July 20

Jaxson's Day!

All three of the boys were pretty worn out from the full day of racing / standing & walking all day, so Sunday was truly a "day of rest." But the highlights of the last day of racing were a winning day at Monmouth Park; I hit the winner of the Saratoga feature, the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks; and best of all we had a family outing to Jaxson's Ice Cream. It was the last day of the "Kids Weekend" where we had all three of the "children" together for the weekend as Brad had to head back to Orlando (taking our "grand-puppy") because of that whole "work thing." Luckily we get the two older kids through Wednesday.

At Monmouth I was third at 2/1 in the opener after dueling the length of the stretch.  Then in the 4th I was a non-factor at 23-1....that would have been nice.  I won the 6th with Yankee Fortune on the turf.  He had been a close second at the level last time out and with the jockey switch to top jock Paco Lopez it seemed to seal the deal.  He was the 8/5 favorite so I cashed for nearly $30.  Missed at 4/5 after dueling, taking the lead, and then weakening - a la Saturday's races - in the 7th.  Third at 3/2 after looking like the most likely winner in the 8th on the turf as Shenton Park was the only runner who had NOT faced 2-lifetime company.  But instead of going to the front he settled off a long priced leader who went all the way arund the track.....third for 'Park.  But then I cashed in the 9th when Bernadine was easily best at 7/5 - cashed for almost $25.  But Puddifoot disappointed in the featured Miss Woodford when Paco Lopez was gunning for his fifth win in a row.  So for the day I was 2-for-6 and made a WHOLE DOLLAR!  Hey, better than losing :)

I also had some side bets, three at Saratoga and one at Del Mar.  I was 8th in the opener at the Spa when a Pletcher first-time two-year-old ran to his 6/1 odds.  Then a very close second on the Saratoga turf before winning the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks, the Sunday Saratoga feature.  She was the lone graded winner in the field and she walked with it.  Then Summer Front continued to disappoint, second in the featured grade 2 at Del Mar.