Yeah Mike...seemed to me watching FS prick his ears, it looked like he was looking for someone to run with him. It looked like he was just out for a jog the way he was doing it so easy.

it's remarkable but thats how he runs with his head up, just gliding along.
He's the Michael Johnson of the horse world with that style.

I was thinking the same thing.

The only other horse that was a good horse I remember who ran like that was the Buddy Delp trained Sunny Sunrise.

how much faster, if any, was his time than Lost in the Fog's in the same race?

Fog ran 1:08.52, but these were two different tracks..

agreed...

It was very impressive but I agree with what Seigel said after the race that it was over at the start when Greg's Gold didn't get away well. That was the only chance we had to see how FS would respond to any pace pressure and it was gone. I've never seen this horse run before so I don't know if he always races on the lead but if he does, I don't know that there will be any more top level sprints that he'll be able to get away with a 22.31 opening quarter and be comfortably in front. Today's race was very nice though and he's obviously a very good horse.

I would think he'd run in the Summit of Speed at Calder.


Speaking of emoticon's....perhaps now Fabulous Strike will finally crack Mike Watchmaker's top 10 sprinter list :rolleyes:

Not a great year for the Watchmaker Watch---as he had Rags To Riches only at #6 after her remarkable Grade 1 win at Santa Anita where she was hung six wide around both turns....and the 3yo filly division was awfully lacking.

what sprinters out there do you think could give him a run for his money?

Beattie, based primarily at Penn National, said he most likely will run Fabulous Strike next in the Grade 2, $500,000 Smile Sprint Stakes on the July 7 Summit of Speed program at Calder in Florida.

smokey stover!

SURF CAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another big day for Smart Strike as Strike Softly wins the Nassau (Gr. II) at Woodbine too..

And the other best sprinter is based at Golden Gate Fields. It would not be a shock to see the two top sprinters hook up in the Smile. I know that's where Smokey is headed, and we know Gilchrist likes the event as hes been well represented the last three years. It looked like Smokey was tons the best in this division, and then suddenly this horse strikes into contention. Amazing race, but there was no foes like Smokey in that race.

I share this sentiment.

Smokey Stover has the talent to beat Fabulous Strike....but, he's a horse who had a history of making big trouble for himself early on in his career...and is always elidigle for a bad trip when he gets an inside post, because he's not the best of gate horses.

There are a few other sprinters out there who can beat him if they out-trip him.

Unless Todd Beattie and his dealer have a falling out...the number of sprinters in the country capable of beating him fair-and-square is at least one, and perhaps as many as three or four.

He's certainly the best sprinter in the land on figures though---everyones speed figures.

People have forgotten about him but for my money, at his best, he's the #1 guy. Hopefully, he comes back at his best and gets a chance to run a few races this year. Imagine a healthy Surf Cat and a healthy Discreet Cat in that new BC Dirt Mile.

Thats like saying Fog ran better because he beat Cougar Cat by 10 lengths while Strike only beat him by a couple. Neither can be used a comparison.

i'd like to see surf cat again.

that'd be a heck of a race, if they can get all these guys to the bcdm in one piece.

The first 1/4 in 22.31 is a remarkably slow fraction at Churchill Downs for 6 furlongs, especially for that kind of race. Not disparaging the effort just pointing out how the race was over after that.

just asking a question; didn't know what Foggy's final time was.

on a side note, anybody think that Discreet Cat will end up in the Sprint?

They would retire him before running in the sprint.

With Cougar Cat finishing within two lengths today, I have to think the figure is coming down a bit from the 120 level.

I have no idea how fast the track was playing but could cougar cats effort be a case of being pulled along a bit and running a better figure then he has in the past. I remember a few years ago when the track record was set by kellys landing it was playing so fast that day, he got a 112, hard to believe it will be any lower then that.

This isn't harness racing.

really, I totally believe horses can be pulled along a bit by better horses, does not happen all the time. I guess its hard for me to beleive that horse ran much lower then normal.

Extremely impressive. Been following this guy for a long time and I couldn't be happier.

Two predictions: (1) the Beyer will be a 113, and (2) he will be the BC Sprint favorite (assuming he gets there healthy.)

I just watched the replay in super slow-mo and I don't see any trailers attatched to Fabulous Strike so I don't think he pulled Cougar Cat along. I'll watch again though to be sure.

Theory is it happens in Harness (not in thoroughbred), but perhaps Cougar Cat just ran the race of his life to be 2nd. Gaff ran about his race with no excuses and was beaten 7 lengths, which would be a 96 Beyer if you go with my number of a 113. If the number is adjusted down because Cougar Cat ran 3-4 points above his lifetime best it's a bad number.

I see, thats your version of sarcasm. Good stuff.

I would guess around 112. I only said a bit off his previous 120s.

Glad u saw the humor. No harm intended. All in good fun.

I was dumbfounded that they let a horse that fast get away with a first quarter of 22 2/5, which obviously affects the final time a tick or two, but to be realistic with the track playing as fast as it was today to earn a 120 he would have had to broken the track record by over a half a second.

Since speed figures take the track into account, his previous 120s say smashing the track record was within his realm.

As you say, the slow opening 1/4, and that is very slow for Churchill, probably contributed to the lower time more than anything else.

I know the "if it looks like he's doing it easily he isn't going to run faster if pressured" adage but all things considered, he might have been able to. That was an absolute waltz to go 1:07 3/5.

Speaking of track records, I was at Monmouth today and the horse that ran behind Unbridled Sidney in the turf sprint the day before the BC last year crushed the track record at 5.5F on turf, 1:00.81.

They haven't been running 5.5f on the turf at Mth very long at all. Mid meet last year maybe?

Correct, since they installed the new turf course (I count about 15 runs over it.) Still, 1:00.81 for 5.5F on any surface is pretty damned fast... and I think it was Brad Thomas that said the 5F split time of :54.84 would have broken the old record as well.

115 Beyer.

I think the slow first quarter is what allowed Cougar Cat to hang in for 2nd money.