Here's a few notes on Sunday's Del Mar racing you might be able to put to use.

In the second race Doug O'Neill sends out two, usually a sign when a trainer is making sure the race will go. Those of you who have followed me over the years are aware of how we follow first and second time geldings. When we published Quarter Horse Report at Los Alamitos for years with Eddie Burgart, we noted most turn-around runs were directly the end result of a horse having been castrated. After O'Neill claimed Bandeira Union(3) last time he gelded him. It's a good idea to give them time to heal once they've undergone the "ultimate equipment" change and that's what O'Neill did with Bandeira Union. Note: Little Ruler is also a first time gelding in the second.

In race five I'm playing Cigar Man(8). If he's okay enough physically he'll win as Cerin drops him in for a $62,500 claiming tag. Cigar Man had no chance in the slow early/fast late Hollywood Gold Cup. He should love the cut back in distance and make note all of Cigar Man's four wins have come at the seashore--so he likes the climate.,

In race six the Racing Form doesn't have it but Blazing will be racing in blinkers. I tried to validate the fdact this will be the second start as a gelding for Blazing but could not. So.......he might be running as a second time gelding. A longtime horseplayer called me trying to find out that information and I simply could not tell him for certain.

For those of you who play the last race I have to endose Dazzling Razz(8) who is shortening up. Tyler Baze would be riding this gelding but he's out for the rest of the summer and will undergo facial surgery on Monday. Ironically the horse that kicked him in the face is Night Justice.

Hi Warrenthebull,

Bazing raced as a 1st time gelding on 5/9/10, so this is his 3rd start as gelding.

Originally Posted by warrenthebull

For those of you who play the last race I have to endose Dazzling Razz(8) who is shortening up. Tyler Baze would be riding this gelding but he's out for the rest of the summer and will undergo facial surgery on Monday. Ironically the horse that kicked him in the face is Night Justice.

Baze wasn't kicked in the face. Night Justice reared up and smashed Tyler in the face with the top of his head. Not a laughing matter at all, but i got a small chuckle when i noticed that Night Justice is a son of Lit de Justice. That horse is still terrorizing people even after retirement, lol.

Anyway, i found this race interesting for the following reason. When Night Justice was entered last Saturday, he was actually entered as part of an uncoupled entry with the comebacking Mytigersnosissy. Trainer Peter Miller then scratched Mytigersnosissy in order to run him in a similar race on Wednesday, so it appears that Night Justice was given first preference by Miller. That's very notable, considering that in the Wednesday race, Mytigersnosissy went off as the 2/1 favorite and nearly wired the field while returning from a year-long layoff. Night Justice was scratched after the the Baze incident right before post, but it's doubful he suiffered any ill effects, and in fact he returned to work a best-of-47 bullet from the gate just two days later. That also might be an indication that Night Justice was indeed cranked for that Saturday race, as his previous workout had been very slow. And sure enough, here he is entered back the following weekend. Think this one might make some noise here. P-Val taking over for Baze, btw.

Nice call on Dazzling Razz.

I want to thank you for corresting me. I had a longtime client call me and ask me if he was a second time gelding. For some reason my file did not have it. Then I find out that the horse was not adding blinkers. My policy has been always to state exactly what I have and not to guess. This time I passed on information that was not correct. Thanks for the third time gelding info. I will pass that along to my friend. We follow the "ultimate equipment changes" closely.