Horse Racing Odds - Battle of Hastings nips Straight Story in Colonial Turf Cup
- Who: Thoroughbreds – Straight Story, Battle of Hastings, and others
- What: Horse Racing Results – The Colonial Turf Cup (Grade 2)
- Where: Colonial Downs
- When: Saturday, June 20th
One of the most bitter pills to swallow in horse racing betting is when you uncover a live longshot (read Friday’s article on this website), only to get nipped by the favorite, who enjoys a perfect trip. That was the case in Saturday’s Colonial Turf Cup, when favored Battle of Hastings ($2.70-1) held off the late surge of Straight Story ($8.30-1) to win by a head.
The ride given Straight Story by jockey C. C. Lopez was a bit hard to fathom. He took the early lead while well off the rail, then let longshot Al Khali move up on the inside to assume command down the backstretch. That’s understandable, given that Al Khali didn’t figure to be around at the end. But then Straight Story moved outside of Al Khali on the turn, and that rival carried him out to at least the eight path (it looked more like the 12 path) before turning for home. Meanwhile, Battle of Hastings moved through a gaping hole to his inside leaving the far turn, and sprinted to a clear lead. Straight Story came running, but missed by a diminishing head. He paid $9.00 to place in the racebook, and the $2 exacta with the favorite returned $65.20.
Other horse racing odds results of note over the weekend included Cocoa Beach’s last-place finish in The Floral Park Heatherten Stakes at Belmont Park on Sunday. Sent off at odds of $.15-1, Cocoa Beach never threatened, and the resulting place payoffs in the four-horse field were huge. The victorious With Flying Colors returned $13.20 and $25.20, while 2nd-place finisher Nicksappealinglady paid $33.80. There was no show wagering on this event, online betting or otherwise.
Finally, it was a pleasure to see the talented Big Drama get back on track after his Preakness misadventure. He dominated the $250,000 Red Legend Stakes at Charles Town Saturday night, drawing off by seven lengths at odds of 1-2. Look for him next in The Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on Sunday, August 2nd. He’ll be tough to beat, no matter who shows up.
That’s all for now. I’ll be off for a few weeks, so look for my next column on Friday, July 10th.
Pete Mitchell has been handicapping horses since his teenage years. He has been a professional horse player for many years, and came to betonline.com’s attention through multiple referrals from industry insiders/sportsbook owners. Pete is revered for his horse handicapping opinion and industry experts acknowledge his impressive career winning record. Thoughts or questions?
