If Lava Man is going to have any success in Dubai, the connections should give serious consideration to shipping him early enough to acclimate to a new environment and also run in one of the prep races in late February or early March.

Ball Four
Suave
Seek Gold
Watershed event


All Grade 1 winners?

They all finished ahead of Perfect Drift last year.

Thats a trick question. You could make a heck of a longer list than that. Perfect Hanger. Gotta love him.

These were the winners of the 2006 races that Perfect Drift finished second in.

Ball Four beat him in a six horse field in the Kentucky Cup Classic gr11

Suave beat him by five lengths in the Washinton Park Handicap Gr11 , a seven horse field. Suave went to the BCC, was 30 to 1 on the morning line and ended up beating only one horse, David Junior. The fact that Perfect Drift finished well in front of Suave in the BC shows he ran his race, maybe better.

Of course Seek Gold beat him in the Foster at Churchill in what had to be the highlight of the year for him. Seek Gold was something like 70 to 1.

And to begin the year, Watershed Event beat Perfect Drift in a five horse allowance event.

If your best effort comes up short against this bunch under much easier conditions, it may not be your year to take down the BCC.

I believe it's fairly obvious he ran in order to compete in his 5th straight BC Classic and because he's a gelding they've made a fortune with, not because he was a logical contender.

There's alot of horses that win races when people think they havent a chance. PD deserved his place in the field.

I was thinking the same thing
I only saw him train a few times this fall but he isn't the smoothest looking thing in the A.M.

i'm on the fence at this point regarding lava man. yeah, plenty of money to be had in cali, but then there's the 'been there, done that' line of thought.

racing is full of risks and rewards. maybe they know something we don't. maybe they send him over early enough, he gets over his homesickness and runs well. who knows?

besides, horses are put in over their heads all the time--it's given us some great moments in racing over the years...jim dandy's travers win immediately leaps to mind.

if lava man is happy, healthy, doing what he enjoys...go for it. it doesn't injure him to ship, he doesn't read the papers so he has no clue what kind of reputation he has!

If we are going to complain about short fields in big races we cant complain when horses like this run. I know he has lost a step or three but "its better to be a has been than a never was"

I'm a big Lava Man fan, but you're right about him racing at home. Steve told us that when he saw Lava Man at Churchhill for the BC that he was having a problem with his new home and appeared to be a "STALL RACER". Let him be King of California till someone beats him.

But he sure looks good in the winners circle at $500,000 a shot last year.

Yes he does but the most important "shot" may not be available in Dubai.....unless you are owned by the home team, of course.

There's no place like home.

well now...he could get one of the other 'shots' that the competition got last year...the one's that 'relaxed' them...did anyone ever investigate that?

country song...

"I ain't good as I once was...but I'm as good once, as I ever was":D

What I heard is that because the trainer did the tests on his own, they don't exist for the local racing authorities and in fact the authorities are debarred from taking any action based on tests they did not order. Some sort of catch-22 situation like that as I recall.

nice...damned if you do damned if you don't...:rolleyes: