Silver Train at Northview PA June 2012 Photo Hank Nothhaft
Silver Train fillies continue to burnish his turf credentials as well as his versatility at various distances. Within minutes of each other, Agatha K and Twist of Silver, four year old Silver Train fillies won turf races on June 16th. Agatha K, a giant, 17 hand filly, was the M/L favorite for Penn National Race 4 Allowance Optional Claiming 5 furlongs on the Turf. At stake was a $38,000 purse.
During the early betting, Agatha K was hanging at 14:1 and the public had at least 5 of the other 7 competitors at lower odds. As time passed to the Post Parade and beyond, Agatha K’s odds continued to drop reaching 6:5 by the time the runners entered the gate. Agatha K’s backers were rewarded by a front running performance from 2nd and then driving to first and besting Wacked Out by 1 1/4 lengths. She now has 3 wins in 6 starts with only her first race out of the money. She is 4 2 1 1 in 2012 with over $58,000 in earnings. Birdeye her mother is by Indian Charlie.
Twist of Silver’s path to a win today in the Louisville Classic at Churchill Downs is quite different from Agatha K’s. Besides being a long shot, the race was considerably longer at two turns and going 1 1/6 mile on the turf. Twist of Silver is out of a Storm Cat mare, Twist of Faith. She started her racing career in the U.K., winning her first attempt at New Market, but failing to win again in 6 additional tries (two seconds) before heading back to the U.S.
After one race at Gulfstream, she headed north to Woodbine. After winning her first attempt in Allowance company, her next six races failed to produce a win and she was dropped in for a tag on a number of occasions. Her return to the U.S. has resulted in 3 of 5 in the money, the last two at the allowance level. Given this up and down and all over the world resume, bettors were ice cold on Twist and sent her off at 22.5:1 odds. Her few supporters were not disappointed as she ran off the pace, closed, kicked clear and maintained to win. Even with her extensive travel log, she has been a very useful horse with a record of 21 3 4 2 with earnings of over $123,000 with hopefully the best yet to come.
Hank Nothhaft
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