The Canadian Sportsman
Archive for July, 2011
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July 22, 2011
As we mentioned previously, more than 100 Dream Stable managers opted to take a flyer and go off the board with a write-in selection.
For some, the decision has been a boon — with Up The Credit, Roll With Joe, Dejarmbro, Big Bad John and Some Girls Do all making an early impression in 2011.
In most cases, those who ‘wrote-in’ took a pass on the fine selection of colts and fillies offered under our “Group Four” section. However, for those who checked a box in Group Four, it’s either been feast or famine.
Of the 10 horses listed as Group Four offerings, three-year-old trotter Neal was the most popular, picked for 119 Dream Stable rosters. Luckycharm Hanover, another trotting colt, was close behind with 109 backers. As of July 18, Neal hadn’t contributed a cent, while Luckycharm Hanover has returned just $16,280 so far.
On the flip side, the 35 people who selected three-year-old filly Jezzy have found some nice value in Group Four. Still undefeated in 2011 and only beaten once in 17 career starts, Jezzy has earned $336,697 from her six wins this season. Also proving to be a productive selection at this early date is Broad Bahn, who has earned $146,101 for the 19 competitors who plucked him out of the group.
Here’s the breakdown of Group Four, in order of most number of selections:
Neal — 119 selections, $0 so far in 2011
Luckycharm Hanover — 109, $16,280
Jezzy – 35, $336,697
Fitness Girl — 32, $0
The Lindy Reserve — 21, $1,200
Broad Bahn — 19, $146,101
Oh Sweet Baby — 14, $94,189
Angelette Hanover — 9, $63,162
Some Girls — 2, $63,692
Bluebird Elian — 0, $36,000
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July 20, 2011
As we forecasted on Friday, conditions were ripe for a few well-positioned Dream Stable managers to make a charge at the lead thanks to the distribution of a million dollars in the Meadowlands Pace over the weekend.
When Roll With Joe held off charging favourite Big Jim at the wire to win the Pace, the Dream Stable team of Scott and Bob Young were instantaneously $750,000 richer — catapulting them from 12th to second place and now trailing leader Larry Morrison by only $57,000.
One is the loneliest number, you say? Not as far as the Youngs or Larry Morrison are concerned. Just as Morrison was the one and only Dream Stable contestant to have North America Cup champion Up The Credit on his roster, the Youngs, similarly, are the only ones to ‘own’ Roll With Joe, who has earned $949,000 in 2011 and now adds Meadowlands Pace winner to his name after being the runner-up to Up The Credit in the $1.5 million NA Cup.
The million-dollar boon of Roll With Joe notwithstanding, there’s still much work to be done for the Youngs if they have designs on sitting atop the Dream Stable standings come December. For starters, the father-and-son team will need some contributions from the two-year-olds on their list, as only $2,750 has been delivered by their freshmen so far. Also, three-year-old trotter Neal is still showing ‘nil’ on the board, an absolutely unacceptable total when you consider that many three-year-old selections have already posted six-figure totals.
Also looking for her two-year-olds to pitch in a little is Katherine Steacy, who is now sitting in third in the contest (close to $400,000 behind Morrison) on the strength of second-money from Big Jim and Foreclosure N’s fourth-place cheque. Steacy, whose husband Mark is the trainer of Foreclosure N, has watched her Dream Stable earn more than $1.5 million so far, without one dollar coming from the two-year-olds she selected.
As for Dan Davis, who had the chance for the biggest Pace night of all with Big Jim, Foreclosure N AND Betterthancheddar in his barn, he climbed 10 spots in the standings from #57 to #47, thanks to the work of Big Jim and Foreclosure N.
July 15, 2011
The Dream Stable standings could look very different after the $1 million Meadowlands Pace on July 16 is in the books.
Those looking to cut into current leader Larry Morrison’s lead will have their shot on Saturday since Up The Credit, Morrison’s leg-up on the rest of the competitors, failed to advance to the Pace final.
However, before shedding a tear for Morrison, remember that he’s still got Big Jim on his roster — the morning line favourite in the big event. He’s not alone. Big Jim, last year’s two-year-old pacing colt of the year in both Canada and the U.S., was selected by 293 Dream Stable managers, which amounts to 68 per cent of those who entered the contest. As such, a Big Jim victory wouldn’t do very much at all to alleviate the logjam behind Morrison.
Aside from the huge percentage of players routing for Big Jim, many others have a vested interest in the Pace outcome, including ample rooting sections for these Pace finalists:
Foreclosure N — selected by 33 Dream Stable managers
Feel Like A Fool (30)
Wink N Atcha (13)
Betterthancheddar (6)
Roll With Joe (1)
The remaining finalists, including elimination winner Custard The Dragon, Powerful Mist, Bestofbest Hanover and Westwardho Hanover went unselected in the contest.
However, a big move could be made by those who are lucky enough to hold multiple Pace finalists, where a dream 1-2 or even 1-2-3 finish could add significantly to one’s bankroll.
Take contestant Dan Davis (currently ranked #57), for instance. To date, Davis has amassed a total of $874,445 in the contest, trailing Morrison by $731,850. Despite the deficit, Davis is well-positioned for a windfall with three Pace finalists in his stable, Big Jim, Foreclosure N and Betterthancheddar. For Davis, a perfect-world finish of Betterthancheddar-Foreclosure N -Big Jim would add $875,000 to his bottom line and catapult him right into the thick of things at the top of the standings.
Also poised to make some noise with the right outcome is the father-and-son team of trainer Bob Young and driver Scott Young. Currently sitting in 12th place with $1,098,000, the duo has two chances in the Pace final on account of having both Big Jim and Roll With Joe on their Dream Stable roster. Since they are the only entrants in the contest to select Roll With Joe, an upset win by the North America Cup runner-up would also take a huge bite out of Morrison’s lead.
All told, several Dream Stable managers have multiple Pace contestants to pin their hopes on this weekend, with Big Jim and Foreclosure N being the most common combination with 25 rosters featuring both Pace finalists. Here’s the breakdown of the other —potentially very profitable — combinations:
Big Jim AND Foreclosure N AND Betterthancheddar — 1 (Dan Davis)
Big Jim AND Roll With Joe — 1 (Bob and Scott Young)
Feel Like A Fool AND Foreclosure N — 1 (Roger Alexander)
Feel Like A Fool AND Wink N Atcha — 2 (Old Quarters Stable; Shivaree Stable)
Big Jim AND Betterthancheddar — 5
Big Jim AND Wink N Atcha — 6
Big Jim AND Foreclosure N — 25 players ‘own’ both horses
Good luck, everyone.
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