Holy Bull--oops I mean Hutcheson

Wow, has it really been a whole month since I last visited these pages.  Well with the advent of the real Gulfstream Park racing season and my recent attendance at the Breakfast at Gulfstream affairs on behalf of Thorofan that makes sense.

Speaking of Thorofan, had a wonderful time at...

Well, the above is where I left it when I had to go back to Breakfast at Gulfstream last week.  It is just as well as my sudden departure prevented me from making a fool of myself. 

Regarding the Holy Bull, I would've have written that I thought Shanghai Bobby was beatable in this race.  I was correct, because he was beaten, yet I was incorrect because it took a track record and a dead rail trip to do it.   I would have also steered you towards Frac Daddy who turned out to be a non-factor as he grabbed a quarter during the race and away from Itsmyluckyday who I mistakenly felt might bounce off his big effort in the GP Derby on New Year's Day.  Clearly, he did not bounce.  I went on last weekend to not cash a single ticket either day.  I am going to blame my new Samsung Tablet the buying of which I justified by saying how it would pay for itself in printer ink and paper.

This week I will not be attending Breakfast at Gulfstream because I have to address a group of Cub Scouts about the scientific method.  I will be using the Hutcheson Stakes as an analogy for the explaining the scientific method and corrupting young minds at the same time..Bwah ha ha ha!

Actually I will use the Super Bowl as my analogy.  Boys still care about the Super Bowl, don't they?

On to the Hutcheson!  The morning line favorite is Merit Man at 3-1. Clearly I have other ideas or I wouldn't be writing about the race.  The Spectacular Bid comes back as Merit Man's slowest effort both in terms of Beyer's Figures and Thoro-Graph figures.  Granted, the early fractions were torrid, but Merit Man crawled home barely holding off an average runner in City of Weston who had every opportunity to pass Merit Man down the stretch.

Last week trainer Ron Pellegrini and jockey Jozbin Santana teemed up for a shocker in the 9th race at GP with longshot winner Offlee Wild.  The race was all the more notable as a mandatory race for the NTRA NHC 13 taking place in Las Vegas in which eventual winner Jim Benes had made the lucky selection.  Actually, Offlee Wild made a lot of sense on the Thoro-Graph Sheets and I flogged myself afterward for having ignored him.

I will not make that mistake again.  Pellegrini and Santana reunite in the Hutcheson with another runner which could be a contender here.  Not as solid on the sheets as Offlee Wild.  We will need to see some progress here for this one to be a winner; however the stars may be aligned for this one. 

The number 6-Singanothersong started his career with a pair of 6 and 3/4 on the TG sheets winning on his 2nd attempt.  After that they tried stretching him out in the Seacliff stakes at CRC and his performance declined noticeably. After another try at stakes level competition, Singanothersong was placed back in his normal Allowance conditions where he managed to throw in 2 places and a show before finally breaking through last time out in an OC75kN1X.  In the process, Singanothersong returned to the 6 3/4 he ran early in his 2 year old debuts.  This last race suggest he is now ready to make a quantum leap forward.  It could be this race, maybe the next.  At 8-1 in the morning line and with connections that tend to be ignored among flashier names, I think we will get a square price for a live contender.

Another horse with a big shot in here, and certainly one to use with Singanothersong is the 1 Forty Tales. You get Todd and Johnny V and probably a short price, but this one has been too good to ignore in his two outings.  Both of his races have given back figures which could be good enough to win here.  The only question you will have to ask is how short of a price are you willing to withstand.  I will use him in the exotics with the 6 Singanothersong and 8 Honorable Dillon, another who looks to be sitting on a big effort. 

Bottom line.  I will take a shot at high priced glory with Singanothersong in the win pool and fool around with him, Forty Tales, Honorable Dillon, and maybe Merit Man in the exotics.

The Hutcheson is one of the www.publichandicapper.com contest races this week.  My other selections for the contest are:

Sam F. Davis:  Falling Sky, My Name Is Michael, Northern Lion
Strub: Stephanoatsee, Tritap, Guilt Trip
Arcadia: Willy Conker, Silentio, Suggestive Boy

Good luck and remember..

Audentes Fortuna Juvat!