Wood Memorial

[sekrah]

Wrongly Wrote:
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> John
>
> Won\'t run unless he\'s 100%.  
>
> 1. That doesn\'t mean he can\'t or won\'t bounce.
> Some trainers for whatever reason are able to
> avoid the bounce, aka Baffert.  Can you say the
> same for Motion?
>
> 2. I\'m remind of the revered Michael Matz running
> Barbaro in the Preakness.  Anyone who saw that
> colt the morning of the Preakness knew he wasn\'t
> right.  Yet they ran, never thinking something
> terrible might happen.  The point is there\'s
> pressure to run and run they will even at 51%.


Baffert is better at avoiding the bounce because he\'s better at spotting.  His premier horses do well in the Derby because doesn\'t get them amp\'d to go until the big race and he\'s better than most at knowing when they need to recover..  I also think that he just does a much better job than other trainers in identifying strong, stable, fast-recovering horses when they are younger.  When Baffert has entered with surprise late-bloomers (Midnight Interlude, Bob and John), he doesn\'t do as well with them.  I bet he would prefer skipping the Derby with these types.

[TGJB]

He did okay with War Emblem.

[mjellish]

I would answer your question by saying I trust Motion just as much as I would trust any other trainer with a 3 year old colt that won a major Derby prep.  Meaning the colt is going to run in the KY Derby unless something is obviously wrong.  That\'s not the same thing as only running if everything is 100% right.

Hopefully IWC will get one work over the CD strip the Sat or Sun before the race.  It may be hard to assess his condition based on gallops alone.

[sekrah]

Hell of a purchase by the Prince after that Illinois Derby. Who was advising him?

[big18741]

It could change,but Motion has him getting his only work at Fair Hill(on the same schedule working 3 weeks after a race)then shipping to Churchill the week of the Derby.

I think he prefers the quiet of Fair Hill as long as possible.

[Strike]

sekrah Wrote:
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> Hell of a purchase by the Prince after that
> Illinois Derby. Who was advising him?

Richard Mulhall was the Prince\'s Race Manager during the War Emblem and Point Given timeframe. Richard (deceased) was CA trainer, Kristen Mulhall\'s father.