Sharp Azteca in the 2017 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Dec 2
“Some forecasts are meant to entertain. Think of CNBC’s Jim Cramer with his “booyah!” shtick, or John McLaughlin, the host of The McLaughlin Group, bellowing at his panelists to predict the likelihood of an event “on a scale from zero to ten, with zero representing zero possibility and ten representing complete metaphysical certitude!” - Excerpt From Superforecasting, Philip E. Tetlock & Dan Gardner
Looking forward to the Cigar Mile. Several horses in the field are particularly notable for class, including the most logical horses Mind Your Business (1), Sharp Azteca (5) and Practical Joke (8), all of which took part in the Breeder's Cup at the start of November. The rest in the Cigar Mile enter as contenders, or longish shots. I had backed Mind Your Business and Practical Joke on occasion and knew they could win, or could lose.
Sharp Azteca, is not a personal favorite, because his trainer has been involved with some shadiness this year. Was caught on via social media joking about doping. [SEE FOOTNOTE BELOW.] But jet black Sharp Azteca certainly looked good in achieving second place in the recent Breeders Cup Dirt Mile, and this distance as he has won 5 out of 8 has seemed to suit him. Tough to turn back on all three logicals, tho a little suspect on freshness, but with good Beyer numbers.
It would be anticipated that Sharp Azteca would vie for early lead with Seymourdini (2) and Americanize (5). A general feeling held that the pace could be hot enough to favor a come-from-behinder to come and mop up after the three speedsters wear down.
What do Sharp Aztea's front running foes look like? Seymordini is out of A.P Indy, comes from the capable barn of Linda Rice, and has Jose Ortiz aboard. He hit a 104 while taking fourth in the Oct 28th BoldRuler at Belmont , and missed by a length. Americanize is a quick one (102) from the hot California stable of Simon Callahan, but questionable at the distance.
Late running contenders I lit upon - admittedly in search of a payoff - were Tom's Ready (4) and Beasley (10). The former is a four-year-old that's won $1 million - and this was announced as his last race (same for the 3-year-old Practical Joke). Tom's Ready beat Seymourdini, Stalwalking Dude and Beaseley in gaining a 107 in the Bold Ruler, and looking quite good as he did it. Beasley's performance in that one also marked him as a possible come-from behinder at (theoretically) a price.
Of interest was some pre-race jockeying among the jockeys. That is: Joel Rosario had ridden three of these in their previous race. He chose to stay with Chad Brown and Practical Joke. Dallas Stewart brought Mike Smith cross country to take the reins of Tom's Ready. Trainer Navarro replaced Paco Lopez, who'd ridden Sharp Azteca to several wins this year, with Javier Catellano.
Beyers projected: Sharp Azteca, 105; Seymourdini 104; Tom's Ready 104; Americanize 102;Mind your Biscuts 102; Practical Joke 100;
Estimated early split: 22.
The picks here were: 6, 10 over 2, 4, 5 (and 6, 10). Along with some protective place, shows centered on the logicals.
The race is off!
Results: 6-1-8-5
The logical top three were the actual top three today. Sharp Azteca broke sharp. That's when Javier Castellano did his magic. Effortlessly he guided Sharp Azteca to rate. That meant that Seymourdini and Americanize would duel, and he would stalk. On the far turn he took off and never really looked back. The final time was 1:35, a length better than the Breeders Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar last month. The pace was honest, but not something to which Sharp Azteca would succumb. The closers were late.
The race showed the truth of the maxim that class will out. Not just class from the breeding shed, but class from many trips to the races. The three best horses comprised the three top spots. You very often see lesser horses demur when facing better - and that seemed to be in part the case today in the Cigar Mile, as the most accomplished horses crossed the finish line ahead of the others.
As for some of the others, Beasley seemed to break too sharply, and then had no fire. Tom's Ready was wide throughout. Seymourdini led, then faded to second last. Except for Seymourdini's brief shining moment, they might as well been in a different race. Forgoing logical horses looks good enough on paper some times - and then looks poor in practice. Still, it's good to pick out a winner, even when you don't care for the connections.
http://www1.drf.com/drfPDFChartRacesIndexAction.do?TRK=AQU&CTY=USA&DATE=20171202&RN=10
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Some additional thoughts. This race is late on the calendar, the last grade 1 in New York for the year. It's a nice distance and a nice event, much due to the warmth we feel in remembering Cigar.
Cigar ran sporadically and somewhat unimpressively on turf as a two and three year old. But, as a four year old, he caught fire on the dirt. He was horse of the year in 1994 and 1995, and people loved him. He won 16 in a row with his popularity growing all the time. Older horses seldom get so much popularity, but he did. Only a few horses ever would gain such sincere following. When he crossed the finish line and won the Breeders Cup Classic that was held at Arlington Park on a very off track, announcer Tom Durkin memorably called him out as "unconquerable, invincible, unbeatable Cigar!"
I saw people's reaction to Cigar. And I share an example. When you entered Curtin's Roadside Tavern on Tremont St in Mission Hill in Boston, back in the very late 20th Century, and you saddled up to order your beer by the tap, you would see a framed poster on the wall that featured - replicated in stride, like a Muybridge albumen - running forever : Cigar! And, in the Boston intonation: "Ci -gaah!"
Among Cigar's many victories… were two at Boston's Suffolk Downs. The second time saw the biggest crowd in the history of that track. And that is why that poster hung there at Curtin's pub on Tremont. Because of the and because he was, with head held high, a winner. - Racetrack Romeo.
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| Sharp Azteca in the 2017 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Dec 2 - Source: NYRA |
Looking forward to the Cigar Mile. Several horses in the field are particularly notable for class, including the most logical horses Mind Your Business (1), Sharp Azteca (5) and Practical Joke (8), all of which took part in the Breeder's Cup at the start of November. The rest in the Cigar Mile enter as contenders, or longish shots. I had backed Mind Your Business and Practical Joke on occasion and knew they could win, or could lose.
Sharp Azteca, is not a personal favorite, because his trainer has been involved with some shadiness this year. Was caught on via social media joking about doping. [SEE FOOTNOTE BELOW.] But jet black Sharp Azteca certainly looked good in achieving second place in the recent Breeders Cup Dirt Mile, and this distance as he has won 5 out of 8 has seemed to suit him. Tough to turn back on all three logicals, tho a little suspect on freshness, but with good Beyer numbers.
It would be anticipated that Sharp Azteca would vie for early lead with Seymourdini (2) and Americanize (5). A general feeling held that the pace could be hot enough to favor a come-from-behinder to come and mop up after the three speedsters wear down.
What do Sharp Aztea's front running foes look like? Seymordini is out of A.P Indy, comes from the capable barn of Linda Rice, and has Jose Ortiz aboard. He hit a 104 while taking fourth in the Oct 28th BoldRuler at Belmont , and missed by a length. Americanize is a quick one (102) from the hot California stable of Simon Callahan, but questionable at the distance.
Late running contenders I lit upon - admittedly in search of a payoff - were Tom's Ready (4) and Beasley (10). The former is a four-year-old that's won $1 million - and this was announced as his last race (same for the 3-year-old Practical Joke). Tom's Ready beat Seymourdini, Stalwalking Dude and Beaseley in gaining a 107 in the Bold Ruler, and looking quite good as he did it. Beasley's performance in that one also marked him as a possible come-from behinder at (theoretically) a price.
Of interest was some pre-race jockeying among the jockeys. That is: Joel Rosario had ridden three of these in their previous race. He chose to stay with Chad Brown and Practical Joke. Dallas Stewart brought Mike Smith cross country to take the reins of Tom's Ready. Trainer Navarro replaced Paco Lopez, who'd ridden Sharp Azteca to several wins this year, with Javier Catellano.
Beyers projected: Sharp Azteca, 105; Seymourdini 104; Tom's Ready 104; Americanize 102;Mind your Biscuts 102; Practical Joke 100;
Estimated early split: 22.
The picks here were: 6, 10 over 2, 4, 5 (and 6, 10). Along with some protective place, shows centered on the logicals.
The race is off!
Results: 6-1-8-5
The logical top three were the actual top three today. Sharp Azteca broke sharp. That's when Javier Castellano did his magic. Effortlessly he guided Sharp Azteca to rate. That meant that Seymourdini and Americanize would duel, and he would stalk. On the far turn he took off and never really looked back. The final time was 1:35, a length better than the Breeders Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar last month. The pace was honest, but not something to which Sharp Azteca would succumb. The closers were late.
The race showed the truth of the maxim that class will out. Not just class from the breeding shed, but class from many trips to the races. The three best horses comprised the three top spots. You very often see lesser horses demur when facing better - and that seemed to be in part the case today in the Cigar Mile, as the most accomplished horses crossed the finish line ahead of the others.
As for some of the others, Beasley seemed to break too sharply, and then had no fire. Tom's Ready was wide throughout. Seymourdini led, then faded to second last. Except for Seymourdini's brief shining moment, they might as well been in a different race. Forgoing logical horses looks good enough on paper some times - and then looks poor in practice. Still, it's good to pick out a winner, even when you don't care for the connections.
http://www1.drf.com/drfPDFChartRacesIndexAction.do?TRK=AQU&CTY=USA&DATE=20171202&RN=10
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some additional thoughts. This race is late on the calendar, the last grade 1 in New York for the year. It's a nice distance and a nice event, much due to the warmth we feel in remembering Cigar.
Cigar ran sporadically and somewhat unimpressively on turf as a two and three year old. But, as a four year old, he caught fire on the dirt. He was horse of the year in 1994 and 1995, and people loved him. He won 16 in a row with his popularity growing all the time. Older horses seldom get so much popularity, but he did. Only a few horses ever would gain such sincere following. When he crossed the finish line and won the Breeders Cup Classic that was held at Arlington Park on a very off track, announcer Tom Durkin memorably called him out as "unconquerable, invincible, unbeatable Cigar!"
I saw people's reaction to Cigar. And I share an example. When you entered Curtin's Roadside Tavern on Tremont St in Mission Hill in Boston, back in the very late 20th Century, and you saddled up to order your beer by the tap, you would see a framed poster on the wall that featured - replicated in stride, like a Muybridge albumen - running forever : Cigar! And, in the Boston intonation: "Ci -gaah!"
Among Cigar's many victories… were two at Boston's Suffolk Downs. The second time saw the biggest crowd in the history of that track. And that is why that poster hung there at Curtin's pub on Tremont. Because of the and because he was, with head held high, a winner. - Racetrack Romeo.
 |
| Jerry Bailey on the "unconquerable, invincible, unbeatable Cigar!" |
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UPDATE DEC 17, 2021 Jorge Navarro, who won seven straight trainers titles at Monmouth Park through 2019, was sentenced by a federal judge to five years in prison for his role in a performance-enhancing drug scandal that rocked the horse racing industry.
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