Just “great”? No.
That was one of the gutsiest moments in modern thoroughbred racing history.
:lol:
Seriously, though, I was impressed with Dreaming of Anna holding off Lear’s Princess as she did, even if it was just by a whisker.
I’ll keep sticking to my m.o. of waiting till the post parade to make my picks. I really liked how Fierce Wind looked today – he came to play with his game face on.
The dream is not dead!
How can you not like Dreaming Of Anna? She is winning for 3 seasons now!!
[QUOTE=miss_critic;3015097]
The dream is not dead!
How can you not like Dreaming Of Anna? She is winning for 3 seasons now!![/QUOTE]
Solid effort by Big Truck but is it fluke? As for Anna it was a very gutsy win over Lear’s Princess by the slimmest of margins - if the race was just a pinch longer there is no way she would’ve come away with the win. In fact I think she was getting swallowed up at the finish and even 1/16th of mile further would’ve been 3rd. Still she took the win regardless.
In honor of President’s Day Oaklawn has the Southwest Stakes today as the 9th race (going off at 5:02 CST)
Robby Albarado picks up the mount on Denis of Cork, “Jersey” Joe Bravo is in the mix aboard Silver Edition a well regarded D. Wayne Lukas entry.
Of course there is also a Mott/Zayat entry too … they seem to be everywhere.
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;3017158]
Robby Albarado picks up the mount on Denis of Cork[/QUOTE]
Robby Albarado also got the ride on Blackberry Road. Their first race together will be the Louisiana Derby. Story here:
Looks like Borel picked the wrong mount… at least for today.
Denis Of Cork, with Albarado up, took the Southwest Stakes (GIII).
Sierra Sunset was 2nd, with Liberty Bull and Sacred Journey in a dead heat for 3rd.
Turf War was 9th.
What’s up with all the DHs lately?
[QUOTE=Texarkana;3018403]
Denis Of Cork, with Albarado up, took the Southwest Stakes (GIII).[/QUOTE]
Good thing I have him in my Take Ten stable!!
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;3018469]
Good thing I have him in my Take Ten stable!![/QUOTE]
Bad thing I have Turf War! :lol:
It’s funny bc I picked Denis of Cork (take 10 stable) over Turf War bc CB “liked him a lot”. Then he choses TW over DofC and I am kicking myself. THEN, DofC wins. Funny how that worked out for me.
What did you guys think of the race overall? I’m not sure I was “impressed”. Don’t quote me though, kay
Re: Big Truck. Somebody pointed out to me that his pp’s are similar to Funny Cides. So, we’ll see 
[QUOTE=miss_critic;3018684]
It
Re: Big Truck. Somebody pointed out to me that his pp’s are similar to Funny Cides. So, we’ll see :)[/QUOTE]
I feel like I should step up as the moron who pointed this out, as I don’t want anyone to jump down your throat at my over-simplified statement. Because I know someone will.
But, I think it’s interesting that both BT and FC had the same type of impressive early 2 year old campaigns, then sort of fell off form a bit in the fall/winter and had everyone going WTF is the big deal. Funny came back in a big way. Maybe Big Truck will as well.
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
But you gave me hope!!
If he wins the KD you realize you are going to look brilliant??
[QUOTE=miss_critic;3018772]
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
But you gave me hope!!
If he wins the KD you realize you are going to look brilliant??[/QUOTE]
Haha, I’m still trying to give you hope! I think I have a point, even if it is on top of my head.
Although you might not want to listen to me… remember who’s sitting at the bottom of the Take Ten standings? :lol:
[QUOTE=miss_critic;3018684]
What did you guys think of the race overall? I’m not sure I was “impressed”.[/QUOTE]
I thought [Denis of Cork taking the SW Stakes] was a very good effort - not a lot of razzle-dazzle shown or needed - based on a fairly basic scenario. Vastly too much speed up front which burned out the front runners and easily opened the door to those who kept reasonable pace and plenty of late kick.
Turf War looks to have been bumped early on and never really recovered. If he struggles getting back into the game with field of 11 what would he do with 20 out of the gates at Churchill?
Worth taking note about Denis of Cork: he’s won on multiple different tracks (Churchill, Oaklawn, Fair Grounds) has found victory in the slop, and also against a hot field on a fast track. Two turns not a problem, he rates and can stalk. All very positive things.
As cited by equidaily.com - NOLA 2-19-08 “Pyro avoids head-on collision”
Jockey Dominic Terry, who rode Pyro, was careful to avoid a collision, and the incident clearly added a few seconds to the workout.
Asmussen said: “The horse handles well, and he’s very intelligent and came out of it well. That’s the important thing.”
The loose horse never had a rider. That horse had been exercising in the company of a pony, whose rider was holding a shank attached to the horse’s halter to keep the horse alongside. Somehow, the shank came loose, and the horse took off, heading clockwise around the track toward Pyro.
Tagg on Big Truck
Comments from Barclay suggest he’s not thinking Big Truck is the next Funny Cide …
2/19 “An education in the classics for Tagg”
Big Truck likely will return to Tampa Bay Downs for next month’s Tampa Bay Derby, Tagg said.
“I don’t know if he’s Kentucky Derby material,” Tagg said. “But he’s a lovely, lovely horse and a good, beautiful mover. The Tampa Bay Derby makes sense. He shipped there, ran well, handled everything. To go somewhere else seems counterproductive.”
What is good news is that I might get to catch Nobiz at Keeneland this spring!
Tagg’s grass horses are being kept in reserve, but their time is growing near. Although Showing Up “is on the shelf again with a different ligament injury,” Tagg said, Nobiz Like Shobiz and Bit of Whimsy are expected to make their first starts of the year in April at Keeneland. Nobiz Like Shobiz had a strong season on turf following the Kentucky Derby, and will remain on grass this year.
Elysium Fields runs on Sunday in the Grade 2, $350,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Where Funny Cide is, at present, a stable pony.
Interestingly –
Going for his maiden start at 3 will be Majestic Warrior in the Grade 2, $600,000 Louisiana Derby on March 8. Bill Mott says he’s ready although he has has not raced since suffering his first loss in the Champagne Stakes. Not sure if that much of a break from the action will be to his benefit or downfall …
The Grade 2 Fountain of Youth ($350k) at 1 1/8-mi looks to be bangup field! Entries look to be a lot of big names on the Derby trail:
Adriano, Anak Nakal, Cool Coal Man, Court Vision, Elysium Fields, Golden Spikes, Kentucky Bear, Make the Point, and Monba
Off the Derby Trail
A bit odd is that Crown of Thorns, who has only ever run on synthetics is now off the Derby trail with:
has “a little bit of a stress fracture” in his left front leg and will need several months to recuperate" - trainer Richard Mandella
Don’t get me wrong any injury can happen anywhere but one has to wonder with Santa Anita being hard as a rock and speed times reflecting that didn’t play a factor.
In the Kentucky Derby Futures Pool (1) closed Feb 10th: (pdf format) Crown of Thorns was listed at 18-1 while Denis of Cork backers locked in a very fat 46-1 or $94 per $2 wager - if he wins
Smooth Air, who took a close 3rd in the Sam Davis where ironically his “opposite” Feirce Wind took the win, finished with odds of 99-1+ with a potential payout of $320.60 per $2 wager. Its weird his odds are so high despite having won the Hutcheson (G2).
It looks like Calvin didn’t have much of a shot after the starting break in the Southwest Stakes aboard Turf War:
Turf War, who finished ninth as the favorite in the Grade 3, $250,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Monday, overreached and cut his right front heel in the race, according to his trainer, Mark Casse.
“He’s fine,” he said. “He grabbed himself a little at the start when he broke in.”
We’ll see how he rebounds. Doing a non-graded race like the Winstar at Sunland Park in mid-March is a bad sign as took enough graded money from the G3 Delta Jackpot to secure a starting gate position - if he’s up for it.
Not cited before - a 1/2 interest in Turf War was sold at the end of January to a few well known owners:
Woodford Racing LLC, a 35-person syndicate headed by managing partner Bill Farish, was the sole owner of Turf War, a Kentucky-bred son of Dixie Union.
On Thursday, negotiations were finalized whereby 25 per cent of the colt was sold to Will Farish, the father of Bill Farish, and 25 per cent was sold to George Bolton, a primary owner of 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin.
Check It Twice injured
If I had blinked, I would have missed this blurb in the DRF:
Pletcher hoping to ‘sneak up on them’ DRF 2/21/08
Two of Pletcher’s clients have reached out in recent weeks and privately purchased Check It Twice and Face the Cat, trying to reload, but already Check It Twice has been sidelined with an injury.
Check It Twice, however, is getting four to six weeks off after some swelling developed in his left front leg. He is recuperating at a farm in Ocala, Fla., run by Pletcher’s father, J.J.
Without having any graded stakes earnings, unless he makes a speedy and brilliant comeback, I’m guessing Check It Twice is as good as out for the Derby.
I would like to dub this “The Curse of Texarkana” because I currently possess two very lame (literally) fantasy stables.
Gulfstream Park will be the place on Saturday as 12 line up for the Fountain of Youth - and War Pass will make his 2008 debut in an overnight stakes race as the 10th race:
A one-mile overnight stakes race called the Silver Series Purse. It will be the 10th race on an 11-race card.
War Pass drew post 5 in a field of six in the $60,000 race. A winner of all four of his starts last year, War Pass is the 2-5 favorite on the early line set by Gulfstream’s Chuck Streva.
Regarding the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth:
The Fountain of Youth is run at 1 1/8 miles, so there is a short run to the first turn on Gulfstream’s main track, which often compromises the chances of horses with outside posts. If all 12 run, the outside three spots would belong, in order, to Halo Najib, Make the Point, and Adriano.
The rest of the field, from the rail out, is Cool Coal Man, Golden Spikes, Court Vision, Kentucky Bear, Z Humor, Ready Set, Monba, Anak Nakal, and Elysium Fields.
Halo Najib is making his 2nd start in just 13 days - he won the Darley Ocala Breeders’ Sale Championship at the Ocala Training Center. A busy boy, after the FOY “Romans said Halo Najib would be pointed for the Grade 2, $500,000 Lane’s End Stakes at Turfway Park on March 22.”
I’m not sure if it was noticed but one of the entries in the Fountain of Youth is running back relatively soon: Zayat Stables’/Bill Mott trained Z Humor returns to racing only eight days after finishing a very lackluster 5th in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 16.
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