I thought Country Star had a perfect trip and was very lucky to win the race. She beat a pretty awful group by a very small amount and if she did get DQ'ed, it would have been pretty fair. To me it was one that could have gone either way. Like Scuds said, just a judgement call from the stewards as to whether or not it changes the outcome of the race. She was coming off a layoff from a poor outing so it may be fair to say her best race is next out. Frankel is good off layoffs, but he also is very good 2nd off too.

I dont think the Gazelle is a crazy spot for this horse as I see Music Note regressing huge next time out, off that very close loss to Proud Spell. I'd be all over Country Star in the Gazelle given the right price.

Country Star looked atrocious in the stretch. . .

Country Star may or may not be that terrific a horse, but she's pretty good on the turf, and ran well yesterday. She is not a grinder, and being forced to sit three wide and close to a moderate pace, the way she did yesterday, is not only well against her preferred running style, it is an extremely difficult way to race and be successful. Those that think she did not run well yesterday are massively mistaken.

And to those that also think she was way overbet yesterday, I offer that in her only prior turf start, she not only finished second to Backseat Rhythm, who is one of the best ( if not the best ) 3YO turf fillies in the country, she was making her debut while Backseat Rhythm had the benefit of two prior starts. Ignoring these facts, while stating how dramatically overbet she was, makes no sense whatsoever. OK, maybe 4:5 was a tad low, but hardly THAT low. And, considering how she won, I'm not so sure there were a lot of scenerios where she wouldn't have gotten to the wire first. Probably not five out of ten.

There is something of actual value to the thread now,because you've reminded everyone of the horse who got free on a highly speed favoring day at Hwd Park in late June. You had no shot trying to make up ground on this day. Last Saturday in June of this year. Find good raters that failed miserably on this day, and you'll get some value. The 2 days before this were the exact opposite of what I just said ( again some value available, but i'd say that saturday card was the real value producer.) That was the best Friday Night for me ever at HWD PARK. They didn't adjust at all(just kept playing speed,) and lil Garcia capped off a real nice (had it 10x) p3 ending in the feature....Uh, no I didn't have Mast Track the next day. I was in Vegas, and had switched tracks when I realized the put a speed bias in overnight(just like that? yep..they changed it late Friday Night.) It is true though that T BAZE is the 1st to know about a change in track bias, and the best at taking advantage of it.

BTW, you can't compare the stewards at different tracks to each other. Somebody mentioned Del Mar. Well, the stewards on this circuit have a different threshold in play when one Victor Espinoza is involved. They aren't gunna help out Nakatani much at all, either. Out here, you are damn near for sure not gunna get taken down if you use Gomez. It's a very political situation with these stewards out here. For instance, I really think Bodacat had shown he was the best horse, but got taken down(because Espinoza was riding.) Gomez would never have come down if he had done the same on Bodacat.

CS has footwork issues. She had them in her 1st and 2nd start and, apparently, they were worked out by her 3rd start. I'm took lazy to check out her 4th and 5th race but she was awful yesterday. She spent a good portion of the backstretch LEFTY and she wasn't able to stay on one lead consistently during the stretch run (while under pressure).

Maybe she's still green (it's related to the whip and the jockey change) or maybe it's just the way she runs (not terribly efficient, then) or maybe she has (soundness) issues.

I certainly think that Backseat Rhythm is a nice 3yo turf filly, but she is not even in the same realm as Pure Clan.

I think she may well be better.

It was tough to tell on the turn if By The Light came out on the outside horse on her own, or if Salt Water Reign forced her out. I think it was the right call.

Standard issue when one loses...:zz:

Good post.

:tro: :tro:

:rolleyes:

:rolleyes: You should talk....whining ...wha...wha...wha.. about losing a P3 because you are dumb enough to bet against a Frankel horse as the favorite. Anyone that bets against a Frankel like Country Star BECAUSE they want to bet against fav...in spite of the race figs ...get what they deserve a losing ticket for a loser.

I saw the race ancd the replays several times. There was no interference in that pack of horses. If anything the horse on the rail jammed the bunch

:rolleyes:

Make that 2 of us.

Backseat Rhythm is a very nice filly and I agree she's one of the top 3yo turf fillies. I hope she and My Princess Jess get to face each other in the Garden City or QE II

Just curious what did BR do in the American Oaks? Which PC won. She was boxed in, Split horses , and won going away. If I remember correctly BR ran sixth.

That goes directly to the "First Post Hall of Fame"

i eagerly await post #2, hopefully it will be in the selections section.

You guys are ruthless. I was being sarcastic to Blackthroatedwinds reply that Backseat Rythm was a better horse than Pure Clan. I guess I posted it wrong. Im sorry. LOL