4/26 (HOL): Mervyn LeRoy (Gr. II)
 

7th (4:20) Mervyn LeRoy H. (G2)

1 1/16 Miles (All Weather Track) | Open | 3 Year Olds And Up Stakes | Purse: $150,000

1 Global Hunter (ARG) Berrio O A 115 FTL
2 Zappa Rosario J 115 L
3 Surf Cat Solis A 120 L
4 Buzzards Bay Valdivia J Jr 116 Blk-On L
5 Giant Gizmo Garcia M 114 L
6 Desert Code Gryder A T 116 L
7 Monzante Bejarano R 115 L
8 Neko Bay Smith M E 113 L
9 Mr Napper Tandy (GB) Migliore R 113 L
10 Fly Dorcego (BRZ) Espinoza V 115 L

These days, Buzzard's Bay runs like almost every DWL horse...looks like a winner at the 3/4 pole, then folds like a cheap suit.

The comment I put with Buzzards Bay back when Gomez was riding him was "good looking older might be a money burner". Seems like Ron Ellis has two in his barn, Declans Moon been the same way.

Monzante ran out of his skin last time after dropping out of those lopsided Strub series races. He seemed to have a lot of potential when winning an allowance late last year over the Hollywood Park Cushion Track. Should be tough here with a repeat.

The rest look like bridesmaids and has-beens.

Buzzards Bay is past his prime...he can't compete at this level anymore

Huge money burner, even with the blinks....along with Sweet Northern Saint..Then again, so am I as of late...If it wasnt for baseball, I'd be 0 for the century this year.


I like Zappa on the cutback in here. I hope Rosario uses his early foot to get into a good position, sitting right off the first flight and pounce on the leaders turning for home. He has faced stiffer competition, but still not sure what kind of price I'll get come post time. Using with MOnzante.

Certainly he is the horse to beat but a few things I consider is

1) I am going to be a against horses who seemed beaten at Santa Anita yet exploded late to win

2) The barn that this horse hails from tends to not repeat those explosive efforts next out, and the tend to go off form mysteriously at low odds

3) he will be way overbet based on 1 and 2 in my eyes.

Valid points, but historically, at least with his claimers, it seems like Mitchell's "improvements" hold for 3 or 4 races. I'm also guessing that you can draw a line through the Strub races that could have been anomalies given the condition of the track at the time and the lopsided pace scenarios in both. Considering that Tiago was in a similar boat, and ended up moving back towards top class status away from Santa Anita, I think its a reasonable assumption.

Also, and I'm probably wrong, but I get the feeling that Surf Cat will be a strong favorite here.

Not a redboard (hope not anyway) because I've long been on record on here as being a huge Surf Cat fan but.......I don't see any reason why he shouldn't have been a heavy favorite here.

I played golf instead but its hard to beleive mozante was 7/5. It shows there just is alot of players who are struggling to grasp the different synthetic surfaces. Watch Mozante's run at santa anita, watch Colonal John, they are the same race, who wants to bet that horse at 4/1 or so next saturday?

Well Monzante looked like an up-and-comer at Hollywood last December when winning an allowance event, so I don't think too many were worried about him handling the surface (though I don't know if his speed figure for that race was competitive for a graded stakes).

I think the 2nd of your points (Mitchell horse off a huge effort) was at play here.

Either way, I was dead wrong.

These were better horses then that race at last November but I am keeping track and its happened at least 3 times by my notes that horses who were beaten yet exploded with a furlong or so to go to win. I mean on dirt when Neko Bay opens up by 4 with a furlong to go you just dont get caught like he did, so in a way I think it was a illegitimate win. I think we will see this continuous Del Mar/Santa Anita form trends when they go on dirt to Hollywood or ship. Another example was Georgie Boy catching Gayego, on dirt or another surface he never does, yet at Santa Anita it looks spectacular for the winner and makes the loser look vulnerable. Its a play I am going to keep making. hope that long winded response expands on my position.

Yeah, I see your point. Though, personally I thought Neko Bay moved way too soon in the Santana Mile and in previous races had made big turn moves only to hang or look green down the lane.

It will also be interesting to follow all those Gaines horses that ran lights out during that 12 for 17 streak at Santa Anita. A couple of them bombed today on the Gold Rush card, though she had some maiden run off by 6 (not sure if he was a first timer or not).