July, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Truth Hurts Has Options For Next Start After Perfect Sting Win

Truth Hurts, trained and co-owned by Chad Summers with J Stables, flourished in the slop, posting a 5 3/4-length score in Saturday's off-the-turf $100,000 Perfect Sting at one-mile for older fillies and mares at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Entered for the main track only, Truth Hurts drew in and tracked the early speed of Piedi Bianchi under a sharp steer by Luis Saez. Truth Hurts was asked for her best into the turn and responded with a smart turn-of-foot to secure the win, garnering a 76 Beyer.

Summers said the addition of blinkers has honed the Ontario-bred daughter of Tonalist's natural pace.

“I think adding blinkers put a little more speed into her. She's been really good in the morning time since we put blinkers on her,” said Summers. “She's been more aggressive than she has been in the past.

“She's happy with herself this morning,” Summers added. “She cooled out really quickly and is real happy this morning, bouncing around the shed row.”

Summers said he will consider many options for Truth Hurts, including the $200,000 Grade 2 Honorable Miss, a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up on July 28 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; or possibly the seven-furlong Grade 3 Seaway on the Tapeta at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario on August 21.

“I don't want to go a mile and an eighth with her anymore. I think a mile is as far as she wants to go,” Summers said. “With that in mind, it's just a matter of seeing what's out there. We could look at a race like the Honorable Miss cutting back to three quarters. We'll take a look around and evaluate the filly sprint division and if she comes back and needs more time, we can wait. There's plenty of options out there.”

Summers said he will have 15 stalls at Saratoga for the upcoming 40-day summer meet that kicks off on July 15.

“We have a lot of exciting babies and we want to take our time with them and do right by them and get them in the right spots,” said Summers. “Saratoga has my favorite races over there, the maiden auction races for horses bought for $45,000 or less. So, we'll take a look at the condition book and see what shakes free.”

NYRA Maiden Allowance Auction Series races are restricted to horses that sold or RNA'd for $45,000 or less at their most recent auction.

The Maiden Allowance Auction Series races offer purses of $80,000 and will also include up to $13,920 in New York Breeding Fund open company owners awards for New York-breds finishing first through third.

Summers said he is looking forward to the debut of Cee Are Em, a $25,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The bay daughter of Orb is out of the Known Fact mare Database, who produced the multiple graded stakes winning turfer Data Link.

“She's going to run in the auction race on the grass in book two,” said Summers. “She works well on the dirt, but with her pedigree being a half to Data Link, we'll want to take a shot on the grass first time out.”

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Pletcher Eyes Whitney For Happy Saver, Prepares Following Sea For Haskell

Hall of Fame Trainer Todd Pletcher sent out Wertheimer and Frere's Happy Saver and Repole Stable and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Moretti to finish third and fourth, respectively, in Saturday's Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Happy Saver, who bested Mystic Guide in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup in October at Belmont, entered Saturday's test undefeated in five starts.

Leaving from the outermost post 6 in the Suburban under Irad Ortiz, Jr., Happy Saver tracked in fourth position, outside of Mystic Guide, as Moretti set the early splits.

Mystic Guide made a strong inside move into the turn but the four-wide Happy Saver failed to fire his best shot, closing to complete the trifecta as Max Player upset Mystic Guide by a neck.

“I thought Happy Saver ran well,” said Pletcher. “He was stuck wide the whole way around there from that post. It was a little bit of a tricky start but I thought he put in an honest effort. They both came back very well.”

Pletcher said he'll take some time to consider options, although the nine-furlong $1 million Grade 1 Whitney Stakes on August 7 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. is a possibility.

“We'll see how he bounces out of it and consider the Whitney and the Jockey Club and play it by ear,” said Pletcher.

The Whitney offers a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar in Del Mar, Calif.

A number of Pletcher stars were on the work tab Sunday at Belmont, including Spendthrift Farm's Following Sea, a Runhappy colt, who is pointed to the nine-furlong $1 million Grade 1 Haskell Invitational on July 17 at Monmouth Park.

Following Sea breezed five-eighths in 1:00.80 over a dirt training track rated good.

“He breezed well and we're still on target for the Haskell,” said Pletcher.

Pletcher said Shadwell Stable's Malathaat, who worked a half-mile in :49.49 on the dirt training track, remains on target for the $500,000 Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks, a nine-furlong test for sophomore fillies on July 24 at Saratoga

“She looked great. Everything is going smoothly with her,” said Pletcher.

Shadwell Stable's Mahaamel, who was slated to start in Monday's $250,000 Grade 3 Dwyer, was clocked in :49.90 on the dirt training track.

“We were thinking about the Dwyer and unfortunately he got a bit of a cough and knocked us off a breeze last week. We'll consider an allowance race for him,” said Pletcher.

Pletcher's potential starters in Saturday's Turf Triple series races breezed a half-mile Sunday on the dirt training track with Con Lima [:50.59] targeting the $700,000 Grade 1 Belmont Oaks and CHC and WinStar Farm's Sainthood [:49.65] eyeing a turf debut in the $ 1 million Grade 1 Belmont Derby.

“They both breezed well and are on track for next weekend,” said Pletcher.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Joseph Graffeo, Del Toro, Eric Nikolaus, and Troy Johnson's Con Lima is exiting a sharp win in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Wonder Again on June 3 on the Belmont turf, while Sainthood captured an off-the-turf edition of the Grade 3 Pennine Ridge on May 29.

“We were hoping to get that turf try in the Pennine Ridge but it ended up working out OK, so we'll find out next week,” said Pletcher.

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Stidham Ponders Mystic Guide’s Next Start After Close Second In Suburban

Godolphin's Mystic Guide was already back at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland on Sunday morning following his game runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The son of Ghostzapper, out of multiple Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Music Note, arrived at the classic-distance engagement off a 3 ¾-length victory in the $12 million Group 1 Dubai World Cup on March 27 at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Although he came up a neck shy of victory in the Suburban, Mystic Guide fought gamely under jockey Luis Saez to the inside of Max Player over the sloppy and sealed racetrack.

Never off the board in nine lifetime starts, Mystic Guide boasts a record of 4-3-2 with previous stakes victories taking place in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on September 5 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. and his seasonal commencement in the Grade 3 Razorback on February 27 at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. He brags lifetime earnings in excess of $7.5 million.

Trainer Michael Stidham identified several elements that went against Mystic Guide on Saturday, but said he was happy to see a good performance from his star pupil.

“He looks great. He came out of the race in good shape,” Stidham said. “There were lots of factors involved. He was coming off three months and obviously it was a demanding racetrack he ran on. Saez was forced to go up the rail, which was not the better part of the track. He fought back gamely and valiantly under some unfavorable circumstances.”

While the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic remains the ultimate goal, the next step Mystic Guide will take to get there is unknown.

“Nothing about what happened Saturday changed our plans of getting to the Breeders' Cup,” Stidham said. “We'll get him back to training and that will give us some time to compute it all. There are plenty of options.”

Stidham confirmed that Mystic Guide's consistent half-brother and stablemate Gershwin will seek a second consecutive graded stakes triumph in Monday's $250,000 Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes going a one-turn mile over the Belmont main track.

The son of Distorted Humor was a last-out winner of an off-the-turf edition of the Grade 3 Penn Mile on May 28 at Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Pa.

Stidham scratched Gershwin from Saturday's Grade 3 Kent at Delaware Park in favor of the Dwyer. Like Mystic Guide, Gershwin also has never finished off the board, bragging a record of 5-2-1-2.

Stidham also confirmed M and M Stable's graded stakes-winner Princess Grace, who was scratched from Saturday's off-the-turf $100,000 Perfect Sting at Belmont, will race in the $200,000 Grade 3 Dr. James Penny Memorial on July 6 at Parx Racing. The 4-year-old daughter of Karakontie last raced when capturing the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere in November at Churchill Downs.

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How to Play Texas Holdem in a Casino without Letting on that you are a Newbie

In texas holdem poker the term Fish is used to describe the weakest and least experienced player at the table. You never ever want to be the fish. It is commonly said that if you look around the table and you can not see the fish you are in his seat.

To avoid being instantly marked as the fish make sure not only appear as if this is not your first time in a texas holdem poker room in a casino but that you are there often. Make sure no matter how impressed by the place you are, you appear as if this is just another day playing texas holdem in the casino. If your skills at texas holdem will not allow you to go unnoticed then pick another game like roulette or blackjack.

Make sure you know how to play. Do not come into a casino poker room to thinking you will learn Texas Holdem as you play. This is not Uno it is Texas Holdem Poker and played for real money. I promise you that before you learn the game this way you will be broke and homeless. You should learn to play at home with friends or online in free money poker games against others or against the computer. Then as you improve start to play in online poker rooms for money.

If you were a spy trying to infiltrate into Russia during the cold war the CIA would have you trained on how to speak Russian and the proper idioms and accent as well so that you blend is as a local, well texas holdem has its own language as well and if you want to blend in as an experienced player you have to know the language as a native speaker. This means understanding what others are saying and being able to use the common expressions correctly in normal conversation. Not laughing at a joke because you did not understand it will make you stand out and some people are bound to notice and figure out you are not all you seem to be.

I am sure most of us have seen texas holdem on ESPN television and have sent he way to professional poker players dress. Many of them are wearing clothes will advertisements for poker related items. These players are being paid to advertise these items because of their high likelihood of being put on the TV. Some players wear disguises to try and hide their faces from the other players by wearing hats and glasses to hide their eyes. These players know that a small slip up can cost them the chance at winning the million dollar prize, so to make sure they do nt give up any information to another player they try to hide their faces. You are not playing in the big leagues so to try these things will just make you look stupid since everyone will know you are not a professional player by the fact they do not recognize you. This will then make you stand out and risk you being marked as an inexperienced player or “The Fish”.

Every player at a texas holdem poker table that spots you as the fish will then begin to focus on you till they find your tells, and believe me we all have them. It is just experience that allows some of us to hide them better then others.