Originally Posted by PSH

What are some of your favorite stallions that produce offspring that you work with? Also, it appears the Mandella barn is coming on strong with many competitive two year olds. Any that have caught your eye yet to make their first start? Lastly, what are your current favorite horses to work with?

Thanks and i enjoy your comments and perspective that you bring....

PSH

Originally Posted by PSH

What are some of your favorite stallions that produce offspring that you work with? Also, it appears the Mandella barn is coming on strong with many competitive two year olds. Any that have caught your eye yet to make their first start? Lastly, what are your current favorite horses to work with?

Thanks and i enjoy your comments and perspective that you bring....

PSH

Originally Posted by Sightseek

To add to the questions...where is Orientation Hall?

Originally Posted by Honu

Well some of my favs are on the bench right now , so I have to get new favs lol . In our barn I usually know alot more of the broodmares babies ( been around too long ) as alot of the babies I have ridden their mothers and their daughters or sons in the past . I like alot of the Dixie Unions , I used to gallop him and he was always a class act , I like the War Chants , very sensible horses that have alot of charater and real intelligent looks about them.
Most of the Grand Slams I have been around I like , they are usually hearty horses with the ability to go short and long on the grass or the dirt.
Its hard for me to pick a favorite sire line because we get so many well bred horses thru the barn , but as you can see I can tell you the one's I dont like lol.
We do have a Mineshaft baby that I like , he has in incredible way of moving but is just a little bit immature right now but down the road I think he is going to be something .
I hate to tout horses because sometimes they dont live up to my expectations so Ill just leave it at that , we do still have some 2 yr olds for Wayne Hughes that I havent seen yet and some more for Diamond to come in so hopefully we can keep the winning trend going with our babies.

Originally Posted by Honu

He just came back in , he had a sore shin so he got turned out for a while , he hasnt worked yet so he most likely will be ready for Oak Tree .

Originally Posted by Honu

Well some of my favs are on the bench right now , so I have to get new favs lol . In our barn I usually know alot more of the broodmares babies ( been around too long ) as alot of the babies I have ridden their mothers and their daughters or sons in the past . I like alot of the Dixie Unions , I used to gallop him and he was always a class act , I like the War Chants , very sensible horses that have alot of charater and real intelligent looks about them.
Most of the Grand Slams I have been around I like , they are usually hearty horses with the ability to go short and long on the grass or the dirt.
Its hard for me to pick a favorite sire line because we get so many well bred horses thru the barn , but as you can see I can tell you the one's I dont like lol.
We do have a Mineshaft baby that I like , he has in incredible way of moving but is just a little bit immature right now but down the road I think he is going to be something .
I hate to tout horses because sometimes they dont live up to my expectations so Ill just leave it at that , we do still have some 2 yr olds for Wayne Hughes that I havent seen yet and some more for Diamond A to come in so hopefully we can keep the winning trend going with our babies.

Originally Posted by Sightseek

Yeah Dixie Union! I think B. Wayne Hughes has bought every yearling I've ever liked at auction. LOL

Originally Posted by Honu

I know huh , the man has like 5 billion dollars and that is a fact , he is in his 70's and he wants a Derby winner before he dies , so look out in the next few years , he's goint to be all out trying to get that horse.

Originally Posted by Sightseek

It will be interesting to see who really pans out next year between the Empire Makers, Vindications and Mineshafts, all of which I think Wayne picked up one or two!

Originally Posted by Sightseek

:(


I know it is completely off topic, but what did you think of First Defence today?

Originally Posted by Honu

Fragile horses , bad airways, bad feet , bad knees and bad attitudes. How many Storm Cats do you see run as 5 yr olds?

Originally Posted by The Bid

Should change the breed for the better if they put some stamina and soundness back into these fragile speedballs.

Who really thinks there are any legit grade 1s in california anyhow?

The Bing Crosby is shaping up to be one of the worst fields in history. The favorite is looking like BATTLE WON.

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

I haven't really put the race under a microscope, but from watching it, my impression was that I don't think we learned a whole lot about how good he is today.

He had a fairly soft looking trip, and was beating a field of horses he seemed very capable of beating.

Originally Posted by Swap Fliparoo

Kee polytrack is a big equalizer of form... if Dominican, Teuf, and Street Sense finish together in a photo, then no one can hope to handicap it.

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

I haven't really put the race under a microscope, but from watching it, my impression was that I don't think we learned a whole lot about how good he is today.

He had a fairly soft looking trip, and was beating a field of horses he seemed very capable of beating.

Originally Posted by 10 pnt move up

yea, one won the derby and almost the preakness, the other won the woody steavens and narrowly lost the carry back.....race did not tell us a thing about the best of the generation.

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

It's my gut feeling that the overuse of medications (illegal and more often legal) have had the biggest impact on why horses aren't nearly as sound as they should be.

Originally Posted by philcski

Lori the Arlington race was a mile and an eighth as well, they don't run a mile and a sixteenth at Arlington (it's a 9F oval, like Saratoga, so the gate would be like 30 yards from the turn).

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

Oh, in the Bloodhorse it said 1 1/16th... so I went with it!

http://racing.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=39770

"The final time for the 1 1/16-mile Round Table was 1:49 3/5 on the Polytrack."

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

All of these major races run over the artifical surfaces have looked like eyesores to me.

Just ugly looking races.

I guess if you like watching slow-paced races, with bunched up fields, and horses racing fairly erratically it might be for you. It's about as entertaining as watching pacers without sulkys.

There is something very beautiful when watching an awesome performance, by a top class horse, in a truly run dirt race.

After I make any notes I need, I tape over these major synthetic races because they are tremendously unenjoyable to watch.

The only two from this year that I know I still have kept tape of are the Blue Grass and Hollywood Gold Cup. Obviously two painfully ugly races to watch, but I had to keep the one because it represented the deepest field in a Derby prep, and the other one because it represented Lava Man's 3rd straight Gold Cup.

Watching Domincan rally wide into the teeth of disgracefully slow fractions, to nab Street Sense, is almost unbearable.

The Hollywood Gold Cup might have been even harder to watch....with Ap Xcellent (who's never won on anything but cushion track) losing to Lava Man by a nose, with a stoutly closing and moderate Big Booster flying at him.

The races are run like turf races, but horses don't close with those exciting late bursts like they do on turf. It's more of a steady grinding move.

If racing everywhere was switched from natural dirt surfaces, to artifical dirt surfaces, I would obviously still be involved in day-to-day betting and nothing like that would change.

But, there is no way I'd consider myself a fan of the sport anymore. I love true dirt racing, and have a video library with tapes of races from virtually every Graded Stakes winner this decade, virtually every Grade 1 winner through the 90's, virtually every champion to race from the 80's, and all of the top horses from the 70's.

I can only speak for myself, but I find polytrack racing to be tremendously boring and uninteresting. Even when you have a bet on the race, you still feel like you want to sleep away the first half of the race.

But hey, we all know how natural dirt is such a demanding and crippling surface.

Originally Posted by Honu

I know , its highway robbery....... My bosses owners dont breed to him very often but we have had about 10 come thru the barn and they are a nightmare. When they gallop they dont bend their knee's , they always have throat issues and need myectomys and tie forward surguries which usually are a waste of time and money and their feet are often mal-conformed and dont match. Sometimes when they come in they are nice to be around but as soon as you start to put the pressure on them they melt mentally.
I dont care if I ever see another Storm Cat bred horse as long as I live , and whats worse are all the sons to him that are out there just throwing that crappy gene to more horses. Good example , Giants Causeway , every single one I have been around has been hard headed , extremely nervous , and not a good doer , they sweat and fret everyday and get so wound up that if they were human they would prolly commit suicide.

Originally Posted by fpsoxfan

Watching Domincan rally wide into the teeth of disgracefully slow fractions, to nab Street Sense, is almost unbearable.

Agreed Drugs...That race was the closest imitation to Harness Racing I've ever seen since following T-breds. It was the worst and most confusing race of the prep races. Poly sucks. I know, as handicappers we are supposed to make the adjustment, but I still hate it. If It ever reaches the entire NYRA circuit, I may retire from the game and take up a new addiction.

Originally Posted by fpsoxfan

Watching Domincan rally wide into the teeth of disgracefully slow fractions, to nab Street Sense, is almost unbearable.

Agreed Drugs...That race was the closest imitation to Harness Racing I've ever seen since following T-breds. It was the worst and most confusing race of the prep races. Poly sucks. I know, as handicappers we are supposed to make the adjustment, but I still hate it. If It ever reaches the entire NYRA circuit, I may retire from the game and take up a new addiction.