Generally speaking I do find this website board very informative and fun to read; however, sometimes it can be one of the most venomous boards also.

I do not know Murray Johnson but to call someone "a pretty bad trainer, numbers dont lie" is harsh. His lifetime stats: 1878: 238-248-232 (38%hitting the board does not sound too bad to me). If you compare those lifetime "numbers" to this websites most beloved trainer they are very much the same but I doubt you would call him a "pretty bad" trainer.

To say its your opinion that a trainer is not very good is one thing but to try to back it up with "numbers dont lie" can be a double-edged sword.

John Hancock posts here?

AND WHAT A GOOD GIRL I AM FOR NOT GETTING IN ON THIS ARGUMENT! I pat myself on the back.

I will admit, I will forever love this horse. Drifty will always have a place in my heart and be one of my fave racehorses of all time. Is he the best? No. I am not saying that. But he will always be one of my faves.

I will also admit that he may not want to race anymore. Maybe he is just tired of it. I think they should give him to me and let me baby him for the rest of his life. :)

Come on hossy, let's sing...

Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya
O Lord, kumbaya

Maybe she meant Murray and not PD :confused:

You better clean it up.

And congrats to Brass Hat and his connections.

Since I have been unwittingly dragged into the conversation...I think that it is logical to think that a horse like Perfect Drift may have been able to accomplish more if in the barn of a high percentage trainer like the ones mentioned. Of course it is probably wrong but it is logical. Horse racing history is full of horses who moved to a different location or trainer and moved way up. But there are also many examples of good horses being moved to "high profile" trainers who have regressed. The worst thing about the % is that they really mean so little in a positive way for the owners who hold them so dear. One thing that the higer % guys seem to do is win fast and often for a short period and then the horses quickly regress and retire or move on. They also tend to make decisions that are based on a short term plan usually based upon the common good of their win % first and foremost. The funny thing is that the owners seem to run to these guys as fast as they can and usually wind up no better off than they were before except with a much larger bill. I dont blame the trainers for that type of thinking because it is obvious that is what most owners look for even if it is only a small piece of the puzzle.

Murray is not a close friend of mine but he is a nice man. He himself would probably admit that he is not the worlds greatest trainer. But he has done an exceptional job with this horse in my opinion. Of course I am of the belief that he was never more than a good grade 2 horse that overachieved on many occasions.

That being said it is painfully obvious that the horse has lost more than a step and though he may be sound enough to run, he just isn't a stakes quality horse anymore.

What a very classy post. I would expect no less.

I apologize for "dragging" you into this and I do respect your abilities.

Like I said I do enjoy reading this board but I thought this thread got really carried away when they call someone "a pretty bad trainer, numbers dont lie".

Some people have an interesting way of being a real ball buster.

Geez...

I'm guessing Kumbaya didn't work. :D

My insight concerning the horse isn't to automatically blame his trainer. I'm not convinced that PD would have lasted as long as he has with another trainer... there is obviously no way to know for sure, but I don't feel as if Johnson spotted this horse horribly. As for how he trained him, I have no idea. I'm not a trainer. Only a trainer would really know how he has done with this particular horse.

Thanks for your snobbish response, by the way. Spot on as usual. ;)

Where did I say you shouldn't post your opinion? I never said that at all (I agree with most of it)... you just so happened to degrade another poster's opinion and guess what? He's entitled to his opinion too.

I'm sure that mentioning you just lost your lunch was really relevant to this topic.

crinkle







trash can

You're right, Dave.

Hoss,

I'm sorry. (Seriously.)

Back to topic...

Perfect Drift needs to be retired.