Hey Gator, you and I have the same tastes in horses. Is it out of habit that you pick them out based on conformation because you just picked out two outstanding conformation examples in the breed? I do it too. LOL. Must be the background we come from. Mr. Livingston is about perfect, and I don't say that about too many horses.

Yeah, it was very solid...these two work together in the mornings because they are easily Pletcher's fastest juveniles....Personally, I've seen them both work and go against each other and I believe Scat Daddy is a better animal but we'll see...he outworked Minefield twice at CD, which doesn't mean that he is necessarily better than Minefield in the afternoons though....they are both good animals...no doubt about it.

Watch out for Napa Cat...I really believe that he can beat Minefield in next month's Bashford Manor...we'll see

Agreed...he is a Yankee Victor colt that the Romans' barn is very high on and his debut was impressive...I think he was entered at CD and scratched for some reason a few weeks ago...

It is out of habit. LOL I think his conformation helped him stay sound throughout his racing career... he raced until he was 7! :D

I posted some pictures of my boy Chucker in the "This is me..." thread. He is a very classy/elegant horse and has outstanding conformation too. Sadly, I am selling him because I am going to KY next year, and he is way too classy to be a lead pony. Otherwise, I would just take him with me.

Really, I wish all horses were built like Mr. Livingston. Less soundness issues. This boy has a great column of bone on his legs, and very clean conformation of the legs.

I hope someday I can afford a nice mare... I would breed her to him in a heartbeat for that price ($3,500 stud fee.) He was a very consistent racehorse as well and I have heard he wasn't a "hot-headed" horse either. I suspect that his fee will go up soon. It's hard to believe that an El Prado like him has such an affordable stud fee.

I have to agree with Mike (oracle) on this one. Minefield is very, very special. There is something about him. He is so impressive and classy. Someone is going to have to step up and beat him considerably for me to change my mind about him.

By the way, it is nice to have someone that is a prominent figure in horse racing posting on here giving us handicapping tips and insider information. Thanks! I hope to meet you one day.

Wow, only 3,500? For an El Prado? With looks like that? And a temperament to boot? Wow. I have got to invest in a racehorse. I'm already about ready to jump out of my seat to go to Kentucky, and that is a year away. College is so boring.

oh man i cant wait for those...what is your opinion of chesterhouse as a sire his stock seems to be doing well on turf or dirt,,,

CONFORMATION and SOUNDNESS are the best qualities about most El Prados...the ones I've been around were very sound, well-built animals...

The reason he stands so reasonably is the fact that he has no commerciability in terms of the what future horse buyers and bloodstock agents will be looking to purchase...the auction environment wants a faster, presocious-looking animal, and turf stallions struggle to survive in the American market, especially those that figure to produce routers and horses that won't produce their best until late in their racing careers.

It might be unfortunate, but true....

I believe Powerscourt is a prime example....he is a brilliant turf horse with top class ability, all-around credentials, regal pedigree, brialliant looks and good conformation - yet he is standing for $12,500 because nobody in this country will breed to a turf router and he need to stand for that to get a full book of mares....He would be standing in Europe with more racing success over there, but they never thought he was a good horse on that circuit and he ran his best races in America for one reason or another..

I'd breed to him with the right mare...

Also, aside from turf, you have great value stallions like Victory Gallop that can only stand for $10,000 because nobody wants top wait until 4-years-old for a good horse...they want speed and precociousness....but Victory Gallop gets a pretty solid and sound horse and doesn't get a great book of mares...you just have to be willing to wait on them to develop...

See this is a prime example in the fact that horse racing needs to change. You have the great Powerscourt standing for 12,500 dollars because owners don't want to wait for a horse to develop and mature. Most horses run best in their four year old years. That is because they are mentally and physically ready to meet the demands of rigorous racing and training. The handicap horses are my favorites, yet we rarely see any of our major two year old and three year old stars make it to the handicap division because most are retired or injured due to the demand of speed and precociousness. I'd much rather have a good three year old and four year old than a good two year old.

It also amazes me why in the world anyone would want to pay an outrageous stud fee for such an unsound horse as Ghostzapper, although he was very amazing. It makes no sense to me. His sire, Awesome Again, has a cheaper stud fee, and he is proven. I could go on and on about this sort of thing all day long. I'm a fan of the horses, and have realized that if racing wants to get where it needs to be, people/owners/trainers are going to have to realize that the horses must come first. That includes breeding sound horses who aren't ruined in their two and three year old years. I got way off topic didn't I?

What's amazing to me is that although he was mainly a turf horse, he also ran well on dirt. Lou Roe Farm's website has some video of his previous races on their site. I'm going to have to check out Powerscourt as well.

That's one area that I can say I am an expert in...conformation analysis. However, it might be the only area...LOL.

Joel, What's up? I kind of like the race Run Alex Run ran in his debut. I'm also waiting for GunFight to start again. He show speed and should improve off that effort. I can't argue with your early selectionsThey ran the day after the Preakness. Gus

Yeah Gus, that was a nice maiden race at CD...Bullara for Pletcher ran second to Run Alex Run and is a nice little horse too, although he isn't as good as Scat Daddy and Minefield form that barn IMO...Gunfight is a neat looking little colt for Asmussen, who thinks that Napa Cat is his best juvenile..Gunfight is okay and should win soon....Also, Pat Byrne has the favorite in that race..a horse by the name of Prodical Extreme..I think he ran fourth that day after setting the pace with Run Alex Run....I think Prodical Extreme is a good horse that has a few excuses to date and should improve as the distances get a little longer...don't forget about him either...


...but, that was a solid maiden race with potentially 4 very decent 2-year-olds, and Run Alex Run won it nicely. He is a fast colt and should be a nice sprinter, but I'm not sure how far he'll go...looks like a 6-7 furlong horse at best..kinda reminds me of Wildcat Shoes, who was another very fast 2-year-old from the Jenks Fires barn a few years back that carried the silks of Ms. Blass..