The return I am most excited about this weekend [...]]]> While the Zito barn is no doubt very downhearted about the loss of Hesanoldsalt, at least Commentator came back at just the right time, setting a track record yesterday in his return and winning by 14 lengths. When he’s on, he’s on.

The return I am most excited about this weekend (along with many of my fellow TBAers) is that of Evening Attire, back now as a 10 year old. He worked a bullet last week and is returning for another shot at the Aqueduct Handicap, which he previously won in 2002. ESPN runs down his ten most memorable moments here (number one being his Jockey Club Gold Cup victory – also one of my favorites), and they note that he’s such a survivor that three of his twelve jockeys have retired, while he just keeps on running (and usually running well).

Here’s hoping Evening Attire adds another win to his Wikipedia entry.

Sunny Issues – At least Snow Cone hit the boardLA Champions Sprint – Tortuga Straits did likewise.Hollywood Turf Cup – In real life, I [...]]]> So, how did we do here at Superfecta HQ in this weekend’s installment of the Winter of Our Discontent Challenge? Really shockingly badly, that’s how:

Sunny Issues – At least Snow Cone hit the board
LA Champions Sprint – Tortuga Straits did likewise.
Hollywood Turf Cup – In real life, I may have actually played the winning trifecta of Sunriver/Champs Elysees/Spring House (and hey, I did mention all three last week); I’d have definitely made some back on betting Sunriver across the board, although I still believe Champs Elysees is a better horse overall. As I’ve noted here often, I love his dam, Hasili – as do other members of the TBA.
Native Diver – I had nothing. Zero.

I also had nothing in the big Hong Kong races; neither Dylan Thomas nor Miss Andretti had their best days although local star Sacred Kingdom improved his record to 8 wins out of his last 9 starts. Not bad.

But on to today’s news – the addition of three more Friday races to the Breeders’ Cup card. (And a small aside to the Breeders’ Cup board – I’m still waiting for you to make Friday Ladies’ Day, ideally with decent beer offerings). My initial thoughts on the new races are as follows:

Turf Sprint – Is this purely to lure Miss Andretti here? Because that’s just fine with me, but we now know she doesn’t like going around right-hand turns. I think this could be a really fun category with a lot of top class international competition – if you can get the competition in question to show up, given the timing with regards to major Southern Hemisphere races.

Juvenile Fillies Turf – I’m not really convinced that a separate juvenile turf race is necessary; at this age, fillies and colts are usually quite competitive against one another, and if the entrants are European or Asian turf specialist stars of the future, they likely always will compete against one another. But as I’m always an advocate of having more turf racing in the US, I’m not entirely against the idea. (Speaking of American turf, it was good to see Showing Up back on the worktab today, even if it was over dirt – and he had a nice workout).

Dirt Marathon – I really like this in principle, but I wonder what caliber of horse will actually turn up to compete. The really great long distance horses from overseas are grass horses, and American long-distance dirt specialists are not usually household names (anymore). Still, if the object is to encourage more to contest that distance throughout their careers, I’m happy to take the long view.

So, how long will it take for these races to be graded? Can I assume Evening Attire will still be running and winning like he always does?