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HANDICAPPING INSIGHTS FEBRUARY 1, 2008 by Dick Powell If Gulfstream Park wants my simulcast business, they have to do a better job. On Monday, I planned on playing Gulfstream and was especially interested in the turf races so I paid close attention to the crawl on their simulcast feed to find out where the temporary rail was going to be set. Regular readers of Handicapping Insights know that my research shows that the wide placement of the temporary rail (either 72 or 84 feet) favors deep closers and that when the rail is taken down completely, it hurts deep closers and favors inside, speed horses. On Monday at Gulfstream, the crawl indicated that the turf was firm and the temporary rail was set at 0/72 feet. This made some sense to me since there was a five-furlong turf sprint later on the card and they often run these events with the rail down to give the field a longer run down the backstretch into the far turn. When the crawl came to each individual race's scratches and changes, it did not indicate where the rail was for that race. This is inexcusable if turf races are going to be run with the rail at different positions. I watched the horses come out on the track and saw the temporary rail set out at 72 feet and made the assumption that the 5TH race, a maiden claimer going 1 1/16 miles for three-year-old fillies, would be run on the wide course. In examining the 12 starters, I was looking for someone that would benefit from the wide rail placement and settled on #1, Teemer (Repent), a one-run filly that was only beaten 1 1/2 lengths last out here at this class and distance. If she ran back to that effort, she should be able to save ground on the first turn and come on strong in the last half-mile. When I bet Teemer, she was 23-1 and then the money started to pour in. As the field completed its warm-up on the main track and was entering the gap to go onto the turf course, her odds had dropped to 10-1. I usually don't like to see my price cut in half, but all the late money does give you a sense of confidence. Unfortunately, the brewing confidence suddenly stopped when I saw that the starting gate was down on the inside of the track, and the 5TH race was going to be run with no temporary rail. Maybe the Gulfstream simulcast show mentioned where the rail would be, but with 90 percent of their business being conducted off-track, if it's not visible on a graphic it's a waste of time. Despite all the late money bet on her, Teemer lagged behind the field early and made a mild rally to finish seventh of 12. I was sick. Not because of the outcome, but because of the lack of accurate information that was made available. I'm not saying I would have had the winner, but I can say with great certainty that I would have never bet Teemer had I been informed by the host track that the rail was down for the 5TH race -- inexcusable. Later for the 7TH race, the rail was out 72 feet for the five-furlong turf sprint. I only know this by watching the races. If you check the BRIS charts for Monday's turf races at Gulfstream, you will notice that the rail position is not listed for any of the turf races. The assumption you would make is that the rail was down for all three turf races, but that was only true in the 5TH and 9TH and not true for the 7TH. How anyone can make an advance wager on a Gulfstream turf race or play a Pick 3 or Pick 4 with turf races in the later legs is beyond me. (Equibase charts did show where the rail was set at Gulfstream on Monday. Since their charts still do not indicate when a race was taken off the turf, I don't use them, but I did check.) And if you are not focusing on the turf races at Gulfstream, especially during the week in this year's meet with racing six days a week, you're left with some low quality races with increasingly shorter fields. *** The saga of Santa Anita's synthetic track continues with its latest troubles being well documented in the industry. Amazingly, when Oaklawn Park had to cancel racing last week due to a frozen track, I didn't hear much chatter about dirt tracks not being able to handle bad weather. Aqueduct, which has led a charmed existence the past few winters with few cancellations, had times in the past when the inner dirt track had to be closed for days at a time. But, there has been little criticism of dirt tracks, just synthetic ones. *** If you watched the Dubai International Racing Carnival last Thursday, you were able to see a truly great horse. In the Al Shindagha Sprint (UAE-G3), ASIATIC BOY (Not for Sale) sat behind horses in the 1,200-meter (5.97 furlongs) race run on the straightaway of Nad al Sheba's main track. At one point, it looked like he was going to be boxed in to the wire as the field raced near the outer rail. But Johnny Murtagh patiently waited for room and when a narrow opening appeared nearing the final furlong, he pressed the button and the response that Asiatic Boy gave him was breathtaking. He split horses and cruised to a 1 1/4-length victory over Salaam Dubai (Secret Savings), who was third in last year's $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen (UAE-G1). Fourth was Diabolical (Artax), who ran a bit one-paced in his Dubai debut for Godolphin. It was an unusual spot to debut in with the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) as their ultimate goal, but trainer Michael de Kock said after the race, "The Dubai World Cup is very much the plan, but we might just look at the Mahab al Shimaal (UAE-G3) with him over the same distance (1200 meters) on Super Thursday (March 6) for him next." The winner of last year's U.A.E. Derby (UAE-G2) is now undefeated in five starts on Nad al Sheba's main track. I don't know if he can get 10 furlongs, but based on his two wins going nine furlongs last year, it should not be a problem. And, I don't know if he can beat Horse of the Year CURLIN (Smart Strike) in the World Cup, but Curlin better bring his "A" game that night because Asiatic Boy is that good.
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