A (Virtual) Day at The Spa

• 10:26 A (Virtual) Day at The Spa officially begins with the 7th race, the G3 Victory Ride. Post time: 2:55 EST. #
• 11:02 Testing my 'capping strategy for an off track. Doing pretty well so far: Bet $6, up $31.40 (tip o' the hat to Get Stormy in the Lure). #
• 12:14 So far it looks like off-pace is ruling the dirt. My pick ran a game 2nd in the Victory Ride. Next up: BUMPER CARS! <3 (2yo maidens @ 6f) #
• 13:06 After much consideration, have decided to go with Rutherienne over Closeout / My Princess Jess in the G2 Ballston Spa. Good Luck! #
• 13:34 Headded by the insane Irish mare at the wire, so my exacta was busted. Ah well. Running with Tar Heel Mom & Music Note in the G1 Ballerina. #
• 13:50 Much obliged, Music Note. Nice little $21 return on the Ballerina. Just glad I didn't exacta the bet: THM backed up to last in the stretch. #
• 14:13 G1 King's Bishop: Laying money down on Munnings over Despite The Odds & the Vineyard Haven / Everyday Heroes entry. #
• 14:26 Justified DQ of Vineyard Haven. Almost looked rider-perpetuated from the head-on; who else thinks Garcia will see the Stewards tomorrow? o.0 #
• 14:49 still thinks Quality Road is overhyped. Going w/ Summer Bird here. #
• 14:57 & by "here", I mean "the G1 Travers". Computer crashed as the horses were loading; had to run into the other room to catch it on ESPN. '0.0 #
• 15:07 @raceday360 True, but if she gets beat in the Woodward the grouse will be "Well, if she'd been in the Travers, she would have won it." #
• 15:22 @superfecta Ditto. I thought for sure it would skyrocket considering his 1st crop get included a Derby & a Belmont winner. Good on them! #

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Let's talk about the Travers. Jess Jackson took a lot of flack for opting to send Rachel Alexandra to the Woodward versus older horses next weekend instead of running her here against three-year-old colts she'd already beaten (the exception being Quality Road, but more on that in a minute).

While I believe the "official" reason he gave for this was because his up-and-comer Kensei was already aiming for the Midsummer Derby, many subscribed to the theory that her connections didn't want any part of 1 1/4 miles right now (the Woodward is shorter at 1 1/8), while others outright lambasted Jackson for "ducking" Quality Road.

Personally, I'm of the second option; hence the reply above to raceday360, prompted by the comment: "I assume all talk of Rachel Alexandra ducking Quality Road will cease."

In a perfect world, yes. But I'm also a realist, and as Quality Road was soundly beaten by a horse who, in turn, had been thoroughly bested by Rachel Alexandra in the GI Haskell, I will stand by my reply. If she loses the Woodward, and subsequently misses out on Horse of the Year because of it, I've little doubt that Jackson's choice to face off against older horses will come under heavy fire.

As for Quality Road: There's no arguing he has talent. It's not every day that a horse shatters records at both 1 1/8 miles and 6 1/2 furlongs, never mind he's done it in a single season. And he ran a pretty honest race overall, considering it's his second start in five months. But is he the top three-year-old in the country? Not by a longshot. I suspect his best days are yet to come, and look forward to seeing him knock some heads in the handicaps next year. Maybe on grass. Definitely at a mile.

Take nothing away from Summer Bird, though. He ran a hell of a race considering how close to the pace he was, and clearly he relishes the slop as well as the distance. Looking back, it makes me wonder how he'd have fared in the Derby with a little more racing luck on the day. The tweet-back to superfecta was in regard to his sire, Birdstone, who stands at Gainesway in Lexington for the blue collar price of $10,000. Given the result of his first crop I'll be very surprised if this doesn't change come 2010, however the Jockey Club prediction of "the smallest foal crop since 1977" may curtail a hike in prices across the board. Time alone will tell.

Al in all, (Virtual) Day at The Spa was a success and left this writer with a lot to think about in terms of the Breeders' Cup picture. We'll see how that plays out next weekend.