April 23, 2024

Winning with Workouts 12/2

Last updated: 12/1/04 3:26 PM


WINNING WITH WORKOUTS

In this regular weekly feature, Handicapper’s Report will present examples of
how to use workouts in your handicapping using actual results with horses
featured in our reports. To access the
HR reports,
click here.

Today’s Topic: The value of negative workout information on a favorite.

The value of good workout information is not always of a positive nature.
Sometimes it comes in the form of bad morning drills by a horse the public lands
on as the favorite, making all of the other horses in the race overlays. On
November 17 at Churchill Downs in the 5TH race, CIVITA (Touch Gold) was dropping
down to her lowest level in a $30,000 maiden claimer for Steve Asmussen. She was
bet from a 5-1 morning line to the co-favorite at 5-2. What the crowd didn’t
know was that her recent workouts had signaled that all was not well. She
ran next to last.

The most recent workouts from our Daily Clocker’s Report were as follows:


CIVITA   CD 11/01/04 C+ SY 103.4 B


Asked some late and finish wasn’t that
good in :25.3 for final quarter.


     


CIVITA   CD 10/25/04 C- FT 118.0 B


PUNCH APPEAL(1:15) and CIVITA(1:18) in
company for Asmussen. PUNCH APPEAL drew off late by 15 over an
overmatched CIVITA. PUNCH APPEAL was going easy at the end while under
wraps with the last quarter in :26 and last furlong in :12.2. CIVITA
struggled late.

Negative workouts are also very useful in reducing the contenders in a race
loaded with first timers. We will present examples in the future.