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Post by cliff on Feb 21, 2010 13:41:23 GMT -5
Striking Lavec wins the first race (2/21) at the Meadowlands. The six year old Master Lavec/Striking Sahbra gelding was guided from the far outside post 10 by Eric Goodell in the $9200, $15claimer event.
Last seen at Northfield on February 6th in the open trot where he trotted a rather unimpressive mile, Goodell kept him off the rail and out of trouble (there were several breakers, including the race leader). He never saw the wood the whole way yet rallied impressively in the stretch to overtake the leader and favorite, winning by an expanding half length.
Formerly owned and trained by Bob Schlabach of Sugarcreeek, the Ohio bred made a nice debut for new owners Tony and Linda Schadel of Pa. Linda Schadel also trains.
12.80 6.40 4.40
59.40 exacta
545.00 trifecta
winning time 1:58.1 on a fast winter track
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Post by trackrat on Feb 21, 2010 17:01:21 GMT -5
Striking Lavec raced a long way on the outside today. With the stretch that goes on forever at the Big M, Goodell was able to turn him loose without having to worry about any tight turns. Do Lavec's PP lines suggest he's better coming off the trot or on the front end?
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Post by trackrat on Feb 21, 2010 17:08:42 GMT -5
The Open Trot at Northfield last night went in 157.3 with Diamond Hunter for a $6K purse.
Lavec won at the the BigM for more money and a slower winning time, even taking into consideration the track differential.
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Post by cliff on Feb 21, 2010 19:27:45 GMT -5
Striking Lavec raced a long way on the outside today. With the stretch that goes on forever at the Big M, Goodell was able to turn him loose without having to worry about any tight turns. Do Lavec's PP lines suggest he's better coming off the trot or on the front end? I always thought the horse had pretty decent gate speed, but from post 10 today, it was hard to demonstrate it. Then again, his new owner/trainer may have decided to try a different approach with him. And, as one who has followed and handicapped Meadowlands at least as much as Northfield the past year or so, I'll state that racing outside under cover at M1 is not nearly as taxing as at the half milers. Before we declare him resurrected, we should note that this was a very bad field of trotters by M1 standards. There are at least a dozen trotters racing at Northfield who could have won this race. If Krissy K had been entered with a decent post, my money would have been on her. |
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Post by trackrat on Feb 21, 2010 19:37:55 GMT -5
as one who has followed and handicapped Meadowlands at least as much as Northfield the past year or so, I'll state that racing outside under cover at M1 is not nearly as taxing as at the half milers. I did much better at the BigM and Yonkers last year than I did at Northfield. |
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Post by cliff on Feb 21, 2010 19:37:55 GMT -5
The Open Trot at Northfield last night went in 157.3 with Diamond Hunter for a $6K purse. Lavec won at the the BigM for more money and a slower winning time, even taking into consideration the track differential. Well, Diamond Hunter isn't going to be entered in a $15 claimer any time soon.  His best at M1 is 1:56+ (I think he could go better than that) which puts him in the middle conditioners there. The invitational trot at M1 Friday went in 1:54.1. The open class is generally about 3-5 lengths slower. |
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Post by cliff on Feb 21, 2010 19:42:26 GMT -5
as one who has followed and handicapped Meadowlands at least as much as Northfield the past year or so, I'll state that racing outside under cover at M1 is not nearly as taxing as at the half milers. I did much better at the BigM and Yonkers last year than I did at Northfield. Yonkers is still a mystery to me, but I do quite well at M1. Horses run truer to form, most of the drivers are playable, and a bad post doesn't automatically disqualify a horse. The rolling pick3's and pick4 keep me in the money. |
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Post by trackrat on Feb 21, 2010 21:00:57 GMT -5
Yonkers is still a mystery to me, but I do quite well at M1. Horses run truer to form, most of the drivers are playable, and a bad post doesn't automatically disqualify a horse. At Yonkers, everything evolves from Jason Bartlett. I pick spots where he might be overbet, particularly if Jimmy P or Grismore have been overlooked. Jimmy is very good (IMHO) at controlling the pace from the front end. I agree with you about your M1 observations. A good money maker for me has been Andy Miller on a Miller trained horse, but Brennan, Pierce and Dave Miller have been good to me also. I have a hard time with Gingras and Dube, though... need to watch them more, I guess. |
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Post by cliff on Feb 21, 2010 23:28:15 GMT -5
At Yonkers, everything evolves from Jason Bartlett. I pick spots where he might be overbet, particularly if Jimmy P or Grismore have been overlooked. Jimmy is very good (IMHO) at controlling the pace from the front end. I agree with you about your M1 observations. A good money maker for me has been Andy Miller on a Miller trained horse, but Brennan, Pierce and Dave Miller have been good to me also. I have a hard time with Gingras and Dube, though... need to watch them more, I guess. Bet the horse and not the driver and Gingras and Dube will reward you too (and Tetrick). Sears is the one they overbet, but he will beat you in the gimmicks if you let him. John Campbell isn't having a stellar year so far, but he is especially good with trotters. The guys who show up from Yonkers on occasion, Bartlett and Stratton, et al don't seem to fair too well. You can throw out guys like Berry, Silverman, and trainers driving their own unless they have much the best horse. Pay attention to driver choices even more at M1 than at Northfield as they will generally lead you in the right direction. |
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His best at M1 is 1:56+ (I think he could go better than that) which puts him in the middle conditioners there. The invitational trot at M1 Friday went in 1:54.1. The open class is generally about 3-5 lengths slower.