Regardless of the reason, it's likely only a matter of time before his route wins match his success in sprints.

(Those who misread last week's column, thinking it was about Nolan's ability were plain wrong.  The column just pointed out a stats angle, nothing more, nothing less.  Some players are persuaded more by stats than anything else.  That is a similar strategy used by some stock market investors who use the "technicals"--i.e. the peaks and valleys of a graph--to buy or sell a stock rather than information about the company or its principals.)

Jennifer Reid Cool as a cucumber

Watching jockey Jennifer Reid win aboard High Toned ($4.40) in Saturday's second race clinched it for me.  She's one amazing jockey, at 23 way ahead of her years in riding smarts.  She's still an apprentice (until the third last day of live racing) but rides like a veteran in the big leagues.  Go to replays and watch that race (July 21, race 2). She just sits there, barely flinching, hand-riding High Toned to the wire, not panicking when horses come up to her, feeling confident she can ward off all comers just doing what she's doing, cool as a cucumber.  A breathtaking performance and a treat to watch. She is third in the jockey standings with 34 wins.  Rohan Singh leads with 43.  Paul Nolan has 40.

CONGRATS TO SELMAN:  Another apprentice female jock, Alyssa Selman (nee Harder) suddenly tripled her winning record Saturday by bagging two races--the first aboard the Gary Aimonetti-trained Ring Chest ($3.50) in the first race and then again in the third race aboard Sis Draper ($4.80) conditioned by Clayton Gray. That gives her three wins for 26 starts on the season.

SHELLEY OVERTAKES BLAIR:   With five last week, Shelley Brown has taken over from Blair Miller as top trainer at the Downs. They both have the same number of wins (23) but Brown's horses have 25 seconds compared to seven for Miller.

FIDGITY FELON COLLARED:   Politics usually stays out of the Winners' Circle but not at Ellis Park in Kentucky.  When Ghost Chapel won the fifth race last Friday the owners unfurled a giant blanket with the words NICK HERMANN FOR PROSECUTOR emblazoned across it.   Fittingly, the prosecutor's supporters could already claim to be doing their bit because their horse had collared a horse named Fidgity Felon who faded to third.

HONEY TIP WORKS FOR READER’S SON:  A reader thanked me for writing how applying honey to my wasp bite stopped the sting. (See this Insider.) He said his 8-year-old son was bitten by two wasps, on the head and on the arm, and honey also worked for him.  “It was unbelievable,” the reader said.