no walkover

I'll be interested to catch tomorrow's Gold Cup at Belmont Park where Curlin makes his return after a less than stellar performance in the Woodward at Saratoga. In his defense, the Spa probably isn't a track best suited to his style, but he just didn't look all that hot in chasing down Pass the Point in a workman-like victory. Curlin's stride is pretty unique: long, obviously, but still very efficient. He toes in and the action is confined to a tighter vertical space (if that makes any sense), yet still covers a boat load of real estate. Once he gets into a rhythm, it's extremely effective. For whatever reason, he never really got comfortable last out. His stride was much shorter that you're used to seeing, almost choppy. I don't know whether it was the track, or what, but he just wasn't himself. So, we'll see which Curlin shows up tomorrow, but if it's not the guy we saw earlier in the year, he's vulnerable. Timber Reserve should sit a good trip off Wanderin Boy and get first run, so he has a chance at a number. Mambo in Seattle is no joke, but I'd prefer to have a horse with more tactical foot, especially given the likely pace scenario. An interesting spot, anyway, and no gimme for the champ.

As for Big Brown, it's fairly safe to say that he's of the same quality of an Afleet Alex or Smarty Jones. He's not one of the ones to go down in the books, but he showed last out in beating a legit G2.5 field that he's got some substance. Now, he's not getting 1m 1/4 out in California in the Classic, especially over the synthetic surface racing on the front end, but I'll give him his due. At 1m 1/8, he'd give those other two a good run for their money. It will be fun to see who shows up to take him on. California has some legit synthetic specialists, and the Euros seem to be gearing up for an invasion. Goal is to be live in that late pick 4 on Breeders' Cup Day to a few of those bombs.

seen this one before?

Call me crazy, but I believe that we've previously witnessed this performance from the current Administration. More than anything else in the news, it's a smack in the head to remind us that deliberate and thoughtful action is required to address the current financial mess. Now, I know that I typically stay away from politics and too much stuff outside of racing on this blog, but where we go from here in the short term on this thing is so important to where go, period, that I've got to add the few words to the mix.

Part of the problem, of course, is that very few people actually know what the heck is going on, including elected officials, regulators and, sadly, the chief down 95 from me in the White House. Sure, that doesn't come as too much of a surprise, what with the bar now so low, but I don't take comfort in the fact that he's perfectly happy to run off and do T-ball games and fundraisers and leave former Goldman Sachs CEO, Hank Paulson, to run the country. Don't remember Hank the Tank getting elected President (heck, even Bush's claim to the office has a hole or two), so it's just not the way it's supposed to work.

To help shed some light on the affair, I recommend a few reads. Yes, maybe some of them are a touch partisan, but they still do a good job getting to the heart of what's what, and, collectively, suggest that, while bold action might be required to get us out of this mess, bold and stupid will only serve to get us deeper in the hole. Two pieces at The Nation are good. This one takes you through events that led us to where we are, and the role that John McCain played along the way. The second does a really good job of walking through options on the table and why the quick-fix proposals pushed by Bush and Co. might not be wise.

Finally, Paul Krugman's recent piece in The Times, as well as the Morgenson number from the weekend. Together with the other two, they might get you thinking, and that's a good start.

and i'll take that one

They got our boy again. Bobby took the plunge for somewhere near a mil on a yearling filly by Medaglia d'Oro. I can almost hear the sweet whispers they hit him with about Courtly Dee and her pedigree. $1m for a daughter of Medaglia d'Oro? Ummm, yeah, I saw the Romans filly, man, but, geeze, it seems a bit much. Other than King of Rome, the mare hasn't had too much success. Unless, of course, you count the A.P. Indy colt that earned $90k back against his $550,000 yearling price. Tough, tough times. At least he'll get the depreciation, I guess.

how much for that bridge?

It's yearling season 2008, which always makes for fun times. Sure, I know they've been selling yearlings for months now, but September/October is when I typically try to dial in and see if there's anything worth picking up. Our last acquisition, Veiled Reference, was waaay back in 2006, at the Fasig-Tipton Timonium sale, so we're due to mix it up a bit. Like the big guns in the housing and equity markets, I'm counting on the feds to guarantee my solvency just in time to shell out the major bucks. (Judging by some of the mortgage-backed securities coming out of the woodwork, I'm not so sure that equine-backed ones wouldn't have stood a better bet.)

Anyway, I loved the story over at bloodhorse.com detailing all the high-profile yearlings that they'll sell early on. Big Brown's half-sister by Touch Gold is pictured above. Ummm, she's not much to look at, a little small and fine-boned (thank you, Touch Gold) and not much of a back end, but the clincher is how the consignor talks her up in the story (you have to scroll down a little bit): something to the effect of she's really smart, alert and has some spunk. For those not in the know, that's Kentucky-speak for, "she's not much to look at physically, but, shoot, she's a half to the Derby winner (one w/ physical issues of his own, we know), so somebody's gonna shell out some real money, right? Anyone?" Ha! Maybe they'll get celebrity chef, Bobby Flay, on the hook. I'm totally down with his cooking, but, man, has he been taken to the cleaners at the sales. I look at all of these sales results, and this guy is dropping serious coin with little to show for it. His $250,000 pick-up back at the May FT 2yo sale, a Successful Appeal filly named Colcannon, hasn't been up to much on the track, with just a 3/8ths breeze at Monmouth since the sale. He had that one filly, Grace and Power, that was nice enough, but otherwise the guy is getting clobbered. I'm confident that Mesa Grill and Food Network revenues are more than sufficient to keep him out of the poor house, and you can tell that the guy is really into the business, but he's been taking it on the chin for a few years now. If they rope him in on the Big Brown sister, we'll have to stage an intervention.

One other note before I forget. Barclay Tagg debuted a half to NoBiz Like Showbiz the other weekend up at Saratoga. The Broken Vow colt's name is Hello Broadway and he's got every right to be better than his brother. He made multiple moves to break his maiden impressively that day and demonstrated some real brilliance in the affair. His brother, NoBiz, was too much horse on top (Albert the Great, his sire's influence) and not enough leg, (and never did what Hello Broadway did in his debut), but the younger brother is all athlete - great balance and proportion, and just what you'd expect a good Broken Vow to look like. None of the gangly business you might find with an Unbridled (BV's sire), but more Nijinsky, Broken Vow's dam sire. To see what I mean, check out this video of Nijinsky winning the King George in 1970 and pay particular attention to the gallop out. You could rest a cup of coffee on his backside, no? Plus, take a look at his bone and then look at the photo above. Makes you want to go drop $500k on that Touch Gold filly, I'm sure. Anyway, just a reminder that Nijinsky was no joke, and it's good to see so much of him in Hello Broadway. Tagg will likely come back in one of those one-turn mile G1s at Belmont later this month.

taking a stand

The For Maryland, For Our Future group - the one advocating for slots here in MD - had an ad up on the Baltimore Sun website, so I clicked on it (I'm pretty easy that way.). So, as part of the website you can download widgets to put on your own site if you're so inclined. Obviously, the chance to add content here without putting forth much effort myself was too easy to resist. I was sorry, though, that they didn't put together any widgets with fat broodmares contentedly grazing in a field, or something along those lines. I mean, I'm not asking them to put up pictures of us gamblers whipping ourselves with programs as the horses come down the stretch, but it's kind of funny how the slots issue is framed as saving everybody, from the kids and seniors to the whales, before any mention is made of the racing industry. I get it. We're dirty, dirty people, and I paid just enough attention in those poli-sci classes back in the day to know that you craft referendum language in such a way that a "no" vote is tantamount to hating children.

As a side note, that's why I always take so long in the voting booth - those referendum items take so long to read! Then I get to tearing up over the language, forget where I am and what I'm voting on and have to start all over again. My rule for those things is kind of like my approach to summer novels: if I can easily enough suspend disbelief, believe that the President's daughter has been kidnapped and that a little known public defender in Vermont is called on to save her (and himself, plus a new, hot girlfriend!), I'll vote yes (keep reading, but sometimes just for those special chapters), but when the language gets so over the top that it borders on ridiculous, down goes the hammer, baby. So, pretty much most of those referendums that pass with, like, 90% of the vote, I'm in that other 10% because the language goes too far, as if they were writing it and just kept throwing in things like end hunger, plant flowers at every stop light and bring back the troops, and it's all wrapped up in some little township-wide resolution. Thank you, Mayor, but no thanks. I love kids, though, don't get me wrong.

Anyway, I've put up the widget above, but just wish I could modify its scroll to add a "For Sean," bit to it. Maybe a picture of me holding some Benjamins, or maybe just a few tens and fives, would be hot. Personally, I think the voters of Maryland would respond.

just like that

Crew at Shadybrook Farm down in Ocala must be pretty pumped. Bo Yates, who runs the operation (and is pictured at right with Nautical Agent), consigned Stardom Bound to the March OBS 2y0 sale earlier this year and yesterday she won the Grade One Del Mar Debutante. He bought the Tapit filly last year at Keeneland for $50,000 and turned her around for $375,000, which isn't the worst return on your money if you can get it. Bo breaks and trains for T Street, too, and he's been a great guy to have on the team. Honest, straight-shooter that works hard and has a good head for the game. I remember talking to him about this filly right after the sale, and he didn't have more to say than that she seemed to have a nice enough frame that would fill out with time. He likes to buy later, usually less mature or smaller foals (she was born in April), out of young mares with a bit of black type and then pray like heck that the develop nicely in time for the spring sales. Obviously, to flip her for the $375,000 suggests that she came along just fine (If I recall correctly, I think she worked a big 3/8ths at the sale). Judging by Monday's race, she continues to keep on the improve. I'll do my best to keep his ego in check now that he's gone big time. That's assuming, of course, that he'll keep taking my calls.

Props, too, to Anak Nakal, who won the PA Derby on Monday. He's by Victory Gallop, sire of the one and only, Nautical Agent. Like Nautical, Anak Nakal isn't the most talented horse, but the sucker just keeps trying and grinding along. Yesterday, he got up to nip IEAH's Acai right at the wire. Those guys are still swimming in cash from the score pulled off selling breeding rights to Big Brown to Three Chimneys, so don't feel too bad for them.

Speaking of Big Brown, how great is it that he'll run back at Monmouth Park next week? I hope they get a big crowd out to watch him take on some real turf stock in that race they put up. Now, my contention is that they played it all wrong asking for the $500,000 pot that MP is offering, because you know that some decent runners will show up for that kind of money. If the goal is to maintain the smoke and mirrors act, you ask for $150,000 and then just deal with Hotstuffandthensome coming back on two weeks rest. Given the 4-5 weeks or so that the race has been on the calendar means that some quality turf runners will take him on, and likely take the lion's share of the purse, too. Should make for great TV. "Yeah, well, the Breeders' Cup has always been our primary goal for the year, so this was just a chance to get a race into him and have him set for a big day out at Santa Anita. He faced some tough, older turfers, so we're really okay with the fourth place finish. We got what we needed and we love the people here at Monmouth Park. Oh, btw, tell track management to ship the few crab cakes we didn't eat up in the parterres back to me in Long Island. Man, were those good." Meanwhile, Three Chimneys is holding a $50m bag and will be stuck mapping out how they'll get out on that nut. Poor Big Brown will be seeing 250 mares a year right off the bat, I'd bet.