Quote:
Originally Posted by sdahl
Thanks Rich. That is exactly what i was looking for. You have taught me a lot
about the matchup with your examples that you post on this site.
Stan
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Stan,
The Hat returned to the races today after being away for a few weeks. He is up at the Indian casino firing away.
I asked Jim a week ago if he could find a race or 2 that would be good to post up where we all could learn something. I also told him that quite a few folks had PM'd me asking for more of those practice races to be posted.
He was glad folks seemed genuinely interested and said " Ok Rich I will have to find 1 or 2 good ones".
Quick story ( and a little "Hat lesson too
) ok?
Last week I had worked 2 races at Santa Anita. Won one and lost one. For some reason the race I lost did NOT feel right inside. I decided right away to ring him up( something I do NOT do normally). He said howdy and I asked him if he could listen to my contender pacelines and positions.
He said ok. I took the race that I had won first and read him the 3 horses I had as final contenders to be matched. When I got to the last horse ( the winner $16.00) as soon as he had heard the info for the 1c and 2c he stopped me and said " THAT is the winner of the race Rich". Immediately and certain. I laughed and said yup that was the winner alright.
Then he did something crazy. He said "ok let's hear the race you lost".
Ok I had 4 contenders in this one. I read him the pace of race and positioning (only time I read him beaten lenghts is when the horse is a neck or head behind Stan. He WANTS to know this because that is an important factor.) of the four horses. He was totally SILENT through the whole thing. When I finished he said right away " Rich you bet the lone early 6 horse right?" I said yes. He said " that horse didn't win because he could NOT get away from the 2 horse who bothered him from the start". I told him yes and how the hell did he know that the 2 would challenge the 6 early. I just did NOT see it man.
He said " before I show you that let's remove the lone early and the 2 who harrased him because neither horse had a shot to win the race( he also KNEW the 2 did not win even though I did not tell him that). I did that which left 2 horses. He aksed me " who is the closest to the lead NOW Rich". I said the 9 horse. he said " there is the winner of the race Rich"
The 9 was the winner and it paid 11/1. What amazed me was the lightning fast responses and descriptions of the race and what would happen even though he had NO pp's in front of him. He just KNEW man.
I asked him " how the hell could you possibly know EXACTLY what happened in 2 races that just ran and know so FAST."
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HAT LESSON:
He told me " Rich that race has run a thousand times before in my mind. I have seen it run BEFORE the race TODAY actually runs. Just the names, distances,surface are different. But THAT race has run a thousand times before Rich. All I do is then find the horse in today's race that has won based on what has ALREADY happened BEFORE."
I asked him if that was how he amazes folks by doing a race in under a minute and 3 cards of races in 20 minutes.
He said " YES with practice you will see things like this too. It is a sense of INTUITION and PATTERN RECOGNITION that will burn itself into your mind if you ALLOW it too. That's the Matchup"
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