The Wobblies

The Assembled returned to Belmont yesterday after a hiatus that started last October. The place is under construction at every juncture, and reminds me of something that they used to say about NYC: It will be nice when they finish it.

The third floor is again closed off. There is a huge section of the second floor walled off by Sheetrock. I have to think that perhaps NYRA, flush with some UBS Bank money for building the Islander arena in their backyard, is embarked on a program of making the place looking like a sporting place you want to be at. They've already built a so-called horsemans' and owners' lounge on the second floor complete with heavily padded lounge chairs.

The parking lot is freshly paved, and it looks like they are reconfiguring a Hempstead Avenue entrance. There are scant places to get anything to eat of drink. There are no water fountains, and maybe because of Covid that's not a bad idea. Johnny M. brings his own lunch and managed to buy a bottle of water in an obscure corner of the first floor, The Belmont Café I think they call it.

Bobby G., who needs something to eat, did find the famous Harry M. Stevens clam chowder at the same Belmont Café for $8, a price he was willing to pay. However, the Bulgarians must be in the kitchen because he said he couldn't finish it. It was too salty, and too peppery. He says he left half of it. So much for playing with the recipe.

I remember getting an email a few years ago showing some proposed drawings and asking if I'd like to come in and comment. I didn't take them up on their offer, but hopefully, their designers will put something together that makes the place look like a place you want to place a bet in. Right now it looks like a tired old NYC OTB parlor. The seats on the second floor show different colors for replacement seats. Jose B. scooped up a discarded Churchill Down ticket from Friday. Why was there a discard ticket from Friday still there? (Jose B. fed it into the betting machine just in case. It was a loser.) 

Perhaps to management's credit, there were actually TWO clerks manning windows on the second floor. Other than that, you were on your own with self-help wagering, something we've gotten used to, even shoveling hard currency into a machine to buy a voucher. Talk about trust. Bobby G. stays in his seat and bets on his phone, saving the grind of going up and down the steps.

The second floor was never a viewing place of our choice. I've spent decades watching races from Belmont from the third floor, a vantage that brings you a little closer to the finish line because you overlook the unused boxes, rather than sit to the right of them. I don't know about the others in the group, but watching the races from the second floor makes me feel like a displaced homeowner who has to go to the high school gym because the creek is rising. I feel out of place.

But, the results are the same from either floor, and for myself, Johnny D., the results were not good. After hours of pre-care handicapping at home on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, no winners were picked in 11 races. Nada. Zip. Some close second place finishes, that put me on the wrong side of the wire, but no payoffs when you bet win. Such is life. You win some, and lose most.

The four members of The Assembled have always been two octogenarians, one septuagenarian and one sexagenarian, who is now freshly retired. So, all members are now retirees. No more W-2s. It's 1099-Rs from here on in for all.

As you might expect with a group of guys who are already long in the tooth, and one who is quickly joining them, some of the conversation briefly centered on medications. For a while there, we were ads for the evening news. But not for long.

We all exhibited a bit of wobbly gaits. The most senior member, Bobby G., remembers Jamaica racetrack AND Pearl Harbor. There's a continuity of going to the races there that we the others have yet to achieve.

No one had a winning day. But at least three members other than Johnny D. had cashable tickets. Jose B., who sprays $20 in bets across a race like buckshot, did hit a $118 $1 exacta, pretty much because he bets 1/7 exactas for some obscure numerology reason. He does make some ungodly hits for unknown cosmic reasons.

The day started showing off why Linda Rice is perennially at the top of the trainer stats. A thoroughly bettable Safalow's Mission cruised home in a 6f Maiden Special Weight race and paid $16.60.

The third race was the first race to predict how Johnny D's day was going to go with noses. Frank's Rockette was chosen over anything to do with Rudy Rodriguez's Bella Sofia, a talented filly now making it's 4-year-old debut in the 6½f Grade 3 Vagrancy Handicap  at 2/5, after banking $592,600 last year in a 4 for 6 record that saw victories in the Gallant Bloom and the Test. The horse's season finished with a credible fourth in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint behind Ce Ce, Edgeway and Gamine. Formidable company.

Frank's Rockette, ridden by Flavian Pratt gave it to Bella, but was just passed right before the wire to lose by a nose. Pratt went on to win 4 races on the day, but couldn't bring home the upset I didn't to feel good about myself.

The next Stakes race on the card  was the Runhappy, a Grade 3 6f sprint for older horses was won by Drafted that paid $8.60. Again, Johnny D. finished second with Chateau, with Kendrick Carmouche riding. Kendrick is a noted fast break jockey and this is what was counted on, getting the front-runner out of the 1 hole. And Kendrick did not disappoint. He was two lengths in front at the bell, seemingly beating the gate. Shot from a cannon. To no avail for me.

The next disappointment was the Grade 1 Man O' War, a 13/8 turf race that was once held in October, won by such turf stalwarts as Czar Alexander. Back in the day, as they say.

The field was reduced to 5 when So High was scratched. This era's turf stalwarts were entered, basically Godolphin's Yibir, winner of the Breeders' Cup Turf with a trouble line comment of "circled, full of run." Yibir apparently is a high mountain pass in the United Arab Emirates. Hard to think of mountains in the UAE.

Yibir's last two starts this year were seconds in Newmarket, Great Britain, and Meydan, United Arab Emirates. The horse is trained by the globe-trotting trainer Charlie Appleby and was ridden by William Buick, from across the pond.

The two seconds earned by Yibir padded the 4-year-old gelding's already substantial earnings by an astounding $1,230,806. So, going into this year's Man O' War, Yibir had earned $4,126,386, also an astounding number.

The Closer Look blurb in the Racing Form told us: "any horse than can win in England, Belmont and Del Mar in consecutive starts is a flat-out star."

Yibir usually gets off to slow starts and trails the field. When there is a field of 5 dominated by an odds-on horse like Yibir, going off at 1/2, I make a 10¢ Superfecta Box bet with 4 horses, leaving Yibir out, hoping for a real upset, and another 10¢ Superfecta Box leaving the longest shot on the board out, in this case the 5 horse Highland Chief.

I've won before this way, and payoffs can be lucrative especially if the odds-on finishes last (not usual) OR, finishes worse that first, as often happens. The whole bet cost me $4.80, and gives me skin in the game against a formidable favorite.

The other millionaire horse in the field was Gufo, trained by hall-of-famer Christophe Clement. Gufo's lifetime record of 15-8-2-4 had him winning $1,360 030, with a recent victory in the Grade 2 Pan American at Gulfstream in April by a comfortable two lengths, with a trouble line comment of, "inhaled leader." Colorful, no? 

The gates opened, and Yibir almost seemed to fall down, quickly trailing the field by 5-6 lengths.  The chart tells us he hit the side of the gate. Was this was going to be my astounding Superfecta? As they passed in front of us for the first time, my Superfecta of leaving Yibir out was headed into the Clubhouse turn with Yibir struggling to gain traction and running last. Could this be the finish I needed?

Yes, until it wasn't. The longest shot, Highland Chief, trained by no less than Graham Motion, ran to the front, pulled away, and scored at 19-1. The horse had won a total of $12,883 in two starts in the last two years! The horse had a dreadful finish this year at Aqueduct, finishing 9th in a 12 horse field in a non-winners-of-two Optional Claimer. This horse did not show the same ability as Yibir and Gufo by any stretch of the imagination.

But Graham Motion is like Michael Dickinson in getting a horse ready, (remember Da Hoss?) and the obscure trainer stat of winning 25% of the time with horses with over 180 day layoffs (6 months) was a telling stat for a trainer now only hitting at 16%. Still, there was a decent reason the horse was sent off at 19-1. But, if you wanted a long shot, you had a capable one looking at you.

Yibir threatened gallantly in the stretch, with William Buick showing off that distinct European riding style of lifting of off the saddle, whipping furiously, to no avail. Yibir finished third, a neck behind Gufo who was a length behind Highland Chief.

A boxed Superfecta that leaves off the winner will never pay off. Highland Chief was ridden by the American Trevor McCarthy, who had the mount for Graham Motion in the horse's last start that earned a trouble line of "pinched start; no impact."

Maggie Wolfendale, doing the interview with Trevor as he's riding back toward the winner's circle, commented that this was Trevor's first Grade 1 win. Trevor was understandably beaming.

The next-to-last stakes race on the card was the Peter Pan, a 11/8 Grade 3 race long considered a prep for the Belmont Stakes.

Due to Belmont's massive configuration of being a 1½ mile track, the 11/8 race is a one-turn affair. Despite the one-turn aspect of the race, the timing of the race, four weeks before the Belmont, makes it a perfect prep for the Belmont Stakes: a decent distance, and a race over the surface.

The Peter Pan is supposedly where the connections for Rich Strike were headed if they didn't crawl into the starting gate at the Derby as the 20th replacement. Since Rich Strike won the Derby, the connections have decided that the two week interval between the Derby and the Preakness is too short to race in. So, they say they are holding the colt out for the Belmont.

Maybe. There are those who was betting they won't even run in the Belmont, but will instead head for the breeding shed, since it is not felt that can duplicate another win against this crop of 3-year-olds. We shall all see. Plenty of time to come up with an excuse for skipping the Belmont. Racing is filled with excuses.

Given that the Peter Pan is such a middle prep for the Belmont, the field is usually full of lightly raced talented 3-year-olds who have just won their maiden race in impressive style. The owners and trainers are high on their continued prospects for a lucrative 3-year-old campaign. They have yet to disappoint.

The sale price of some of these colts reflect very optimistic, and well-heeled ownership. Electability, (my choice) is a Chad Brown/Klaravich horse ridden by Irad Ortiz. The Quality Road sire fetched a sale price of $300,000. Seth Klaravich has deep pockets.

Complete Agenda was a $250,00 purchase by Mike Repole, another major played these days as an owner. The Curlin sire makes it no slouch. Curlin is the leading 2021 sire of Grade 1 winners with five.

We the People, sired by the reliable Constitution (get the name?) is co-owned by WinStar, another deep pocket stable that shelled out $230,000 at the sale.

And then there was Golden Glider, a $365,000 sale purchase by Ghostzapper, co-owned by Gary Barber that's been playing in the 3-year-old campaigns with limited finishes.

Electability ticked all the boxes for me, so I upped my win wager. The running if the race was no disappointment. Until it was.

Electability was doing well, scooting right behind We The People's pace setting. But We the People hit the afterburners at the top of the lane and pulled away, exploded really, to a 10 length victory! in a decent time of 1:481/5, considering the soft early fractions. An impressive performance that will easily stamp the horse as a favorite/co-favorite for the Belmont Stakes.

Today's telecast of Racing Across America has Andy Serling telling us We the People earned a 103 Beyer, an impressive number. Andy of course downplays any excitement by telling us wet/sealed tracks often produce inflated, runaway numbers. Maybe. Andy for sure didn't play the horse.

The 5/14 date for The Assembled to assemble was chosen not because of the weather (rain was expected, and it did), but because it was right after the Derby. It did drizzle enough that the tractors came out with weights behind them to press the surface down and seal the wet track. The phalanx of six tractors making their way around the track had the look of invading tanks.

We The People was one of Pratt's four winners. You never really realize how well a jockey is doing on the day until the day is over. And Pratt won the 11th Race with Finest Work, at nearly 8-1, paying $17.80. Winning four races for a jockey for some reason is called an Ecuador. Five is a Golden Sombrero. Why? Have no idea.

The 10th race proved that any time the sun comes up Chad Brown is going to win a turf race. The 1 horse, filly Rougir ridden by Flavian Pratt, gave Chad the win for his major clients of Peter Brant and Michael Tabor.

The 10th race was the last of the five stakes races, the Beaugay, a Grade 3 affair a 11/16 on the turf for older fillies and mares.

Rougir was the Morning Line favorite at 1-1, and did not disappoint anyone who had her. She was 3/5, and won like one, inhaling the leaders at the start of the stretch, and winning with ease.

On this afternoon's telecast of Racing Across America Richie, Migliore was interviewing Chad Brown after his second race win on today's card, and Chad explained that Rougir put on a "ton of weight" in the off-season, starting now for the first time since a disappointing 7th at the Breeders' Cup at Delmar in November in the Filly and Mare Turf race. Clearly, the rest was to her liking. The Closer Look comments are, after a long preamble, "the one to beat." You can say that again.

O-fer 11 is disappointing for sure. But the day's surfaces changed with the rain, even as light as it was, and I've never done well on off-track days. The turf today is labeled soft after yesterday's rain.

Will I stop going to the races? Will I stop breathing? Eventually yes, but not stop going to the races. But considering the state of Belmont and its amenity-less environment, I'm more likely to next watch the races on TV in the kitchen with my downloaded Racing Form. Racing is the one sport that is enhanced by watching it on television. I can least get a drink of water easily, and not have to hump up and down even shallow steps. And Acacia Clement is easy to look at and has a brain the size of Canada. (A stolen line from an episode of Silent Witness.)

Listening to Andy Serling can be annoying because he's always telling you the Price is Wrong. But what can you expect from a former commodities broker than someone who is always looking at the board?

So, it's not too likely The Assembled will be assembled again until October. Johnny M. and myself will probably make an outing sooner than that, but by then, I might have to refer to ourselves as the ERs.

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