I love open claiming races; the cheaper the better (I used to feel the same way about the women I dated… until I met my wife, of course — what a day at the flea market that turned out to be). So, despite the fact that the Coaching Club American Oaks takes place at Belmont Park this weekend and the turf is getting reacquainted with the surf at Del Mar, the majority of my handicapping efforts will be focused on Canterbury Park, where Claiming Crown Day 2009 is slated for Saturday.
What is Claiming Crown Day, you ask? Only the best day in racing ever, I reply, pausing only momentarily to wipe saliva froth from the corners of my mouth. Well, alright, maybe I’m not that enthusiastic about Saturday’s seven starter stakes races from Shakopee, Minn. (including the Youbet.com Tiara Stakes), but I am looking forward to them.
In case you’re wondering, a “starter” race is a contest restricted to horses that have been entered for a specified claiming price within a designated time period. For the Canterbury races, that time period is Jan. 1, 2008 to present. Thus, the Claiming Crown events feature a number of improving types that have risen from humble beginnings, kind of like Paris Hilton — only the exact opposite.
Below is a preview of some of Saturday’s more interesting races:
$50,000 Iron Horse (race 3)
Typically, top contenders in starter affairs are horses that met the eligibility requirements long ago and have, since, steadily progressed up the class ladder. CALM AND COLLECTED is just such a horse. Since competing for a $5,000 tag in August 2008, the six-year-old son of Concerto has won eight times, including seven of his last 10 starts — all outside of the claiming ranks. He’s got potent early speed (-10 average early speed ration) and a decent late kick (-11 median late speed ration), making him the one to run down. Other contenders include MR. MESO, INDIAN MOONSHINE and MISTER MERZ.
$100,000 YouBet.com Tiara
If there is a horse ideally suited to Saturday’s conditions it is LOVE TO TELL in the Youbet.com Tiara Stakes. In a race restricted to “fillies and mares three years old and upward, which have started for a claiming price of $25,000 or less since Jan. 1, 2008,” Love to Tell qualifies solely on the basis of her career debut. In that race, a $16,000 maiden claiming affair at Fair Grounds on Jan. 10, 2008, the daughter of Stage Colony was claimed by her present connections — and her stock’s been rising ever since. In fact, Love to Tell’s last 12 starts have all been against stakes company, including a strong third-place showing in the Grade 3 Ouija Board Handicap at Lone Star Park on May 25. MIZZCAN’TBEWRONG and R VICARIOUS GIRL look like the top threats to the likely favorite.
$75,000 Daily Racing Form Glass Slipper
If you like fast females, you’ll love the Glass Slipper, a race that features more speed than a 1960s rock concert. MARGIE MARIE, MIRANDA DIANE, DANA’S BELL and MET A MINER all seem to prefer setting the pace, which makes me think that either GATORIZE or THUNDER BELLE could get a perfect trip and spring a mild upset.
Livin Lovin and Devotee Look Best at Belmont
Saturday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks at Belmont Park makes one thing abundantly clear: outside of Rachel Alexandra, this year’s crop of sophomore fillies is average at best. In a field replete with subpar speed and pace figures, only LIVIN LOVIN and DEVOTEE look even moderately appealing to me in this weekend’s Big Apple feature.
Livin Lovin ran a super race in the Grade 3 Tempted at Aqueduct on Nov. 2 and, then, lost all chance at the start in her three-year-old bow on June 6, when she broke last in the Grade 1 Acorn before rallying five-wide to finish fourth. Provided she breaks cleanly, the daughter of Birdstone figures to be on or near the lead in the Coaching Club and could prove tough to catch down the lane.
Ditto for Devotee, who pressed a suicidal pace (-16 ESR) in a July 3 loss to Funny Moon, the 5-2 morning line favorite in the CCA Oaks, but previously captured a listed stakes event at Nad Al Sheba and was third in the Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland as a juvenile.
Baze Not Looking Back in Eddie Read
Legendary pitcher Satchel Paige once said, “Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you.” Apparently Tyler Baze was listening — if not to Paige, who died the same year (1982) that Baze was born, then to fellow jockey David Flores, who offered the 27-year-old some advice on riding MONTEREY JAZZ, the likely favorite in Saturday’s Eddie Read Handicap at Del Mar.
“He told me don’t hit him because he always gives 100 percent,” Baze said of his chat with Flores.
Flores’ tip seems to have paid off. Since finishing fourth aboard the son of Thunderello in an allowance race at Santa Anita on March 12, Baze has guided Monterey Jazz to consecutive wire-to-wire scores, including a 3 1/4-length triumph in the Grade 2 American Handicap at Hollywood Park on Independence Day.
In the Eddie Read, the Craig Dollase trainee could be the controlling speed once again, depending on what Mike Smith, atop the equally quick THORN SONG, decides to do. Should Smith press on the gas early, Saturday’s Del Mar feature could set up for WHATSTHESCRIPT or possibly even ARTISTE ROYAL.
For more handicapping and betting suggestions, including a discussion of Mohawk Raceway’s outstanding Saturday program, check out this week’s “Simon Says” podcast.