Success for our N.Y. angle

Not long after I wrote the item about the front-running horses moving up at Aqueduct, I bought a copy of today's New York Post to read over lunch. I scanned Post handicapper John DaSilva's selections for the Aqueduct's Saturday card to see if any horses sounded like they fit the angle. That is, they had faded in the previous start but might hold on longer at the new Aqueduct meet.

I found five such horses among DaSilva's top three picks for main-track races. Here's how they did.

Race 1: True Rebel, DaSilva's third choice ("had the lead and tired to second as favorite"), never got close to the lead today and finished third at 6-1 odds.

Race 2: Raffies Deer, DaSilva's second choice ("drops in class after tiring while going longer"), challenged for the lead from the start and won to pay $5.80.

Race 3: Phobia, DaSilva's top choice ("switches to bug after setting the pace and tiring to third as the favorite"), dueled for the lead and won to pay $5.60.

Race 5: Pygmalion, DaSilva's second choice ("had the lead and tired to second in first start since February"), led from gate to wire and paid $4.40.

And finally, best of all:

Race 8: Be Bullish, DaSilva's second choice ("cuts back in distance after chasing the pace and tiring"), sat just behind the front-runners today, won and paid $18.60.

Five examples, four winners, one of them pricey. At least for one afternoon, that's what I call a nice fundamental handicapping angle.