Saratoga Cup Classic XV Daily Recap

[cherokeescot]

Day 1

”And they’re racing at Saratoga” much to the delight of the 27,560 fans who turned up for opening day as well as the 57 entrants who went to the post for the 15th edition of the Saratoga Cup Classic. Unlike Royal Ascot which starts it’s historic meet with a Grade 1 race Saratoga’s opener is a $12,500 claimer so it was no surprise to see Charlie’sarchangel ($5.90) stagger down the lane like Sam the Bugler coming out of Siro’s. We had to wait until the second race for our group’s first winner where Onion obviously had a gut feeling about Microbiome ($7.40) whose pronunciation by the NYRA team caused much mirth amongst the scientific community.

The third race was a thriller leading to an alley oops Johnny Imbriale moment as the track announcer thought that Smile Bryan ($15.40) had lost the head bob which would not have amused Diablo and Elk who got their 2021 contest off to a flying start. Jacckk8 was also kaching on the opening day when Echo Zulu ($10.20) was an EZ winner of the fifth. 5 Wide was probably going Batman crazy after he tipped Five Alarm Robin ($25.60) on the main racing thread but failed to select the winner of the sixth race in the contest. 
The drinks were on defending champion Propro and long time participant Turbine after Dack Janiel’s ($13.20) reversed the form to take the seventh.

Golden Pal ($2.40) was an impressive winner of the Quick Call but the odds of 1-5 were not enough to tempt even Joly B. On the first day of the Open Championship , Pretty Birdie ($7.60) sporting the Marylou Whitney silks was a popular winner in the Schuylerville with everyone outside our group. In the finale that clever fellow BertConvy who almost led from start to finish last year did it again and maybe this will be the year that he will be Danzigwiththestars ($17.20) 

[otis0930]

It's so good to be reading these recaps again. Thanks Bev.

[jacckk8]

Love this....and a big KACHING to our winners on day 1!! Bev is revved!!

[diablo313]

NICE - absolutely love it

[turbine]

" so it was no surprise to see Charlie’sarchangel ($5.90) stagger down the lane like Sam the Bugler coming out of Siro’s." Now that's FUNNY!!!

[cherokeescot]

Day 2 Bob Baffert Legal Team Appreciation Day

An unexpectedly smaller crowd for the first Friday of the meet and the opener was a salty allowance race but no one pulled the trigger on Gun It ($6.70) and it was a similar story in the second with not a soul up for a Quick Return ($4.70). Spelling may not be Pedalcar’s strong suit but he knows a fine wine and Giacosa ($8.70) or Giacom as Ron likes to call her certainly hit the spot in the third. 

TC and Ten Furlongs dug deep in the fourth and to be sure they unearthed a gem in Lisheen ($11.80) whereas Absolute Love ($8.40) received absolutely no love in the fifth. Succulent was a popular choice in the fifth but his trainer obviously forgot to add the juice as he let November Rein ($8.10). SpiderJohn is a renowned music aficionado and in the seventh race he resurrected his inner Right Said Fred and his selection proved Too Sexy ($10.00) by far. Despite being grilled by the stewards Patty H ($5.10) ground out a win in the eighth but our group did not have any appetite for her. Regular Saratoga winner Rinaldi ($6.70) proved to be a value proposition for handykapper in the day’s feature while the rest of us were just glad that John Imbriale got the pronunciation of Therapist right after yesterday’s Micro-Bye-Oh-Me debacle. 

In the nightcap most of our group went all in on newcomer Raining Candy but sadly the only snickers heard were from Joly B when he cashed his ticket on Uncle Gem ($8.90). Finally as we all prepare to study the form for tomorrow’s card the weather forecast is awful , so look for mudders or even better mudders whose muddahs were mudders. ☔️

[Deleted]

I know announcing is no easy task but I had to chuckle at Imbriale's mispronunciation of Polished Gem. He made it sound like Polish sausage.


Maybe he's trying to claim Richard Grunder's title as best name garbler!

[cherokeescot]

Day 3 Contest Scorer Appreciation Day

The first Saturday of the meet and  thankfully the predicted thunder, lightning , and rain did not materialize. However we did have a flood of selections from David Brown who went to the top of the leaderboard as a result of having four winners on the day. Badactor might have been put off by the price of Neuro ($8.00) in the opener but GeneRayburn was undeterred and opened his account. Bady Yoda ($5.10) was the first of David Brown’s winners in the second race but it was Matty’s Express ($23.00) in the  fourth which proved to be the day maker . Chattalot ($5.60) was the topic of conversation between PedalCar and David Brown in the fifth but there no investors in Portfolio Company ($4.40) in the sixth.

Cindy Lou Jazz and PartsNut each had just one selection on the day but that strategy also proved profitable when Gear Jockey ($10.60) weighed in first in the seventh. The sound that you may have heard after the eighth race was Jacckk8 kaching again when Beau Liam ($4.00) mapped out a victory. The Grade 3 Sanford was practically a joke as Wit ($4.20) absolutely dominated and sadly for Otis his selection Maryland Brando who he hoped could be somebody wasn’t even a contenda. The Grade 1 Diana was a replay of the Just A Game on Belmont Stakes Day with Summer Romance being headed near the line again by European stablemate Althiqua ($9.90) which made David a much happier Brown boy than Chad .

[cherokeescot]

Day 4 Collin Morikawa Appreciation Day

The heavy rains predicted to disrupt the card on Saturday duly arrived overnight and resulted in all the races being off the turf on a soggy Sunday at the Spa. In the opener tiny Silver Samurai was a popular choice but at Saratoga Saez matters and the current leading jockey won in Shipsational ($6.10) style. There were at least 12 Angry Men at the track when their choice stalled in the second but those who bet Mythical Man ($5.90) were left with Fonda memories. 

Lots of scratches in the third but if you didn’t bet on BreakfastatBonnies ($3.50) you were left with egg on your face. By the fourth race the track was shrouded by a Misty Veil ($5.70) but Ten Furlongs didn’t seem to mind this in the slightest as his selection won in high fashion. Pedalcar was ready to tell his bookie to “gimmedamoney” but unfortunately Senbei ($13.00) ran a cracker with the only surprise being that the trainer was Clement and not Rice. 

In the sixth race Free Enterprise ($7.10) after a fast break set off for glory road to end up a handy winner earning respect for all of his connections. Winners were hard to come by today and that probably resulted in Onion and Turffan reaching for More Moonshine ($14.00) who turned out to be super quick in winning the seventh with perfect grace. Awesome Debate ($6.90) was formerly a timely tradition that could be found in the UIC basement but you could still see it in the winners circle at Saratoga after the eighth. Only the farsighted or mischiefful amongst us could have predicted Goin’ Good ($5.40) in the feature while in the last winning was limited to employees only when Before You ($4.00) graduated with shining colors to give Bob Baffert’s New York assistant trainer a double on the day. 

[cherokeescot]

Day 5 Giannis Antetokounmpo Appreciation Day

First Wednesday of the meet got off to an unfortunate start as the steeplechase was not able to overcome the hurdle of heavy overnight rain and was canceled which was a major disappointment for Cruzan as he was sure he had picked the winner . Copa ($5.80) won the opener or the second race if you want to be pedantic but nobody celebrated the wire to wire victory. Blue Lily ($18.60) put on a wow performance in the third but our group were not impressed. Sadly only 4 runners in the Rick Violette Stakes where Run Curtis Run ($8.00) was more than ready for AP. In the fifth race Raffinity ($3.20) proved he could handle the truth as well as the rest.

Lots of forum interest in the sixth but Let’s Be Clear ( $7.60) none of us had the winner again. In the seventh race Jacckk8 tried to keep our perfect run going but had a bad spell like the rest of us as Joel Rosario was a race late in getting the Front Man ($25.20) into the winner’s circle. Surprisingly no one selected old timer Shiraz ($13.00) who like a fine wine seems to get better each year making a fast getaway to take the eighth.

Forza Di Oro ($5.40) took the highest honors in the ninth while perennial leading trainer Chad Brown’s favorite and Joly B’s selection finished last . It’s early days but Chad is only winning at 11% whereas Brad Cox is at an astonishing 67%. These are the types of statistics you get when I need to fill the daily due to a lack of winning selections ! Finally we went into the last race with four chances of breaking the collective duck but alas we were distracted and picked the wrong Ortiz as Mommie’s Jewel ($8.20) ensured that this would be a day that would go down in infamy !

[cherokeescot]

Day 6 Military Appreciation Day 

The Grade 1 AP Smithwick Memorial came up rather light this year and CindyLouJazz tried to get a jump on the competition but unfortunately Galway Boy was no match for Baltimore Bucko ($7.80) who showed that this wasn’t his first rodeo. In an interesting (well I thought it was interesting anyway) side story both the first and second were trained by Keri Brioni , a former assistant to Jonathan Sheppard. These were her first runners at Saratoga and now she’s almost got as good a strike rate as Brad Cox ! 

In the second PartsNut was looking to start the day cheerily with Point of Humor but after his horse bobbled at the break he must have been Wicked Mad ($5.40) , a result that put Steve Assmussen’s at the top of the trainer’s charts. A poorly judged ride in the third by Irad Ortiz Jr. saw big class dropper Sirinic fade spectacularly in the stretch after opening up a ten length lead. To make matters worse for his connections who must have been desperate to offload him the claim of the horse was voided by the vet. All of this was no concern to 5 Wide who saw the Mongolian Humor ($9.30) in the situation. In the fourth Phlier Freak got his name on the board after Dancing Kiki ($6.20) put on a stunning performance to win handily. 


Hooper wanted a slice of the action today in the fifth and despite being boxed in for most of the race the well bred Pizza Bianca ($12.40) flayed the hopes of the highly touted odds on favorite Extend the Map trained by Chad Brown (aka Mr 10%). After a quick power nap Christophe Clement was back in the winners circle in the sixth with another 2yo filly as Derrynane ($4.00) justified his favoritism. Irresistible Girl was the consensus choice of the day but was never in the hunt and finished last beaten 50 plus lengths behind Chloe Rose ($10.60) to push Onion up the leaderboard. Speaking of the leaderboard our current leader DBLakers selections were all gone with the wind today going zero for five but tomorrow is another day ! 

[cherokeescot]

Day 7 Vaccine Appreciation Day

Because of my rash decision not to get the Shingles vaccination and my recent contraction of said illness the Daily Recap may be appearing at some odd hours in future depending on whether I am able to sleep or not . Yesterday’s appeared at 3.37 am and was a welcome break to the pain and discomfort but I’ve had a better day today so at least I’m managing to get this out in the same evening. I wonder who came out with the name Shingles for this terrible disease. He must have had a great sense of humor. Any time I heard about it I immediately thought of Kris Kringle and Miracle on 34th Street and imagined it couldn’t have been that big a deal and it was never going to happen to me. Maybe if they had called it the Excruciatingly Painful Horribly Ugly Rash disease I would have paid more attention.

Anyway onwards and upwards, and Stolen Base ($9.50) took the opener on Friday but our group collectively struck out. Favorites have been winning at an unprecedented 40% so far (these are the facts that you don’t get in the Saratoga Special ) so it’s no great surprise that none of us had Time Limit ($4.10) in the second. Big Everest ($6.10) did not peak our interest in the third but in the fourth I Love Jaxson ($17.00) proved that when it comes to the climax Saez matters much to the combined joy of PartsNut and Maumeeriverangler. Ten Furlongs came back refreshed from his well earned break and after sorting out all the scoring errors he had made was able to celebrate when Tuscan Queen ($7.80) reined in the fifth. Meanwhile A Journey To Freedom ($4.60) was right up Philadelphia Phlier Freak’s street in the sixth.

Partsnut and DB Lakers have been firing off bullets like the residents of North Philadelphia this week but they both hit the target in the seventh race when Deputy Flag ($7.60 ) prevailed. Unfortunately we did not find enough evidence to select JudgeNJury ($10.20) and were sentenced to one race without winnings in the eighth. I thought we had every horse covered in the Lake George but obviously my Technical Analysis ($17.60) was incorrect as the other other Chad Brown beat the other other other Chad Brown. In the finale none of us experienced the Thrill ($3.60) of victory but tomorrow is another day , hopefully ! 

[phlierfreak]

someone did pick ajourneytofreedom in the 6th.

[cherokeescot]

Duly amended. Apologies

[diablo313]

Hey Bev, sorry to hear, feel better!

[goldandmyrrh]

Get well soon Bev. I got fully vaccinated for Covid as soon as I could, but for some reason I've been chicken to get the vaccine for this pox for years. I'm putting it on my to do list along with picking the right Ortiz at Saratoga thanks to your description.

[cherokeescot]

Day 8 Longshots Appreciation Day

A crowd of over 30,000 turned up at the Spa in expectation of seeing equine superstar Malathaat continue her unbeaten run in the CCA Oaks but once again Saratoga proved to be the graveyard of champions as the 1-5 favorite was shocked by long shot Marucuja ($31.40) in the four runner field in the day’s feature. Ironically a harbinger of the upset to come could have been seen in the first when our very own Onion pealed off another winner with Ashaar ($6.80).

The second race of the day was simply Pathetique ($12.00) but SB West ,Bobtailnag , Ozzy and davidbrown41 didn’t mind one bit . Strolling ($11.60) Lyrical Poet ($9.50) the afore mentioned Maracuja ($31.40) and Midnight Worker ($22.20) failed to garner our favor in races three through six. However the tide definitely turned in the seventh when Chad Brown’s 28-1 shot Sifting Sands ($58.00) rocketed SB West to the top of the leaderboard with our longest priced competition winner to date

It was back to business as usual in races eight through ten with Rastafara ($7.10)Caramel Swirl ($4.30) and Caravel ($4.00) all obliging at short odds . Finally De Niro got his first winner in the curtain call with Mike’s Girl ($19.00) whose odds were probably inflated by the fact that nobody knew who the frock the trainer was .

[deniro]

Well Bev, judging by your humorous and clever writing, I’d say you are on the road to a full recovery.
At least that is my hope.

[cherokeescot]

Day 9 Bert Convy Appreciation Day

A crowd of just under 20,000 at the Spa on Sunday saw Bert Convy and Partsnut start of the day with the sweet smell of success as Shanghai Essence ($19.60) lived up to his impressive morning woks. It was also Money in the Bank ($6.50) , not a lot I grant you but better than getting hit in the face by a wet kipper , for Joly B in the second . Epona’s Dream ($8.90) took the third but even our group were not woke enough for that one.

Bert Convy was having a good day , illustrated once again by Amundson ($10.80) going pole to pole in the fourth. Johnny V was having a blank meet but that was finally resolved by the dash of Lime ($3.90) who he harried to victory in the fifth. Sometimes Bert Convy’s picks are difficult to decipher but even our lazy scorer could not Miss Interpret ($16.40) his hat trick selection in the sixth. Kaely’s Sister ($2.50) was unsurprisingly overlooked while winning at very short odds in the seventh as the winners for our group evaporated.

The eighth race was nothing if not interesting as You’re to Blame ($18.80) prevailed by 10 lengths provoking Andy Serling to comment “ What is surprising to me is where did that performance come from ? Chad Brown had him , Todd Pletcher had him . This is a complete form reversal off a trainer change” . Andy not a big fan of the Noda brothers , I guess .

You didn’t need a crystal ball to see Royal Flag ($5.30) win the Shuvee while Mubarmaj ($3.90) made it five favorites on the day (50%) while helping Luis Saez tie Jose Ortiz at the top of the jockey standings at the end of week two with Bert Convy moving into second place in our contest behind leader SB West .

[1hooper]

Where did you find the attendance figs? They weren't in the Equibase charts I saw.
Hope you feel better soon.

[cherokeescot]

I follow Tim Wilkin on Twitter and he posts them every night.

[1hooper]

Good guy. Sat with him in the backyard on Belmont Day years ago with a small group.

[cherokeescot]

Day 10 ZZ Top Appreciation Day

Wednesday’s racing had a bizarre start which was not going to Bodes Well ($52.00) for favorite backers when The Mean Queen lived up to her name and tossed her whip happy jockey just yards from the post with the race seemingly won.

Meanwhile in the second a big shout out to Yodel E A Who ($6.70) who rejected again all comers . Step Dancer ($4.90) came from out of the clouds to catch Dreamer’s Disease on the wire to give Forego a happy conclusion in the third while Quasar ($3.80) got TimS70 and Elk out of a hole in the fourth. TimS70 took the road to Timbuktu ($6.40) to chalk up a quick double in the fifth.

Todd Pletcher may have started the meet slowly but Vindictive ($20.60) showed in the sixth that he still as plenty of winners in the pipeline with three quarters still to go . Propro put everyone on notice that he is not giving up his title without a fight with this selection while Diablo and Elk also enjoyed having a rare double digit Pletcher winner.

The seventh race saw a new leader in the contest as the appropriately named I’llhandalthecash ($41.40) benefited from an aggressive front running ride by Tyler Gaffaleone and bolted in for Partsnut. Bell’s the One ($3.80) came from way back down Lake Avenue to win the feature in grand style much to the delight of Joly B. In the finale Caribbean Gold ($12.80) made a boldish move to make it doubles all round for Mike Maker and Jose Ortiz.

[cherokeescot]

Day 11 Umbrella Appreciation Day

A paid attendance of 19,938 was announced for this most miserable of Fridays at the Spa but I doubt if a tenth of that number was still around come the finale With the rain starting just prior to the first race and continuing throughout the day we saw a deluge of scratches and several very small fields. Johnny Pump ($6.40) got the day off to a wet start in the opener extinguishing the hopes of Mo Heat . Recently banned trainer Linda Rice took advantage of her stay of execution to pickup some Cold Hard Cash ($7.10) but Eye123 was the only one of us able to turn straw into gold in the second. Mike Maker hit his fourth winner in a row in the third to put him atop the trainers table but given the inclement weather none of us decided to play Auburn Hills ($4.60).

The Queens Jules ($4.70) justified favoritism in the fourth as The Great Dansky failed to live up to his name and our group’s lofty expectations of him . Triple Americano ($6.90) came through with a latte run to take the fifth but no one made a crock of gold never mind a second fortune . Bill Mott’s birthday was a real damp squib this year and Mischievous Kiss decided she wanted no part of the celebrations by flipping Junior Alvarado on the track before running back to her barn prior to the start of the sixth where Benbang ($11.20) eclipsed the favored entry much to Elk’s delight.

Meanwhile contest leader Partsnut became the first competitor to reach triple figures when Mo Gotcha ($6.70) held off the challenge of Create Again in the seventh. Malibu Mischief was the consensus pick in the eighth but those of us thinking of finding fame in this one were left with a mere Regal Retort ($18.00) as Steve Asmussen got one step closer to the all time record for saddling winners.

Foolish Ghost ($10.20) well handaled by Joel Rosario splashed his way to victory in the feature to bring Eye123 a double on the day while in the finale most of our selections were scratched and Sum Kinda Pretty ($7.40) made none of us wicked happy !

[eye123]

Foolish Ghost ($10.20) "well handaled" by Joel Rosario..... nice!

[cherokeescot]

Day 12 Curlin Appreciation Day

A crowd of almost 25,000 enjoyed a rare day of sunshine at the Spa on Friday although the previous day’s deluge put paid to turf racing again and with several small fields decent priced winners were hard to come by .

Laoban’s Legacy ($3.80) started the daily procession of favorites in the opener with all of our group watching from the sidelines. Phlier Freak caved in though by the second race and was rewarded when Fingal ($7.80 ) triumphed over his three rivals. It’s a sad state of affairs when 9-2 is the long shot of the day but even at those odds Bourbon Mission ($11.20) didn’t find any takers in the third.
Sea Foam ($6.40 ) was Ten Furlongs lock of the day to bet against but that didn’t stop Gene Rayburn from cashing in at the end of the fourth. The Big Kahuna ($3.60) was a big Todd Pletcher class drop in the fifth and won like an odds on favorite should but our group did not land him.

American Xperiment ($6.90) looked like another bright Asmussen two year old when winning first time out in the sixth while Runnin’ Ray ($9.90 ) was sharp enough to get Trapshot the win in the seventh. Claytnthelionheart ($2.90) beat only three rivals at prohibitive odds in the eighth while in the feature Dynamic One ($8.50 ) proved Hooper right in bouncing back from a tough Kentucky Derby outing.

In the finale Highway Queen ($7.20) was soon out of sight to keep the red hot Mike Maker in the money as he continues to try and extract payment from deadbeat owner Ken Ramsey while in the contest Partsnut still leads as we approach hopefully a better weekend for handicapping !

[tc]

This daily recap is posted so that Bev's stellar work can shine even brighter in comparison.

My daily synopsis...not worth much but then again neither were most of the selections made today.

Eye's NOBLE CONQUEST to win it all lands him onto the current leaderboard while the Italian Stallion breaks his maiden in the finale with THE LAST ZIP.

Other selections made today would have done equally well if the card had been cancelled. Tomorrow is another day...hopefully a better day.

[cherokeescot]

Day 13 Jockey Appreciation Day

A season topping crowd of 36,840 were in attendance on a dandy Saturday at Saratoga but winners for our group were as scarce as patients at an Arkansas vaccination center. In the opener Beetlebomb was hoping that Jurkovec would fly in like a Boston Eagle but unfortunately his performance was more akin to a Boston Turkey as Kevin’s Folly ($16.40) was on his master game. A long shot opportunity disappeared with a resounding Donk in the second as we all missed out on Gateway Guardian ($49.40) formerly known as Gateway Indian. Flat Awesome Jenny ($3.50) took the third but she was not the lady by choice of our group .

Eye 123 finally got the ball rolling in the fourth with a Noble Conqest ($17.60) but nobody picked up any Honey Money ($7.10) in the fifth. Doctor Davis was on call for several of the group but wasn’t the cure we hoped for and ended up as a Limited Liability ($15.80) in the sixth. Surprisingly no one had a High Opinion ($10.20) in the seventh and the chance of glory in the Vanderbilt went a begging as long shot Lexitonian ($68.00) just had enough special reserve to prevail. Essential Quality ($2.80) did just enough to keep him in mind for the Travers when taking the feature while Cross Border ($14.40) saw trainer Mike Maker mark up another victory on the Bowling Green . Italian Stallion ended the day on a high note as The Last Zip ($16.20) proved to be a sharp prospect in the finale.

[cherokeescot]

Day 14 Lollapalooza Appreciation Day

After two days of sunshine the dreaded rain returned inappropriately on Sunday to Saratoga once again playing havoc with the scheduled turf races. As a consequence for the second day running very few winners were selected and most of us left the track crying like Da Baby.

Loaded Joe ($20.60) broke his maiden in the opener at the 25th time of asking and given his past performances it was not surprising that none of us fancied him . Jacckk8 was feeling Blissful ($14.80) however after kaching with the first time starter in the second. Disappointed that Hooper did not go with Full Court Press ($10.80) in the third as all our selections flopped. Your humble scribe finally got off the duck in the fourth as Jill’s A Hot Mess ($8.10) proved to be a prescription for success for both him and Doctor Disaster. Backers of Jades Gelly meanwhile got their money back as the horse was deemed not to have been set at the start.

Rotknee ($4.10) was much the best in the fifth while Bo sadly remained in the back . The Shah of Persia was probably the only one to Miss Teheran ($7.50) in the sixth while Aloha West ($5.70) gave SpiderJohn and Trapshot a winner with their sole selection of the day in the seventh and notched a double for Doctor Disaster. Exotic West ($5.30) left us with no sense of direction in the eighth while Jackie’s Warrior ($3.00) certainly drained the clock in the Amsterdam . Mike Maker took the finale for the third consecutive day with Esotica ($5.60) to end a chalky day with a Pick Six that only paid $115.25 !

[cherokeescot]

Day 15 Cone Appreciation Day

A very decent crowd of 26,655 were in attendance for a fairly average (in racing terms) Wednesday at the Spa highlighting the attraction that this racing carnival generates each year . In the opener Silver Crescent ($13.40) was handed the race on a platter when sure fire winner Withoutdestination stepped out of bounds yards before the end zone. In the second Cousin Andrew ($3.30) won with relative ease as Chad Brown successfully offloaded the $270k yearling purchase for $20k. Take the Back Roads ($6.20) took the fastest route to victory in the third with our Indypacer along for the ride. Ifihadachance ($9.80) was not shown enough love in the fourth while Sport Model ($5.70) had that extra gear needed to nose out the fifth.

Tassi was a popular pick in the sixth but never got off the ground as Towering Orbit ($9.00) soared on his debut for jacket wearing trainer Charlton Baker. Onion was blooming after the seventh when Christopher ($23.80) got a ride like the wind and ended up in the winner’s circle which is located somewhere between the moon and New York City …I know it’s crazy but it’s true just ask Ziggy who also had the winner !

Meanwhile Bayerness ($9.10) was on her way early and took her chance to shine again in the feature to bring home the treasure for goldandmyrrh. L’Imperator ($14.20) took the ninth for the ever dangerous Chad Brown and Kitten by the Sea ($7.20) went 5 Wide to come storming home in the finale.