I've been spending part of the day helping the Equibase crew with the chart calling for today's card so there's been little free time to go over some of the races. With that in mind here's some thought on what has transpired over the past several hours.
Afleet Lass dominated the third race but got a break when first time starters Osprey Lane and Holy Bling broke horribly. The former recovered to finish second while HOly Bling was going best of all at the end after dropping about 15 lengths behind the leaders a few hundred yards into the race.
My Pocket Ace won the fifth race at even money then was disqualified in another pretty controversial call by the stewards. Runner-up Eclipticalsmustang steadied inside the winner turning for home but appeared to be getting out a bit at that point while certainly left enough room at that juncture. Judges should take into consider the players and take into account rider panic/acting before making their decision.
Trainer Giuseppe Iadisernia has not had a great year but had a big 30 minutes when sending out Five Afternoons and Romascoliseum to back to back wins in the sixth and seventh races, both taking advantage of a track that favored horses either near or specifically on the lead.
Mark down On Appeal and master Dunker as horses to watch out of the eighth race won by 5/2 favorite Slews big Finale. The former finished fast after falling a mile back when his rider's saddle slipped shortly after the start.Master Dunker broke last, rushed up down the backstretch, was hung wide throughout yet proved good enough to still finish second despite the bad trip.