Arlington Park Notebook

ARLINGTON PARK NOTEBOOK

MAY 15, 2008

by Steve Collison

On Saturday, MEAL PENALTY (Tale of the Cat) skimmed the rail, took the lead

on the turn and drew off to win the Shecky Greene S. by two lengths, getting the

six furlongs in 1:10.16.

"It's never easy, even if you are on the 1-2 favorite in a four-horse field,'

rider Rene Douglas said. "I knew it was pretty much a two-horse race and I was

watching exactly what the other horse was doing. I didn't give him any chance to

get the advantage on me, and at the quarter pole I just let my horse run."

The victory was the second straight for Meal Penalty and his fourth in eight

starts overall. He picked up $32,622 to push his bankroll to $139,395. The other

horse that Douglas referenced, Young Joe (Roar), made a run at the winner on the

turn but was unable to get by and had to settle for second. Sent off at 1-2

odds, Meal Penalty paid $3 and $2.10. Young Joe paid $2.40. There was no show

wagering on the race.

TRACK SURFACE

Thus far in two weeks of racing here at Arlington, the Polytrack racing

surface has remained fair and balanced. Horses are winning from every position

and with varied running styles. For example, on Thursday, the eight races run

over the main oval featured the following winners:

two wire-to wire

three stalkers (two lengths off the pace)

three closers

The rest of the week followed a similar pattern over the grass course. Thus

far, handicappers needn't concern yourselves with anything other then who is the

best horse -- which is the way it should be.

Post positions also seem to be uniform with no particular bias.

TRAINER NOTES

How hot can a trainer possibly be? That's a question that may well be

answered by WAYNE CATALANO, whose barn is clicking at an incredible 71-percent

with 12 winners from just 17 starters. While this is obviously incredibly high,

it must be mentioned that the Catalano machine can go an entire Arlington meet

without ever dipping below 40 percent, so it's wise to just go with the flow

here without trying to anticipate any cooling off period. Your bankroll will

thank you. Obviously with that kind of win rate, everything is on the table, but

he's been particularly effective with new acquisitions and claims which comes as

no surprise.

TRAINER PROFILE

Although he's being overshadowed by the swarming operation of Catalano,

trainer LARRY RIVELLI is quietly enjoying a solid start himself thus far here at

Arlington. Unlike Catalano, Rivelli isn't the type of conditioner who you can

play with confidence in all areas as he's clearly more productive in certain

areas and being selective pays dividends. For instance, Rivelli is much better

with fillies over colts. And he's much better when sending those fillies

sprint-to-route rather then the reverse. In fact, he's very weak when cutting a

runner back in ground. On the plus side, Rivelli excels with fillies making

their career debuts as three-year-olds and that number climbs when they start

out in the claiming ranks. As for his claims, he's good with his

first-off-the-claim runners, but the pattern to follow is when his runners are

stretching out either the second or third time around following a claim. This is

when the Rivelli stable really zeros in and strong returns can be expected.

RECENT CLAIMS TO WATCH

Thursday (5/8)

1ST -- DREDLIM SPIRK (Five Star Day) has managed to show some potential in

just two starts thus far. Although she came up short today as the heavy

favorite, she should still prove to be a useful performer for new trainer Don

Millonas.

2ND -- ONE PERFECT DAY (Rubiano) has endured more trouble then one runner

should have to in just two starts since coming off a four-month vacation last

month. Nonetheless, she's still performed well and appears to be primed for a

winning performance after being claimed by astute conditioner Michael Reavis.

Sunday (5/11)

4TH -- HOUSEBOAT (Pioneering) won in powerful fashion for the Catalano barn

and now moves into the stable of Hector Magana after his claim today. Right now

she's doing everything right and can win for almost anybody, but especially so

for capable new connections.

9TH -- AFLEET PARDNER (Northern Afleet) won today in extremely powerful

fashion while coming off the grass. The five-year-old gelding has the look of a

runner who's about to string together several winning efforts which helps to

highlight the astute timely claim by trainer Ron Shenofsky.

HORSES TO WATCH

Thursday (5/8)

4TH -- WINDY CITY GIRL (Full Mandate) has been hitting on all cylinders of

late without getting into the winner's circle. That could have changed today if

she hadn't gotten hemmed in along the rail. Rivelli is going extremely well

right now and this stable has always been adept at keeping their runners in form

once they are there.

9TH -- PREVAILING HOPE (Ghazi), an inexpensively bred first-time starter, was

up against it by making debut against maiden special weight company. Still

managed to perform well despite some traffic trouble and will do well down the

road when dropped down to a more suitable level.

Friday (5/9)

4TH -- SIXTEEN GAUGE (Deputy Commander) suffered through a horrendous start

then was unwisely rushed into the pace in what was actually a very good show of

middle speed. The five-year-old gelding was allowed to fade under own accord and

can do much better then this effort implies.

6TH -- LEAPING LILY (Conveyor) found herself in a tough starter allowance

contest today but never had a chance to compete after getting shut off at the

start. Still managed to turn in a strong performance over an Arlington racing

surface where she has always excelled. It's reasonable to expect this honest

runner to rebound with better next time around.

7TH -- INDIGO ICE (Alaskan Frost) was done in by an inexcusably poor ride

from bug boy who managed to gets this horse into tons of trouble despite being

in just a four-horse field. If nothing else this was a perfect illustration as

to why many trainers never use apprentices no matter the weight break.

Saturday (5/10)

3RD -- YOUNG JOE (Roar) gave all he had going against an odds-on favorite who

was benefiting from a favorable pace scenario. Watch for this honest-running

gelding to bounce back in a big way under more suitable circumstances.

5TH -- GRAND TRIO (Grand Slam) was allowed to go off at a lofty 18-1 -- which

illustrates how tough this field was for the Steve Asmussen first-time starter .

That's an unusually high number for any Asmussen horse but especially so for a

debut runner. Fortunately, the horse out performed the odds when running fourth

in a determined effort. Considering that Asmussen does better the second time

around there can be high expectations for this one's chances next out.

BEWARE OF THESE

Thursday (5/8)

8TH -- This isn't so much a knock against WILLIAM TELL (Carson City), but

rather just a word of warning that his victory was gift pure and simple. He was

allowed to set plodding fractions against a field that had no other early speed

on his way to this wire-to-wire victory. So just beware that winning was his

only real option here and couldn't have done otherwise unless falling down.

Friday (5/9)

1ST -- MORALIST (Talk Is Money) is fast becoming the type of runner who

doesn't like to win and is burning tons of bettors' money in the process. He has

now run second four straight times, including today in a race in which the

actual winner was a lifelong loser himself. Moralist had every opportunity to

win this time around and we would be wary of backing this heartless colt down

the road.