December-January 2015-2016 /
American Turf Magazine
19
Simplistic Turf Repeaters
Short And Simple Does Have A Place Over The Lawn
By William F. Hudgins, Jr.
T
here
are
few
times
that
the
word simplicity and Thor-
oughbredhandicappingcanbe
utilized in the same sentence. Horse-
players well versed in this tough game
will attest to that unquestionably. That
said there are indeed instances – more
common than youmay think – wherein
a simplistic concept can be employed if
punters are willing to pay respect to the
basal fundamentals of the game itself.
Equines who have won last time out,
especially those who run longer races
over the grass course, often present
themselves as prime examples of the
proverbial “exception to the rule”.
One of my favorite simplistic angles
involves the aforementioned last out
winners over the lawn. Repeaters as
they are called have always been a
mainstay in my assessment process.
The basics are covered from a pure
handicapping standpoint in that
obviously the animal in question was
indeed in good racing form, fit the
distance it was being asked to negoti-
ate and was properly spotted in terms
of competitive class – at least for that
last successful race. What I like to do
when I happen across a horse who won
its most recent grass trip is to test its
merits against five very simple guide-
lines. In a nutshell is it returning to
Over the Turf
Hardest Core winning the Arlington Million in 2014
Photo by Horsephotos.com/NTRA
