American Turf Magazine
/ December-January 2015-2016
20
Over the Turf
another turf route, is it coming back to
competition in a relatively short time
span, will it be ridden by the same rider
as last time, has it been assigned more
weight for today’s race and lastly is the
price fair for a potential repeater?.
FIVE SIMPLE GUIDELINES FOR
TURF ROUTE REPEATERS
1. Any turf route at 8-1/2 furlongs
(1-1/16 miles) or longer offers
potential;
2. Isolate only those runners who won
their last race, over the turf, at a
mile (8 furlongs) or longer;
3. Dismiss any selectee who will not
be ridden by the same jockey who
was aboard last time out;
4. The animal must be assigned at
least two pounds more than it car-
ried in that key last race;
5. Demand that the closing odds be
at least 4-1 or higher
Take a good look at the past perfor-
mances of Black Cat Stables’ MON-
STRIP, a veteran 9-year-old racemare
who entered a $12,500 claiming route
for grassers at 8-1/2 furlongs over the
Gulfstream Park turf course. The Lon-
nie Arterburn conditioned old pro
entered that event off a game half-
length victory over the same course
last time out – just 20 days before-
hand – at the identical distance as
she would be asked to travel today.
As a point of reference any last out
winner returning within six weeks or
less (42 days) satisfies our simplistic
mandates. MONSTRIP would again
be ridden by Britanny Arterburn and
because of that victory the conditions
of entry require the mare pick up two
additional pounds of impost, a typical
penalty most winners incur for their
success. At odds of 7-1 she offered a
terrific spot play investment utilizing
our simplistic guidelines. She did not
disappoint, grinding along to prove
a timely winner and rewarding our
respect for her to the delightful tune
of $16.00.
Rest assured my friends nothing in
this game is easy – if it were every-
one would be walking around with a
Daily Racing Form and a pocket full of
investment capital. Fortified with good
fundamentals and backed by a decent
potential payout really simple system-
atic concepts, such as the one presented
this month, can be put to good use pro-
vided one sticks to the guidelines and
applies some jurist prudence in terms
of not getting too greedy. Sometimes
simplicity does indeed have a place in
a most challenging endeavor. Good
handicapping rascals!
Turf horses storming around the far turn
Photo by Horsephotos.com/NTRA
