So there is no way it is possible that Baffert wanted Gomez to sit there, like Behaving Badly did, right? Come on guys, let's be serious for a second if the hole opens there is no way you are going to convince me that he was going to blow by Songster. You guys are acting like Songster is some pig. He is an improving colt with a big future.

And I suppose if Gomez sends, and he fades in the stretch, then you guys say what a bad ride it was to send. It seems like a lose-lose situation to me.

Bling has BLOWN BY HIM before,and will do so again(when given room to run.)Bling and Anew have just got an extra mid-race burst that most good sprinters can't match.These 2 are the top 2 sprinters in the country.

Too Much Bling was compromised by his post. If he sent into a duel with Fabulous Strike he would have been doomed to lose to Songster who was destined to get a perfect trip due to his luckier draw. The best idea was to let the other one go and hope to either be able to angle out or get enough room to get through. The reality is the hole was tight and the horse, like many, was probably a little chicken about getting through.

Songster and Too Much Bling are both nice horses. One got a predictably better trip than the other in that race and won. On an even playing field the result could easily have been reversed. Blaming a rider in this situation is mystifying as the race basically played out exactly like it looked on paper.

I am not saying it was a great ride, but I don't see what choice Gomez had, and there are certainly FAR better examples of poor rides.

Thank you, that is all I have been trying to say, it was the circumstance not necessarily the ride.

Bling blew by him on a track that Songster seemeds to have a tough time getting a hold of. Still haven't addressed the fact that maybe Baffert told him to sit, you really seem to be avoiding that one. Hmmmm, wonder why.

No, not at all. If he sends and loses, he's not good enough. My only points are these... Pure speed from the rail = must send (not fair to compare Bling to Behaving Badly where BB was FAR superior)... and ... Songster is too good to expect TMB to pass by taking back and going 3-wide.

Songster may still be better. Then again, maybe not. But TMB had no chance after 1/4 IMO. He either needed to be sent hard or it could be that he wasn't good enough to keep up early (hurt?).

Well, if Baffert told him to sit, he didn't sit. He just waited with no place to go. If you're going to sit on a speed horse from the rail, you take back early in order to get your horse in the clear, right?

I truly believe that they decided as a team to sit, because if you notice they have been trying to get TMB to relax a little bit early this year as opposed to last year when it was send, send, send. He rated him in the San Miguel, San Vicente and Bay Shore all to a victory, so obviously Baffert has found a way to get the most out of TMB's speed. I think if you send, you risk getting TMB to revert to his old habit of popping and stopping.

Or come up the rail, if you can't swing out like he did. It just wasn't his day, why is it so crazy to think Songster was just better?

Fair enough. If that's the case, it was a tough go of it! Good luck!

Did Songster run a time like ANEW'S? That's what it would take for me to agree that he was "just better than Bling" that day.That's how good this Bling is.You just don't understand how fast the horse is.Bling can run the 108.10 that ANEW did.Songster ran a 108.88,and that's the difference (about 3-4 lengths,)and that's why Songster just isn't better.You'll see Bling blow by him when they meet again.The question is whether Bling can beat ANEW.

I have been around long enough to know that SCUDS is one of the better handicappers on this board. Easily top 5 IMO.

I think you may be a bit too high on TMB. In his two wins out west this year he beat no one, and he floated over that Aqueduct strip that he obviously loved and Songster didn't take to. I've never been a huge guy on times, because the tracks are all so different now, even day to day, and come on the Belmont strip was lightning fast Belmont day. I'd like to see Anew next time out, because I'm not too sold on him, I think they are all going to need to beat Henny Hughes, because he looks like the real thing, and Afrashad was as impressive, if not more than Anew or anyone that day. What about that speedball? But, again you have shown that you don't get what Baffert was trying to tell EVERYONE, that they are trying to get him to relax, and the rail draw makes that a tough task. So their choice was either to stay with their plan of stalk and pounce, 3 for 3 on the year, or pop and stop like last year.

Scuds,
Man would I hate to be in Kobayashi's bathroom tomorrow morning!!!
Thunder coming! Plenty of wind!
Wonder if it will show up on the weather channel.

True.

If Lezcano was riding him ....

That may be the case, but being a good handicapper doesn't mean you are a good bettor, and TMB was a bad bet. But like most gamblers instead of looking in the mirror, it's easier to blame someone else. Again, why will he not address what has been brought up about Baffert. Baffert is as sharp as they come, and he knew, like I did that there was a strong possibilty this would happen. That's why he thought about scratching. He must've figured they were second best at worst with the projected trip, so maybe they get lucky and the hole opens, if not take the $50,000 for second, and know that you have an explosive sprinter that can be rated.

Ok...let me add this...Scuds is an even better bettor than he is handicapper. I know of noone that has a higher ROI on his bets than he does. THe small amount he puts into tickets and the amount they pay back speak for themselves.

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That's great, but TMB was a bad bet. Do you disagree?

Well, I was letting this go as a difference of opinion, but it's pretty lame of you to "PROCLAIM" a week later that this horse was a bad bet. How in the world was this so freaking obvious? It's not as if TMB didn't have credentials going in!!!

And, PLEASE stop proclaiming the horse was ridden per Baffert's instructions. TMB was NOT taken back. TMB was NOT sent. TMB WAS RIDDEN LIKE SH1T INTO SURE DEFEAT.

He may not have been good enough. But the ride never gave him any chance to win.

Really pretty classless to keep thumping your tool on the table way after the race when you will not even acknowledge the possibility that the horse may have been poorly ridden.