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Trainers to watch for long shots
By Tom Tolmich The past two years at Emerald Downs have been interesting from a long-shot player's point of view. Some of the best trainers at Emerald are David Bennett and Jim Tracy. These two have provided many "bombs," and I will let you in on a few of their moves. David Bennett is deadly with any horse off a claim. Remember Evad? Here was a $6,250 maiden who ran once, but he saw fit to claim him from Lyle Stark and used him in two route-to-sprint moves. Evad ran third when returning to a sprint from a route the first time. That was your clue, as he was eased when routing again, something he obviously disdained. Coming from nearly last in a sprint, Evad won at the wire at 37-1! Bennett is equally deadly with any claimed horse off a win. Blue Knight fits. Claimed off a win for $3,200, he won again for $5,000 at 11-1. In his next start, he ran seventh, beaten 29 lengths at 3-1. He then ran second at 18-1! The public, it seems, is never really sure when to bet his horses. Buena Song also chalked up her second straight win off a Bennett claim. Don't be afraid of Bennett dropping a horse in class after a claim, either. If the horse is in poor form, he loves to drop the horse. An example is Trophy for Me. Claimed for $5,000 and dropped to $3,200, he won in his second start off the claim at 5-1. Ghostly did the same for Bennett -- claimed for a higher tag, dropped in class, and then won at 6-1. His best was Confirm Order, who was in poor form and took several races to get going. And get going he did. In Bennett's usual route-to-sprint move, Confirm Order won at 20-1. In sum, David Bennett is a trainer you must pay attention to off a claim. Jim Tracy loves to use route-to-sprint moves as well. Several years ago, Ditty Wah Ditty ran second in several sprints. Then he eased going two turns and returned to a sprint to win by 4 lengths at 9-1. Last year, on Fourth of July weekend, Tracy struck again. Ditty showed several good efforts, with several bullet works. After showing an even running line, Ditty was 20-1 in the day's final race. I knew this was the day! I played him to Innocent Ally, and the exacta paid $289. I had it five times. Emerald Light was another great claim, taken from a 7-length maiden win. After some bullet works (see a pattern?), Tracy stepped him up from $10,000 maidens to $25,000 claimers off a month-and-a-half layoff. He won at 13-1 going away. Finally, there's Koala Bay. In his second race from a layoff, Koala showed early speed to the half, then folded, beaten by 30 lengths. Not surprisingly, that was all Tracy needed. He dropped Koala to a 5 1/2-furlong sprint, and he won going away at 8-1, coming from last to first. There's no secret here. Certain trainers have a particular style, and it's up to you to find it. I hope these examples help you in your search for long shots this year. |