Showdown at the Spa Wrap-up

 

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DiDonato: Monday - Draw Two put in a big late run to be a clear second-best in the first race--I still think he’ll be decent once he gets blinkers and more experience. Felt good that Pletcher was getting bet off the board in Steve’s race, but the money the Schettino runner took may have been more telling, and he dueled Stage Street into submission to protect my lead. Was ready to throw in the towel less than halfway into this thing, but glad Steve kept on firing and I was able to come up with a few winners at the right time for big bets. I think we complemented each other’s styles well. Of my winners, all were maidens and only two had ever run before--both were trying turf for the first time. Steve, meanwhile, did his best work with horses who had more established form. This could have easily gone either way, and I think it’s pretty impressive that we both ended up with a profit--it’s much harder than it looks without seeing odds and scratches and when you’re looking for horses who make for interesting write-ups. Great job, Steve. I look forward to our next showdown.

Sherack: Monday - Even if my top pick Stage Street kept on going after those torrid early fractions of :21.80 and :44.68, how unbearable would it have been to see him get DQ’d for wiping out nearly the entire field at the start? Kicking myself once again for not going with my first alternate, who easily defeated DiDonato’s top pick in the opener, but can only tip my cap at this point to my game rival for a job well done after trailing by nearly $800 through the first two weeks of action. Really tried to drop the hammer on him while I was up big, but I just couldn’t finish him off. I still turned a profit for the meet whichever way you crunch the numbers, and if not anything else, I hope we were at least entertaining, especially through our epic stretch duel during the final week. Showdown at the Inner Track, here we come! Hahaha...