{"id":6454,"date":"2008-08-21T22:27:17","date_gmt":"2008-08-21T22:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=6454"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"oldbtb_1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=6454","title":{"rendered":"Fivestarnick Handicap Grade II"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fivestarnick Handicap<\/SPAN><\/U><\/B>
Grade II
A mile and one sixteenth
Firm Turf
$200,000
All horses, 3 years old and up<\/SPAN><\/o:p><\/U><\/B><\/P>

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\u00a0<\/SPAN><\/o:p><\/U><\/B><\/P>

I looked up on the BTB assignment board and saw this race with my name next to it and instantly I felt my heart skip a beat. My hands went cold and clammy and the rest of me was hot with perspiration. I looked around the room checking to see if anyone saw the panic in my body language. Luckily everyone was too busy eating the free chips or clacking away at their keyboard to notice. I took a deep breath and formulated a plan. I will simply trade assignments with someone and my secret will be safe. I began checking to see if anyone would switch races with me. Squirrel had the big race no sense in trying her. I went around to each desk and made small talk with writers like Kyogle, Iant, Bigjet even Lebowski who had no race and offered to switch with them. No dice with any of them. I was shifty and evasive when they wanted to know why I would give up such a plum assignment. I told some it was woman trouble in NY, others were mislead into thinking that I had a beef with track officials. I told none the real truth. I tried the other side of the newsroom next. Kloie was apologetic about turning down my request saying she just couldn\u2019t switch this week. Hannibal<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>, Alishan and Pazzjazz were already deep into their research and could not be convinced to swap. What was I going to do and then suddenly it hit me. I would spill the beans and let the chips fall where they may. After all it is tough for a BTB writer to make a living at his desk alone. Lots of folks had side jobs and alternate forms of income. Maybe my story would be even more valuable to the BTB this way, it would be a real exclusive, a race preview written by a jockey in the race. That\u2019s right I said a jockey <\/U><\/B>in the race. For years now I have been leading a double life… by day Otistaylor mild mannered, handsome, dapper writer for the Black Type Bugler.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But come Saturday afternoon and the occasional Tuesday night or Friday morning I rode last calls at the New York<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> track. I never rode any big races because I am pretty awful, so the conflict of interest seemed unlikely to ever come up. <\/P>

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\u00a0\u00a0That was until for some unknown reason Blazing Saddles chief and up and coming conditioner Desimster (MTK76) had either chosen me or was real unlucky at the selection draw. OK the cat is out of the bag now. Otistaylor writer is also L Israel NY bottom feeding jockey. What a relief to get it out in the open. I met with MTK to discuss strategy never telling him his insight would be a big part of the race coverage. I would be riding PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH(IRE)<\/SPAN> <\/B>a front running 4 year old son of <\/SPAN>(MONTJEU (IRE) x RAINBOW QUEST x A.P. INDY) coming of a huge score in a stakes in his last outing. Clearly I would have to gun this one to the lead. Leaving the gate fast was my only skill as a jockey and the reason MTK had chosen me for the ride (I still think he may have just had the bad fortune to be assigned my services). We agreed that the 108 spf if repeated might be good enough for all three of us (the horse mtk and I) to break a collective graded maiden. I wondered who else might go for the lead and MTK said that the race was unfortunately filled with early speed. <\/P>

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\u00a0<\/SPAN>DUMBER THEN A ROCK(IRE)<\/SPAN> PP 4 ML 4-1 <\/STRONG>trained by GUM<\/I><\/SPAN><\/STRONG> <\/SPAN>was surely the one to beat out the gate. The son of (ROCK OF GIBRALTAR (IRE) x RAINBOW QUEST x SADLER’S WELLS) had blistered his field in 116 last out and did it gate to wire in the G3 Prize winner stakes. In fact nearly every race this guy had run had seen him out on the lead. He had a bankroll of over 250k and was nearly the pre race fave. \u00a0<\/SPAN>I smiled at MTK and showed him the secret to my early speed success. The buzzer would get us out in front of that one I hope, \u201che needs the lead to win\u201d \u00a0<\/SPAN>if we can wrest it from him our biggest rival\u2019s hopes would be hurt greatly. <\/P>

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TRIPWIRE\u2019<\/I>s MAKE ME BLUSH(KY) PP 5 ML 7-1 <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>was another we would have to get out in front of. He too was a front runner with top gate speed. He nearly won a G1 last out pressing the pace the whole way before finishing second in 114. The son of <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>(BELONG TO ME x GONE WEST x BLUSHING GROOM(FR)) was 17 for 20 lifetime on the board, this guy is consistent. We felt confident if we blasted out in front of Dumber Than a Rock, Blush would drop in at his throat latch still viewing him as the one to beat. He also carried another 114 on his dance card so we knew that at some point we\u2019d have to hope he was torched by the early pace. <\/SPAN><\/STRONG><\/P>

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We really did not see PUFFQUEEN\u2019s<\/I><\/SPAN><\/STRONG> CHRIS’ VIEW(KY) PP 6 ML 13-1 <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>as a threat to the early pace scenario but surely he would be close to it. He liked to run just off the leaders and make a move on them late. The son of <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>(DISTANT VIEW x TREMPOLINO x PRINCE JOHN) did not have the spf\u2019s of the other two so despite the 104 in his last win at the allowance level we thought he was not one we had to worry about. He would need a career best and we were already planning on us having one, so we felt his lack of experience against graded foes would ultimately doom his chances despite being 13 of 24 lifetime itm. Maybe his stalking style would bother some of the others in the race and help us out. That seemed to carry us through the early portion of the race but who would come running when the real running started? <\/SPAN><\/STRONG><\/P>

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We knew ZOOMR <\/I>had been bringing his charge <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>PETE FOUNTAIN PP 1 ML 14-1 <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>into this race hoping to recapture some of the glory of his younger days. The 6 year old son of <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>(DIXIELAND BAND x ROBERTO x DAMASCUS<\/st1:City><\/st1:place>) had a bankroll of over a half million and was a graded winner way back in 05. He really looked like he was more of a miler and we hoped the extra 1\/16 would be his undoing. Just the same he would be one I would be looking for in the rear view mirror late because he could close pretty fast on his best day.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I refused to believe it would be Saturday and we decided the real late pace threats would come from elsewhere. If he was close to the pace he would be more of a threat. <\/P>

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The one horse we both felt pretty certain of beating was GEORGE W. LOSER PP 3 99-1 <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>from the MONIMONICA<\/I> stables. First question MTK asked me is if Monimonica was a relative of the Tsunami stable group. No one could be sure but this entry reeked of Tsu\u2019s bp strategy of entering hopeless horses in big G1 events. This is a shrewd way of picking up an easy 10 bps despite having a 7 year old son of <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>(POLISH PRECEDENT x PERSONAL FLAG x STAGE DOOR JOHNNY) who had not broken 50 in any of his last 3 races. He was a veteran of this BP grabbing campaign and did not seem worse for wear despite getting his doors blown off in G1 events once every few months. <\/P>

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DERBYBOUND\u2019s <\/I>charge would not be written off so easily. KALEIDESCOPE EYES(KY) PP 7 ML 6-1 <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>was the 4 year old son of \u00a0<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/STRONG>(MINESHAFT x SADLER’S WELLS x ROBERTO) and had a Grade 3 win at 8.5 two back and a near miss in a G1 last out. This guy\u2019s speed was clearly better than ours with winning spf\u2019s of 110 and 114 in very recent memory. The hope here was his late run would be blunted by traffic problems or perhaps he would get bottomed out if we set some quick fractions. Of course this was wishful thinking and I patted Tollbooth on the neck and told him we\u2019d have to find some extra speed late to hold this one off. He was a top 50 horse in the division and if we wanted to win he was going to have to be beat in the lane. <\/P>

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I asked MTK \u201cwhat about CHINOBEARS<\/I>\u201d? He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head knowingly. PSYCHOLOGY(KY) PP 8 ML 12-1 <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>was a 4 year old son of (PROUD CITIZEN x MOUNTAIN CAT x NORTHERN BABY) whose race record was no more or less impressive than ours. He had run some nice figs in losing efforts against lesser of late, and only had 3 wins lifetime from 21 starts. Clearly he was in the best form of his career but when it came to late runners he was not our primary fear. His best runs had all come shorter and unless this distance was his best (always a possibility) I felt we could hold him off late and MTK agreed. <\/P>

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WISTFUL <\/I>was sending out a real good looking son of (EUROSILVER x DANEHILL x STORM BIRD) by the name of TORINO<\/SPAN><\/STRONG><\/st1:place>(KY) PP 9 ML 9-2. <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>The horse had looked like a monster at 8f in his last couple and we were telling ourselves the extra ground would not be to his liking. His high speed figures came against softer competition and we dismissed them as being artificially fast based on class. We laughed amongst ourselves at our skill for rationalizing another horses supposed deficiency while ignoring our own horse\u2019s short comings. I knew that at the third call I would see this one making a big move. If we were not ready he might put us a way and look to steal this race himself. I hoped his inability to close the deal at a stakes level would be his undoing as he moved up in class here.<\/SPAN><\/STRONG><\/P>

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\u00a0YOULOSTHA <\/I>had entered <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>BUSY QUICK(KY) PP 10 ML 6-1 <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>the four year old colt was a good looking son of <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>(DISTORTED HUMOR x STORM CAT x AFFIRMED) when MTK asked me what I thought about this one I burst out laughing. I told him no way P Hilton was beating me. I had his number since first meeting the sad sack jock 3 years ago. He only had 6 wins on the season and he was not getting the big money here. MTK brushed off my nonchalance and said \u201cwhat about the horse?\u201d. I looked over at Busy Quick in his stall and realized he could not be dismissed based on his jockey. The horse had run big figs at a mile against stakes company and had a massive closing kick. Maybe Hilton finally had himself a live mount. If the ground were softer you might really worry as he had a monster 113 on softer grass. I felt Busy Quick was better suited to a mile and Hilton would be afraid to ride the hedge and give him the ground saving trip that might get him into contention late. <\/P>

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A hush fell over the room and I said \u201cis that it?\u201d and MTK shook his head glumly. \u201cWe have not looked at ONEWORLD\u2019s <\/I>colt yet he moaned\u201d. \u00a0<\/SPAN>So it was true we had not looked at the lone millionaire in the race, the 5 year old son of (WOODMAN x DYNAFORMER x COMPLIANCE). WOODYNA PP 11 ML 7\/2 <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>was a real nice horse who had been lucky enough and good enough to draw top jock and general ruler of the New York jock colony N Lawton. He was the defending World Cup Mile champ who had run an absolutely awe inspiring 120 back in December. As gloom started to set in I chirped \u201chey this old war horse has never won at the distance we are going today.\u201d \u201cHe will never be able to carry that late charge for an extra half panel.\u201d MTK looked unconvinced. I said show me where this guy has ever gone 1 and 1\/16. MTK pointed to the race three back where he had done just that. I said was he closing at the end there? Well he hadn\u2019t been and we mused that maybe we could hold off his charge deep in the lane if Tollbooth could reach deep<\/SPAN><\/STRONG> and fight on to the wire. <\/P>

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\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I think that at 26-1 we had a real shot and I plunked my sawbuck down on the table and said \u201cMTK put it on his nose for me. We are gonna pull the upset of the century.\u201d MTK looked less convinced and said. \u201cGet him out the gate and let him run until he gets tired, hopefully that won\u2019t be before the wire.\u201d <\/P>

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\u00a0<\/SPAN>I closed my eyes and thought about what might happen when this article posted. All the trainers who might be mad about me saying my 26-1 shot might actually win this race. I figured they\u2019d all understand it was competitive spirit at the heart of it and not ill will. Certainly Woodyna, Dumber than a Rock and Make me Blush all looked to have better chances than we did. For that matter we would be pretty lucky not to finish second last (I still say we beat George W. Loser (wonder where that name came from). If I did manage to \u201cbuzz\u201d the lead maybe we would have some fun for 7 panels or so and wait and see who came to run us down. Maybe Phantom Tollbooth\u2019s ticker is bigger than it looks and we can add another humungous upset to sim lore\u2026 and then again maybe not.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I also feared that perhaps this will be my last BTB article as my employers could feel this conflict of interest is not in the paper\u2019s best interest. I hope not but if it is then it has been my pleasure giving you bad tips and lousy analysis. I learned it all from Irisharse so blame him for all the lousy rationale and misinformation. He told me that is the hallmark of a good trainer. Ooops did I just admit I am a trainer too? Oh well. Also I would like to thank and apologize to NPARK28002 <\/B>whose creativity in last weeks issue inspired what ever this mish mosh might be. <\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/STRONG><\/SPAN><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/STRONG><\/P>

\u00a0<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BTB Writer Comes Clean About Moonlighting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":318,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/318"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6454\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}