SLEW'S FAST HORSES FOR SAT. 06/08

Hello All! For Belmont Saturday the tracks and races on Slew's mind are as follows:

Belmont - 1,2,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13
Monmouth - 3,8,9,10
Hollywood - 2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10
Churchill - 1,4,5,7,9,11
Woodbine - 2,9,10
Pimlico - 1,3,6
Calder - 1,7,9,11,12
Arlington - 1,3,4,10,11
Parx - 8

Hats off to the 10 year old Calidoscopio (ARG), taking the Brooklyn. And hats off to Aaron Gryder. Remember him? He ran as smart a race as any you will see.

He simply conceded the first half...and took the second. He was certainly smarter than me.

For Saturday, we have two Key Horses running:

Orb - Bel (11) GP 02/23/13 # 11
Tanzspiel (IRE) - WO ( 5) GP 12/14/12 # 5

We will begin with Tanzspiel. I thought this runner would break her maiden in her last but she did not. Tomorrow, she tries again, but the ML favors her slightly at 5/2. That doesn't thrill me and I certainly wouldn't play her at less, and might only consider her if her odds drift up. That said, I won't be handicapping her race so maybe this is the field for her. I expected more and considered not showing her as a Key Horse this time around.

But I did that with Margano at Pimlico today and he beat a reduced field and paid $11.00. So I'm leaving her in...and leaving it up to you.

Then there is Orb. I pretty much said my piece in yesterday's post. Watching today's "Belmont Handicapping Special" on TVG until I could not stand it anymore left me with the feeling that there just isn't any horse good enough to win...or bad enough to lose! Maybe Rosario takes a page out of Gryders book, and circles the field in the final stages. We know he can run on a wet track, but can he run on the Belmont wet track? In fact, was the Pimlico an expected blip on his radar after having a pretty full schedule leading up to the Derby? Or did it signal a prolonged change in form?

Just because he got beat at Pimlico and isn't a triple crown horse doesn't mean he isn't a very good one. Don't they all lose at least one?

I'm giving him another shot here. As I look down the list of entrants, I just cannot help but think he is simply the best horse in the race with pedigree on his side. I love Revolutionary - as anyone who read my Saratoga wrap will know - but at a mile and a half? Pletcher has five running. Am I to believe he has five legit 12 furlong horses? Four legit horses? Three?

Just because they are there? No!

I fear Gary Stevens. More than I fear Oxbow or D. Wayne, I fear the experience and the savvy of his years, in a race unlike any other. But I also love the Rosario run this year and when I close my eyes,
I see Smarty Jones with 150 yards to go, and Birdstone closing in to the shock of a stunned and eerily silent 125,000 race fans. I was one of them. I couldn't utter a sound. I could only watch in disbelief.

And I like to think love trumps fear!

I would also like to think that Orb runs down Oxbow, I cash a win wager along with the exacta!

And if not, that's OK too. I'm not going to sweat it...because I'll catch him at Saratoga with better odds!

Enjoy the Belmont racing...good luck and good 'capping!