Tip of the Week: Timely Tinkering

Golden Rivet (above) prevailed on April 2 at Gulfstream Park. (Photo by Lauren King/Gulfstream Park)
Some minor adjustments can often pay off quite handsomely in horse racing.
A fine example was Golden Rivet in the fifth race at Gulfstream Park on April 2.
A close look at his two previous races made him an attractive play in the one-mile, $30-25,000 claimer on the turf.
It started with his race on Jan. 24 at Gulfstream when he won by a length and a quarter and was claimed for $20,000 by trainer Michael Pino.
Off that solid effort, Pino elevated Golden Rivet all the way up to a $35-40,000 claimer on March 15. He ran well in that race, leading from the start to the eighth pole, but weakened in the final furlong and finished third. Nevertheless, Golden Rivet only lost by a length and a half, and his nice showing against much stronger company was a highly positive sign that he was in a good form cycle as opposed to having bullied a weak group for $20,000 in that previous start.
In response to that race, Pino tipped his hand – or confidence – by dropping Golden Rivet just a tad in claiming price. Through that minor bit of tinkering with the claiming price, he was clearly looking for a winning level while still hoping to rake in a nice profit just in case someone decided to claim Golden Rivet.
The betting public agreed, but not overwhelmingly. Golden Rivet was sent off as the 2.60-to-1 favorite and this time never looked back as he posted a gate-to-wire victory and returned $7.20 for a $2 win bet.
THE LESSON: Sometimes all it takes is a minor adjustment to steer a horse in good form toward the winner’s circle.