3,000 Club

Tweet Welcome to the 3,000 club, GoGo! Garrett Gomez' stunning win on Hyperbaric by a neck over Tybalt in yesterday's Oak Tree Mile (G2) was a milestone victory for one of the nation's leading jockeys. Trevor Denman's stretch call was terrific and a must listen if you haven't had the opportunity (race 7, 28Sept OSA). The 36 year old is already bearing down on the next milestone. When asked about the accomplishment he replied, "I've had some bumps in the road, and I think a milestone like this makes you reflect back and appreciate where you are. "I'm a better person because of what I've been through. As long as I keep winning, I hope to get to 4,000 pretty quick." He's always been a favorite of mine and as a handicapper you need to know what horse he's on at all times, especially in the big races. It is icing on the cake that he did it in a graded stakes race (WAYI) to boot.

So while I was watching GoGo's victory on TVG (new sponsor of our Sprint Division) last night, they showed Curlin arriving on the Left Coast via plane. We will soon see how he handles the newly installed Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita before his connections announce his agenda for the Cup or elsewhere (Japan?). On Saturday, I wasn't in a dome for the big race, but in a restaurant parking lot, urging the Space Gal to give me one more minute to watch the JCGC on my slingmobile. It was worth the few extra minutes and we watched it together in awe of his record breaking performance. Here's hoping he takes on what's shaping up to be a formidable group in the Classic to defend his title.

I finished with a dismal $37.20 in the handicapping tourney this weekend ($1.86 ROI), with 2 winners and 2 places and a bunch of third and fourths in the ten mandatory races. I'm going to keep trying over the next few weeks. What's the worst that can happen?

Just started reading Speed to Spare: Beyer Speed Figures Uncovered, by Joe Cardello, it's been an interesting and pretty easy read so far. Something's gotta stick, right?

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that THE BILLS ARE FOUR AND OH!!!! Was a little nervous at halftime and thought this could be a trap game with the Rams coach basically cornered and throwing out the playbook (yep, he was fired today), but they showed some resilience after a lackluster first half to win ugly.

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Photo courtesy: Cindy Pierson-Dulay