Looking back at this year’s Breeder’s Cup, I can say that I have much to learn as a handicapper. I also needed a little more racing luck than I actually wound up getting.

In the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile, I really liked Texas Red. In a fast pace, I had the son of Afleet Alex finishing second to Souper Colossal. When a horse that I’ve liked for a while gets a good TA Indicator, I pay close attention to that horse. Texas Red fit that bill. The problem for me was that I didn’t see that  fast pace developing and so there was no way I could justify picking Texas Red.

The BC Juvenile Fillies continued the theme of young immature horses making me look bad. The only horse I really liked in this one was Puca, who looked like a winner until she ran into the type of traffic you only see in LA during rush hour. Now, i’m not saying that horses and jockeys don’t partially make their own luck, but it’s tough when you single out the best horse and run out of racing luck.

I did pretty well in the sprint, but of course I made the assumption that Rich Tapestry didn’t need lasix in order to be effective in the US. Well, apparently even Rich Tapestry could use the help of every American horse’s drug of choice.

I started getting down on myself until the BC Turf came around. I knew I could trust Johnny V to give Main Sequence a good trip and that Main Sequence would take care of the rest. I am a little disappointed in myself for not taking Flintshire over Hardest Core, but I’m a sentimental type of guy, and had to go with the hard knocking American horse.

Now, what type of blogger would I be if I didn’t discuss our good friend Bob Baffert and his Breeder’s Cup Classic victory?

First off, I’m not sure that anyone can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Moreno wanted the lead; hence why gate disqualifications are rarely made. I do beleive that the racing community is fairly upset because the California stewards have once again rewarded Bob Baffert for pushing the limits of what is and isn’t fair. I also beleive that if Moreno gets a clean trip, this race looks a whole lot different. How different is up for debate, but I don’t think Bayern wins this one. I do think Bayern is talented the way Game on Dude is talented, so he may have still hit the board.

I still can’t help but think a faster pace allows Chrome to use more of his finishing kick and he battles with Toast of New York for the win. Of course, a faster pace scenario and clean break may have just resulted in a three length win for Shared Belief; it was pretty amazing how he was able to still finish ahead of all but three horses in the race.

All I can hope for, is that I steered some of you towards Toast of New York, and you profited off of him somehow. I still beleive that California Chrome, Toast of New York and Shared Belief were the three horses most in form that day, but in the sport of kings racing form will always take a backseat to lady luck.

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