Good on Ya, Free Data and Sick Horses

Nick Boyd, trainer of ours for a few of our horses the past few years had a feature in a little paper in Fergus, Ontario today. Nick then went out and won two races at Grand River this evening. That's a huge day for a small stable, so way to go Nick, and remember your own advice from the blog post you wrote earlier this year :)

Louis the Whip and Greg the Pitt were doing some chatting on Greg's North America Cup Top Ten below. This is one tough year to pick talent, in my opinion. For the record, my top three would be Barber Pole, Well Said and Drop Red. But that could change in a weeks time with this bunch. I am totally pitching Barber Pole's last race. He should have won that race by open lengths with his talent. There is no doubt in my mind he will be a big force.

Shadow Play's disappointing 5th place at Western Fair in the Molson Pace elim has been attributed to sickness. Not unlike last year when Beach came home in 29 and change at Mohawk, any handicapper worth his salt knew something was up with Shadow. But as handicappers we rarely get this news. As a horse owner this news is commonplace. Hearing the next day the blood came back with a high white cell count usually places one's mind at ease after a poor showing. I wish somehow we made this public, however, as I think it would help explain some form reversals to cappers.

What is most interesting to me perhaps with Shadow Play, is that many times in this business, horses do not come back good at times after the winter break. I remember watching Doonbeg, the lil Ontario champ come back at four and I was not impressed. Some 'cappers were chalking it up to not "being tight" or the well-overused "3YO to 4YO transition" excuse, but it was clearly not the case. There are a great many other examples. I am certainly not saying this is occurring with SP, but I can say I will be watching his next start closely. This is not your everyday horse, and if he is back to last year's talent, in his next start he will explode and leave no detractors, and will need no excuses.

The Molson Pace final goes on Friday. A free program is available here for free tomorrow, and HPI, Premier Turf Club and other ADW's are covering the tilt. With Foiled Again a little outside, this might be a good race for 280k.

If you are a software person, or a writer of programs, Trackmaster is offering a free year of harness data as test data. It's about time this is done. I remember trying to get a years of data several years ago. It would have cost me $4000. Needless to say I did not pursue it, and thoroughbred wagering took more of my bankroll at about that time.