Tip of the Week: Caught in a Fickle

Photo by Penelope P. Miller/America's Best Racing
Horses usually have a favorite surface, though their preference can be fickle.
For a while it seemed as if Cherry Wine had a liking for turf.
In his first four starts, he ran on turf three times and the main track once. In those races, he was second and third in two of his turf starts and fifth, beaten eight lengths, in his lone race on dirt.
With a body of work like that, it was not surprising that Cherry Wine’s fifth career start was also scheduled for turf. But Mother Nature had other ideas. His maiden special weight race at Churchill Downs on Nov. 28 was washed off the turf by a rain storm and contested on a sloppy main track.
The wet going, however, did not dampen Cherry Wine’s spirits. If anything, it brought out the very best in him as he romped by 9 1/4 lengths at 5-2 odds.
For his next start, since his victory came in the mud, Cherry Wine figured to return to the turf course, yet trainer Dale Romans no doubt learned a thing or two about Cherry Wine from his lopsided maiden win. After shipping the colt to Florida, he eschewed a turf race and opted to put him in a mile and a sixteenth starter allowance race on Gulfstream Park’s main track.
Despite that one poor effort on a dry dirt track, Cherry Wine was listed as the 3-1 second choice in the morning line for the ninth race at Gulfstream on Jan. 9 and handicappers showed their faith in Romans’ assessment of his horse by sending Cherry Wine off as the $2.30-to-1 second choice.
As it turned out, Cherry Wine was like a fine wine as he smoothly handled his rivals and cruised to a six-length victory, paying $6.60 for a $2 win ticket.
THE LESSON: Appearances can be deceiving when it comes to a favorite surface, especially with horses that have made a limited amount of starts.