Frankly Speaking - Del Mar, August 25th

Of all the gin joints in all the world...

Of All the Gin Joints…

Thursday was a glorious and sunny day at Del Mar—just like the good ol’ days, where we had to seek shelter in the shade next to The Corner.

My enthusiasm was pumped for the Newcomers’ Seminar, “Free and Easy” Thursdays, and the glowing summer vibe of everything that Del Mar and the track have to offer: sunshine, racing, racegoers, handicappers, first-timers, families, excited guests…the list goes on. What a thrill!

Thursday’s card wasn’t my favorite, but who am I kidding? I’m at Del Mar on a Thursday (which, by the way, is the new Friday where everyone is working “virtually”). Every race is special, and we were lucky enough to have the “Hurriquake” pass over us and be back to enjoy a spectacular day at the most exquisite track in the country.

But, alas, all good things (sometimes) must come to an end…so I wanted to mention a locals’—and not so locals’—establishment that is handing over their keys on September 4: Tidewater Tavern on 101 in Solana Beach.

When I first moved to the area back in 2005, the Tidewater was the go-to place to watch the game, play pool, have a few drinks before dinner (and after), or nurse a hangover on a Sunday afternoon. It was also a great place to go after the races—it was never too crowded; you could get halfway decent bar food; and the drinks were always stiff and cheap. They’d put any game on for you—and TVG was always playing.

A few weeks before the fall meet in 2021, Pete Fornatale texted me, saying he had an Australian friend and business associate who had just relocated to Solana Beach from Louisville (of all places!), Andrew Brown. Pete asked if I could meet up with him and give him the skinny on North County. “Of course” I said, “Any buddy of yours…” So I reached out to Andrew, and after giving him some choices on bars and restaurants between the track and nearby Solana Beach, we agreed on Tidewater Tavern.

We met up at my favorite local pub and had a great time just getting to know each other, talking about the horses, what we were both doing in the racing industry, what to expect during the upcoming fall meet at Del Mar, and my favorite Australian sitcom “Kath and Kim.” Speaking of “Kim,” I still haven’t told my sister, Kim, that Tidewater is changing hands. It’s her favorite place to go to play pool and order all the calamari she can eat, knowing full well that I have a seafood allergy! I don’t even know what to say to her…I am planning to break the news to her on Sunday, so stay tuned.

It’s sad to see a local institution go, and Andrew and I are both torn up about it, but I was reminded that it’s probably not too sad for the owner, Sam, who had been running Tidewater since 1994. A few weeks ago, Sam opened his doors to the racing industry when he hosted Felix Taverna’s pre-meet kick-off party. Felix always delivers—and we had a great time. He even had Laffit Pincay Jr. make an appearance and regale the audience with some amazing stories from his Hall of Fame career.

That night, Sam confided. “It’s time,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for so long, and I’m ready to relax for a bit.” Who could blame him? The bar business is tough. The fact that his business survived COVID…and all of his workers came back to work for him once the world reopened was testament enough to what Sam had accomplished over the last several decades.

But he had one more cool gesture up his sleeve. Sam offered to sponsor one of my Saturday Handicapping Seminars; maybe give away a small gift certificate or some swag that we could raffle off (with encouragement from my smiling Business Manager).

When we dropped by the next day, Sam had written out two $25 gift certificates for me to give out that Saturday. It meant a lot to me. I was touched. I never would have thought to ask for something like that—but it made perfect sense, and it’s no surprise that Sam said yes. We locals like to stick together. The crowd at Saturday’s seminar was so excited to vie for the gift certificates, even though several of them had just eaten there for lunch!

Thank you Sam and your gracious and kindred spirit in bringing all of us together. We will miss Tidewater and you, and please know we are all very excited for your next chapter after serving our community for so many years. If you ever decide to come back, please reach out, we would love to bring back the original Tidewater Tavern.

So in honor of Sam and Tidewater, Andrew and I got together after the races on Thursday to raise one last glass. As he surveyed the pub one last time, he got nostalgic: the reason he loved the Tidewater so much is because it reminds him so much of the pubs back home in Australia. “See,” he said to me while pointing. “Back home, we’d have betting terminals there. You’d have greyhound racing on these TVs and Australia racing on those. And then when they were finished, there’d be a race from another country you could bet on.”

I felt his pain, but it was time to go. “Come on, Andrew.” I said. And then I joked with a line from Casablanca: “We’ll always have Tidewater.”

He laughed and said it right back to me.

Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, an Australian walked into mine. Time marches on, and we will have to find a new place to have a pint and a chin wag, but no matter where we end up, we’ll always have Tidewater.

[All photos courtesy of @AndrewBrown]

Spot Play

Ooof! My Spot Play on Thursday, #3 Chippewa Bud at 9/1 in the lid lifter, was just no good. I might give him a slight pass because he was off slowly and then had no choice but to hug the dead rail—and those two things combined to completely scupper his chances. He was too far off a dawdling pace; and the rail was not where you wanted to be. I’ll look at him again next time, but no matter what, he wasn’t going to beat the winner (and favorite) on Thursday, and that was #1 Dont Fight the Fed, who dominated in victory at 4/5.

            So what’s on tap for today? I’ll go back to the well by looking at the lid lifter, a $50K starter-allowance for fillies and mares going 5-furlongs on turf with the rails at 24-feet. I feel like the morning-line favorite, #2 House of Magic (8/5), is a bit vulnerable in this spot. She’s a 3-year-old who has speed, but she’s raced exclusively on dirt, and this is her first turf try. She does have speed and gets Hernandez, so she’s going to trip out, but she doesn’t have to win.

I’m not crazy about the second choice either, #6 Katerini (7/2), who is a 5-year-old race mare still seeking her second victory. She’s had plenty of chances at this level and hasn’t been able to get the job done, which is probably why Glatt legs up a 5-pound bug-boy. I’ll take her on as well.

            I think #4 TICKLE MY FANCY (5/1) is interesting in here. The best race of her life came in her maiden-breaker when she was part of a fast early pace in a 5-furlong turf sprint at Monmouth before she edged away to win fairly easily. I like that she set the pace and weakened in her first SoCal start for O’Neill, who has started to heat up, so she should be 100 percent fit and ready to roll. Her tactical speed means she can sit right off the deuce, hounding her every step of the way. Also note that Fresu is a hot jock right now. He won three races on Thursday, including two for O’Neill. Let’s play the hot hands.

The Feature

As mentioned in yesterday’s column, there was no feature on Thursday, but my analysis of the DMTC.com contest race—Race 6—wasn’t any good anyway! I had the right idea, trying to pick a forwardly placed horse in a bad field with vulnerable favorites, but my top pick, #8 Overrule at 19/1, stalked the pace in a perfect spot but found nothing when the real running started and finished last (ouch!).

Turns out the pacesetter, #6 Giovinazzo—who I graded a “C”—made the lead and just refused to yield despite a cavalry charge coming at him at the end, winning at 12/1. It was a pretty impressive victory for a horse who had never shown that kind of fight before. He was one of two Doug O’Neill winners on the card (and the third for Fresu), and he lit up the tote, paying $27.00. The other two horses I thought could win—#3 Beef Winslow and #4 Derecho Dandy—ran fourth and third, respectively. Sometimes you’re the pigeon; sometimes you’re the statue. Yesterday, I was the statue!

            Let’s see if we can turn things around today in Race 7, the $150K Solana Beach Stakes, a one-mile turf affair for Cal-bred fillies and mares. You can find my full analysis by clicking on the Del Mar Race of the Day Analysis button at www.frankscatoni.com, but suffice it to say that I’d be really shocked if one of three horses didn’t win that race—and none of them are going to be prices. Maybe you will be more clever than I was.

            And lucky you…there’s actually two DMTC.com contest races today, so you can also read my bonus coverage of Race 5—a very tough $40K optional-claiming/N1X for fillies and mares going 5-furlongs on the turf. I thought this race was very challenging, and a lot of it will depend on whether or not there will be any scratches to allow the Also Eligibles to get in. Again, you can read my analysis at the Del Mar Race of the Day Analysis on www.frankscatoni.com.

Upcoming Weekend Seminars

--Saturday, 8/25: Saturday Handicapping Seminar with local horseplayer Carlos Ortega at 1:05 p.m. PDT in the Plaza de Mexico inside the Stretch Run entrance (and livestreamed on my Twitter feed @ScatoniSureShot: Weekend Handicapping Seminar (dmtc.com).

--Sunday, 8/26: “Best Bet” livestream with 2012 NHC Champion Michael Beychok at 11:00 a.m. PDT on all of Del Mar’s social media platforms, including YouTube: Best Bet (dmtc.com).

***

Be sure to check out www.frankscatoni.com for what’s good every day during the Del Mar meet.

As I always say: Good luck to us…and let’s make some money!!!