Jerome & Busanda Stakes | Bob Ehalt

We are on the trail to the Kentucky Derby and it hits Long

Island this weekend. So we call a man named Bob E

Halt. He's with Blood Horse.

Find him, of course, at Bob E Halt, EHALT on the socials and

at Blood Horse, of course for everything Blood Horse is

working on as well. Bob, happy New Year.

How are you doing, man? Happy New Year to you and Lily

doing well. How about yourself?

They're doing great, you know, taking in all the football,

doing all those things. Now you are a Connecticut

resident, which makes me assume that you are not a college

football guy. Is that true?

Yeah, not really a big one. That's that's for sure.

We really don't have much up here.

I don't live far from the Yale Bowl, but that's not really, as

I say, it's hard to get involved in, as I say, big time football.

I think the last time they had a big game like that at UConn may

have been what, 15 years ago, something like that.

No, a lot of good basketball games.

I mean, you know, it was the center of the basket college

basketball world. I think so.

But even, sorry Kentucky, but you got to deal with that.

That's exactly right. But Bobby Hall with us telling

you all about the greatest that is you caught hoops.

Why not up there in Connecticut? He'll be at Aqueduct on Saturday

for the Jerome and the Busanda. And I was, you know, I was

looking through, for example, the Busanda there and just the

winners coming out of this race. Bob, you and I have talked

previously about, you know, races like the champagne or the

hopeful, whatever it might be in on the New York scene, man, the

Busada, the the list of winners of this race holds up against

almost any. Yeah, it's it's a good it's a

good race. I mean, it gets to the 20 points

for the Oaks. So I think you get a little

better feel of horses who are are, you know, who have some

thoughts of going long and turn out to be decent, good, decent

race horses. So, you know, I, I think it's,

yeah, the the Sander, in terms of turning out horses who you

would probably remember in the middle of the year is a little

better than the than the Jerome, which, you know, kind of shows

how things change because of years ago when the Jerome used

to be in the fall at Belmont Park, it was I think a grade one

race and would really get some great horses.

Yeah, I know for sure. One of those races that made the

move from the fall to the winter meets.

They're up at Aqueduct Bobby Hall with us from Blood Horse.

Let's go to that Jerome. I'm sure you have heard more

than I have, but the horse that is supposed to break from the

outside in my lot of just want to race at parks.

I assume that one is not going to try the Jerome here.

Pretty much. So he's going to be pretty.

He's going to stay home. They did have a, he won I think

by 19 or something, you know. So yeah, I'm pretty sure it'll

be down to A, to a three horse race, which I'm sorry, 4 horse

race, which and basically it's a 2 horse race, right?

I was going to just ask if it was actually a 2 horse race.

Let's get into those two right now.

Balboa. Let's start there.

Manny Franco picks up the mount. Brittany Russell trains in this

case. This is son of Not This Time one

that was in the Baffert barn to begin his life.

We saw him previously in grade ones in the Delmar Futurity in

American Pharaoh. We've seen this playbook before,

Bob, where the SF folks, the Starlight folks, start a horse

out West and if it doesn't work, you know, Brittany once in a

while catches these horses on that kind of rebound.

I thought he showed well in the Remsen and I think getting back

to one turn here could really fit him.

What do you think of Balboa here?

Yeah, Balboa back in, back in late June, I was talking with

Tom Ryan, the head of the ownership group, the managing

partner of that group. And I asked him, you know, who

do you who do you like amongst your two roles?

Your two year olds? You're going to be showing off

pretty soon. And the first one he mentioned

was Balboa. So they were very high on him

from day one. First time out he ran into

Bryant, who turned out to be a real good one in the fellow Bob

Baffert trained horse. Then he won nicely in his

subsequent race. But he just did really fire

great in the a couple of stakes out there.

I think they felt the track was maybe a little deep for him out

there. So they gave him, they did ship

them to Brittany. She got a win out of them, which

sometimes you get a win out of a horse that perks them up.

And he certainly turned in a very good effort in the Remsen,

which, you know, I think I discussed with you before my

mind that should be a Grade 1 stakes.

I mean, it really gets a good field of horses and I thought he

ran a really good effort a mile and an eighth that cuts back to

A1 turn mile here. You would think the pace doesn't

have to be that fast here given the who's in the field.

But yeah, I agree. I kind of think he's the he's

the one to beat though. My world, the Brad Cox horse in

the field won the Nashua last time out.

He certainly looks like a looks like a worthy challenger.

So it should be a pretty good race.

But you know, unfortunately it's not going to be a really great

betting race. I think because certainly with

with such few options that the prices are going to be pretty

low. Bob E Halt with us.

You can find him at bloodhorse.com and at Bob E Halt

EHALT on the socials as well. You know, George Weaver's got

the one horse adherent enforced agenda, Flavi and Pratt up for

that one. And George is sending a horse

down to for the Mucho Macho Man, which is a mile race as well at

Gulfstream Park. And so in epic summer, Tyler

will get the mount down there. Is there?

Can I actually read into that? Does he think he's got two big

runners here? Does he?

He's obviously thinks he's got something enforced.

Agenda, Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you know,

certainly, I mean, let's face it, he's going to come out of

the race with some Triple Crown points out of the deal.

You know, I thought that the Basin race was was OK.

I don't know. I, I think, I think, you know,

he gets Pratt, which is a big edge anytime you get that.

But I'm I'm, I'm not sure if he's going to be going to be

able to compete with the other two who really have stakes

experience. I think it's a big, it's a

little bit of a big ask and a big feat in a small field.

I think he'll probably be he, but could be hanging around to

the edge. But I do kind of give the edge

to the two horses who have a stakes experience.

All right, so you have the three and the four as your, you know,

includes, let's say in the in the pick 5 here, which will end

with the Busanda of those two horses.

Though between my world and Balboa, if you had to project

one out as being more of a fashion after on the 1st

Saturday of May, which one would you would you lean on between

those two? Well, you know, I think I

certainly think Balboa would seem to be a little bit more

would certainly be in the picture a little bit more.

I think, you know, I think he's had some experience in the grade

ones, you know, in in Grade 1 stakes.

You know, I think Brittany is a very she's really an excellent

trainer. I guess she was constantly wins.

He constantly wins at like a 25% clip.

I, I think he's got the breeding, he's got the the right

people behind him or want to stay on the trail.

I I would think he'd be the best one.

Talk about Bobby Hall from blood Horse bloodhorse.com.

The Busan does race 7. It is an Oaks prep as Bob

mentioned earlier on another mile race that is A1 turn mile

at Aqueduct, The last Busan at Aqueduct.

We're saying that more and more. I know that's exactly right.

We say more and more of that. Was there an Aqueduct calendar

this year? I've heard no.

No, not that I. Know horse racing loves its

calendars? What are we doing?

I know, I know people used to just January 1st, the track

would be packed with people getting those calendars.

But yeah, you know, I back in those days, they would even mail

one out to us in the media. But yeah.

I got by one in the mail from Kentucky Downs.

Bob, you'd be you'd be happy to know there is still a track

sending out a calendar. I know.

I know on that one. But yeah, I know Aqueduct now,

as I say, that used to be a really good marketing thing to

get a lot of people out, but I I don't think there's the same

push anymore to get people to come out to the races like there

used to be. Hopefully maybe that's something

they'll bring back at Belmont Park.

Yeah, that would be Yeah, they're going to really put all

that money, you're going to pay all that money into a new

facility. You know what a nice little

promotion like that calendar. Even if you lose some money on

the deal, I think you can get some people to come out and, you

know, see the racetrack. But again, it'll be interesting

because maybe by next January 1, as much as they'll be racing at

Belmont, I'm not sure how how open the facility will be there.

You go Bobby Halt with us in Busan's race 7.

If you are wondering who's won this race before, last year's

winner was Jin. Jin went on to win a Grade 1.

Harvey's Little Goyle won this in 2020.

Also Grade 1 winner of course, Princess Sylmar.

Probably the best winner of this race.

A multiple Grade 1 winner there, Bob, is there a a bean on

favorite here? Because we've got a 2 to one, a

5 to 2, a three to 1, You know, that kind of a four to one in

here, frankly. Do we just, you know, kind of

throw our hands up and say, if I can get Flavi and Pratt at 4:00

to 1:00, that's where I'm going? You know, I, I mean that that's

definitely, that's definitely a consideration.

I mean, it's an $800,000 horse. You know, though, you know, she

hasn't really shown you a lot so far.

I mean, she was she couldn't beat she couldn't beat shelling

previously, who I thought turned in a real good race in the in

the in the demoiselle, you know, showed looked pretty good.

I thought on the, you know, coming turning for home, but

just was no match for for zany. But it should be in the picture

because I think this is a really pretty even race.

I mean, this might be one of those races where if you're

going to be betting in the pick 6, I don't know if you want to

put everybody in. I think the railroads midnight

Jenny looks like that. That's a big that's a big reach

if you're going to go for that one, but of the other of the

other 5, if you if you want to make sure you feel you're alive,

you may want to wheel it. But if I had to pick somebody, I

would again, it's chalky. I hate to do it, but you know,

showing things seem right. Turn back to A1, turn mile with

the speed looks like you give him you give her a kind of

narrow nod in the race. Where did Chris Elliott land for

Apprentice Jock for you in the Eclipse Awards?

Where'd you have Elliott at? They put in second.

I mean, I thought, you know, when you look at the numbers,

you know, it's you got to sometimes go by that.

And, you know, I thought he had a real good year, but I did, you

know, I did put him in second. Yeah.

I also think it's an indication when you go over 1000 mounts

that people trust you, right. I mean, that's not an accident

ever, Frank. He's doing OK.

He's doing OK as a, he's doing OK as a veteran jockey.

I mean, you know, I think he's going to do well in the winter,

you know, with the jockey colony in New York being, you know,

down a bit. But I would, you know, I

certainly think he's going to, he's going to be a good rider.

I mean, I think he's got a nice big career in front of him.

A daughter of Quality Rd. in Britain, the New York bred will

break from the 2 here. Any chance of a New York, NY

kind of win there? Well, you know, trained by Chad

Brown, the the buyer figure at least was not really all that

inspiring. But the fact Chad Brown is

getting the horse a shot in a, you know, in a mile race like

this, coming off a maiden win when she was a very heavy

favorite, I wouldn't throw her out, that's for sure.

Does anyone stand out in the late pick three if we were

looking at that sequence for you, maybe race aid?

By the way, we have a guy around here we call Biscuit.

All right? It's just one of those things

you get into sports radio, you work with dudes named Biscuit.

Once in a while he gets worked up and we call him Biscuit.

Extra Butter. Does Butter have much of a shot

here in the next race? What do you think?

You know, those horses are, you know, I do kind of like those

horses that, you know, Eddie F who owns a, a fish store up in

Saratoga. You know, you know that that's

one of those horses that, you know, they turn out to be pretty

good chowder and butter and lobster and all that.

I I got a shot in the race. I mean, I'm just looking quickly

at the race. I think you got to watch, you

know, it'll be interesting to see what happens with Bermuda

Blitz is coming up. A real, real big win for Chad

Summers. Interesting.

All right, so Bermuda Blitz, you know.

In that race, that might, that horse would probably be your key

that that's either a horse to single or if you think he's

going to bounce, probably to bet against.

Yeah, there you go. Bermuda Blitz breaking from the

6th there for Chad Summers. Well, Bob, we really appreciate

it, buddy, making it get up early for one of these things.

How about that? These early shows, These 10:00

shows? No, that's fine completely.

Always the pleasure to talk with you.

Thank you, Bob. Appreciate you very much.

Happy New Year and I'm sure we'll catch up down the Derby

trail. Bobby Hill, join us from

Connecticut there. He'll be on Long Island for the

embraces there on Saturday at Aqueduct.

And of course bloodhorse.com for all of his work, all the great

work of our colleagues over there as well.

You can always catch Blood Horse Monday, our podcast on the ESPN

Louisville website as well alongside the Zack EC college

football website as well. Speaking of college football,

we'll talk with Alexis Kubit from the Excuse Me from the

Courier Journal and then we will go to the Lexington newspaper

with Ben Roberts at 11:00 and do some hoops talk with him.

We do all of it next.