The Luv Gov

Tweet I had to laugh out loud (LOL for my uber-savvy tech readers) when I received this comment from my pal JB on the gray skies/gray horse post from opening day:

"The potential Travers fields connections are a who's who of racing; Farish/Howard, Stronach/Pletcher, IEAH/Dutrow, LaPenta/Zito and potentially Zayat/Mott if Z-Fortune makes the trip. No doubt Saratoga brings out racing's royalty. Speaking of which, that Mary Lou Whitney sure has a great sense of humor. Her Lukas-trained colt in tomorrow's second race at the Spa is named, "Luv Gov." Go figure. Could she be a little disappointed that the racing interest that she lent her name to as Chairwoman was put aside by NY's former chief executive? I don't know but Luv Gov was the NY Post headline the day after the story broke."

Luv Gov goes off as the longest morning line price on the board at 20-1 for Lukas tomorrow. Purchased at the Keeneland September 2007 sale for $85K. The colt is by Ten Most Wanted (out of City of Silver). I think an Eliot tribox of Luv Gov with Nowhere to Hide and Blank Check would be appropriate. If only Luv Gov was coming out of the #9 hole, we'd have a sure thing.

Following up on yesterday's 007 post, Prominent, the $120K filly running in a $25K claimer ran second to Isn't That Special. Steve Zorn of The Business of Racing was quick to point out the difficulty in today's game:

"Bond's horse illustrates just how tough this game can be. The horse was purchased for $120,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September sale, and here she is on sale for $25,000, probably with no takers, as it's pretty rare for anyone to claim out of this bottom maiden claiming level. The owner, I'm sure, has more than $200,000 in her, including training, van and vet costs."

Michael Trombetta had one winner of his three entries on Wednesday, with Into the Wind, making the Space Man a little scratch for a $109 exacta with Roman Emperor. He had a couple winners the day I was at Presque Isle and he one to keep an eye out for....

Here's some Luv Gov humor to start off the weekend....

Shaken, Not Stirred

Tweet I took this photo on Prince of Wales Day at Fort Erie in the parking lot on my way to the track, when this large horse van from H. James Bond Racing Stables, Saratoga Springs, caught my eyes. On that day his entry Pewter, had the early lead but gave way to Harlem Rocker (who we should see on the fourth Saturday in August at the Spa) at the top of the stretch in the second leg of Canada's triple crown.


So far at the Saratoga meet, Bond has had only one entry so far, but has one going today in the fourth, Prominent, in a 3yo $25K maiden claimer. She is the 3-1 ML second choice behind Mike McDonald's Isn't That Special (5-2). The El Prado filly has done no better than third in three lifetime starts for Bond and looks to break her maiden over 6 furlongs on the main track. Unfortunately Prominent isn't firing out of the 7 hole...but from the rail.



Very funny that I named this post before looking at some youtube entries looking for some of the old Bond vodka martini scenes and discovered there is an actual new 007 movie coming out under the title Quantum of Solace in November 08....here's a fan trailer:





And for you Bond junkies like me...here is what I was really looking for....



I'm looking for Bond to post his first victory at the Spa today and celebrate with a little Grey Goose, shaken not stirred...