Timely Quote

Tweet Best quote of the weekend, when asked about The Pamplemousse's time in the Sham, trainer Julio Canani replied, "Time only counts when you are trying to get out of jail." High comedy. Mike Vick seconds that motion. This could get good if the grapefruit keeps on ripening.

Speaking of time, Ramon Dominguez is having the time of his life at the Big A. The longtime Delaware Park rider is killing them during the current winter meeting. I had my eye on Aqueduct for most of the afternoon yesterday where he rode four more winners and one runnerup. He is absolutely running away with the jockey laurels (40 more wins than his closest competitor). Paul Moran had a nice feature on him yesterday. I wonder, though, how not riding in a turf race for two or three months can affect a rider after the rest of the regular NY colony rejoins Ramon for the Belmont spring meet. I need to know these things.

Speaking of NY racing, interesting stat on wins via post positions. Sprint winners coming from the first six slots are pretty much clipping at either 12 or 13% (five of six posts are within 1%). It's that close. The other interest to me has been the emergence of Rosie Napravnik (currently tied for 4th) and the virtual disappearance of Channing Hill (should we call him Chandra?). Napravnik impressed me yesterday with her ride in the sixth on No Questions, when she made her move at the top of the stretch and pulled away for a six length victory. She's definitely on my radar. Hill, on the other hand, is currently mired in a wicked slump (9% win, 34% ITM). He has been getting a lot of mounts (he has five today), but hasn't generated the numbers. He seemed to be emerging at the Spa last summer as the next young riding phenom, but his winter meeting has been other than spectacular. I wonder if the Big Apple and its many distractions have affected this midwestern boy? Let's hope he rebounds, he has a lot of promise.