0000000000000000

Naw. I just refuse to jump on the "I say, therefor he's guilty" bandbox.

You don't have a clue about me, so your calling me a cheat in my professional life shows how remarkably without validity much of what you have to say is.

So? My opinion isn't weighted by peer pressure. Sorry.

Do I trust Dutrow? See post #12

(Oh, yeah - btw, please don't assume, overspeak or just guess at what my opinion is)

Speaking of shady trainers saying silly things.....

Here's a quote from the SA stable notes featuring Monsieur Cobra Venom's take on handicapping the Super Bowl.

FYI -- "Letter to the Editor" commentary.

http://www.drf.com/news/article/101397.html


Letters to the Editor
By DRF Readers
Debate detracts from greater story of a horse on the rise

I was very disappointed to see Mr. Richard Dutrow's response to Andrew Beyer's Jan. 28 column in the Racing Form ("Dutrow expresses ire over column," Jan. 31).

Reading his comments, it seems as though he is lost in the forest and can't see the trees. When This Ones for Phil was purchased for six figures two and half months ago, he was already a stakes winner on the dirt and stakes-placed on the turf, with earnings of almost $100,000. (Considering the cut in the purses at Calder this past meeting, that was a feat in itself.)

Mr. Dutrow should have considered himself lucky, having a proven and still-upcoming young horse added to the barn. As the horse is now a maturing 3-year-old, it didn't seem like a total shock that he ran a terrific race on Sunshine Millions Day. The fact that he returned only a $25.40 public mutuel attested to that fact, too. He certainly had a dream trip (as noted by Dutrow himself) and a brilliant ride from Edgar Prado.

It is a shame that the focus now seems to be on Dutrow and not a nice up-and-coming horse. Calder continuously has showcased many such stars (Big Drama, In Summation, Blazing Sword, and Chatter Chatter, to name a few). I also think that it is a shame the two and a half months that had passed since This Ones for Phil left my barn was not enough time to have the name and colors of the new owner, Paul Pompa Jr., in the program. Time would be better devoted to the horse, This Ones for Phil, and his new owner in the risky business of horse racing, where any race can be the last - and all the knocking be put aside.

Kathleen O'Connell - Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Now that one isn't hard: hates Poly. Don't let the purse fool you: this race is a gift to Florida/Cal breeders and the people who buy them and could have been run for a fifth of the purse and attracted the same horses.

With MA, maybe Wolfson fixed the horse's feet (there are a lot of farriers who still cut toe-long, heel-short), or his teeth, or his stomach (undiagnosed ulcers) or his brain. Maybe the horse needed more conditioning between races, or less. There are so many things that can effect a horse's performance that aren't drugs that it can be hard to disentangle the effects.

Incorrect. If you had added 'In the Northern Hemisphere' you would have been right. But down under, he got multiple G1 and Derby winner Naturalism, Queensland Oaks winner Crystal Palace, G1 2yo Anthems, additional G1 winners Ready to Explode and Palace Line (in South Africa, sold as a yearling from Aus). All turf runners.

Palace Music sired 32 stakes winners from 15 crops, and was leading sire by progeny earnings in 1996.

Bold Forbes had a lot of natural speed, like his forebear Bold Ruler, but it did not mean he was deficient in other departments; he HAD won the Kentucky Derby on the lead with fast fractions. (And Bold Ruler beat Round Table and Gallant Man over 10f carrying 130 lbs in the fall.) He was the only horse in that Belmont field who as a SW at the time and only one other of the field members ever did win a stakes. Forbsie won the Belmont on grit and class and the effort cooked him; he never regained his earlier form after that race.

Funny - he seemed to hate all surfaces for Pletcher. Especially dirt. Heck, when Larry Pilloti trained him, he got beat in a lifetime condition claiming race on dirt.

I wasn't even going to respond to her ridiculousness.

I can't imagine Pletcher not knowing surfaces . The man is a great trainer .

What makes you think Todd Pletcher ever even saw Ikigai? Ever? Do you think Pletcher spends a great deal of time overseeing his Chicago string? No one has brought up that a lot of horses that have 'Trained by Todd Pletcher' attached to them are trained by him in name only. Pletcher is indeed great, but even he is hard-pressed to lay hands and eyes on the 300 horses in the 5-6 venues that have his name on the shed. They're being trained by his assistants in the Pletcher "program" method. Every horse treated more or less the same. So when one or 20 of them fall through the cracks because they didn't respond to the "program" and needed singular attention, don't be so dumbfounded.

Ah, Steve....

Ikigai was never in Chicago at any point in his career.

I also assume Pletcher probably did see him ... as he was training regularly at Churchill all through April and May .. and he raced there in May or June.

You're confusing Ikigai with another horse your alchemist friend moved way up.

Yeah with Cigar being 90% of that?

probably closer to 99.9% of that.

Please don't allow the facts to interfere with Steve's blind defense of his favorite trainer.

Blind defense.. Cute.







I was thinking of It's a Bird that was rarely under Pletcher's direct supervision.

Then I guess I stand correct.

Make that misguided defense. Or...how about confused?