ARLINGTON NOTEBOOK
MAY 8, 2008
by Steve Collison
Arlington Park opened its doors this past weekend to what promises to be
another exciting and productive summer of racing. Racing will be held from May 2
through September 21, with dark days on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday through
June 15.
On Saturday, the Frank Kirby-trained LORD CARMEN (Ordway) circled the field
entering the stretch before taking the lead inside the furlong grounds and
drawing clear to win the $100,000 James B. Tafel Illinois Owners S. by two
lengths over favored Fort Prado (El Prado [Ire]). Jockey Ramsey Zimmerman was
aboard the seven-year-old who covered 1 1/16 miles over soft turf in 1:50.76.
“The track played into this result quite a lot,” Kirby said. “He really likes
soft turf and has always really liked the Arlington course. And I’m grateful
that Ramsey decided to come back to Arlington this summer. He’s rode a lot of
really nice winners for me.”
Stakes racing will be scarce around here until the Memorial Day weekend when
the inaugural running of the $200,000 One Thousand American Guineas for
three-year-old fillies is the main event. That affair highlights a stakes
tripleheader which also includes the $150,000 Arlington Classic for
three-year-olds and the $100,000 Hanshin Cup (G3) for older horses. Then on
Memorial Day, the $150,000 Arlington Matron H. (G3) is the feature to help
conclude what promises to be a festive holiday weekend of racing.
TRACK SURFACE
There’s much anticipation as to how the second-year of Polytrack racing will
play out here at Arlington. In its inaugural season last year, most horseman and
handicappers were pleasantly surprised at how uniform the new surface played
with most agreeing that fairness and safety are always the key concerns. Veteran
rider Chris Emigh echoed the majority about last year when stating, “Sometimes
there were biases but they were mostly of the day-to-day variety. For the most
part, the surface was fair and balanced.”
Moving ahead to the present, if the opening weekend is going to be the
standard it would appear all is well with this Polytrack surface. With races
being taken off the grass the opening day card went as follows:
two wire-to-wire winners
five stalkers (two lengths off the pace)
three closers
Besides all the running styles being well represented, horses were able to
make substantial moves over all portions of this surface from the rail out to
the parking lot. More importantly, it was obvious that jockeys wouldn’t hesitate
to move toward any part of the strip, which is always the key to interpreting
any signs of a bias. This pattern played out in similar fashion throughout the
weekend and indicates smooth sailing for the meet if this trend continues.
However, if there was one blip upon the radar it came in the opening race on
opening day when a new record for the Polytrack surface was set. Considering
that this was just an average allowance field with the eventual winner NEREUS
(Sea of Secrets) being a nondescript allowance runner, there’s certainly reason
to question the glibness of this surface. Of course, that was punctuated in
Saturday’s 3RD race when the $40,000 maiden LIGHTEN UP (Thunder Gulch) proceeded
to knock two ticks off the record that had been established by Nereus.
Hopefully, these are just aberrations that will be corrected or we’ll be seeing
stake runners looking like Quarter Horses.
JOCKEY NOTES
Hall of Fame jockey Earlie Fires started off this Arlington meet by winning
with four of his seven mounts. But the real news is that Arlington’s all-time
leading rider is talking about hanging up his saddle sometime during this meet,
which considering he’s leaving in one piece is always good thinking for any
rider. Fires notwithstanding, the real story of this meet figures to be between
Oaklawn’s leading rider Eusebio Razo Jr. and Rene Douglas, the perennial leading
rider here. Razo comes to Arlington off an exceptionally strong stand in Hot
Springs, Arkansas, and will be the prime candidate to take top honors this year.
He has already made his presence felt by winning with four-of-eight mounts here
this weekend. Not to be outdone, Douglas scored with five-of-11 and would have
been aboard several of the Fires winners if not for some previous commitments at
Churchill Downs. Once Rene is here for good he’ll be riding first call for the
powerful Wayne Catalano barn, which gives any rider a strong hand from which to
play. Watch for these two riders to quickly outdistance the others in the
standings. Veteran rider Chris Emigh is the only other jockey here who I’d place
up with the top pair and he has also gotten off to a solid start thus far.
TRAINER NOTES
The trainer title here is already a done deal as WAYNE CATALANO dominates
this meet like no other conditioner anywhere dominates. And, considering that
he’s already winning at a 75-percent clip with six-of-eight starters reaching
the line first this weekend, it’s safe to say I’m not going out on a limb here.
However, even though he will prevail by sheer power of numbers, that’s not to
say there aren’t others who deserve attention during this meet. Steve Hobby
comes in off a superb Oaklawn meet and has also gotten off to a successful
start, winning at a 38-percent rate. Then, there’s the omnipresent Tom Amoss
who’s always been one of my personal favorites simply because he’s a winner you
can depend upon. Larry Rivelli also runs a frequently underrated yet highly
productive stable and is someone who can be looked toward to furnish a surprise
or two. We’ll obviously be expanding upon the more esoteric strengths and
weakness of these operations and more as this Arlington meet unfolds. There’s
plenty ahead to discuss and discover.
TRAINER PROFILE
How do you start off this segment without WAYNE CATALANO? You don’t! As
mentioned previously, Catalano dominates this Arlington meet like no other
trainer I know. But what makes him so fascinating is that he does it with such
overwhelming professionalism and expertise that it’s a pleasure to watch. And
what’s even more amazing is that as a horse player you can still make money
playing Catalano runners with only moderate restraint. One avenue to pursue is
this stable’s first and second off-the-claim runners. Catalano often claims
runners who are not currently in form and most players are reluctant to back any
runner with poor recent form even with a barn that wins 35-percent first
off-the-claim. But these horses turn around quickly for Catalano and shouldn’t
be ignored, especially if changing distances or moving to the turf. And another
isolated claiming pattern that I’ve found uniquely profitable is when they wheel
back within seven days. Another pattern that pays dividends even when betting
blindly is when Catalano sprints his runners first time off-the-claim, then no
matter how they perform, stretches them out the second time around. That’s gold,
baby, gold.
RECENT CLAIMS TO WATCH
Saturday (5/3)
1ST — OUR CAT (Storm Cat) comes from Catalano, who frequently drops solid
in-form runners down in class just to get the win. That was the case with this
seven-year-old bay. These runners can move right back up the ladder for other
stables and that appears to be the situation new trainer Michael Reavis now
finds himself in. You may not get rich with this claim but he’s still a blue
collar play next out.
4TH — ROAD TRACK’S DREAM (High Yield) was seventh here for Tom Amoss, but
claimed by Catalano. When considering that conditioner’s high-percentage with
first off the claim runners, you could probably pencil in any of his claims here
and not go wrong. However, in this case Catalano has taken a runner who tossed
in a weak effort off the shelf and that may result in a better then average
payoff when coming back for this powerful barn.
Sunday (5/4)
3RD — SO BUSTED (Tiznow), a five-year-old gelding, returned to Arlington
where he’s always enjoyed solid success. He was able to win once again here
while being claimed by trainer Reavis and appears to be heading to a productive
stand at his favorite track.
4TH — MOUNTAIN STAG (Running Stag) won today but still has an ugly looking
overall record. Yet, he was still claimed for $32,500 by trainer Amoss and
that’s because he still has all of his allowance conditions available, which is
where he’s likely to land next time out for Amoss. This stable has made a
fortune from claiming underachievers such as this and then moving them through
their respective conditions and beyond.
HORSES TO WATCH
Friday (5/2)
1ST — BIG RUSHLET (Wild Rush), a six-year-old gelding, came off a five-month
leave of absence to gain the show while being just one-length off the winner
Nereus, who was in the process of setting a new Polytrack record. Considering
that trainer Christine Janks tends to do better the second time around there’s
plenty of reason to expect a huge effort from this one next time out.
6TH — STAR OVER MALIBU (Malibu Moon) suffered through a troubled trip while
making her second start off the claim for trainer Hector Magana. Despite the
abundance of traffic problems, she still managed to run second and we have to
believe she’ll be visiting the winner’s circle next time out, although the price
may be wanting.
7TH — JITTERBUG BLUES (Pleasant Tap) was a first-time starter forced to go
back into the paddock to have a shoe replaced prior to the race, which is a huge
negative as it can cause a tender hoof. She then dumped her rider during the
post parade and ran off, which needs no explanation as to its downside. However,
even with these traumas she still managed to gain the place in her debut, which
means anything is possible next time around. This filly is definitely one to
watch.
Saturday (5/4)
3RD — DRINKS TO GO (Wild Rush), a four-year-old gelding, had plenty of
problems during the running of this race yet still missed by just a nose.
Considering that the winner set a new course record for six-furlongs, you have
to be impressed with the performance this horse turned in.
6TH — SPAGHETTI MAN (Impeachment) had the misfortune of getting hemmed in
along the rail while never having the opportunity to find his best stride.
Still, the sophomore turned in a respectable performance against a better then
average field and will make his presence felt next time around.
Sunday (5/4)
6TH — BOOTS ARE WALKING (Storm Boot), an honest-running seven-year-old
gelding, was caught in traffic down the backside and couldn’t find clear sailing
until too late. He was coming on strong going just five panels and looks primed
to do better in next adventure.
7TH — STAR VECTOR (Jade Hunter), a three-year-old gelding, appears to be
just starting to find his best stride, which can happen with offspring of Jade
Hunter as they tend to start getting better with time. He turned in what should
have been a winning performance today if not for some careless riding and looms
large next time out, especially if stretching out with a new rider.
BEWARE OF THESE
Friday (5/2)
2ND — BIRDIE ON THE GREEN (Birdonthewire), a five-year-old mare, won by
daylight for $6,000 yet only made a token hike up the class ladder. She then
proceeded to show some speed before bearing out at the top of the lane, which is
a sure signal that’s something may be amiss. Beware of her if she drops back
down quickly as trainer Michael Campbell will be sending a clear message that
trouble is about to surface if it hasn’t already.
5TH — POPSICLE TOES (Point Given) went for just $15,000 as a yearling
despite being by a top sire. This automatically raises questions about
conformation and physical soundness, and trainer Hugh Robertson’s decision to
have a bug aboard in her debut certainly adds to any suspicions. She then
proceeded to dump her rider during the post parade and ran erratically once the
gates finally opened. Although she actually didn’t run badly in this one, she is
a horse on borrowed time and I would beware of her in the future, especially if
she’s dropping sharply in class.
Saturday (5/3)
5TH — MAHVELOUS BERT (Tactical Cat) wasn’t so marvelous in this one as he
threw a tizzy in the gate, which sends a very bad message for a four-year-old
with 18 starts under his belt. Bert could have been just having a bad day but
more likely he’s through with being told what to do, with racing no longer being
on his “to do” list. If he comes back next time out dropping in class or begins
acting up and washing out during the post parade, then it would prove wise to
avoid him at the windows.