Not to be outdone by the boys in the Pennsylvania Derby, the 3-year-old fillies will take to the Parx Racing dance floor on Saturday with their own Grade 1 race.
Month: September 2022
Flightline Unanimous Atop Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings for Sept. 21
Each week a panel of media members, horseplayers, and Breeders’ Cup World Championships officials release a poll tabulating their votes on the nation's top contenders for the 2022 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Connect Filly Tops Book 4 Finale
The momentum carried through into Tuesday's closing session of Book 4 of the Keeneland September Sale in Lexington with a filly by sophomore sire Connect drawing a $450,000 final bid from Maddie Mattmiller, acting as agent for Black Type Thoroughbreds.
Tuesday's session grossed $21,182,500, up slightly from the corresponding session in 2021 when 312 horses sold for $20,549,000. The average for the day was $71,805, up 9.02% from 2021, while median increased 22.22% to $55,000. The final day of Book 4 saw a total of 295 horses sold, while 1,851 yearlings changed hands through the initial eight days of selling.
Through eight sessions of the 12-day sale, a total of 1,851 yearlings have sold through the ring for $376,636,000, an increase of 15.26% over last year's corresponding period when 1,800 horses sold through the ring for $326,762,000. Average price is up 12.09% from $181,534 to $203,477, while the median of $130,000 rose 8.33% over $120,000 in 2021.
A total of 11 yearlings realized $250,000 or higher during yesterday's session while five drew that amount last year. The session's $450,000 topper also represented an increase from one year ago when another filly by Collected brought top price of $320,000.
Making the Right Connection
Black Type Thoroughbreds came out swinging Tuesday when landing Hip 2637, a daughter of Connect out of Fun Affair (Distorted Humor), offered by Paramount Sales. Bred by Castleton Lyons and Kilboy Estate, the Jan. 30 foal is a granddaughter of champion juvenile filly Caressing (Honour and Glory), who is also responsible for champion 3-year-old colt West Coast (Flatter).
“She stood out in this current book,” said Mattmiller, who handles Black type's bloodstock purchases and is also the wife of the partnership's principal, Jake Ballis. “She is a big, mature filly that her pedigree backed up what you saw at the end of the shank. So, we knew we'd have to pay a little bit for her. She was an obvious one.”
“We have an interest in Hidden Connection who took us to the Kentucky Oaks [in 2021] for Black Type Thoroughbreds,” she pointed out. “We were hoping since Connect hasn't had anything super recent, she might get overlooked a little bit. But obviously, that didn't happen.”
“[The stallion] hasn't big horse in a minute and I think that's why she was in Book 4. But physically she just stood out, which was reflected in her price.”
The operation purchased three other yearlings at Keeneland over the past week, a colt by Candy Ride (Arg) (Hip 107, $450,000) in Book 1; a filly by Lemon Drop Kid (Hip 641, $210,000) offered in Book 2, and a filly by Hard Spun (Hip 2330, $170,000) on the first day of Book 4.
According to Mattmiller, the partnership's sole colt purchase will ultimately join George Weaver, while the Lemon Drop Kid filly will be sent to Michael McCarthy in California.
“Obviously, that's what the market is telling us we have to pay,” she explained when asked about the $450,000 price tags hanging off Black Type's leading two purchases. “In Book 1 and 2, you get the pedigrees and top stallions. Once you get to Book 4 and 5, you're going to see the freshman sires or unproven stallions mixed in, but they are still top physicals.”
She concluded, “The market was still strong going into this book off of our appraisals and what they brought in the ring. We probably got shut out on just as many as we bid on.”
“For the obvious horse, you're still going to pay.”
Top Colts Heading Tuesday's Action
Leading the colts on the afternoon, Jebel Ali Stables went to $400,000 for a yearling by GI Florida Derby winner Dialed In. offered as Hip 2557. Out of the winning Bellamy Road mare Castle Road, the May 11 foal hails from the family of multiple GI Breeders' Cup Mile scorer Tourist (Tiznow). He was consigned by his breeder, Hinkle Farms.
The only other yearling to surpass the $300,000 mark was Hip 2399, a colt by Nyquist. Purchased by X-Men Racing yesterday, May 4 foal was consigned by breeder Anderson Farms. Out of the Quiet American mare Reason, the colt is from the family of Grade I winner Switch.
The post Connect Filly Tops Book 4 Finale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Texas Hold’em Poker Tips – Low Pairs
In a perfect world, we would all get high pairs as starting hands, but, in truth, that rarely happens. What players will see more often are lower pairs of cards. For newer players, a pair of anything looks pretty good, but be careful, especially if you are playing for real money, when it comes to low pairs.
In general, there are no hard and fast rules that say what constitutes a low pair. For my own reasons, I consider anything below a 6 to be a low pair. As you gain experience and learn your own style of play you will be able to set your own standards as to what is a low pair and what is not.
One of the most useful tips that I can share with new players is this: 90% of the time (and this is especially true if you are holding a low pair of pre-flop cards) you want to see a cheap flop. What I mean by this is you want to see the flop for as little of your money invested as possible. Put another way, if you’re holding a pair of 3’s you want to see the flop but you do NOT want to put in a lot of money (by calling big bets or raising) in order to see that flop.
The key to remember is that a low pair has potential for becoming a huge hand if you pick up a set (another card matching yours comes up, giving you three-of-a-kind) or a quad (two matching cards come up on the flop, giving you four-of-a-kind) or a full-house, but the important word here is potential. Until you see the flop all you have is a lowly pair, and in a ten-handed game and even in a seven-handed game, that generally isn’t worth very much, and the lower the cards, the less they are worth. Keep in mind that a pair of 4’s will beat that pair of 3’s.
Again, we come back to position play and why it is important to always know where you are in relation to the Button. If you are the first person to act (meaning, you are first to either call the blind and play or fold) you must exercise caution. In fact, this is true with low pairs if you are seated anywhere on the first half of the table. The reason for this is simple. If you are the first to play (or even the second, third, or fourth) all the others players behind you will have the option to raise the bet, forcing you to put even more money in before seeing the flop. If you are playing with aggressive betters, the cost can skyrocket in no time at all. Now if you are sitting there (pre-flop) with a pair of King’s or a pair of Ace’s you might welcome that aggressive betting. But with a small pair in your hand, it can spell doom, real quick.
It is worth repeating. The key to playing small pairs is to see the flop for as little money as possible. A well-disciplined player will happily fold a small pair if the betting becomes too rich. Why will they do this? Experienced players will reason that aggressive betting before the flop usually (not always, but usually) represents a player with a strong hand, and in many cases, it may be two or three players with strong hands.
But what if you are holding a small pair and you are at the far end of the table line? Perhaps you are in the blinds (either the big blind or the small blind) or perhaps you are on the Button itself. What do you do in that case?
Well, it depends. If everyone else has folded, you would want to call the blind and see a flop. If only one or two earlier players have called the blinds (but not raised) you may want to go ahead and call yourself to see the flop as well. However, if one player has made a big raise or if several other players have called and or raised, then you go with your gut, and in most cases, your gut should be saying, “Fold”.
If you are in the blinds and can see the flop for a small additional amount of money, then go for it. If you hit your set, you will be in a very good position to probably win the hand.
If you don’t hit your set on the flop, it is time to think hard about folding your hand unless the other players check and you can check as well. If you can see a free card, see one.
It’s important to understand that you have about a 12% chance of hitting your set on the flop. Another way of looking at this is you have about a 1-in-8 chance of getting that third card on the flop.
The odds of getting that third card to fill your set decrease dramatically after the flop. In fact, the odds of seeing that third card by the River are only about 9%.
These statistics apply to all pairs and not just to small pairs.
So, if you are holding a small pair use common sense and watch your betting. Try to see the flop as cheaply as possible. If you hit your set on the flop, then go for it! If you do not hit your set on the flop, consider folding before putting anymore money into the pot. More often than not, you will be glad you did.
