I followed Skippy on his exploits through New Jersey and New York. I adore him. He is my second favorite of all-time behind Slew.

I made a pilgrimage to see that race. Besides wanting to see Cigar myself, I wanted my 4-yr-old son to be able to say he saw both horses. It was cool watching Cigar and Skip Away parade around in the paddock area. Not many sports where you can get so close to the superstars.

--Dunbar

I guess someone else wrote, Are you suggesting they were cheating?

My question was clearly in response to a comment by another poster, who responded to me, and only someone looking for trouble would even attempt to make the claims that you did.

And furthermore, you butted in looking for a fight and then wrote more incorrect information, which I can now see from this series of posts by you is your MO.

Ok, look. Mike Smith rode him in his crushing win in the allowance race. His agent at the time, Steve Adika, chose to ride Devil His Due in the at the time NYRA Mile. In his defense, he was also riding Holy Bull who was coming back at age 4 to race. Bailey and Frieze got the mount and he rode him every race the rest of his career.

Ok you win.

Tim,
feel the same.

here goes my response
1-RG ran a bang up race in the Manhattan.
look at the trouble he encountered, and still got up to finish in almost a dead heat.
when has he beaten top class competition.
Canadian International about 12 months ago.
Grey Swallow among others.

2.what makes EC and Cacique better than The Tin Man?
well, Cacique has shown the ability to win grade 1 races on the pace and coming from off the pace.
EC has won grade 1 races this year from 9 to 11f and done it in a variety of ways.


the Tin Man has only shown the ability to beat these types when allowed to set ridiculously slow fractions on the lead. thats fine. they allowed him to get away with that and he took advantage of that.
but dont expect me or anyone else to draw a transitional line from that performance to the Breeders Cup Turf and think that he has a chance. that race alone simply does not give him the credentials to be competitive on Nov 4th, IN MY OPINION.
thats the key, I dont give a sh*t what anyone else thinks of the TIn Man.
just dont expect me to buy in.

3-Yes, Im with you on the job.
I actually like going to work. It gives me a sense of accomplishment each day and it provides a steady income so that I can live the life I want to live.
richi asked me earlier if I had shown a profit for the year, and if so, why I would not quit my job and live off of my wagering earnings.
Well,
I have managed to be profitbale this year.
I feel pretty damn good about that also considering where I was at this time 24 months ago.
but the thing is, my "profit" for 2006 is about $1300 US dollars.
now, I dont know about you or anyone else, but I damn sure can not live of $1300 a year(or 9 months, or whatever).
I spend that much on DVD's each year.

I appreciate your response Gander.


Repent

no,
Im being honest merasmag.
Im not some great handicapper who can quit my job and do this for a living.

merasmag,
2 years ago when I was in school my dad had to freaking fund my youbet account several times a year.
I sucked.

I have practiced a ton.
I have learned to manage money better.
and I have learned to play to my strengths.

My good friend Dixie once said they play the National Anthem every day and I took more from that line than just about anything I have ever read on the internet.

I am now much more disciplined.
85% of all races I play are on the turf, or at least were originally carded for the turf.
I only bet w/p and pick 4's.
and I have a budget for each pick 4(its pretty low).

I have found that I am most effective and most profitiable when I stick to a few basic rules regarding what I am going to play.
but dont misunderstand me.
I handicap every day and handicap a variety of tracks, even tracks like Emerald that have no turf and I know I probably will not place a dollar.
Im trying constantly to get better.

I have a long way to go, but at least now I know it.



Repent

thanks pal.

now, Im going to bed so that I can get some sleep so I can keep my job so I dont have to live off of the $1300 I win annually at the track.
later.


Repent

oh,
one more thing on the whole Tin Man subject.
all this talk about he being the best American turf horse is absurd.
hes not even the best west coast middle distance turf horse.
Lava Man and TH Approval would both run hm into the ground.


Repent

I was there. I visited the paddock to see the two stars. I returned to our table and told my husband that I had increased my bet on Skippy. Cigar did not look like a winner to me. It was bittersweet for me; I admired both horses. I AM NOT FROM NY!

I sure dont remeber anyone saying that he was the best turf horse in America. You just like to argue even when the subject has been dropped.

I had bet Dare and Go because my best friend was an Alydar fanatic. It was dumb luck; again, had been bittersweet. I was devastated when Holy Bull broke down. Both Holy Bull and Skip Away were Jersey-based; I am from NJ. I was following The Bull through his career and was a very big fan. Stll, I always liked Cigar. My top ten horses of all-time at a forum I visit includes Holy Bull and Skip Away. I have so many fond memories, including Holy Bull resting his head on me at Jonabell. I still can feel the electricity in the paddock, particularly at Monmouth. Both Holy Bull and Skip Away added 10,000 to track attendance when they ran.

Holy Bull, Cigar, Skip Away. What a time for horse racing. Man it makes today's racing look very bad.

Hopefully, by the end of the year Bernardini, Invasor, and Lava Man will have us spoiled.:)

Bernardini > Cigar.

I'll believe it when I see it. He won't stay sound enough to beat Cigar's record. I doubt he even runs 20 times in his career.

Record my foot. He's better than Cigar was.

Depends on what you consider "better." Bernardini has beat nothing but tired horses... a healthy Barbaro would have put him away.

A healthy Barbaro would've eaten his dust. And allow me to clarify further.

Better = Faster. Bernardini is a faster horse than Cigar was.

Its far too early for that Ateam, but I happen to agree with you from a talent perspective. This horse has to stay on the track and actually race about 10 more times just to be mentioned with Cigar and Skip Away. Thats whats difference with horse racing today and from 10 years ago. Nobody wants to race anymore. I feel bad for anybody that wasnt a big fan when Skip Away and Cigar were constantly making news.

Absolutely. Cigar has definitely accomplished more than Bernardini has so far. There's no debating that. But Bernardini is a faster horse.

Dude, thats a little over the top wouldn't you say?
Barbaro's Derby was as good a Derby performance as I've seen in years. To say without question that Bern would blow him away is a lot farther than I would be willing to go.
And Smarty Jones sheet number in the Preakness(comparable to bern's preakness because of development comparison at the same stage of career) was faster than Bern's.
Hes great, but this is a tad premature.
I'm not even gonna address the Cigar thing. He won every place, and everywhere.

I am of the opposite opinion.
Ive never seen 3 American 3YOs in the same crop as good as Barbaro, Bernardini, and Discreet Cat.
hell,
Im not sure I have ever seen a 3YO as good as Discreet Cat period.

Our male turf horses suck right now, thats for sure.
but we had a US turf filly completely dominate an international field in the American Oaks and her stablemate is pretty damn good also.

and I would say we have an excellent group of sprinters running right now as well.

I am more impressed with American racing this year than I have been in a long time.


Repent

lol,
yeah I was born a few years too late to see those.

Im just talking about horses I have seen run(not on tape).

Repent

Discreet Cat reminds me a bit of Surf Cat. Freakishly talented but until he wins a race of importance, hes just a very fast horse with lots of potential.

Discreet Cat reminds me a bit of Surf Cat. Freakishly talented but until he wins a race of importance, hes just a very fast horse with lots of potential.

Barbaro raced like an older horse in his last 3 starts. He raced like he knew where the wire was and was not going to be beat. He was something special.