Hawthorne Stable Notes for Saturday, October 24, 2009

Today appears to be a day for drying out, at least for the moment as a passing morning shower should clear through to clearing skies and a drying out racetrack.  Currently the track is muddy but I expect it to be upgraded as the day goes on.  There is no turf racing scheduled for the day.  I took a walk around the turf course this morning and it was rather saturated.  I’m not completely ruling out running on the grass tomorrow, but we would need a lot of sun and wind to get back on the grass. Regardless, expect a fast main track for the Sunday card.

For those handicapping the races today, keep a close eye on how the track plays.  Today is a similar situation to what we saw last Sunday as the drying out surface led to a track where the inside improved greatly and some longshot runners that cleared the lead and got to the rail were able to run off.  We may see a similar surface once again. 

On Friday’s card, we welcomed Inez Karlsson and Brandon Meier back into the saddle after a couple of days away while they were under the weather.  Jockey Diego Sanchez and trainer Jimmy DiVito teamed up for a pair of victories on the card with a couple young runners.

Changes

Main Track – Muddy (May be upgraded)

No Turf Scheduled

Race 1

Scratch #1 – Hole in One

Scratch #3 – Oil Money’s Dream

Race 3

Scratch #1 – Zee Are One

Race 5

Scratch #9 – Jabber Dabber Doo

Race 6

Scratch #7 – Fortunate Jones

Race 8

Scratch #5 – Greattobeabeaver

Race 9

Scratch #7 – Magical Wings

Best Bets

Race 4 - #2 – Rebounded – This is a weird race as #5 – Go to the Sun is the highweight off a fine score in a $10,000 starter last time out. He was 39-1 that day and could bounce off of that race.  Rebounded was a fast closing second against similar in the slop in his last and he gets 7 lbs. to Go to the Sun.  Also, there is no pace in here and I expect Rebounded to sit much closer to the pace.

Race 6 - #8 – Cowboy Shoes – This one waited to draw in from the also-eligibles last time out and responded well as he ran off to a nearly 6 length win.  He gets the seven-hole in here and should get a similar trip.  I am a bit surprised to see Geroux go the route of #4 J. Pa in here, but Eddie Perez is a more than capable rider in the saddle on Cowboy Shoes.