Coast-to-coast

We had two winners on top in nine races (Philly, $3.20; Delaware, $7.80). Plus we picked up a few nice gimmicks highlighted by tri's at Delaware and Hollywood.

It would have been tough to have anything in the Tremont at Belmont as the rank outsider scored in the four-horse field. Same scenario in the Mother Goose... Stellar Jayne would have been a tough play. On the other hand, two of ours topped the Mike Lee and that might have been a breakout wagering race for us if our top choice had managed to complete the tri instead of running fourth. That top pick was 10-1 while the eventual third-place finisher was 8-1, so it seems safe to assume that if ours had rounded out that gimmick the tri price would have been even higher than the $380.50/$2 it paid. Another disappointment was our failure to really take anything out of the My Juliet at Philly even though we had the exacta cold... Problem was, Harmony Lodge was our original second pick -- when that one scratched She Is Raging moved up on our list and wound up completing the $8/$2 exacta. It wouldn't have allowed us to retire, but a few bucks on it would have helped our bottom line this week -- but we didn't make any provisions on the page for the scratch.

Still, with the lack of anything that really caught our interest on the afternoon we're satisfied to walk away with a slim profit.

Overall June was a very good month. May seemed to vex us as it took a few weeks to readjust after racing nationally switched from the winter-spring meets to the spring-summer venues. But we've finally hit our stride. We made a profit in three of the four weeks in June. Overall this month we wagered $1718.00 and collected $2948.90 for a very respectable 72% ROI.

Summer's here and let's hope the livin' is easy and we can continue our hot streak right through the opening of the Saratoga meet when Coast-to-coast goes on hiatus as we concentrate on daily, full-card handicapping at the Spa. But, until then it's full speed ahead!

WAGERED: $281.00
COLLECTED: 287.35

Gold Joy 14-1
Winning Expression 7-1
Primal Storm 3-5

Wager: $15 exacta Primal Storm over June the Tiger.
Ran 3-4.
...$3 exacta reversing those two.
Ran 4-3.

Primal Storm...Experience counts and this guy is already a grade stakes winner.
June the Tiger...Comes out of a big debut effort for Pletcher.

Stellar Jayne 29-1
Ashado 4-5
Island Selection 5-2

Wager: $5 W on Society Selection.
Ran 6th at 7-2.
...$5 exacta Society Selection over Island Sand.
Ran 6-3.
...$5 exacta box top two.
Ran 3-6.
...$1 tri box top three.
Ran 2-3-6.

Society Selection...Two big efforts over the Belmont strip. Last was best yet Beyer-wise. Could be primed for the upset.
Island Sand...Beat the top pick last time. Can't fault the record. She's one of the best in the division.
Ashado...Another with a record that's hard to knock -- however, her worst effort was 8.5F over this very track. Hmmm...

Multiplication 3-1
Work With Me 10-1
Swinging Ghost 8-1

Wager: $5 WP on West Virginia.
Ran 4th at 10-1.
...$2 exacta box top two.
Ran 1-4.
...$1 exacta box top four.
Collected $28.75 on the ex box ($57.50/$2).
...$1 tri box top four.
Ran 1-2-4-7.

West Virginia...Three-time stakes winner. Toss the turf experiment two back. Still have yet to be able to really judge how he's matured as a 3YO.
Multiplication...Bombed on turf in debut then followed with two bang-up efforts on dirt. Ships in from SoCal for Baffert.
Friendly Island...Debut was spectacular for Pletcher.
Work With Me.

Pomeroy 4-5
Gotaghostofachance 7-2
Midnight Express 23-1

Wager: $5 W on Gotaghostofachance.
Ran 2nd.
...$5 exacta Gotaghostofachance over Pomeroy.
Ran 2-1.
...$5 exacta box top two.
Collected $25.00 on the ex box ($10.00/$2).

Gotaghostofachance...Moved through conditions nicely and looks ready for stakes debut.
Pomeroy...Worst yet was Lexington and that was still a decent fourth of fourteen. Back from a couple months layoff and might appreciate return to sprint.
Value Plus...Been knocking heads with the best -- but fade job in the Riva Ridge raises some question marks.

Ebony Breeze 3-5
She Is Raging 2-1
Balmy 4-1
Harmony Lodge scratched.

Wager: $5 W on Ebony Breeze.
Collected $8.00 on the W (3.20).
...$3 exacta Ebony Breeze over Harmony Lodge.
Scratched.
...$5 exacta box top two.
Scratched.
...$2 tri box top three.
Scratched.

Ebony Breeze...Hasn't won since last July but has been facing some good ones and is always in the hunt.
Harmony Lodge...Another that has been running into some buzzsaws recently.
She Is Raging.

Timo 5-2
Icy Atlantic 9-2
Commendation 9-2

Wager: $5 WP on Timo.
Collected $30.00 on the WP (7.80, 4.20).
...$2 exacta box top two.
Collected $29.60 on the ex box ($29.60/$2).
...$1 exacta box top four.
Collected $14.80 on the ex box.
...$1 tri box top four.
Collected $47.50 on the tri box ($95.00/$2).

Timo...Won Keeneland G3 three back and has been behind the very good Artie Schiller last two. No Artie in here today.
Icy Atlantic...Very impressive winning two turf starts including G3 Jersey Derby last time.
Wire Bound...Moved forward when placed on turf.
Commendation.

Punch Appeal 14-1
Aclassysassylassy 9-5
Spinning Jolie 9-1

Wager: $5 WP on Yes It's Gold.
Ran 6th at 1-1.
...$2 exacta box top two.
Ran 2-6.
...$1 exacta box top four.
Ran 2-5-6-9.
...$1 tri box top four.
Ran 2-5-6-9.

Yes It's Gold...Wow, huge debut. Now moves into barn of trainer going at 29% clip at the meet.
Aclassysassylassy...Another who impressed first-time out.
Tricky Ridge...Won debut -- though not as impressively as top two. But they always have license to move forward in their second start.
Leona's Knight.

Shaconage 7-1
Halory Leigh 29-1
Sand Springs 5-2

Wager: $5 W Riskaverse.
Ran 5th at 3-5.
...$5 exacta Riskaverse over Modena Bay.
Ran 5-6.
...$3 exacta box top two.
Ran 5-6.
...$2 tri box top three.
Ran 1-5-6.

Riskaverse...Faced better last year. Fitness is a question mark but improved nicely in second start of 2003. And she's probably better than this bunch even if she's not at her absolute best.
Modena Bay...Beat Ocean Silk last time and that one came back to win a NW2 here Friday.
Shaconage...Upset G3 stake on Derby day. Follwo-up not as impressive but have a feeling she'll rebound to prior form today.

Greek Sun 5-2
Laura's Lucky Boy 3-5
Whilly 13-1

Wager: $15 quinella top two.
Collected $31.50 on the quinella ($4.20/$2).
...$2 tri key Laura's Lucky Boy over next two.
Ran 2/1-3.
...$2 tri box top three.
Collected $72.20 on the tri box ($72.20/$2).

Laura's Lucky boy...They all get a pass on their debut efforts -- this one is perfect in three tries since, including a G3 last time.
Greek Sun...Went straight from debut MSW win to win in a small stake. Off since last year but Frankel has them ready and he might be tough with added maturity.
Whilly...Euro-shippers always have to be considered.

Note: Pages on this site are labelled with the equidaily.com logo. Some links are for information only and lead to pages at other sites. equidaily.com is responsible only for the pages on this site. equidaily.com assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Always check with official sources to verify info.