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HANDICAPPING INSIGHTS DECEMBER 5, 2008 by Dick Powell It was one of the worst stewards' decisions I have ever witnessed. Stevie Wonder, at midnight, with a bag over his head, during a full lunar eclipse, could have seen the foul. No, I am not talking about the Cigar Mile (G1) at Aqueduct. I'm talking about the 7TH race at Hollywood Park on Saturday; a six-furlong turf event for $32,000 claimers. Rafael Bejarano was aboard the lukewarm 23-10 favorite TAXI FLEET (Northern Afleet) and was about 10 lengths behind going into the turn. Bejarano saved ground by keeping him on the inside and they passed horses willingly around the turn. As they straightened out for home, Steady Demand (High Demand) still had the lead and was being chased by Shadow of Illinois (Illinois Storm). Hoist the Sail (Mizzen Mast) was a couple of lengths back but going nowhere. As Taxi Fleet came up behind a tiring Shadow of Illinois, Bejarano found himself with the rail to his left, a tiring horse in front of him and a tiring horse to his right. Rather than tap on the brakes and wait for the horse on his right to back up and give him some room, Bejarano boldly and recklessly steered Taxi Fleet into Hoist the Sail and broadsided him. It was so bad that after he hit Hoist the Sail, Bejarano looked back over his right shoulder to see if he dropped Victor Espinoza. Track announcer Vic Stauffer called it "Hoist the Sail took up and took up sharply." The official chart of the race said Taxi Fleet "came out and bumped a rival in midstretch." But the stewards saw it differently. They made no change in the official order of finish when they ruled both runners contributed to the contact between them. Huh? Hollywood Park did a great job showing both head-on replays and a view from behind the field that was the most incriminating. It's amazing that Hoist the Sail did not go down and set off a catastrophic chain reaction. Yes, Hoist the Sail came in about a path. But Bejarano, desperately needing room, crashed into him. To say that they both contributed to the contact between them is ludicrous. Let's be nice and say it was 90-10 caused by Bejarano. How does he not get disqualified and serve a suspension? As I write this, the Stewards' Minutes that can be found at www.chrb.ca.gov have not been published yet and there is no press release that says that Bejarano got days. A couple of Sundays ago, I wrote about how Chantal Sutherland got LEEDSTHEWAY (Cape Canaveral) home in a turf race while drifting out and almost calling a foul. The stewards left her up but gave her a three-day suspension later. Not the greatest call but at least they took action. On Saturday, what we saw was a horse win a race because the rider decided to rally on the inside, save ground instead of going around, and then when he came up into a traffic jam bullied his way clear to go on to win. If the stewards at Hollywood Park allowed this, why don't all the riders save ground and not worry about getting into traffic jams when they know they can force their way out? This is a dangerous precedent and it needs to be stopped. As for the Cigar Mile, I can go either way on whether Harlem Rocker (Macho Uno) should have been disqualified when he came over on TALE OF EKATI (Tale of the Cat). The reason I say this is that I thought Harlem Rocker was almost clear enough when he took the lead to come over to the rail. He probably wasn't, but at least it was close. Harlem Rocker looked to me about a length and a quarter ahead of Tale of Ekati when he first drifted in and then ducked in when Eibar Coa inexplicably hit him right-handed. Edgar Prado had to steady and change course and his late rally fell a nose short. After a stewards' inquiry, Harlem Rocker was taken down and placed behind Tale of Ekati. Here's a hypothetical question. What would a certain trainer say if his multiple Grade 1-winning horse shipped out of town, raced on a surface that he hadn't seen in years, his rider said he couldn't get a hold of it and he was beaten by a turf horse? But guess what -- it wasn't run on a synthetic surface. It was Commentator (Distorted Humor) racing in the Clark H. (G2) at Churchill last Friday. You could hear the howls if he shipped to California and was beaten by a turf horse on Pro Ride, but this was on good old dirt and lo and behold it was different dirt thus proving, once again, that all dirt tracks do not play the same just like all synthetic tracks do not play the same. As for Saturday’s juvenile card at Churchill, I bet it strong and I lost big. Smart Shot (Smart Strike) rallied from far back to miss by less than a length at almost 5-1 in the 5TH. In the 7TH, which really ruined my day, first time starter After Thought (Fusaichi Pegasus) acted up in the starting gate, broke slowly, was pinched back to dead last in the first 100 yards, and made a big late move to finish third at 7-1 odds. Watching her gallop out past the leaders right after the finish only added salt to my wounds. Yes, I can play her next time, but won't be getting 7-1. Ramon Dominguez is one of my favorite riders and he's especially brilliant on the turf. He is winning with 23 percent of his turf starters and shows a healthy flat-bet profit if you bet on all of them. Sunday, Ramon was at Hollywood Park for their two Grade 1 turf stakes, and I singled him in both races on my pick 6 ticket. In the Matriarch S. (G1) for fillies and mares going a mile on the Hollywood Park turf course, Dominguez was aboard COCOA BEACH (Chi) (Doneraile Court), who was coming off a terrific second to Zenyatta (Street Cry [Ire]) in the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic (G1) on Pro Ride. She hasn't been on turf since way back in Chile, but her form was so strong I thought that she could overcome an outside post and a paceless race. Hollywood has a long stretch and it figured to give her enough time to get rolling. As expected, defending champion Precious Kitten (Catienus) went to the front and when no one pressed her, Bejarano was able to cruise through a first quarter in :25.68 and a half in :49.09. Dominguez had Cocoa Beach back in sixth while racing clear on the outside. The pace quickened noticeably around the far turn as the third quarter was run in :22.94. Considering that Cocoa Beach was gaining ground while racing on the far outside, who knows how fast her third quarter was. She was three wide as the field straightened out and Dominguez was able to keep her on a steady course while riding almost side saddle. One thing that Dominguez does especially well is rally horses on the turn but not let them lose momentum once they straighten out. Some horses that rally wide lose their action in the homestraight as centrifugal force pulls them to the outside. Dominguez, perched high with his stirrups very short for a rider as tall as he is, is able to switch his weight in the saddle, and you'll see his turf horses round the turn and continue their rally uninterrupted. Even with the energy saved from the slow pace, Cocoa Beach had Precious Kitten in her sights and she ran her down to win going away by three-quarters of a length. After the race, it was confirmed that Cocoa Beach would continue training next year for Godolphin, and we can only hope that a race against Zenyatta is in the cards. Two races later was the Hollywood Derby (G1) for sophomore turfers, and Dominguez had COURT VISION (Gulch) as his mount. He won aboard him last out in the Jamaica H. (G2) with a sudden late move, and it looked like he could negotiate an inside/outside trip from post 2. Similarly to the Matriarch, there was no early pace in the Derby and Muny (Najran) took the field through a first quarter in :25.10, the half in :49.41 and six furlongs in 1:13.40. Dominguez had Court Vision at the back of the pack, but began to rally going into the far turn. With the slow pace, it made no sense to try to go between horses so Ramon was committed to an outside sweep to ensure clear sailing. Court Vision was still in ninth place with a quarter mile to go, but he was passing horses in bunches on the far outside. A couple of times he tried to lug in and Dominguez had to straighten him out. Each time he would lose his momentum but would quickly surge again. Nearing the wire, Court Vision made one final surge and won by three-quarters of a length and gave Dominguez a sweep of the Grade 1 stakes at Hollywood in their Turf Festival. Not all the turf stakes over the weekend at Hollywood Park were won by deep closers. Earlier on Saturday's card, Chantal Sutherland put MR. ROD (Scrimshaw) on the lead and never looked back to win the Generous S. (G3) by 1 1/2 lengths. Unlike the other turf races later in the day, Sutherland gunned Mr. Rod through a first half in :23.37 and a half in :46.71. When they hit the top of the stretch, Sutherland opened up a four-length lead and none of the closers could make up the deficit. What was amazing about Mr. Rod's win were his 7-1 odds. He was stakes-placed two starts back at Fairplex then broke his maiden at Hollywood in his turf debut going six furlongs. What was most impressive about that race and showed me he should be able to get two turns was how he finished his last quarter in :22.80 despite being on the lead most of the way. He showed that he can use his natural speed to gain early position but can also show a strong late kick. It was partially hidden by the running line from that six-furlong maiden win, but if you used his BRIS Pace figures 84, 82 and 95 you knew he would finish his race strong.
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