Better Than Gold: Hot and Heavy Fractions But Can Win This Condition

Three year old colt for Gary Mandella tried the first allowance condition on Saturday at a flat mile on the main, 3 and up. Off at 11/1 in a field of 10, he was pretty much void of any speed early and Fresu took him straight to the rail to save some ground. He stayed on the fence down the back side and was 10 back of the leaders by the half mile pole. The fractions were hot and heavy by the leader in 21.58 for the quarter and a rapid 44.84 for the half, but in spite of those fast splits, the leader just kept on finding and won by two wire to wire. Better Than Gold was the only one closing vs. this race shape when Fresu got him to the outside at the ¼ pole. He can handle turf or the main track and I think this son of Nyquist can win this condition right here at Del Mar this summer.

Next Upcoming Race:  

 

Better Than Gold’s Race Information
Race Date:  August 3, 2024	Track:  Del Mar		Race #:  8
Distance:  8 Furlongs	Conditions: allowance optional claiming		Surface: Dirt
Trainer:  Gary Mandella	Jockey:  Antonio Fresu		Track Condition:  FAST
Trouble Notes:  lost path early, reserved inside, angled 4wide, late rally			Track Variant:  -1
Finish Position: 2nd	Win Payout:  0	Place: Payout:  $ 11.40	Show Payout:  $ 6.00

Race Replay

Better Than Gold – Del Mar –  August 3, 2024

Better Than Gold Performance Figures Earned
Race Condition Pars	Better Than Gold Figures Earned
Race Class Level:  155	Running Style In Race:  Front Runner
Final Time Rating Par: 150	Final Time Rating: 128
CPR Race Par:  124	CPR Earned In Race: 124
Fast Fig Race Par:  0	Fast Fig In Race:
Key Race Winners: 0	Running Style In Race:   Front Runner
(click the links above to learn more avbout each figure and how to use them in your handicapping)

Generally horses that are on the Horses To Watch list ran into unexpected trouble, bad luck, and/or didn’t run the race we believe Better Than Gold was cabable of.  We expected that if Better Than Gold gets a good trip in their next start than we should see an improvement in Better Than Gold performance figures.  Use the performance figures earned in Better Than Gold last race (listed above) and compare them to the field and pars of Better Than Gold next start.  If Better Than Gold appears to have earned higher performance figures in the last race when running into trouble  as compared to the rest of the field’s expected perfomance in the upcoming race than there is a good chance that Better Than Gold will dominate the race.

Helpful Tip:  So that it’s easy for you to compare a horse’s past performance, Today’s Racing Digest’s Performance Figures for upcoming races are based on how we expect the horse to perform in that race regardless of any changes in race conditions.  Learn More: