Wow. Harrington on Creative Cause

[sekrah]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/69360/harrington-creative-causes-work-perfect

"He doesn't like to be crowded," said Harrington of Creative Cause. "In deep stretch (in the Santa Anita Derby), those horses were crowding him and then when the inside horse dropped off, he (Creative Cause) leveled off and actually came back on the winner. But when all three of them were head and head, he didn't like it that much. He got smashed and annihilated at Del Mar in the (2011) Futurity (gr. I) and it's affected him; he doesn't like crowds, but obviously he'll have to deal with it (in the Kentucky Derby).
 
"People don't realize how much those things bother horses and how much they remember them," Harrington continued. "I had a horse one time that won his first out impressively. I took him to Bay Meadows and he got annihilated. He never (really) ran again ...well he did win at Los Alamitos the other day. But it just left an indelible impression on him that he did not want to run because he was afraid he was going to get hurt."

[justwin]

he also doesn\'t like the whip but he did quite well in the juvy which has a lot of horses in it, not the 20 he will face on Saturday though.

[miff]

\"Creative Cause, who had shoeing issues the previous day, breezed with his head cocked slightly outward the entire way, which may just be his normal way of going. The work, in and of itself was good, although the overall impression of the entire training session merely average at best\"

Work critique above from Welch:

...so, CC blinkers on, blinkers off, cheaters on, cheaters off. I\'m confused as I believe the horse is.One of the faster ones, off a no excuse average performance, on the toss side of the ledger pending draw.


Mike

[Rick B.]

A 20 horse field being cheered on by 140,000 people is no place for a colt that can\'t handle distractions, and tight quarters on the racetrack.

Auto-toss for me...and as good as Harrington is with young horses, perhaps a 25% chance this one scratches due to a sudden \"minor injury\". A negative, hugely frightening experience could ruin this horse forever.

[Dana666]

\"I rank Creative Cause a hair below the top horses going a classic distance. Creative Cause is very singular in his focus, and that could be a problem because he will be prone to using up energy dealing with traffic and space battles in the Kentucky Derby.

Creative Cause is all forward-motion energy. He is fantastic with nothing but space in front of him or with only one horse to battle with. His natural pattern of motion is to attack one target — to grab open space or fight another competitor.\"

Kerry Thomas had this to say-interesting.

[bellsbendboy]

Mike think this colt is a must include in verticals.  Realizing he is a gray by GC and may get worked up a bit but always shows up.  Figures to handle ten panels, has speed to get a seat wherever he draws and if his quarter crack holds up hard to find him out of the super at some twelve to one or so.  He is a pure hard knocking racehorse with an excellent resume. bbb

[Lost Cause]

bellsbendboy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
and if his quarter crack holds
> up hard to find him out of the super at some
> twelve to one or so.  


Hey bbb...where did you see the quarter crack issue...I missed this..

[Topcat]

Dana666 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> \"I rank Creative Cause a hair below the top horses
> going a classic distance. Creative Cause is very
> singular in his focus, and that could be a problem
> because he will be prone to using up energy
> dealing with traffic and space battles in the
> Kentucky Derby.
>
> Creative Cause is all forward-motion energy. He is
> fantastic with nothing but space in front of him
> or with only one horse to battle with. His natural
> pattern of motion is to attack one target — to
> grab open space or fight another competitor.\"
>
> Kerry Thomas had this to say-interesting.


Fur suuuuure.   Good luck getting a dream trip in this mob.

[miff]

Hi Bell,

No problems with distance,his talent/figs or that bum rider Rosario,concerned about his antics.Also,to my eye,his last prep a very common performance struggling to get by a horse that did not belong and a slowish fig.

I stand firmly by my belief that no horse in here can survive a mistake/bad trip and hit the board.Very confused by CC trainer Harrington still not set with rigging this one.

Had CC on top of my list in Feb.

Good luck

Mike

[TGJB]

That\'s what\'s wrong with having a list in Feb...

[bellsbendboy]

My info is second hand but reliable.  When a horse loses a shoe they usually lose some foot.  The term quarter crack covers a multitude of possibilities.
Apparently this colt has a small patch about the size of a quarter on his right front.  Usually no issue and Harrington was a track vet for almost thirty years and has not mentioned it, but Churchill with its clay is never kind to feet. bbb

[ByTheNumbers]

I\'m not a farrier and don\'t play one on TV, but here is the explanation Mike Harrington gave this morning:
  The shoe had been applied to Creative Cause\'s hoof using a binding material, sort of a Super Glue which hardens to become basically an extension of the hoof wall. The shoe became displaced during the flight to Kentucky, after which the groom removed the shoe completely - and along with it came a small chunk of that binding material that had remained adhered tightly to a portion of the shoe. It wasn\'t part of the actual hoof wall, just a piece of the hardened glue.
  Understanding that trainers routinely say such problems are \"no big deal,\" Harrington did convincingly make it sound like this particular issue was nothing to worry about.

[sekrah]

More Twitterverse...


Christina Olivares‏@ChristinaTVG

Harrington walking Creative Cause for a second day after work. I\'ve watched him train at BHP for months. Never known him to get 2 days off.

[justwin]

Welsch reported on todays clockers report that Harrington said the he always walks his horses for 2 days after they work. I think something is up here though. He lost his shoe on the trip over to churchill, needing extra shoe work before his work on monday and someone else reported on this board that he has an injury the size of a quarter on his foot.

[sekrah]

I loved this horse last week but there are way too many red flags going on here.   I would believe Christina Olivares anyday of the week over Harrington.  If he beats me, he beats me, but he\'s off my tickets.