A dip of twenty degrees and a purse cut of $250,000. So starts the Hawthorne fall meet. The only two-turn mile and a quarter dirt race one month before the Breeders Cup, and no superstars decide to prep on the south side. Giant Oak, or Giant Slug if you caught the DRF online article about the race, did his usual second place thing. I've thought this horse lacks brains not legs, but he shows up. His connections are the type you can get behind even if GO's record doesn't seem the type you'd want to back. And while I admit to having a chuckle at the DRF's sobriquet, it was a bit of a cheap shot. Giant Oak may be a plodder but he's banked over half a million, so unlike the DRF, he knows how to make a profit.
The rail shone golden on the first day of the meet, while the track was tiring. Hawthorne is a front-runner's paradise, speed typicall holds like a vice, but not opening weekend. The Gold Cup was wired, but this was an exertion of class not an exploitation of bias. Oddly Kiaran didn't even send an assistant with Redding Coillery, but it was a big day at Belmont and the New Yorker can be forgiven. Maybe he got wind about the Fan Friendly Friday prices doubling to two dollars. Still, the way I see it Chicago has the best of both worlds. Iconic Arlington with all her beauty and dirty Hawthorne keepin it real and in the family in Stickney. What more could you want?
