Margano Today at Belmont Park, Post Time 1:32

Twenty eight days after his debut, Margano will be making his second start at Belmont Park in race #2, post time is about 1:32 for the Maiden Special Weight race.  A field of eight are scheduled to be in the gate for the race, to be run at a distance of one mile on the Belmont turf.  The weather here all week has been miserable, with rain on and off since Wednesday.  I would say there is about a 50/50 chance the race will be kept on the turf, but it is extremely windy this morning, which might allow for the course to dry out enough, we shall see.  Forecast calls for the wind to continue all day, with partly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 60's.  As of 9:00 this morning, the turf is listed as "yielding", and race #7 and #10 have already been taken off the turf.  If the race is taken off the turf, it will be run at the same distance on the main track.


David Cohen gets the mount this time out on Margano.  Jose Lezcano, who rode Margano in his debut, will be on the morning line favorite, Liquidity Trap, trained by Chad Brown.  I really cannot criticize Mr. Lezcano too much on his ride on Margano first out, I will just say I am happy with the change to Mr. Cohen.  Mr. Cohen is currently tied for third in wins at the Belmont Fall meet, and this past Thursday he notched his 1000th career victory, doing it on the Belmont Park turf course.


I expect Margano to greatly improve of his debut race.  The one mile distance for this race is what his connections had hoped for in his debut, it just didn't come up.  I believe Margano's debut was just for him to experience everything for the first time, call it a extended work-out, if you will.  I fully expect a completely different race for Margano this time out.  I love the fact that it is a smaller field and that Margano drew the outside post.  While I don't expect Margano to be on the lead, I do expect him to break well and get to the front and stalk the leaders, and come flying home in a mad dash to the finish line. 


On paper, Liquidity Trap and  Knock Rock seem to be the ones to beat. Out of those two, Liquidity Trap is my biggest concern, coming off a second place finish on this course back on September 18th.  Knock Rock is coming off a fifth place finish in the Grade III Pilgrim Stakes here at Belmont two weeks ago.  Knock Rock is being raced too often and should be given a couple more weeks off, this being his third race in less then a month and fifth race in two months, too much for a growing two year old in my humble opinion.  The two wildcards are Festive Spirit and McKinley Square.  Festive Spirit is a first time starter, being ridden by Johnny Velazquez and trained by Todd Pletcher.  Mckinley Square will be making his second start for Darley Stables, ridden by Eddie Castro and trained by Kiaran McLaughlin.  Rounding out the field are Captain Fantasic, Matisse, and Odom.  Odom being trained by the disgraced Richard Dutrow, who was just banned for ten years this past week, which goes into affect on October 18th (pending appeal).  I will just say, I couldn't be happier on this judgement and I applaud the powers to be for getting rid of this so-called man.  I am sure Indian Tale feels the same way.  Wishing Odom and all a safe race today.


So with all that said, I will go with Margano winning the race, Liquidity Trap in second, and McKinley Square rounding out the top three.


So, I am now out the door for my trek down to Belmont Park on what could be an historic day.  If Margano breaks his maiden, I could be wrong here, but I believe it will be the first time in the history of the sport that four full brothers all registered wins.  If someone can prove me wrong, the first one who does so, I will gladly mail you out a full set of four Kentucky Derby glasses from Barbaro's Kentucky Derby Victory.  I haven't researched this at all, just going by my memory here, lol.  Good luck.



Race #2, Post time 1:32, $51,000 Maiden Special Weight, One mile on the turf

The full field:

1.  Captain Fantastic       Joe Bravo                 Nick Zito                     15-1

2.  McKinley Square      Eddie Castro             Kiaran McLaughlin       5-1

3.  Matisse                     Alan Garcia               James Lawerence         20-1

4.  Liquidity Trap            Jose Lezcano            Chad Brown                5-2

5.  Festive Spirit             Johnny Velazquez      Todd Pletcher              7-2 

6.  Knock Rock             Alex Solis                  Scott Schwartz            3-1 

7.  Odom                       Jeremy Rose              DICK Dutrow            12-1

8.  Margano                  David Cohen           Barclay Tagg             6-1












Godspeed Margano...

Lentenor Running Today at Keeneland!

In less then four hours, Lentenor will be giving it his all at Keeneland in race #10, post time is 6:15 eastern.

The race came up with a very tough field of twelve, to be contested on the Keeneland turf at 1 1/16 miles, Jesus Castanon will be on board  Lentenor for the first time.  Jesus has two mounts today, the first being in the race prior to Lentenor's.  In that race, he will be on Embur's Song, one of the favorites in the Grade One Spinster Stakes.  Lentenor is in good hands with Mr. Castanon, a very solid jockey.  Lentenor will be breaking from the one spot, with a large field, not an ideal spot for Lentenor at all.  Just hope he can save some ground while stalking the leaders, then he can find a hole to burst through, we shall see.

What can I say?  This field could easily be a stakes race, nothing will be easy for Lentenor today!  With a morning line of 12-1, he is a huge underdog against this field.  I look for him to run big, being third out, with a win and a third place finish, I have a gut feeling we will see a big effort from a physically and mentally fit Lentenor.  At least I hope so!

While not having time to look at the field in depth, the three that stand out are J.B.'s Thunder, Rescue Squad, and a colt I really like, Gautier. 

J.B.'s Thunder is looking to regain the form that earned him a victory in last year's Grade One Dixiana Breeders Futurity, a race that was on the Keeneland all weather surface.  Shaun Bridgemohan will once again get the mount, he has been on board J.B.'s Thunder in all four of his previous starts.  J.B.'s Thunder is the morning line favorite with odds of 3-1. 

Rescue Squad will be racing after almost a year lay-off, his last start coming last November at Aqueduct.  In that race, the five year old Dynaformer colt had the best race of his career.  He finished second in the Grade Two Red Smith Handicap, posting his best speed figure in fourteen starts.  Ironically, Jesus Castanon rode him on that day, Johnny Velazquez gets the mount today.  Rescue Squad is the fourth choice in the race with a morning line of 9-2 odds.

Gautier is a Peruvian star, having won the first four starts of his career in Peru.  This four year old colt will be making his fourth start stateside, having finished third in all those races.  I expect a huge effort today, and he is actually the colt I have finishing in the top two, along with Lentenor obviously, lol.  Manny Cruz will be on the Kenneth McPeek trained colt today, just like he has been in the three previous races.  Gautier is the second favorite today, with odds of 4-1.

Those are my three top contenders for Lentenor today, with a few others that could also step up and run huge.  One that I am hoping does well also is Oak Motte, a four year old colt that Edgar Prado will be riding.

Godspeed to Lentenor and Jesus today.  Hope it is a safe race for all, and Lentenor will be seen in the winner's circle moments after the race! 

The field:


1 Lentenor (KY) 4/C LA Jesus Castanon 120 Leigh Delacour

2 Redboard (KY) 3/G LA C J Lanerie 117 G W Simms

3 Rescue Squad (KY) 5/H L J R Velazquez 120 C R McGaughey III

4 Perregaux (KY) 3/C L J R Leparoux 117 N J Howard

5 San Antone (KY) 3/C LA J Graham 117 G R Arnold, II

6 Lighthouse Sound (KY) 4/G LA R A Dominguez 120 M J Trombetta

7 Gautier (KY) 4/C LA M R Cruz 120 K G McPeek

8 J. B.'s Thunder (KY) 3/C LA G K Gomez 117 A M Stall, Jr.

9 Oak Motte (TX) 4/C L E S Prado 120 K Gorder

10 Nikki's Sandcastle (KY) 4/G L R Maragh 120 D C Kassen

11 Fort Larned (KY) 3/C L R Albarado 117 I R Wilkes

12 Tonto Fontenot (KY) 4/G J K Court 120 B C Barnett

















Godspeed Lentenor...

Margano Debut Recap

First and foremost, my sincere apoligies for not getting Margano's debut recap posted earlier, sorry!  Just hope the old idiom "Better late then never" applies here?

When Margano first walked into the paddock area prior to his first career start, I was very impressed by his calm demeanor and that he was taller then what I had envisioned.  He almost looked sleepy as he walked back and forth in the paddock, quite different then his two older brothers on raceday.  One also needs to remember, Belmont Park is his home, and he his quite familiar with its paddock area.  While darker then his brothers, he sure had their kind eye and very impressive build. 

Going out to the track, his calm demeanor had started to change.  He was completely professional, but one could tell his eyes had become wider and I believe he knew what was about to follow, his first race of his career, a earlier career debut then his three brothers before him.  He was ready.

There had been some talk that maybe Margano had gate issues since he "practiced" going into the gate four times prior to his debut.  On this day, there were no issues at all, he went into the gate perfectly, very professional! 

When the gate opened, Margano broke cleanly and without incident, maybe just a step slow though.  About a hundred yards out, Jose did have to check hard due to a couple of colts in front of him.  Down the backstrech, Jose had the brakes on almost the whole time as Margano raced near the back of the pack, eighth out of ten in the field.  Picture yourself driving your car with the foot on the gas while also having a foot on the brake, this is how Margano was being ridden.  Then Margano was able to run freely for a short time, his stride was nice and fluid, but, once again, Jose needed to apply the brakes going into the far turn.  Midway into the far turn, Margano was now in last place, but only about ten lengths from the leaders.  At the top of the stretch, Margano was FINALLY allowed to run.  With a wall of horses in front of him, he needed to go six wide to get clear sailing.  Once this happened, it was wonderful to see Margano running freely down the stretch.  His ears pinned and his long stride gaining momentum with every step, he looked like he "got it".  He ended up finishing seventh in the field of ten, a field that was a very promising group of two year olds.  Our Entourage won the race, owned by Mr. Mike Repole and trained by Mr. Todd Pletcher, he will be one to watch as he progresses.

After the race, as Margano came back in fine order, I was quite impressed that he didn't seem to be breathing hard at all, while the other colts all seemed very winded.  Despite being checked back for almost the whole race, which drains energy, Margano wasn't phased in the least, quite impressive.  On paper, one sees that he finished seventh and it LOOKS disappointing, I don't see it that way at all.  While finishing seventh, Margano was only five lengths from the winner.  One also needs to remember, this is a learning process, and in this one race, Margano learned so much.  While I usually am not one to come down on a jockey, I will just say, I was not happy with Jose's ride at all, enough said.  While Margano did run greenly at times, his stretch run made me very excited about his future.  He will progress after this, and, look for the next race to be run complete differently, a race that he will be ridden with a chance to actually win the race.


Bottom line, it was a safe and impressive debut for Margano and he will be a force as he learns, race by race!

BTW, Margano had his third work since his debut earlier this morning (October 9th).  He went five furlongs in 1:00.02 on the fast dirt track at Belmont, first of five that worked.  I wouldn't be surprised if he has his second race very soon at Belmont Park.




Video replay of Margano's debut:






Video I shot of the stretch run:





Photos I snapped of the stunning Margano:











































































Photos my friend Elaine snapped (thanks Elaine!):























Godspeed Margano...

Photos and Videos of Winter Memories

When I was at Belmont Park to see the debut of Margano, I was lucky enough to see the beautiful filly Winter Memories in person, and I sure wasn't disappointed!   


While having nothing to do with Barbaro's family, I would be remiss if I didn't share my photos and video of this stunning filly.


Winter Memories was making her eighth career start of her short but so far remarkable career.  She would be running in the Grade One Garden City Stakes at a distance of 1 1/8 miles on the inner turf at Belmont Park.



For those not familiar with the outcome of the race, I will write nothing more, just sit back and enjoy!



Winter Memories in the padddock prior to her race at Belmont Park.  She does NOT like to be around other horses on race day, so, she had her own personal paddock, lol.  Also, she is the first horse I have ever witnessed that got saddled while never stopping, quite a feat!







The running of the Grade One Garden City Stakes








My photos of this beautiful filly...