The point is to take advantage of her stamina and pedigree and catch the males at a distance they might struggle going. Most of the horses she'd face in the Belmont would likely be better suited going shorter distances.

So let me get this straight, the Belmont is an irrelevant race, but the Haskell, West Virginia Derby or Ohio Derby would prove something about her?

There are plenty of fillies who can go nine furlongs with boys.. There are very few who can go 12 with 'em.. This might be one that can do the latter.

Or that Charismatic broke his leg running against a filly, for that matter. It was bad racing luck. That's it.

And I hope Pletcher runs RtR in the Belmont!

Me too.

She doesn't have a lot more to prove against the fillies at this stage, I think it would be awesome to see her up against the boys in the Belmont. Wouldn't be the end of the world if she failed, and it would be unforgettable if she won.

Unless they already have the breeding rights to Street Sense already tied up. Then they wont want to play spoiler:p

The last filly I remember in the Belmont was Shug sending out My Flag to finish third to Editor's Note and Skip Away.

Jazil's half sister
 

I don't know if anyone has posted this but Rags is the half sister to Belmont winner Jazil (who can be traced back to Colin)

Maybe they will run her in the Belmont
it probabl depends on whether or not Street Sense can get it done in Baltimore

She is from sires that won the Belmont..the great Slew and his son A.P. Indy.

I believe that while Rags is a half to Jazil, Jazil was bred a bit better to go the Belmont distance... JMO.

?? AP Indy was bred for and could run all day

Well, I think looking at pedigrees, Jazil would be suspect for stamina (obviously not), certainly Rags has a more stamina-laden sire side, AP Indy was about as well bred as a horse can be imo. Since I feel stamina comes mainly from dam side, I have to conclude they are equal. This has been argued back and forth forever here, I simply think the Belmont is an odd place to try the best 3yo filly in training against the boys...two winners in history, neither at 12 furlongs. If I was gonna run my filly against the boys at three...I'd probably look at the Preakness after a prep in the SA Derby or Blue Grass. Honestly, I'd prefer to wait for something at four...maybe the Donn...then consider races such as the Whitney later in the year...just my preference. Of course, now days, most quality horses are retired by then.

I must be a nut then... I bet Jazil in the Belmont BECAUSE of his pedigree.

well, the horse has won a mdn race and the Belmont...period. A plodder with no speed who caught the right field in the Belmont imo. Dad is Seeking the Gold by Mr Prospector (RAN) out of the Buckpasser mare Con Game. Outside of Buckpasser, I see little to suggest a Belmont winner...DP=11-3-14-0-0. Again, I look more at Dam side but overall, no stamina points in DP and with only a mdn win going in...he caught the right field on the right day imo.

The right field is the key as that field last year was horrendous... I used him, Sunriver and Oh So Awesome in an exacta box. Jazil and Sunriver had the best pedigrees for the Belmont out of that field IMO. I wanted to include Bob and John, but didn't like how he looked leading up to the race. Most horses just aren't bred for 12f anymore.

Very true...I question whether Rags is too! Again no points in stamina cats. She looks like she could run on but has never been past 9f...sometimes 9-10 is trouble let alone to 12f. Her top, AP Indy, Seattle Slew and Secretariat certainly seems to scream stamina but neither Slew or Secretariat are S/P CDR's.

And a horrible opinion it is.....

Come on Cajun, A.P. Indy might go down in history as the best high-profile distance stallion in a long time.

Bernardini, who had never ran beyond a mile in his career, and was making his two-turn debut in the '06 Preakness...improved his form markedly in that race, and in all distance races from that point forward.

A.P. Indy has been bred to many distance challenged dams, and those matings have produced foals who've thrived routing.

The stats I have are one year old, but I have an average winning distance of 8.3 furlongs for offspring of A.P Indy. Compared to 7.3 furlongs with Seeking the Gold.

A. P. Indy is always the first stallion that comes to mind when you think of a sire that produces high quality, late developing routers. Horses like Mineshaft, Bernardini, Aptitude, Golden Missile, Master Command, etc.

As a racehorse, A.P. Indy was also a true distance horse, winning the Belmont himself. Seeking the Gold, while an EXCELLENT race horse, never won beyond 9 furlongs.

Blossom staggered home again on Saturday as well. I guess I'll keep trying to learn how to handicap, please send me a copy of your book.