THE HORSEPLAYERS JOURNAL by Mike Hamilton

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1 Race 1 Selections 6 PEPE DI JESOLO is a nine-year-old Italian-sired gelding who arrived in Canada last November via Sweden and the USA. The transition to North American racing hasn t been a smooth one for little Pepe. He appeared in eight races and a further eight qualifiers in 2017 and finished the year with a record of The good news is that he started to turn things around in late December and then came up with a winning effort when catch driver Louis Philippe Roy was hired on 02/02. Although he has moved up one class level for this race, he doesn t appear to be in that much tougher (especially if Majestic Presence misbehaves). 2 MAJESTIC PRESENCE was good enough to win at this level back on 12/15 when she was making her first start since mid-september. Unfortunately she got herself into some hot water with a break on 01/20 and then received an invitation to the qualifiers when she made a second break on 01/27. Sounds grim, eh? Well, she just might be good-to-go now that she has been fitted with trotting hopples. Prior to her September-December layoff she wore hopples and contested races such as the Armbro Flight. 7 LMC MASS OAK has been good on occasion but he hasn t been very consistent and win pool bettors will note that he won just 2 of 36 last year. We ll slot him in for a top-three finish tonight and hope for the best. 4 JUSTASMALLTOWNGIRL, like Pepe Di Jesolo, is moving up in class for this test. Unlike most horses who exit the NW3000L5 class, she did not go out on a winning note. 5 APLOMB HANOVER didn t race like you d expect a 6-5 shot to race in his latest at Flamboro. Perhaps he ll be handled a little more aggressively now that he has a clean line insulating him from the 01/17 break.

2 Race 2 Selections 2 ANDREOS KARDIA gets our very tentative support now that he has dropped yet another notch and drawn inside. He has faced better in each of four local starts and in two of those starts he has taken a fairly aggressive stance. On 01/13 it was a first-over approach that saw him go toe-to-toe with heavy favourite Fool Me Once. On 02/03 it was a parked-out quarter in 26.4 from the 10 hole. Surely one of these times he ll be rewarded for his initiative. 1 IMSPORTY is one that we had pegged to win on 02/03. Apparently he did not get the memo. What he did do was get himself parked past the quarter in 27 seconds and that probably took something out of him as he s generally known as a closer. We re prepared to overlook that and consider him once agin. After all, he did win a similar race as recently as 01/13 when he circled the entire field in the back half. 5 ROCKIN IN HEAVEN has driven a close second place finish off the bottom of his last five starts and thus he gets to drop one notch for this test. I wouldn t be surprised if he found a way to win but I m still leaning to Andreos Kardia and Imsporty. 3 CULTURAL PARADISE got some serious class relief on 02/03 and he failed to connect. He didn t race too badly, mind you, and this will be just his third start off a break and a gap of more than a month. He appears to be coming around.

3 Race 3 Selections 8 CLASS ME NICE racked up three wins and a pair of seconds in the span of five races at this same level before stepping up a notch and missing a cheque on 02/03. He has a great chance to get back to his winning ways now that he has returned to the 20K-25K handicap. The one risk is that he ll have to work extra hard to get the lead from Post 8 and that might leave him vulnerable in the late stages, as was the case on 12/18 and 01/12 (over a deep and tiring track). Having said that, he s the one to beat until proven otherwise. 6 ZEUS LIGHTNING is one that we watched with interest on 02/02 as he was 8-1 on the morning line and not one of our top-four picks yet he was bet down to 5-2. He didn t make his move until the last turn when he finally tipped three-wide around stalled cover. Although he ultimately had too far to come, he was digging at the wire and lost only to a tripped-out winner and the likeable Mego Moss. Maybe this time! 7 MEGO MOSS is off to a great start in his nine-year-old season clearly trifecta material as long as he remains at this level. Rather than take things easy when coming off a break on 0127, he left enough to secure two-hole trip behind Class Me Nice and there he remained for the entire mile. Last week he was in a similar position behind the front-striding Lexus Rocky (who faded late). 1 HOLIDAY PARTY deserves some credit for making the first-over move that softened up Lexus Rocky on 02./02. I doubt that he would have been that aggressive had the claim not been entered. ON THIS DATE 1981 Eight people died and hundreds were injured in a fire at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel & Casino Moni Maker gave birth to her first foal, a Valley Victory filly named Touch Of Moni.

4 Race 4 Selections 5 BUTTERMILK HANOVER looks like the one to beat now that she has returned to roughly the level at which she was a flashy winner on 12/22. Since then she has put up mixed results: a non-factor fifth when she faced the best in the country in the f&m-preferred and a respectable fifth when away slowly from Post 9. Last week she made a bold move to clear Rubis Prescott and it worked. Unfortunately the :27 second third quarter caught up to her around the 7/8ths pole and she was swarmed in the closing strides. 1 CIRCLE THE PAGE will get a lot of attention now that she has won each of her last four starts, including a sweep of the Blizzard Series where she lowered her mark to 1:52.4 in the second leg. We re reluctant to pick against her but do wonder if she can handle the move up the ladder. The table below lists the past Blizzard champions and where they finished in their next start. Note that some went on to win late closers like the Ontario Girls and when still eligible to the relatively soft NW2 class, but many faltered as they moved up the ladder to significantly tougher races, just as Circle The Page is tonight. 3 EXHILARATED tried to follow Buttermilk Hanover in her most recent but BH actually cleared and that left Exhilarated on the outside looking in as they rounded the last turn. I like the fact that she was third to top mares like Ms Mac N Cheese and Witch Dali as recently as 01/12 so a top-three call it is. RECENT BLIZZARD SERIES CHAMPIONS (Not Raced in 2013) Date Track Winner Driver Trainer Time PP Odds Next Start Finish Wdb XELENE BAYAMA Rick Zeron Stephane Larocque 1: F-nw Wdb DOUBLE OLIVES Mike Saftic Dave Matson 1: Ontario Girls Wdb ARTISTIC FUSION Sylvain Filion Joe Agostino 1: *.30 Ontario Girls Wdb MISS POPPYCOCK Chris Christofrou Murray Brethour 1: F-nw Wdb D GS TINKERBELL Luc Ouellette Guylaine Fortin 1: HPI Series Wdb HUSTLEONHOME Sylvain Filion Tan Micallef 1:54 3 *1.00 4YO Mares Wdb KIMS QUEST Luc Ouellette Mick Grant 1: Miss Vera Bars Wdb ONEHOTVETT Jack Moiseyev Randy Fife 1: F-nw18000L Wdb BETTE BLUE CHIP Jody Jamieson Carl Jamieson 1: e2.50 Miss Vera Bars 6

5 Race 5 Selections 1 ASAP HANOVER went through a dry spell in October/November but requalified in impressive fashion on 11/20 and then rebounded nicely when he dropped to the bottom class on the very blustery 12/26 program. His last two starts were against better than he faces tonight and while he didn t get a cheque in either, he was a little more proactive than we were expecting the first time around. Cross off the top line (post 9) and you re looking at a horse who worked hard to make front at a higher level AND took that field through a third quarter in 27.2 before he gave way. A similar effort would probably win this one. 3 WHATASHOWINONTARIO is one that we backed on 01/29 for the simple reason he had been sent to the Moreau camp and paired with Louis Philippe Roy. Things worked out wonderfully for all involved. He wasn t quite as productive last week when Bob McClure took the lines, although it would be foolish to pin that on the driver. He s an instant contender now that he has dropped back to NW6000L5 and likely a winner if he can replicate that last quarter of 27 flat. 4 LUKE AND DUKE deserves some credit for making a first-over move in his latest as he was 29-1 and the horse he challenged was none other than 4-5 favourite Rockin Wizard. It could have ended worse than it did so we ll use Luke in this trifecta and hope that he takes a seat behind one of our top two picks. 5 SOUTHWIND MASIMO generally races from well off the pace but just two back he latched onto a secondover trip and wound up a solid second to Whatashowinontario. A repeat performance isn t out of the question. ON THIS DATE 2004 Jockey Julie Krone was named to USA Today s list of the Top 10 Toughest Athletes. The article ran under the headline Krone not intimidated by man or beast.

6 Race 6 Selections 5 MACH CODE might not be everyone s cup of tea but we re going to give him a whirl now that he has exited the Preferred and dropped back to the level at which he was a lapped-on second to the red hot American Virgin back on 01/13. That was the second consecutive win for American Virgin who had also recently dropped out of the Preferred. Mach Code won t win this one without a fight but he s in good hands with Trevor Henry who has some options now that he leaves from Post 5 in a field of 7. 6 SHADOW PLACE didn t get a mention in this column when he contested roughly this same class on 02/03 but he did well to carve out a two-hole trip and beat all but the odds-on Nirvana Seelster who only one start earlier had been second in the Preferred. He won t beat up on these, as he did with lesser on 01/27, but he definitely deserves a little more credit than he got going into his last race. 1 PHYSICALLYINCLINED deserves full marks for taking things into his own hands and fronting the field in the 01/20 edition of the Preferred. It didn t work out for him in that he didn t get his picture taken but he did take home a nice cheque for finishing second in a $34K race. One of the horses he beat in that race is none other than our top pick in this race, Mach Code. 7 BLATANTLY BEST is undeniable a classy old campaigner who would normally get the nod or least a very serious look at this level. We re a wee bit concerned that he failed to deliver when he last raced at NW14000L5 and will now make just his second start since December.

7 Race 7 Selections 2 FANCOURT doesn t always go off as the favourite when he s racing at this level but he is generally involved in the race and just as often as not he has managed to finish first or second. Last week he was let go at 5-1 and he wound up a half length shy of our top pick, The Rev. Two back he was let go at 8-1 and he wired a decent group including the Moreau-trained favourite, Blatantly Best, show was dropping from the Preferred and making his fourth start off a long rest. 6 CLASSY DRAGON will argue that he s still the horse to beat at this level as he did just that on 01/27 and he would likely have been much closer on 02/03 if not for a break before the start. I m sure many bettors will give him the benefit of the doubt as he did appear to be eased up in the closing strides of his recent 1:52.2 win. 7 BRAVE WORLD didn t have much trouble with the horse he faced at the NW9000L5 level so he s at least worth a top-four call in this edition of the NW14500L5 class where he ll have to drop at least one full second to win. He might have it in him but I think a piece of the trifecta is much more likely. 1 MR CENSI was rather disappointing in his latest and under urging to finish sixth despite a soft trip one week before that. On the other hand, he is a member of the Moreau camp and he did win at this same level back on 11/11 when he beat some of the same horses in a sharp 1:50.3, last quarter in COOL ROCK has left the Kyle Fellows barn and returned to the care of Rene Bourassa the trainer responsible for the vast majority of his 30 career wins. While we wouldn t be totally shocked if he came up with a big effort, we re going to take a wait and see approach for now.

8 Race 8 Selections 4 CUE HALL is one who we backed last week in the belief that he might be good enough to win at NW10000L5 if only held get a little different trip than the one he had over the snow-covered track on 01/29. Well, he got a different trip all right, it s just that it wasn t the one he needed. He did finish off the mile with interest and he beat half the field after sitting last at three-quarters. Here he drops one notch to NW6000L5 and Doug McNair picks up the drive. 3 SMOKE MONKEY is the one that Bob McClure opted to drive when given the choice of two. He obviously knows a lot more about the horse than we do and if he dropped a promising project like Cue Hall its definitely worth noting. Of course this shouldn t come as a huge surprise as Smoke Monkey cones from a very productive barn (that McClure would be wise to retain as a client) and Smoke Monkey is coming off a race in which he made up 12 lengths in the back half. Beware! 6 MARQUIS VOLO got a lot more support than we anticipated on 02/03 but he didn t even get a cheque for his owners let alone a win for those who made him 2-1 favourite. He might be better with that second prep under his belt so we won t rule out a thing now that he has dropped for his third start off the shelf. 5 MUSCLE AVE has picked up a second and a pair of thirds in his last three starts and he shows a Flamboro win just four back. Last week Trevor Henry dropped him in favour of Head Turning Jag but tonight Henry is back on board and that s always a bonus. MIKE S VALUE PLAY: 4 CUE HALL

9 Race 9 Selections 2 P L IDAHO wasn t one of our top five picks when he contested the 10th race on 02/05 and yet he was bet down to 2-1 and he got into the race in the third quarter. Things didn t work out for him but at least he paced a mile in 1:54.4 and took home a cheque. He should be good and tight at this point fresh off a race on Monday night and now with three starts since a September-January absence. 3 MCDAVE deserves some credit for closing 13 lengths between the quarter and the finish in his 01/27 Woodbine debut. At least that was our rationale for giving him a top-five billion on 02/03. He didn t crack the top five but at least he got of the cones and into the flow on the backstretch. Tonight s class drop and the addition of Trevor Henry are solid reasons to give him a look even if he is coming off an 0 fer season. 7 CREDIT RISK will argue that he is the one to beat now that he has dodged B-track Preferred horses and dropped into the lowest class offered on this circuit. He ll have to be a bit better than he was on 02/04 when parked a long way at Flamboro but I suppose that s possible given the right trip. Jack Moiseyev said thanks but no thanks and hands the lines to Chris Christoforou. 4 BUGGER BRUISER is such a low percentage winner that I m reluctant to pick him on top even though he down to a level at which he should be very competitive. 1 BATTLE CALL has longshot potential now that he has blown off some steam with a failed front-ender on 01/27 and an extra week in the barn due to bad weather. Louis Philippe Roy knows a thing or two about making speed so it will be interesting to see if he tries to do what Doug McNair couldn t (get him to go the distance on the lead) or if he takes back and tries to trip him out, as Bob McClure nearly did on 09/14.

10 Race 10 Selections 1 ROCKIN WIZARD was named as our Value Play on 02/03. Some value, huh? Sure, he got the job done and we won t be returning the 80 cents on the dollar that he returned, but I honestly thought you d get a bit better price despite the class drop. All the reasons we used to pick him in that race are still valid with the exception of the class drop angle as he is now moving back up the ladder. Perhaps a parlay will give us the return on investment that we were looking for. 5 NICKLE BAG is a classy old campaigner with 34 wins and now over $950K in earnings. He didn t add to those earnings when favoured on 01/27 but a simple class drop did wonders for him on 02/03. We ll gladly use him in this exacta and trifecta and could see him winning with just a bit of racing luck. 6 RAMBLINGAMBLINMAN is a serious threat to our top two picks now that he has returned to the level at which he was a battling winner back on 12/23. He s had a few hiccups since then a break on 01/20 and a no factor eighth in his latest but the class drop could do him wonders and the addition of Sylvain Filion won t hurt. 2 SINGLE WHITE SOCK has to be considered if you re playing the exotics but with a record of 2-for-42 and plenty of opportunity at this same level we re reluctant to pick him higher than third or fourth. 7 TOMY TERROR has made the switch from claimers to this mid-level conditioned class where he meets several who are dropping down. We ll sit back and watch for now. ON THIS DATE 1920 Major league baseball outlawed pitches that involve tampering with the ball At Madison Square Garden in New York City, boxer Primo Carnera knocked out Ernie Schaaf in round 13. Schaaf died four days later.