Other Races, Other Horses, Other Thoughts

[richiebee]

Blasphemy.

We saw two future Grade 1 turf stars over the weekend.

Not much mention of Seek Again\'s performance, coming up the hedge and giving
the surprisngly rank HOY all he could handle. This guy was only average in
John Gosden\'s yard, never competing in any Group race, running a couple of
decent tries over synthetic. Most interestingly, in his third race before
coming to America, Seek Again faced 30 rivals going 9 furlongs on the
straight Newmarket course.

Now a winner at 10 furlongs (Ho^llywo^od Derby) as a three
year old and second to WD, lets go Billy, put him someplace where we can bet
on him.

Nashoba\'s Gold was an easy winner in the Gr 2 Honeymoon at Santa Anita
Sunday. It is hard to consider this a real Gr 2 test, what with the fact that
only five 3YO fillies ran, and only one, Nashoba\'s Gold, was a graded stake
winner. I dont care raw time or TG #, this grayish Smart Strike runner really
has shown a nice turn of foot in all of her races, all turf, undefeated now
in 3 tries at 9 furlongs in addition to a close loss at a flat mile.

Of course with TVG you are not watching the filly warm up or gallop out
extensively, you are watching the faces of TVG\'s on air \"talent\". From what I
have been able to see from Living Room Downs, this one really impresses me,
looks kind of light, more a ballerina than a bulldozer. After a planned start
in the American Oaks at SA on May 31, I\'m hoping Carla Gaines is game and we
see this filly at the Spa or the big turf races at AP when things heat up. If
she shows up in the entries at the Spa, no brainer, one day trip, a quick
drink from the healing springs, no stopping in the Schenectady taverns. I
fancy Nashoba\'s Gold that much. I\'ll \"friend\" her if she has a Facebook page.

Saturday at Belmont, the Peter Pan. The race H Allen Jerkens told his son to
enter Wicked Strong in, to prep WS for the Belmont. (Maybe this kind of
contrarian thinking is the reason that \"the Chief\" lost the Centennial horses
all those years ago). Tonalist goes and this one also has impressed many
folks. The pedigree is so strong with Multiple G1 SW HOY Havre de Grace and
(I think) turf G1 winner and turf G1 producer Riskaverse somewhere close on
the dam side.

I will pose this again because it fascinates me whether it bores you or not.
Of the Derby runners who ran at least one race at GP as a 3YO, I think only
Wicked Strong and Intense Holiday finished in the top 10 at CD. Not even
making it to the Derby gate after prepping at GP: Cairo, Constitution, Honor
Code, Tonalist, Top Billing. Just saying.

One last thought to this ahem rather lengthy post (take that twitterati). I
have long suggested that the two figure making camps do joint productions a
couple of times a year on big days, marketing the numbers side by side, maybe
having seminars where JB interacts with Jake or whoever over at Rag, agreeing
on some #s, pattern reads, probably disagreeing on many, vehemently
disagreeing on a few. I think if managed properly this would be educational
and entertaining for followers and profitable for both houses.

Some thoughts about Rag: New management should have taken (and may yet take)
the opportunity to upgrade the website. The color scheme is not welcoming.
Ken Sherman should be able to link at will, but give the man his own section,
like \"Sherman Sez\".

Like I always say about the TG/Rag debate, as intensely as it burns and as
comically as it turns, there are hundreds of millions of people in Asia and
Africa who know not from TG or Ragozin, not to mention millions here in the
USA. As the great Argentinian (typewriter) jockey Jorge Luis Borges once said
about Argentina\'s war with Britain over the Falklands, \"Its like two bald men fighting over a comb.\"

and thats the way it was May 8, 2014.

[Wrongly]

Richie

Great post.  You never fail us!

[TGJB]

Now I gotta wait another day for the second half of my response to Vito.

Watch the bald cracks.

Interesting about GP, brings to mind Dreaming Of Julia...

[Deadrockstar]

This is really outstanding.

[Michael D.]

richiebee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Blasphemy.
>
> We saw two future Grade 1 turf stars over the
> weekend.
>
> Not much mention of Seek Again\'s performance,
> coming up the hedge and giving
> the surprisngly rank HOY all he could handle. This
> guy was only average in
> John Gosden\'s yard, never competing in any Group
> race, running a couple of
> decent tries over synthetic. Most interestingly,
> in his third race before
> coming to America, Seek Again faced 30 rivals
> going 9 furlongs on the
> straight Newmarket course.
>
> Now a winner at 10 furlongs (Hollywood Derby) as a
> three
> year old and second to WD, lets go Billy, put him
> someplace where we can bet
> on him.
>
> Nashoba\'s Gold was an easy winner in the Gr 2
> Honeymoon at Santa Anita
> Sunday. It is hard to consider this a real Gr 2
> test, what with the fact that
> only five 3YO fillies ran, and only one, Nashoba\'s
> Gold, was a graded stake
> winner. I dont care raw time or TG #, this grayish
> Smart Strike runner really
> has shown a nice turn of foot in all of her races,
> all turf, undefeated now
> in 3 tries at 9 furlongs in addition to a close
> loss at a flat mile.
>
> Of course with TVG you are not watching the filly
> warm up or gallop out
> extensively, you are watching the faces of TVG\'s
> on air \"talent\". From what I
> have been able to see from Living Room Downs, this
> one really impresses me,
> looks kind of light, more a ballerina than a
> bulldozer. After a planned start
> in the American Oaks at SA on May 31, I\'m hoping
> Carla Gaines is game and we
> see this filly at the Spa or the big turf races at
> AP when things heat up. If
> she shows up in the entries at the Spa, no
> brainer, one day trip, a quick
> drink from the healing springs, no stopping in the
> Schenectady taverns. I
> fancy Nashoba\'s Gold that much. I\'ll \"friend\" her
> if she has a Facebook page.
>
> Saturday at Belmont, the Peter Pan. The race H
> Allen Jerkens told his son to
> enter Wicked Strong in, to prep WS for the
> Belmont. (Maybe this kind of
> contrarian thinking is the reason that \"the Chief\"
> lost the Centennial horses
> all those years ago). Tonalist goes and this one
> also has impressed many
> folks. The pedigree is so strong with Multiple G1
> SW HOY Havre de Grace and
> (I think) turf G1 winner and turf G1 producer
> Riskaverse somewhere close on
> the dam side.
>
> I will pose this again because it fascinates me
> whether it bores you or not.
> Of the Derby runners who ran at least one race at
> GP as a 3YO, I think only
> Wicked Strong and Intense Holiday finished in the
> top 10 at CD. Not even
> making it to the Derby gate after prepping at GP:
> Cairo, Constitution, Honor
> Code, Tonalist, Top Billing. Just saying.


Didn\'t Intense Holiday finish 12th? How about Danza? Artie? Medal Count?

I think 6 of the top 12 ran at GP as 3 yr olds.

 
> One last thought to this ahem rather lengthy post
> (take that twitterati). I
> have long suggested that the two figure making
> camps do joint productions a
> couple of times a year on big days, marketing the
> numbers side by side, maybe
> having seminars where JB interacts with Jake or
> whoever over at Rag, agreeing
> on some #s, pattern reads, probably disagreeing on
> many, vehemently
> disagreeing on a few. I think if managed properly
> this would be educational
> and entertaining for followers and profitable for
> both houses.
>
> Some thoughts about Rag: New management should
> have taken (and may yet take)
> the opportunity to upgrade the website. The color
> scheme is not welcoming.
> Ken Sherman should be able to link at will, but
> give the man his own section,
> like \"Sherman Sez\".
>
> Like I always say about the TG/Rag debate, as
> intensely as it burns and as
> comically as it turns, there are hundreds of
> millions of people in Asia and
> Africa who know not from TG or Ragozin, not to
> mention millions here in the
> USA. As the great Argentinian (typewriter) jockey
> Jorge Luis Borges once said
> about Argentina\'s war with Britain over the
> Falklands, \"Its like two bald men fighting over a
> comb.\"
>
> and thats the way it was May 8, 2014.

[Caradoc]

Richie,

Sorry to report but the chances of NG coming east for Saratoga virtually nil, as she is being aimed for the Del Mar Oaks in the middle of August, which is a Grade 1 and also carries a larger purse than either the Lake George or the Ballston Spa.  Maybe Carla considers the QEII at Keeneland in the fall, but for many barns there is very little incentive to come east as SA once again hosts the BC, so why bother when you can prep there, avoid the ship, etc.  

Re: Sherman Sez: One of the funniest exchanges ever on any board was the one over there where a guy offered Sherman 100 bucks to stop posting for awhile.  I was sure that if it ever became serious, Jerry would have to take up a larger collection for him to keep posting, for the competitive advantage he provides by making that board unreadable.

[dcbred1]

Wonderful.  Intelligent and thoughtful writing about racing lives.

[TGJB]

Yeah, that raises some interesting questions. It\'s not like they had so much interesting stuff there even before Sherman stultified the place-- the only remotely interesting or knowledgeable posters were a few guys I threw off here. I get why they let Chuckles stick around a while, insufferable as he is, because he was taking shots at me for throwing him out, and they liked that. But they have to see what Sherman has done to that place, and they let him keep doing it. I don\'t get it.

[richiebee]

Michael D. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> richiebee Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------

 
> > I will pose this again because it fascinates me
> > whether it bores you or not.
> > Of the Derby runners who ran at least one race
> at
> > GP as a 3YO, I think only
> > Wicked Strong and Intense Holiday finished in
> the
> > top 10 at CD. Not even
> > making it to the Derby gate after prepping at
> GP:
> > Cairo, Constitution, Honor
> > Code, Tonalist, Top Billing. Just saying.
>
>
> Didn\'t Intense Holiday finish 12th? How about
> Danza? Artie? Medal Count?
>
> I think 6 of the top 12 ran at GP as 3 yr olds.
 
Michael:

That is why I miss your year round (as opposed to seasonal) presence on the
Board... I need you to keep me honest!

You can also add Vinceremos (broke maiden at GP 1/4/14) and Harry\'s Holiday
(broke maiden as 2YO at GP on 12/20/13) as GP horses. All told 9 of 19 Derby
entrants raced at GP (Pablo de Monte if entered would have made 10 of 20). I
was actually focusing more on the disabled list the GP races produced, and
wondering whether the spacing, distance progression of the preps or track
surface somehow contributed to the attrition rate. I also realize that it
would be relevant to determine what facility all of these runners were
training at (Payson, Palm, Calder, etc.) if trying to study this
scientifically. Lots of randomness involved.

Was never impressed with the General or the Wildcat. I think all of the
disabled list colts (and Change Now, the Bill Mott trained half to Super
Saver by Tiznow, who flashed some ability on both surfaces at GP) will end up
making more of an impact than these two.

[richiebee]

Caradoc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Richie,
>
> Sorry to report but the chances of NG coming east
> for Saratoga virtually nil, as she is being aimed
> for the Del Mar Oaks in the middle of August,
> which is a Grade 1 and also carries a larger purse
> than either the Lake George or the Ballston Spa.
> Maybe Carla considers the QEII at Keeneland in the
> fall, but for many barns there is very little
> incentive to come east as SA once again hosts the
> BC, so why bother when you can prep there, avoid
> the ship, etc.  

Caradoc:

Thanks for throwing ice water on my man crush. Guess I wont have to worry
about the peppermints, the carrots, the handful of timothy or alfalfa I would
have fed her given the opportunity. I will go drink right now the bottle of
beer I was keeping chilled for her.

My hopes of seeing her in person aside, the possibility of seeing her on a
course she loves, at a distance she should love, against elders and Euros at
a price in the BC.... I get goose bumps!

[Michael D.]

yeah, all those good ones getting hurt down there certainly does make you wonder. could be the surface.

outstanding post regardless.

[hooper]

The Palm Meadows dirt surface was awful this year. Some outfits looking to relocate for next winter.