Jerry, on Halfbridled

[sheba87]

Were you surprised that she jumped up to a .5 the wat she did?

I thought she was by far the best horse going into the race and I was surprised her pre race numbers did not bear that out.  (I did not bet the race)

I don\'t have a clue how to make a figure and am not saying the 5\'s were wrong, but she ran the way I thought she would based on her previous dominance.

What do you make of the .5?

[TGJB]

I was very surprised, that\'s why I took a big stand against her. It\'s tough to know what that effort will do to her, but the guy who has her is very conservative, and will take care of her.

[jbelfior]

I guess I am getting better at my projections. I had ASHADO improving off of her healthy pattern to about a 4-4.5 and VICTORY USA improving to a 3.5-4. I boxed them heavily in the exacta and foolishly did not give in to my stubborness that HALFBRIDLED was no way going to repeat a 5 or slighly improve her performance rating from Post #14. I was in awe of her performance.

Also, I will raise an issue here and it specifically pertains to the Distaff and LADY TAK & TAKE CHARGE LADY. \'TAK ran an all time low, and TCL has not run a 7.5 since she was a 2yo. My thoughts are that sometimes a jockey and or a pre-race strategy can choke a standard performance right out of a horse, especially those that are pace pressers or early speed types.

Any thoughts out there on this???


Good Luck,
Joe B.

[Silver Charm]

I can\'t really speak for the choke hold angle but we have seen this before in the Distaff. The ones who have been running hard all year are worn out (or in the case this drugged out??).

Remember One Dreamer, the pre-race talk was Sky Beauty, Hollywood Wildcat, and Heavenly Prize. The really never ran a jump and an inferior horse stole it on the lead.

How about when Riboleta came in off paired NEG 2\'s, she never ran a jump. Spain paid $100.00 and Lukas ran 1-2.

Regarding Halfbridled lets hope it doesn\'t go like it did with Storm Flag Flying who actually had two efforts like this in her two year old campaign.

Speaking of two efforts did anyone notice Cuvee STOP TO WALK when they turned for home.
The distance had nothing to do with it, Chapel Royal was still running.

[jbelfior]

Silver Charm---

The Distaff used to be dominated by chalk. It just seems that the fillies and mares of several years ago (e.g. BEAUTIFUL PLEASURE, BAYAKOA, LADY\'S SECRET, PASEANA, JEWEL PRINCESS) were more durable racking up multiple Grade I wins and still holding it together at year end.

I hear your point. Perhaps the year long grind is too much for the now breed, especially the fillies and mares. Interesting angle for future Distaffs.



Good Luck,
Joe B.