Month: August 2021

Starman Heads Maurice de Gheest Cast

Deauville stages the G1 LARC Prix Maurice de Gheest on Sunday, where David Ward's G1 July Cup hero Starman (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) has to tackle testing ground as he bids to put his marker down on the sprinting division. Beaten only once when encountering soft going in Ascot's G1 Qipco British Champions Sprint S., the 4-year-old nevertheless carries significant stable confidence into the 6 1/2-furlong highlight.

“He's in cracking form and we're super excited, so fingers crossed,” trainer Ed Walker said. “Everything has gone very well since the July Cup. On his last piece of work, I think he's improving, dare I say it.”

Wesley Ward is already off the mark at the meeting with Twilight Gleaming (Ire) (National Defense {GB}) and it is another Stonestreet Stables representative who offers stern opposition to the British talisman in Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who was awarded the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot last time June 18.

“She's there and in good shape and Frankie (Dettori) is riding, so there are no worries,” said Ward. “I think there are a lot of showers around and that is going to suit Campanelle just fine.”

Marc Chan's 'TDN Rising Star' Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}) stays further than this and showed last time when winning Goodwood's G2 Lennox July 27 that he handles the soft. That is not so much the case with Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez's fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), who was runner-up to Laws of Indices (Ire) (Power {GB}) in the July 11 G1 Prix Jean Prat here.

“The better the ground, the better his chance,” trainer Joseph O'Brien commented. “We were thrilled to see Thunder Moon get back on track in the Prix Jean Prat at Deauville last time, as his first two runs of the season had been very disappointing. The drop in trip seemed to help him and he was only just touched off by Laws of Indices. This even shorter trip should be fine for him and the less testing ground will definitely be in his favour, as we considered taking him out of the Prix Jean Prat on account of the softening ground.”

There are only three home-trained runners and the pick seems to be Jean-Claude Seroul's winning machine Marianafoot (Fr) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}). Having won the seven-furlong G3 Prix du Palais-Royal and G3 Prix de la Porte Maillot at ParisLongchamp May 30 and July 1, the homebred switches to a straight track but trainer Jerome Reynier is happy it will not hinder his chances.

“He has won seven in a row and was tried over a straight course back in April at Chantilly and handled it well,” he explained. “Six and a half furlongs is a bit of a long trip for the sprinters, but he has won over seven and I think he's got a good chance. This is the logical next step and we're looking forward to it. It's a pretty good race and it will be good to try him against this sort of opposition. If we can step up onto the podium, we will be delighted.”

At The Curragh, the G1 the Keeneland Phoenix S. sees the June 26 G2 Railway S. first, second and fourth Go Bears Go (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}), Castle Star (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) and Dr Zempf (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) renew rivalry. The former, who was previously second in the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot June 17, has to do it on softer ground this time but trainer David Loughnane is not overly concerned.

“With the weather forecast, the ground is probably going to be a bit softer than we would like it to be but he has won on soft ground previously so provided he turns up and gets out of bed on the right side, I think he should take all the beating,” he said. “On paper, we certainly look the one to beat but there's every chance something else in the race could have taken a big step forward since the Railway. We're going there confident, but we're well aware Group 1s are not easily won.”

Fozzy Stack is happy to re-engage with Craig Bernick and Antony Beck's May 22 G3 Marble Hill S. winner Castle Star and is hoping the predicted change in conditions might level the playing ground. “He obviously handled slower ground and it might upset one or two of the others, so I wouldn't mind a drop of rain,” he said. Peter Brant's 'TDN Rising Star' Dr Zempf was the most in need of the experience in the Railway and should have improved for the run, while Aidan O'Brien who has won this a record 16 times has the filly Prettiest (Dubawi {Ire}) as his main challenger but she needs to fare better than when fourth in the G3 Silver Flash S. at Leopardstown July 22.

The third Group 1 of the day comes at Hoppegarten, with the Longines 131st Grosser Preis von Berlin attracting Kirsten Rausing's July 3 G2 Lancashire Oaks winner Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Godolphin's Mar. 6 G2 Dubai City of Gold scorer Walton Street (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) as they encounter the July 4 G1 Deutsches Derby third Imi (Ger) (Tertullian). Back at Deauville, the G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G1 Hong Kong Vase winner Mogul (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) is the star act in the 12 1/2-furlong G3 OSAF Prix de Reux as he looks to get his 4-year-old campaign on track and extend Aidan O'Brien's stellar record in France in 2021.

Click here for the group fields.

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Walsh Prepares Four For Kentucky Downs Previews At Ellis Park

Trainer Brendan Walsh hopes to use the $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Turf Sprint as a stepping stone to competing in the compact meet at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky. Born Great proved last year that he relished that undulating surface by winning not once, but twice. Though not unprecedented, it is rare for horses to race more than once at Kentucky Downs' short all-turf meet. Born Great did so with great success, knocking out a maiden victory that he followed with an allowance score a week later.

Born Great in his last start finished second by a neck in a Churchill Downs turf sprint won by graded-stakes winner Angaston.

“He's doing great,” Walsh said. “We'll see how it goes, but hopefully it will set him up good for Kentucky Downs. He really liked it there last year. He might be as good this year as last, if not better. He ran a really good race at the end of the Churchill spring meet and was very unlucky. Five-and-a-half (furlongs) is probably as short as he would want. But the 6 1/2 at Kentucky Downs set him really well last year.

“But this is a tough race. There are two or three really nice horses in there. It's a good race.”

Walsh also has Ethical Judgement in Saturday's $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Dueling Grounds Derby, Amazima in Sunday's $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Ladies Sprint, and the 4-year-old filly Family Way taking on the boys in the $125,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Turf Cup.

Ethical Judgement gets back to turf for the first time since he was second in his first race. He ran well in three starts rained off the turf before finishing fifth in the Ohio Derby at 1 1/8 miles on dirt, the same distance as the Preview Dueling Grounds Derby.

“He seems to be good on the dirt as well,” Walsh said. “But he's another one we'd like to try him back on the grass. And if that worked well, maybe he'd be a horse for the Dueling Grounds Derby at Kentucky Downs.”

Amazima did not run well over Arlington Park's Polytrack in the Grade 3 Matron Stakes. But before that, she was a good third in a turf sprint after shortening up in distance.

Family Way ran seventh in Arlington's Grade 3 Modesty at 1 3/16 miles on turf after having a win and a second in two allowance starts since arriving from France.

“Why not?” the Irish-born Walsh said of taking on males. “In Europe, we do it all the time. The distance is what I really like about it. The mile and a quarter would really hit her right between the eyes. There isn't a whole lot around that distance.”

Walsh is a big fan of Ellis' Kentucky Downs Preview series.

“We've got a barn at Ellis, so we don't have to go too far to run,” he said. “They're nice prep races for Kentucky Downs.”

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Walsh will saddle the 4-year-old Maxfield in Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Maxfield, who is 4, never ran at Ellis Park but spent all summer of his 2-year-old season training at the Pea Patch before launching his career at Churchill Downs. The Whitney's field of five is composed of all Kentucky-based horses, including Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Knicks Go and By My Standards, owned by Chester Thomas of Madisonville. The 5-year-old Knicks Go broke his maiden at Ellis Park and finished second the next year in the Ellis Park Derby.

The post Walsh Prepares Four For Kentucky Downs Previews At Ellis Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Invasion of the Poker Bots: Is No Online Poker Room Safe?

They’re worse than poker sharks. They’ve taken over online poker rooms everywhere. In fact, they’re most likely sitting next to you at the table right now. They probably have most of your chips. Emotion doesn’t get in their way. Neither does greed, exhaustion, or fear. Their tells are nil and, try as you might, you cannot put them on tilt. They’re poker bots, and rumor has it, they’re fleecing you bare.

Poker bots are computer programs set up to play on behalf of (and instead of) an actual human being, according to a consistent and, presumably, proven strategy. Hearing of the possible presence of these borderline cheaters in your online poker rooms could be enough to make online poker players question whether to sit down at the online poker tables at all.

So let’s start there. In a word: yes. Of course you should keep playing poker. As we’ll explain, these poker bots are far from foolproof and even farther from unbeatable. Secondly, online poker rooms are in the process of making it harder and harder for a poker bot to even get through their virtual doors (think: cyber-bouncer).

You see, here’s the thing: there are countless poker bots. Countless programmers with dollar signs in their eyes have tried and are trying their hand at pitting technology against humanity. There are so many different types of poker bots to choose from, new ones cropping up on online poker rooms all the time, that it leads to but one crystal clear conclusion:

They can’t all be unbeatable. This is both a caution against relying on them and a consolation to those players who fear being unwittingly pitted against them.

What about a table with more than one seat occupied by a poker bot? If you think it hasn’t happened, doesn’t in fact happen all the time, then you’re kidding yourself. In an instance like that, some poker bots have got to lose. In fact, in each hand, only one can win.

In truth, each bot is only as good as its programmers. And to be clear, that’s programmers with an “s”: there’s the guy or gal who built the program and you, the user, who must determine the parameters (or settings) by which the poker bot will play. That’s two human variables affecting quite directly the actions of the poker bot. So, let us ask you something: Why not just play the darned game yourself?

Another thing to realize is that poker is not suited to mechanical play. It’s a human game. Sure, a poker bot can’t be put on tilt, but neither can a poker bot read a tell nor spot a bluff. It’s questionable at best how beneficial a poker bot can be to one’s game. You’re probably just as well off improving your game the old fashioned way: practice practice practice.

But this threat may not be a threat for long. You might think, why should the poker rooms care, since poker bots make just as much money for online poker rooms as real people? The answer: the real people are getting restless. And at the risk of having their flesh and blood customers retaliate against poker bots by boycotting online poker itself, the online poker rooms are starting to take notice of the problem.

Already, may online poker rooms are instituting software that identifies when a player seems to be using too much of a pattern in their play. It’ll be a tricky road, since distinguishing poker bot play from human play is a tricky and therefore risky business. Nobody wants to make false accusations or, worse, take erroneous action, like blocking an innocent user’s account. But they’re working on it.

As a new form of competition arises — namely: who can build the better bot? — we’ll find more and more online poker rooms hosting bot-only tournaments (don’t laugh, some already have). Hopefully, an increase in this practice will encourage poker bot enthusiasts to create a niche for themselves (surely a profitable niche for the online poker rooms) and leave the rest of us ordinary folk to play against other flesh and blood human beings.

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