Monday Morning Trainer: White blanket
The end of the year and the holidays are really coming fast. Seriously. Fast.
Tom Law
Handicapping Hong Kong
Set the alarm clock or stay up late, the choice is yours, but try to catch the four Group 1 stakes that make up the rich Longines Hong Kong International Races program Sunday at Sha Tin racecourse.
History Lesson: My Charmer
Larry Robideaux Jr. remembers the day well, gathered around the television set with other horsemen to watch the sixth running of the Marlboro Cup Invitational in 1978 at Belmont Park – a race memorable to many around the world because it marked the first meeting between two Triple Crown winners.
Monday Morning Trainer: Last hurrah
Plenty of days remain on the calendar for the year – 29 in fact if Monday is counted – yet everyone is already starting to think about 2014.
Title chase
Palace Malice just defeated a late-closing Will Take Charge in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga Race Course to solidify his status as a leading contender to win the Eclipse Award for champion three-year old of 2013 yet D. Wayne Lukas could not have been more thrilled with the effort of the runner-up’s effort.
Holiday Option
Most horses aren’t as consistent and well rounded as the Illinois-bred filly My Option. She’s run on three surfaces in her nine career outings, never missed the board and scored at least one victory on dirt, turf and synthetic along the way.
History Lesson: Pago Hop
Sandra Salmen estimates she’d be hard-pressed to walk through the grandstand and clubhouse areas at Fair Grounds this weekend and be able to find anyone who can provide some meaning behind the name Pago Hop.
First snow
The coldest November on record around these parts – at least I think I heard some weather talking head about that the other day – finally brought the powdery white stuff that truly makes it feel like winter here in the Northeast. It snowed overnight and into this morning, the first (real) snow of the season.
Monday Morning Trainer: Rest before feast
The weekend before Thanksgiving usually brings about much of the same, year after year.
Miss Behaviour treks south to Delta Downs
Phil Schoenthal was in need of a new truck. He was also in need of a two-turn race to see if Miss Behaviour, a homebred Jump Start filly he trains for Cal MacWilliam and Neil Teitelbaum, could handle a slightly longer distance than she’d run in her first four starts.
