cosign.

i say circular quay wins the travers

Hey no doudt about it's early but I was just guessing maybe SS avoided Curlin and Rags because he wasn't at the top of his game. Not because he couldn't put in the best effort but because the connections were scared of losing another race to him/her right now. With Darley at the helm as the breeders did they have a say in it? Who knows just asking the question?

Agreed, I can't get into the horse because of him... which is a shame.

I do not think that they were scared about losing another race. Don't forget he will always have the Derby under his belt no matter what he does for now on(Remember Giacomo?). They know that they have a very special horse there and they just did not want to run their third race in a five week span. There are alot of big races this summer that I hope they are pointing to. But I do not believe they avoided Belmont because they were afraid of Curlin (who he should have put away in the Preakness) and Rags.

i think nafzger, being a top horseman, knew that his horse was not doing as well, and that curlin was still just fine. street sense lost weight after the preakness, which he hadn't done after the derby. if he thought that Sense was regressing, why would he try to tackle a horse that just beat him, that wasn't regressing?

initially i was very disappointed that sense wasn't running--but after hearing a couple days ago about his weight loss, i can certainly see why. it's why i generally don't try to speak when angry, so i posted some bs posts about sense that i shouldn't have...rather than waiting for cooler head to prevail...

I'm still a big Curlin fan after the Belmont. Hope we see him through the BC this year at least. HOY and 3YO will be interesting this year, that's for sure. Let's hope it's decided by seeing them run, not by inferences if SS and RTR never run (at all and against the boys) again.

i respect curlin & like him enough, or well - i don't dislike him. i just can't really support him because of..

[a] his trainer
[b] 5 career races at 3? no thanks. give me teuflesberg any day [17 career races]

not that many of the othr top horses are much better, but still.. this year, the classic winning contingent doesn't do much for me... i would say street sense would be my favorite of the group. can't really fall for rags - octave is my girl!

HOTY? invasor.

travers winner? i'll wait & see who actually makes it... :p

based upon this year up until this point i think curlin is the obvious choice

tiz wonderful

3 of the 5 races were TC races. That is very impressive.
Trainer does make it hard though.
But the horse is so gutsy I cant help myself. Curlin has me right now. I have become a fan. A doubter until the Derby run.

very very true.

prior to derby, people were giving him alot of credit - thinking he was going to win. well, i doubted that & actually made a bet that if curlin won, i would try sushi [i'm a seafood hater]. after the derby, people weren't giving him credit - you would hear the announcers saying stuff like "UNTIL curlin's derby.." "he was well respected UNTIL his derby 3rd place finish" - well that really pissed me off, because in my eyes that horse became twice the horse he was before the race. for him to go into the derby like that & come out with a very very game 3rd place finish? yeah he was a threat in the preakness, if he didn't bounce. he didn't, & he hasn't yet - but honestly i think it's a matter of time before he does.

besides, i'm a teuflesberg fan - i'm crossing my fingers for the whole champ sprinter, 3y/o male, horse of the year, & hell why not turf horse???

:p kidding. but yes, i think curlin is a very very very nice horse but i'm not willing to concede "great" or "freak" yet - not after 5 races, no thanks. i'm still waiting for him to regress - it's gotta happen sometime.. right??

wait until The Green Monkey makes his debut....then we'll be talking about an incredible BC Classic field!

He is tough is what he is. He is dead game and tough. I cant ask for much more.

forget 2004... that'll be the best field we will ever see! :D

and sound! and for a 3y/o he's raced 17 times.. LOVE!!!!!!!!!!

his recent work was incredibly slow. . . i hope he comes back soon and 100% because he could be an absolute monster. . .

Curlin, so far.

He danced in all three TC races, got an awful ride in the Derby and only lost by a head to RTR.

I give him extra points for coming back in the Preakness after being headed and for fighting to get by R2R when she edged ahead.

He certainly has the heart of a champ.