Careless Jewel shines in Alabama Stakes
Horseracing Betting Lines
08/22/2009 - Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Careless Jewel, winner of the Delaware Oaks, ran away from the field down the stretch to capture Saturday's $600,000 Alabama Stakes for three-year-old fillies at Saratoga Race Course. The gray filly emulated Rachel Alexandra by posting an 11-length victory over her seven rivals.
Ridden by Robert Landry, Careless Jewel was first out of the gate and was joined by Be Fair. Be Fair took the lead entering the clubhouse turn with Careless Jewel second on the outside and 5-2 favorite Milwaukee Appeal running in third.
Be Fair, ridden by Julien Leparoux, took the field up the backstretch with Careless Jewel pressing the pace followed by Milwaukee Appeal and Casanova Move.
As the field approached the far turn Be Fair and Careless Jewel were on even terms as Milwaukee Appeal and jockey John Velazquez advanced from the outside.
Careless Jewel took the lead on the final turn as Milwaukee Appeal grabbed second in the 1 1/4 mile race. Trained by Josie Carroll, Careless Jewel quickly opened her advantage over her challengers and won easily on a track labeled as 'good.'
Milwaukee Appeal, winner of the Woodbine Oaks, finished second followed by Casanova Move, Sweet and Flawless, Don't Forget Gil, Be Fair, Wynning Ride and Funny Moon.
The time for the 129th Alabama was 2:03.24.
"When we first stepped up from sprinting to go a mile and a sixteenth," said Carroll, "we thought this filly would stretch out."
Careless Jewel was coming off a front-running victory in the Delaware Oaks in July at Delaware Park as a 10-1 longshot. Owned by Donver Stable, the filly picks up $360,000 with Saturday's win to bring her career earnings to $582,846. Based at Woodbine in Toronto, Careless Jewel has won four of five starts, all this year.
Careless Jewel returned $7.80, $4.60 and $3.60. Milwaukee Appeal paid $3.90 and $3.00, and Casanova Move paid $5.90 to show.
Proud Spell, eventual three-year-old filly champion, won the 2008 Alabama Stakes.
On Friday, TVG and its parent company Betfair, Ltd. pledged an additional $400,000 to The New York Racing Association (NYRA) to invite Preakness Stakes winner Rachel Alexandra and champion mare Zenyatta to participate in the Beldame Stakes at Belmont Park on Saturday, October 3. With the $400,000 title sponsorship by TVG-Betfair, NYRA will raise the purse of the Beldame Stakes to $1 million if both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta run in the event.
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Horse Betting
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
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