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HANDICAPPING INSIGHTS JANUARY 2, 2009 by Dick Powell Andy Harrington's National Turf Clocker Report made a strong debut on opening day of Santa Anita with lots of information and strong opinions. And none were better than his opinion of first time starter POINT ENCOUNTER (Point Given) in Friday's 3RD race. Now available at Brisnet, Harrington's report sometimes totals 14 pages of workout information. Very few horses are not listed and his comments are well worth taking the time to read and note in your past performances. I go through it thoroughly and mark any recent workout that is rated as "B" or better. Here is what Harrington had to say about Point Encounter's last workout: "Terrific drill breaking well in a set of three, kept in hand then drew off big with powerful late strides in the lane, reaching out in 23.3, 46.2, 1:11.2 galloping well in 1:24.2. Very talented Gaines trainee is a legit Derby type prospect.--Grade: A" And this was on top of two other workouts that Harrington raved about. When Harrington declares a first time starter at the end of December to be a legit Kentucky Derby (G1) type prospect, it pays to take notice. Trainer Carla Gaines wins with 17 percent of her first time starters and Point Given's offspring win a decent 10 percent in this spot. Point Encounter is out of a stakes-winning dam that produced a full sister in Private World (Thunder Gulch), who won the Anoakia and Moccasin S. at two. So, if you did your pedigree research, you knew he was bred to be a good one. Listed at 5-1 in the morning line from post 6 in a 6 1/2-furlong sprint, Point Encounter was the worst kept secret on the backstretch as the public sent him off as the 13-10 favorite. Mike Smith broke him alertly and he cruised to the lead while on the outside through a first quarter in :21.80. Surprise Minister (Pulpit) chased him on the inside and moved up on the rail to challenge around the turn. Smith never had to ask him to run as he hit the half in :44.54. Unionize (Dixie Union) tried to rally on the outside at the top of the stretch, but Point Encounter was using the giant strides that Harrington referenced in his last workout and he threw in an effortless third quarter of :23.83. He looked nothing like a juvenile with a full barrel and lots of scope, and he hit the line 1 3/4 lengths in front. After six furlongs in 1:08.37, he covered the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:14.81. Visually, Point Encounter showed natural gate speed, a high cruising speed and a powerful stride that enables him to get over a lot of ground without a lot of effort. The only negative I could find was that he wore front-leg bandages in his career debut. The Derby prospect lived up to expectations and is now on many top 10 lists. Sometimes all the information in the world doesn't help. In Saturday's 6TH race at Santa Anita, Caesar Dominguez sent out first time starter NAUGHTY NINE (Nineeleven). Listed at 6-1 in the morning line, he was dismissed at 17-1 primarily due to Dominguez's zero-for-63 record with first-time starters. The sire and dam sire were only 6 percent and 7 percent, respectively, with firsters, so Naughty Nine seemed to lack both nature and nurture. If he was taking money it would show up on the board, but Naughty Nine was ice cold. Harrington described his last two workouts as "has to finish better" and "hit a wall in the lane slowing down under a shove." So when Matt Garcia sent him to the front in the 5 1/2-furlong maiden claimer for two year olds, it was just a matter of time before he came back to the field. But amazingly, Naughty Nine kept going and pulled off the upset and helped the Pick 6 pay $113,014, and that's with INDIAN BLESSING (Indian Charlie) winning the La Brea S. (G1) at 3-5. Santa Anita had a lot of rain before the meet began and the Pro Ride racing surface drained well unlike its Cushion Track predecessor. However, it seemed harder than ever now that winter rains are a fact of life in Southern California, and it will be interesting to see how the polymer-based material holds up. There was a breakdown in the 1ST race on opening day and then the highly regarded INDYANNE (Indian Charlie) fractured a sesamoid in the La Brea the next day. Not a good omen.
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