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Cool Coal Man back on track

posted by Dan Shapiro on January 28, 2008 Tags: , , , , , ,
Cool Coal Man Winning at Churchill Downs: (photo by: Reed Palmer/CDI)Cool Coal Man Winning at Churchill Downs: (photo by: Reed Palmer/CDI)

I spent a lot of this past weekend hanging out with friends and catching up with former co-workers at the DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship, which was held for the first time at Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa, some 20 minutes west of The Strip.

I had an empty feeling, not being one of the 277 players in the race book who qualified for the $1 million tournament in sanctioned satellite tournaments through the country. I played in several qualifying events last year without success (and plenty of tough beat stories), including the “Last Chance” tournament on Wednesday at Red Rock.

On Saturday, I arrived at Red Rock just in time for the sixth race at Gulfstream, a nine-furlong allowance. I was anxious to see the 3-year-old debut of the Nick-Zito trained Cool Coal Man, who I’ve been following since his debut last year at Saratoga. He went on to break his maiden at Delaware Park and then showed he loves the Churchill surface with a smooth, impressive win in a first-level allowance under the Twin Spires on Nov. 3. His 2-year-old season ended with a disappointing effort in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) in which he was rank early.

Breaking from the inside post under new rider John Velasquez on Saturday, Cool Coal Man relaxed early, rallied three wide on the final turn and inched away in the stretch to win by a measured length in 1:51. I cashed chalky, but overlaid win bet at 3-2.

It was a solid, workman-like effort that puts Cool Coal Man squarely on the road to the Derby. Zito has mentioned the Fountain of Youth for the Mineshaft colt’s next start, where he needs to show continued improvement. I’ve put him squarely on my Derby Top 10 list even though he has yet to perform well in a stakes.

One of the many great features of this town is that you can find extensive Derby future odds at several race books. This afternoon, I stopped by the luxurious Wynn to bet Cool Coal Man at 75-1 in the Derby (down from 100-1 before the allowance win). Sure, a lot can happen between the last Saturday and January and the first Saturday in May, but it’s sure to be a fun road.

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sripa1212

01/28/2008 2:01 pm

Dan -
How do you go about including a horse in teh KY derby future wager by itself instead of being part of the field?

Tomcito, a son of street cry, has recently arrived in palm meadows, after wining grade I's in south america as a 2 yr old...I would hate to get 5-1 on the field when I can get 100-1 as a stand alone...

any suggetsions...Thanks
SR

dan

01/28/2008 5:22 pm

SR,

The only way you can do that is to bet with a race book in Vegas or elsewhere. The official Derby Future Wager is a pari-mutuel pool and, in part because of an antiquated tote system, only allows for 23 betting interests, plus the field of "all others." Unfortuntely, you're probably going to have to bet Tomcito as part of the field and take a short price unless you want to hop on a plane to Vegas.

Dan

silvercharm68

01/28/2008 5:59 pm

Dan -
I love your blog and respect your opinion. I think Cool Coal Man is a total suckers play though.
I was posting more to get your opinion on the Sunshine Millions this past week. After watching all that action at Gulfstream, how could you not want to go out and buy a case of Frank's Energy Drink? Those yodeling girls put me over the edge!

-EZ