty hard indicating he was predictably less than 100% fit for this. While the mile distance is OK for him, the 8.5f is where we'll see him most often. Another positive was Junior saying he felt strong and eager under him and never stopped trying. He was also on his toes in the paddock, something you don't typically see from him. A 77 Beyer for the effort, his 10th straight race with a fig between 73-79. Good jump off point for the handsome gelding.

Hope everyone enjoyed. Should be a good summer with him. Hoping to get a race out for My Pal of Pals next..

[Kasept]

[Alabama Stakes]

that hoss has run. an outside post and a widest of them all trip would let him lug in all the to the rail as he's flying by. I'll take those lugging in hosses cause they're going so fast it's tough to stay straight.

[Coup Verville]

Maggie Wolfendale said that he looked a little "soft" and would probably need one. Win or lose, though, it's still fun to watch him run.