He breezed this morning at the Big A on the turf course and his breeze was several seconds slower than the other two that breezed on the day. They all received a \"B\" notation.
Now, I normally don\'t put too much stock into breeze times but it seems like when he\'s right he breezes fast and when he\'s off, he breezes slow. Someone please correct me if I am wrong but as I recall, he\'s been pretty consistent with that.
I personally am hoping that he wins at Monmouth this weekend so that he takes alot of action in the BC Classic where he will be massively overbet against good older horses who we know like the poly.
That said, I will be taking a shot against him this weekend against quality older turf horses, some of whom will be putting in their final big effort before the Breeders Cup.
Thoughts?
Covel:
I am greedier than you.
I want BB to get beat at Monmouth Saturday at a ridiculously short price and
retire.
Then I want Curlin to go to the BC Classic and lose as the heavy favorite.
Hi Cov,
For one thing, the Big A turf course has never produced fast times.Must be Jamaica Bay seeping in.The training of BB is not following Tricky\'s normal mo which is apparent to all who follow his training regimen.
While not a real \"driller\", like say Baffert, Tricky will fairly often tell the boy(girl in this case) to get some air into their lungs, i.e. let them run some.BB is being handled very very gingerly imo and there are real good horsemen I know who believe BB went into the Belmont and the Haskell under trained.
With all the rain today and more predicted later in the week, there is a pretty good chance that BB may face a turf course with give. BB is definitely a horse that likes to hear his feet rattle on firm going. I mentioned this concern to the racing manager of Paul Pompa, pre Belmont given the sandy cuppy nature of that surface. AFTER,the Belmont, Iavarone offered up one excuse being BB did not like the surface, really?. I know he handled a firm turf course at the SPA,along with tight dirt surfaces at GP, CD and Pimlico, Mon.
They say BB is fine, but I did not see the same horse in the Haskell, regardless of his fig, and his training regimen is suspect. I think he needs to race better than his last to win on Saturday and a slow or boggy course will get him beat, imo.Have not seen if he is facing anything that can run though.
Mike
Good thoughts, thanks very much. Some interesting stuff there.
There are alot of quality beasts that have been nominated. Haven\'t seen anyone piece together who\'s going to run yet so I guess we will have to wait until Thursday.
This is hysterical.
I think both are very likely (not sure about the retirement part).
I can tell you that Billy Mott is licking his chops about the Classic with Go Between. He feels like the horse continues to get better and that he can win the classic with him. The East Coast horses aren\'t quite good enough or are untested on the poly and Go Between is the best out west. The Europeans are sending over a few for the classic but it will be tough for them to acclimate into that heat so unless they ship very early, they are likely to have a hard time.
Go Between will highlight the idiocy of synths. He\'s a dirt \"maiden\" who may win the BC Classic.
Mike
From DRF:
\"Among those expected to challenge Big Brown are Shakis, Proudinsky, Get Serious, Kiss the Kid, and either Ballonenostrikes or Victory Alleged. Shake the Bank and Silver Tree are possible.\"
Thanks for this.
Shakis (even on short rest) and Proudinsky will eat him alive. Shakis hates the soft going though so no rain otherwise he\'s a throw out as well.
Look forward to the sheets on this one.
BC Classic:
Mast Track...wire to wire.
Good Luck,
Joe B.
Covel,
Careful on betting against the Euros in the heat at Santa Anita. I was at the BC the last time it was at SA in 2003. It was 95 degrees, rock hard turf, and the Euros wiped the floor with the U.S.-based horses.
funny you say that, I made the same mistake last time at SA but I will be pay more attention this time to which horses ship in early to acclimate as I remember going back after the races and realizing that several that ran well had shipped in early which makes sense that they were acclimated to the heat.
Thanks
Big Brown has been nominated to a $200,000 turf stakes on the Super Derby undercard. Much lower purse than the Mth race, but it will be easier pickings than what Brown will face at Monmouth.
http://equibase.com/premium/eqbHorsemenAreaDownloadAction.cfm?sn=SN-LAD-20080920-477718