March, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Express Train Gives Shirreffs His First Santa Anita Handicap Victory

In a thrilling stretch duel, C R K Stable's Express Train prevailed by a head over midwestern shipper Warrant in Saturday's 85th running of the Grade 1, $650,000 Santa Anita Handicap Presented by Yaamava' Resort and Casino at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. Once again a finalist for Racing's Hall of Fame, trainer John Shirreffs notched his first-ever Big 'Cap victory while Victor Espinoza got his third win in North America's longest continually run “hundred grander.”

Attentive to the pace while three-deep the entire trip, Express Train was just a neck off of American Theorem and Warrant three furlongs out and forged to the front turning for home but Warrant, ridden by Flavien Prat, was a long way from done and in a see-saw battle, came up just short on the money but was immediately back in front in the gallop-out into the Club House turn.

“I always look forward to a chance to win this race,” said Espinoza, who at 49 was wearing his signature smile when addressing the print media. “This year was a little more special for John. I really wanted to get a win for him after so many years…As soon as (Express Train) is in front, he knows he's got it. He just gave me a little bit of a hard time at the end to get me excited and pump up my muscles.

“I thought it was an exciting race. He is a powerful horse and he needs to find (a) rhythm. It doesn't matter how wide I go on the turns as long as he is comfortable enough to stretch his legs and do his thing…When I have a horse that has a chance to win the Santa Anita Handicap, it's always exciting.”

Fresh off a romping 3 ¼-length win in the G2 San Pasqual Stakes on Feb. 5, Express Train, who was seeking his first G1 victory, was off as the even-money favorite in a field of seven older horses and paid $4.20, $2.60 and $2.10.

Owned by Lee and Susan Searing's C R K Stable, Express Train, who notched his fifth graded stakes win, picked up $390,000, making him racing's newest millionaire with $1,325,800. By Union Rags out of the Mineshaft mare I'm a Flake, Express Train is now 17-7-4-3 overall.

“It feels great,” said Shirreffs, 76, when asked about winning his first-ever Big 'Cap. “You dream about winning the Santa Anita Handicap and to actually have it happen and with a horse like Express Train, who has done everything (right) along the way…He participated in all the big races we had on the West Coast and he's been there and shown up. To have him win the Santa Anita Handicap, it's just thrilling.”

Trained by Brad Cox and himself in search of his first G1 win, Warrant, who is currently based at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, ran a tremendous race with Prat up for the first time. Off at 4-1, he paid $4.00 and $2.60 while finishing nine lengths in front of Stilleto Boy.

Ridden by Abel Cedillo, Stilleto Boy, next to last after the first half mile, never threatened as the second choice at 2-1 and paid $2.20 to show.

Fractions on the Big 'Cap were 23.00, 45.97, 1:11.39 and 1:37.20.

Racing resumes on Sunday with first post time for a nine-race card at 12:30 p.m.

The post Express Train Gives Shirreffs His First Santa Anita Handicap Victory appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Playing Blackjack At An Online Casino — A Better Choice

Whether you call it blackjack or “21”, you’ll call it more fun when you play blackjack at an online casino. Online casinos offer all of the blackjack action of physical casinos but none of the distractions and additional expenses like food, beverages, hotel rooms and gasoline. You get real blackjack casino action and 100% of your bankroll can be dedicated to playing the game.

Blackjack rules can vary widely between online casinos so it’s a good idea to read the online blackjack help page before you begin playing.

Depending upon the rules of when a dealer can hit and when the dealer must stand, the house edge for online blackjack can vary between a low of 0.18% to an amazing high of 0.93%. Since you don’t want to be playing blackjack at an online casino where the house wins 93 out of every 100 hands, you really need to pay attention before you plunk your money down.

Although many people still play the “standard” version of Blackjack or “21”, there are several variations which are becoming popular at more and more online blackjack casinos these days.

One of the more popular online casino blackjack games is called “Blackjack Switch.”

Although it is very similar to standard blackjack there are some subtle differences and features that make the game more interesting. The most notable feature is the fact that a player can actually trade cards between two open hands which, in effect, giving him the ability to create his own winning hand.

The player is required to make to equal bets before the cards are dealt. The dealer then gives each player two cards face up. The players can then switch the second card that was dealt to each hand if it will result in a better hand for them.

Besides this obvious feature, there are some other differences between standard online casino blackjack and Blackjack Switch played online.

* Blackjack Switch is played with 6 decks in the shoe.

* The dealer is permitted to hit on a soft 17.

* A player is permitted to double-down on any two cards.

* Players are permitted to double after a split.

* Players are not permitted to split a split.

* Blackjack pays even money.

* All players lose their entire wager when the dealer has a blackjack.

* If the dealer’s cards total 22 it will be treated as a push against any player who is holding 21 or less. A player blackjack beats a dealer’s 22.

Other variations of online casino blackjack include “Pontoon”, a version of blackjack that’s popular among the British, and Caribbean 21 which has a set of rules that’s so different that many people don’t even think of it as Blackjack.

But no matter which online casino version of blackjack you choose, you’re sure to have a good time without ever having to leave your home. Online casino blackjack is your best bet. Good luck!

Count Again Up in Time in Kilroe Mile

Making just his 15th start at the age of seven, Agave Racing Stable and Sam-Son Farm's Count Again (Awesome Again) uncorked his usual late run to come out on top of a tight finish in Santa Anita's GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. A close third in last year's Kilroe and most recently a winner of the GIII Thunder Road S. here Feb. 5, the Ontario-bred gelding sat in a joint second last around the first turn while scraping paint. He continued to draft from a nice spot as GISW Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy) sped along up front through a :45.45 half and six furlongs in 1:09.38. Count Again was switched out by Flavien Prat for clear sailing as they entered the stretch, and he soon joined the trio fighting it out for the top slot, hitting his best stride when it mattered to poke a head in front in the shadow of the wire. Space Traveller (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) and Subconscious (Tapit) were second and third, respectively, while Beyond Brilliant wasn't beaten far despite his early exertions.

“It took him a little bit to get going, but once he did, he did well,” said winning rider Flavien Prat. “I had a good trip and it worked out well. He got himself into the race and the pace was pretty hot. I was traveling super well and I thought I was behind a good horse. I was able to track him all the way. Once I got to the outside, I was able to run him down.”

Count Again spent time in three prior barns while owned solely by his breeder Sam-Son Farm, taking the 2020 GIII Singspiel S. and finishing fourth in the GI Northern Dancer S. over longer trips for Gail Cox. Agave Racing Stable subsequently bought in, and Count Again shipped West to join the Phil D'Amato barn and immediately reward his new connections with a last-to-first score in Del Mar's GII Sea Biscuit H. He went winless in his next five outings, including in the Kilroe and when fourth amidst a tough bunch in Churchill's GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic S. on Derby Day, but broke through again last out after a freshening since August.

“He's just one of those dream kind of horses,” D'Amato said. “You know if you have dead aim at the top of the lane with him, he's going to give you his late kick pretty much every time. He's just a fresh happy horse now and Flavien fits him well.”

The conditioner added, “This is probably one of my favorite races growing up and I've had pretty decent luck winning this race [before in 2018], but this horse being a 7-year-old, he was just one of those horses knocking on the door for the Grade I and to get it done today…for him and [Agave's] Mark Martinez and Sam-Son Farms it means a lot.”

Saturday, Santa Anita
FRANK E. KILROE MILE S.-GI, $503,000, Santa Anita, 3-5, 4yo/up, 1mT, 1:33.24, fm.
1–COUNT AGAIN, 122, g, 7, by Awesome Again
1st Dam: Count to Three (SW & GSP, $398,651), by Red    Ransom
                2nd Dam: Countus In, by Dancing Count
                3rd Dam: Cloudy and Warm, by Cloudy Dawn
1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Agave Racing Stable and Sam-Son Farm;
B-Sam-Son Farm (ON); T-Philip D'Amato; J-Flavien Prat.
$300,000. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 15-6-1-4, $763,665. *1/2 to
Ransom the Moon (Malibu Moon), MGISW, $884,829. Werk
Nick Rating:B+.Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Space Traveller (GB), 120, h, 6, Bated Breath (GB)–Sky Crystal
(Ger), by Galileo (Ire). (85,000gns Ylg '17 TAOCT). O-Clipper
Logistics; B-El Catorce Partnership (GB); T-Brendan P. Walsh.
$100,000.
3–Subconscious, 122, g, 4, Tapit–Sweet Dreams, by Candy Ride
(Arg). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($380,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV). O-LNJ
Foxwoods; B-Buscar Stables, Inc. (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella.
$60,000.
Margins: HD, HD, 3/4. Odds: 2.30, 3.20, 3.20.
Also Ran: Beyond Brilliant, Law Professor, Flavius, Delaware (GB), Bob and Jackie, Whisper Not (GB), Tell Your Daddy, Team Merchants. Scratched: Vanzzy. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:
Count Again's half-brother Ransom the Moon was purchased privately from Sam-Son by these same connections before going on to take back-to-back renewals of the GI Bing Crosby S. in 2017 and 2018. The Calumet Farm resident has first 2-year-olds this season.

Count Again becomes the 15th highest-level winner for the late fellow Ontario-bred Awesome Again, whose stand-outs also included three-time Big 'Cap winner Game On Dude.

Count Again has an unraced 3-year-old half-sister by Pioneerof the Nile and a Malibu Moon 2-year-old half-sister purchased for $30,000 at KEEJAN '22 by Shannondoe Farm. Count to Three was bred to Not This Time for 2022. Count Again's second dam won the GI Matriarch S. on this same circuit.

The post Count Again Up in Time in Kilroe Mile appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Tiz The Bomb Just Holds Off Stolen Base To Take Battaglia

Tiz the Bomb got back to his winning ways in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes at Turfway Park on March 5, holding off a late charge from Stolen Base at the wire.

The Ken McPeek trainee, who was favored at 8-5, earned ten points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. The Battaglia carried a value of 10-4-2-1 to top four finishers.

Updated Kentucky Derby/Oaks Leaderboard

Tiz the Bomb and jockey Alex Achard hustled out of the gate but faced a wall of horses and had to go four wide into the first turn in the 1 1/16-mile contest. They settled mid-pack, well off the early pace set by La Belleza Negra and Erase. Achard started asking his mount for run just after the field posted a half-mile fraction of :48.18, picking off rivals on the outside as they entered the turn, swinging four wide into the stretch. Tiz the Bomb continued driving through the stretch, just edging a late flight from Stolen Base by a neck.

Stolen Base was second and Grael was third.

Tiz the Bomb paid $5.20, $4.20, and $3.20.

The final time was 1:44.12, with fractions of 23.97, :48.18, 1:12.44, and 1:37.62. See the full chart here.

Tiz the Bomb was second in last year's G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, but finished a disappointing seventh in the G3 Holy Bull in early February. Previously, his resume included wins in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile and the G2 Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland.

Tiz the Bomb was listed in the program as being owned by Sherri McPeek's Magdelana Racing, although he has previously run under the colors of Phoenix Thoroughbreds. McPeek told media in recent weeks that he would lease the horse from Phoenix as he points toward the Epsom Derby. Phoenix is banned from racing in the United Kingdom, as its founder Amer Abdulaziz Salman has been implicated by a witness in a federal criminal case in New York as being a money launderer for an international cryptocurrency scam. Salman has not been charged with any crimes in this country as a result of that witness statement and has no restrictions on his owner's license stateside.

The 3-year-old colt is the son of Hit It A Bomb and Tiznow mare Tiz The Key. He was bred in Kentucky by Spendthrift Farm and was sold to McPeek for $330,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling Showcase in 2020.

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