RHT out of the trial. i wonder if one or two more horses are on the derby fence.
With Sinister G now out RHT will get in along with Eddington.
St Averil will not go along with Value Plus (they are already talking Riva Ridge at 7F) and Zito will wake up and remove Birdstone.
The race at that point will become even MORE WIDE OPEN.
Also one final note just to keep pounding away at my point about Baffert. The lead story regarding the Triple Crown on ESPN.com is Baffert declaring Mike Pegrams Pukkinatthebar out of the Derby. This has been going on for about 3 days now. Will these other trainers get the same coverage when they declare their horses from the race.
Not hardly, the coverage slant is really embarassing and shows how out of touch these guys are.
I haven\'t read that Sinister is out. Is that correct? If he\'s not in the race it changes dramatically and I\'m not referring to those getting in.
Yeah Preachinatthebar being out is a bigger story than it should be, but, if he was Luka\'s horse he\'d be running regardless of his readiness and most reporters wouldn\'t have enough acumen to see he was running a horse that didn\'t belong. The story to my mind shows Baffert\'s due care. He\'s a careful trainer and takes precautions where some other trainers don\'t.
Post Edited (04-24-04 15:02)
I have also read that Sinister G is out. However, everything I\'ve read suggests that both Birdstone and St. Averil (who apparently had a good workout this morn) will go.
Other than Value Plus, the only other likely defection I\'ve read about is Song of the Sword. If he drops out (along with Sinister G and Value Plus) and no one opts back in, I think that would let Eddington in.
Oops! After I posted this I read the following at drf.com.:
One day after hinting that he would likely not run in the Derby, owner Ernie Paragallo said Song of the Sword would run in the race. Paragallo said he only said he wouldn\'t run in hopes of prompting the connections of Rock Hard Ten would scratch out of Saturday\'s Derby Trial. Rock Hard Ten did scratch. \"If he ran today and won he\'d knock me out,\" Paragallo said, referring to the fact Rock Hard Ten would have passed him on the earnings list.
Post Edited (04-24-04 15:17)
I was sure you were joking, because its a unsportsmanlike strategy. But I was reading DRF online and you\'re correct...Ernie P. did say thats what he did. The gall of that man. If you did do that why would you admit to it? Unbelieveable.
http://www.drf.com/tc/kentuckyderby/2004/daily/daily0424.html
He\'s a bit of a jerk isn\'t he? \"Slower\"
Post Edited (04-24-04 19:30)
CtC wrote,
\"The story to my mind shows Baffert\'s due care. He\'s a careful trainer and takes precautions where some other trainers don\'t.\"
Please, give me a break just like he has done with Sarava who he has reduced to nothing more than Thoroughbred DNA. Pukkin never should have been declared still a Derby contender after the Blue Grass non-effort the horse is SORE.
Also the rap on Lukas was that he was just throwing horses in to be in the race and that explains why he had several bombs for a few years there.
This is from the Bloodhorse site.
John T. Toscano Jr. told Churchill Downs officials that Lane\'s End Stakes (gr. II) winner Sinister G would not be shipped to Louisville, Ky. for the Derby. Sinister G had missed training time due to a cough.
Post Edited (04-24-04 15:23)
Is Sarava still alive and officially retired to stud?
That horse was bad when Baffert got him wasn\'t he?
If you want to point fingers at a trainer. Look at Sarava, Best Minister, Repent...theres others I can\'t remember. McPeek is as bad as Lukas for breaking down young horses. I think the only one he\'s gotten to last was Tejano Run and I think he had issues. I think McPeek is hard on a horse and he finished off Sarava if that horse is done.
I\'ll wait for confirmation from another source because the Bloodhorse account is at odds with another report I know of indicating Sinisters Derby would hinge upon a Monday work.
Just when you feel you\'ve gotten a handle on the race the strawberries in it turn to vinegar...lol
If he is out and I do think others will follow, the Sinister G\'s and Value Plus were not really liked by most handicappers.
That is not the case with RHT and Eddington.
Also the pace scenario changes dramatically with them out.
Keep up the good work my friend.
You guys are something else.
Horse racing needs more Baffy\'s, star quality glib guys to infuse more interest in the sport [not that it isn\'t already too late]. If you guys haven\'t noticed, he\'s had a couple horses that have fallen just short of the TC recently. Thus, if one of his charges scratches IT IS BIG NEWS! WAKE UP! Why would it be big news if a marginal trainer scratches a horse with little chance?
Sarava is fine. I\'ve seen him on the work tab. He was originally sent to Baffy to get him ready for the BC, but unfortunately almost died because of colic, not any freakin mistreatment as some of you are implying. Geeeze. I\'m not a big fan of his, but fair is fair...........
Bdsheets wrote:
\"If you guys haven\'t noticed, he\'s (Baffert)had a couple horses that have fallen just short of the TC recently.\"
Try about $60 Million worth my friend over the last three years. His only Derby runner last year was found by Laffit Pincay for him in Panama. Baffert broke all the rest of them down and he broke that one down also.
Sarava has been in Bafferts hands for over 16 months and has failed to win a race.
>Why would it be big news if a marginal trainer scratches a horse with little chance?
If Todd Pletcher scratches Value Plus I do not consider him to be marginal nor do I consider Nick Zito.
Both of these guys have two things going for them that Baffert does not:
1) Class
2) Humility
In then end those of us who are Baffert haters, we WILL ALWAYS WIN because we have the ultimate weapon working in our favor.
Bafferts Horsemanship.
Good Luck-Seriously
lol Silver...you dislike Baffert as much as I dislike Lukas. Sarava is a retrofit. Anything that comes of him is just icing on the cake. I have to admit Lukas is so down now its hard to get a good dislike up for him. I kinda feel sorry for him, but he drove the big cars for a long time. Its time for others to get their shot and see if they can train up a horse to inspire the public and make the game bigger. I still fear him.
I have to admit I really liked Sinister G. (provided he was healthy) I sensed he had the potential to speed pop this field. If I were Pletcher, I\'d reconsider Value Plus, because with a break he could be the one to carry them a long way, but I have to say I think Value is limited distance wise, I did not think that about Sinister. (It probably would have unprecedented ...whose the last Derby winner to come into the race 5 pts plus slower on T-Graphs? I bet its never happened. But, I was gonna get good odds.) I see a couple things in him maybe others dont and I could be mistaken, but I was definitely gonna put on top of a select bunch. If he stays healthy, we\'ll see about my outrageous feelings. I also think he would have been the nail in the coffin on Lion Heart for the win. Now I\'m not sure.
Eddington is a good horse and a good one in the field if you\'re looking to bet one of the logical favorites, because he will certainly take some money and you\'ll get marginally better odds. The same is true of RHT who I really don\'t have as good handle on.