Flintstones come to Ascot

Officials at Ascot Raceway are having their first ever Family Fun Day at the racetrack. The track is offering various events to entertain the kiddies which include face painting, kid races (yes, they will actual run on the track between races), bouncey huts, to name a few. Also, in attendance will be the characters from the Flintstones…Barney, Fred, Wilma, Betty, their kids Bam Bam and Pebbles and even Dino will be present.

These special guests are there for a reason…the running of the Yabba Dabba Doo Grade 2 Handicap. The field is open to fillies and mares 3 years and up. The race has a purse of a quarter million dollars and is on the turf course at a distance of 11 furlongs.

Some readers may remember me “rolling the dice” to pick the winners of the Bluegrass Derby and Oaks and the disasterous results that had. The reason I did this was because there were reports that monkeys had better success picking stock winners than professionals. Since I didn’t have a monkey, I used another random device…the dice. So now I’ve decided to challenge myself against the dice. Going forward, I will make my picks and then roll the dice and see if randomness does better than my alleged “professional” picks. We’ll see how I do in the long run (maybe short run if I fail miserably).

So here we go:

1. Pappadeux 21-1
Pappadeux has been red hot, amassing a record of 7-4-2-1. She destroyed the field in her last start (her first in a stakes) winning by 5 going 12f in a career best speed of 106. In that race, she was down 6 lengths at the 3/4 pole and just ripped the track apart. It was her first race she surpassed the 100 level and will need to put in an equal effort in this graded race. She charges hard from the rear of the field and distance is not be a problem.

2. Russian Red 27-1
Russian is also coming off her career mark in her last race which set at a speed of 100 going 12f. She has 5 wins in 25 starts and I’m afraid this speaks volumes. It took her 25 races to reach the 100-speed plateau and she may need to be much better than that. Her last race was against starters and she takes a huge leap into the graded level. She has raced against stakes level three times with her best result being a third place finish. She is a hard one to take seriously here.

3. Wicked Wench 7-1
Wicked Wench has won 11 of her 24 starts, hitting the board a total of 17 times, all on the turf and going the route. She is the reigning champion of the Yabba Dabba Do Handicap and returns to defend her title. She is coming off a win in the Barbara Bush handicap (and as a side note, Barbara Bush was in attendance for that, and I even saw her there!). Wicked usually runs just off the leaders and has won her last two. She’s capable of adding to that streak and her career mark of 110 was set at this track.

4. EAAAXMASGIFT 8-1
I find it amusing that this filly ran in the Hannah Brother Cap two races back (Hannah Brother being the one producing the Flintstones). EAAA has hit the board in 8 of 17 turf starts, winning three. She is a strong front runner but has been on the skids of late. She hasn’t been first to the wire since last October and has been off the board in her last 3. In fact, she has hit the board only once in her last six tries. EAAA can run at a speed over 100, but her recent form has been shakey.

5. First Lady 21-1
First Lady has been on the board in 7 of her 11 stake starts. She has only one graded race where she finished eigth going 10f. First Lady has been racing a variety of routes of late ranging from 9f up to 2 miles with a mixture of results. In her 18 career starts, she broke the 100-speed barrier only once, that being back in February. She will be hard pressed to walk away with this one.

6. The Duece 5-1
Between July and October of 2007, The Duece was struggling. In three of the four races she ran during that time period, she put in terrible efforts, losing by more than 10 lengths in each one. Trainer Fairhaven3 sent the filly off to the farm for a vacation. In January, she returned to the track with a bang. In her last four outings, she has a record of 1-2-1 finishing no further back than 3 lengths and set a career mark of 109 in her last. She loves to stalk the pace setter and is a contender here.

7. Sheza Maniac 8-1
Sheza Maniac has hit the board in 13 of 18 turf outings, amassing 6 wins. She usually laggers behind the field, but keeps them within a reasonable distance. She’s not an extreme hard closer (meaning one who can gain 10-lengths late in the race) but I think she may find herself in trouble in this race. If she falls 7 or 8 lengths back by the 1/2 pole, I think she may find herself in trouble.

8. Silane 6-1
Silane has been running consistant speeds around the 105 mark in her last five outings. She generally runs in the middle of the pack and finds her footing just past the midway marker. From March thru December last year, she won 7 of 8 races. She has finished 2nd in her last two starts and has finished in the top two spots in 12 of her 16 turf starts. Another one to take seriously.

9. Incredible Diva 10-1
Incredible Diva may find herself as the pace setter in this race. She shows a strong desire to run up front and does throw out an occasional race with a speed above 100. She has been flip-flopping between allowance and stake races lately. Looking back, Incredible has hit the board only once in her last nine stake races. Against this group, I don’t think she will be able to go from gate to wire.

10. Driven Demon 10-1
Driven has been consistant, hitting the board in 15 of 18 turf starts. She has not won a race since last July, but she has been knocking on the door ever since, picking up a paycheck in every race. Driven is being bumped up to the graded stake level and may find this a bit more challenging.

11. Norse Princess 4-1
The favorite in the race comes in with a commendable record of 35-16-8-6. She was the beaten favorite in her last race, the Barbara Bush, losing to Wicked Wench. There really was no excuse for not winning that race other than Wicked Wench being the better horse on that day. She usually lays off the pace before making her move later in the race. Ten of her last twelve were at speeds surpassing the 100 level, although her last was at 99. Norse has six races at this track, with 3 wins, 2 places and a show. She likes the track and is a threat.

12. Otto Capital 6-1
Otto is a front runner who may find herself in a speed dual with EAAAXmasgift and Incredible Diva. Of the three, Otto Capital is the most capable of taking this event. However…a speed dual will not be a good thing as it may wear this one down. She has been able to lead almost every one of her 28 races. If she can produce a speed over 100, she should hit the board.

Norse Pricess has returned to the track she likes and gets my top nod here. She has a chance to make amends after her last race and hopefully will not pass up that opportunity. Wicked Wench is my second choice who beat out Norse with a strong close to draw off by 4. Third choice is to 21-1 longshot Pappadeux who has been putting in monster moves late. If she can avoid traffic and duplicate the speed in last, she will be dangerous.

Now time to roll the dice…and the results:
1. Pappadeux
11. Norse Pricess
10. Driven Demon

wow…think the dice peeked at my picks. Good luck to all and enjoy the feastivities at the track!