Phipps Stable and the Derby

[wtreape]

I understand that Shug plans on passing the Derby
with Sightseeing. On hearing this I
immediately thought of Survivalist not being entered after
finishing a distant
second to BR in the
Wood. Watching the Derby fall apart
that year, I wished
that Survivalist was
there to pick up the
pieces. Does anyone believe that, given Sightseeing is healthy out of the Wood, Shug might
be mistaken holding him out of the race?  Why is he so gunshy about
the Derby, or is this
philosophy belong to the Phipps family?

[high roller]

very simple answer, the phipps family = CLASS, a rare commodity these days, they aren\'t desparate people. they do not enter horses to be part of the derby scene.

this is very hard for 98% of the people in america today to understand.

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

Survivalist?

If Shug\'s not running its because he knows his horse isn\'t up to it and he doesn\'t juice them up to try and get there.

If Nobiz has a stellar Derby you can look back and say \"Gee, Sightseeing ran him tough in the Wood, Shug should have run Sightseeing in the Derby.\"

Survivalist was a Danzig over a Mr. Prospector mare. He ran second and third tier races after the Classics were over. To say because Giacomo won that Survivalist could have picked up some pieces is a pretty big stretch.

But to say \"Survivalist should have run in the Derby because look at the effort of Bellamy Road there.\" is a tough sell. If you\'re saying that Bellamy Roads Wood was not as big as it looked, you\'ll get some support there.

[miff]

He came out fine according to reports but if they run him back in the derby it might ruin his long term potential. As stated the Phipps family has no ego. Many owners are strictly driven by their egos\'. It won\'t be long before one of them is dragged around the track as they rush out to hold their horse parading to the winners circle.

In the owners box area you can hear \"Thats me,that\'s all me\" ... and I always thought it was the horse I was watching win.


Mike

[Bally Ache]

All of you folks throwing bouquets at the Phipps seem to be forgetting Easy Goer. And I\'d be willing to bet that they\'ve had other Derby  starters over the years.  Now, if you want to say they\'ve had a notable lack of success in the Derby, that might be more accurate.


As to Sightseeing, in the race that I saw he was not catching Nobiz at the end.  He looked like maybe a winner at the eighth pole but he flattened out in deep stretch.

[magicnight]

Yeah, Bally. That Easy Goer had no business running in the Derby. What were they thinking?

[Ill-bred]

Sightseeing seems like a hanger to me.

If Shug thought he was Derby quality, I think he\'d run him.

[Lost Cause]

Don\'t go badmouthing Easy Goer...He ran into a machine called Sunday Silence on a muddy track. Shug/Phipps have had a couple others in the derby since but the point being made is his horses were usually legitimate runners who were not thrown into the derby just because the owners wanted to be there.

[imallin]

I don\'t think it has a lot to do with the quality of the animal, its about the philosophy of the stable.

Basically, the entire world is fascinated by the Ky Derby. Everyone wants to win it, some are just willing to go to greater lengths to do so.

For whatever reason, the Phipps\' must feel the Derby isn\'t all that important. If they held that race in as high as regard as everyone else, they\'r probably be running if they had ANY chance whatsoever.

Unfortunately, Churchill Downs feels the need to \'taint\' their signature race by attaching a corporate sponsor to the race. To me, that cheapens the race for the fans. Its a sellout basically. Its like when you were growing up in the 1980\'s listening to John Mellencamp sing Jack and Diane and you loved his music and felt that his songs \'meant something\' to the era in which you grew up, you\'d be upset that he\'s writing songs and selling his \'heart\' to Chevrolet just to make a dollar that he doesn\'t need.

If Churchill doesn\'t care all that much about the prestige and the \'race of all races\' title and they\'ll sell out to make a dollar thru advertising (and btw, that dollar doesn\'t go back into YOUR pocket in any way shape or form) than why should the Phipps\' care about it either?

It goes to show you nothing is sacred anymore, pretty soon we\'ll have the pope selling his robe on E Bay.

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

I have a very strong feeling that the Phipps would Treasure a Derby winner. They however do right by their horses. The loss last year of Pine Island was a very tragic event for a Family that cares about the well being of the animals they race and their obligation to the breed.

The Phipps have run a number of horses in the Derby during my betting years.

Seeking the Gold
Easy Goer
Awe Inspiring
Accellerator

Easy Goer was not a Churchill slop horse and the connections underestimated Sunday Silence, but Easy Goer was as good a horse as has ever started in the Derby.

imallin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don\'t think it has a lot to do with the quality
> of the animal, its about the philosophy of the
> stable.
>
> Basically, the entire world is fascinated by the
> Ky Derby. Everyone wants to win it, some are just
> willing to go to greater lengths to do so.
>
> For whatever reason, the Phipps\' must feel the
> Derby isn\'t all that important. If they held that
> race in as high as regard as everyone else, they\'r
> probably be running if they had ANY chance
> whatsoever.
>
> Unfortunately, Churchill Downs feels the need to
> \'taint\' their signature race by attaching a
> corporate sponsor to the race. To me, that
> cheapens the race for the fans. Its a sellout
> basically. Its like when you were growing up in
> the 1980\'s listening to John Mellencamp sing Jack
> and Diane and you loved his music and felt that
> his songs \'meant something\' to the era in which
> you grew up, you\'d be upset that he\'s writing
> songs and selling his \'heart\' to Chevrolet just to
> make a dollar that he doesn\'t need.
>
> If Churchill doesn\'t care all that much about the
> prestige and the \'race of all races\' title and
> they\'ll sell out to make a dollar thru advertising
> (and btw, that dollar doesn\'t go back into YOUR
> pocket in any way shape or form) than why should
> the Phipps\' care about it either?
>
> It goes to show you nothing is sacred anymore,
> pretty soon we\'ll have the pope selling his robe
> on E Bay.

[richiebee]

Imallin:

A direct quote from John Mellencamp on the Imus in the Morning (RIP) show:
\"Chevrolet did more to promote my music than any record company ever did\"

I always liked Pink Houses and Cherry Bomb better than Jack and Diane. Cherry
Bomb, a song which expresses longing for days gone by, has as part of its chorus
words which might describe racing in the past \"Thats when a sport was a sport\".

[richiebee]

Bally:

 Whether you want to throw the bouquet or not, you must be aware of the
following: The Phipps family going back to the 1930s (well before my time,
obviously), through the 50s with Bold Ruler, into the 60s with Buckpasser, Time
For a Change\'s great upset of Devil\'s Bag and Dr. Carter in the \'84 Flamingo,
Cynthia Phipps\' tremendous filly Christmas Past, the great Shug trained fillies
and mares of recent years (Personal Ensign, Inside Information, My Flag,
Country Hideaway, etc)...

...was I making a point somewhere?

Oh I guess the point was that in terms of racing and breeding, no single family
or entity has had more success in America than the Phippses. Maybe Calumet came
close, but all it took was one free spending, hard living country boy to
bankrupt the whole organization.

Like em or not, the Phipps family has very little left to prove, at
Churchill Downs or anywhere else.

[Lost Cause]

Nuff said..

[miff]

Bee,

You forgot the 8th wonder of the racing world. All the brilliant Phipps mares never threw a champion or anything close to one. It kinda stamps breeding as a  somewhat random endeavor.It\'s been a source of silent pain for Shug that none of the mares throw speed, who woulda thunk it.

Mike

[Lost Cause]

\"Bee,

You forgot the 8th wonder of the racing world. All the brilliant Phipps mares never threw a champion or anything close to one. It kinda stamps breeding as a somewhat random endeavor.It\'s been a source of silent pain for Shug that none of the mares throw speed, who woulda thunk it.

Mike\"

I think you have lost it...Cadillacing had Easy Goer...I think every Personal Ensign foal has been a graded winner..That is to name a few...check your facts before posting false remarks..