No Wood for Circular Quay
 

Any Given Saturday will go instead....Pletcher to train Quay to the Kentucky Derby...

http://www.drf.com/news/article/83739.html

dosent make since to me, i guess nobiz gets to beat any given saturday now

It's the right move with Any Given Saturday.....and a very possible precursor to an unpleasant announcement regarding Circular Quay.

i agree, thats why i put this dosent make sense to me.....you'd have to think there is something wrong, the wood has nobiz and whatever pletcher horse runs, nothing else, if circular quay were healthy you'd have to think he'd run in this spot, he'd be favored or a very solid second choice.

In writing my weekly Derby article, I noticed that CQ hadn't trained since last Monday. I figured that it was due to "shipping issues" from FLA. Now I doubt that CQ should remain on top of my list.

What are the odds that Pletcher doesn't win the Derby with any of his hopefuls???

we could all be wrong and maybe he will just train up to the derby, but i'd say within the week there will be a annoucment made, that he is off the derby trail.

I was wondering if they figured the Wood wouldn't set up for Circular Quay...just as well, I like Any Given Saturday more.

i dont think he will win, that was before this annoucment and the ravel injury.... even with ravel and circular quay i did not think this was his year

i'd say 50-1

So, Circular Quay is supposed to be ready for the Derby off an eight week layoff and essentially one real effort this year?

Excuse me for thinking something's rotten in Denmark.

I thought about that when I saw the entries, but it could also be a "Ravel-like" thing.

Summer Doldrums. Still to Illinois after this change? I would think.

Sadly, I believe you are on point here.

I don't see how Pletcher thinks he can win the Derby off an 8 week layoff. It's a real shame because there's a lot to like about CQ from the perspective of the "Derby profile"... distance doesn't appear to be an issue, has good speed figures, proven at 2, proven at 3, good running style, proven at CD... very disappointing. As much as I tried not to like him he has proven to me he should be at or near the top of the 3yo list.

Hard Spun's options have been left extremely wide open as well (skip Derby or train up to it)...but we can all rest easy tonight knowing that Sedgefield may get his earnings in on Friday and therefore be in the gate the first Saturday in May. :rolleyes:

I am dubious of Sedgefield's chances Friday.

this sucks.

It actually makes the Wood a better race as Circular Quay was going to be dramatically affected by the lack of pace.

I hope Circular Quay isn't being kept out of any preps in order to enhance the chances of another Pletcher horse getting enough earnings for the Derby. To rob fans of matchups of top horses because he is training too many good horses is a very unfortunate price for racing to pay and a bad indicator for the future.

Have no clue about whether CQ is hurt or not, but sending AGS to the Wood doesn't sound like the worst plan. He seemed likely to have another gut-wrencher against Street Sense or Great Hunter in the Blue Grass and might not have gotten enough graded money to go on to the Derby. I thought it was nuts to send him to the Blue Grass in the first place. Could be wrong and usually am, but I think he will romp in the Wood.

I was hoping he'd run a mediocre 4th or something to get a better price on him on Derby Day as I agree, he was subjected to a likely lack of pace in this race.

If that's the motivation... SHAME ON PLETCHER. I was just thinking how he's almost got TOO many possible starters and trying to juggle them all is counterproductive. But why would he compromise his likely "top dog" if this is the case? I have to think something is wrong and if that's the truth, he shouldn't be considering running him in the Derby.

Actually, if he doesn't call an audible and send him to the Blue Grass, he shouldn't run him at all. The calvary charge isn't a place for a horse that's effectively had a 1 race campaign in 2007.

I agree.

CQ, was on the top of my Derby Trail horses (like most other people). With the move being made (i hate to say this) but i would rather hear that he is infact off the Derby Trail. 8 weeks without a race and skipping your last prep to be replaced by a stablemate sounds really fishy. I also hope this isn't a way for some of Pletcher's other stock to get graded earnings.

How can you have confidence in a horse that's been shelved for 8 weeks prior to the biggest race of his career?

-bt-

It is Pletcher, really can't question him. It will help his odds.....The horse is a light framed horse so maybe it took alot out of him, who knows

Are you booking that?

Quay has plenty of foundation so that is the only good thing. The Derby just isnt a good race for Quay with or without a race leading up to the Derby. He would have to pass 19 other horses and that just doesnt happen. I havent liked the handling of Quay at all this spring. I think the LA route was the wrong thing to do.

You have the SA Derby, Illinois Derby, Bluegrass, Arkansas Derby and the Coolmore left to get your graded money. So there are plenty of races left for Pletchers horses to try to get their needed money.

Well I am a getting.....getting off the CQ bandwagon right now. 8 weeks? never gonna happen. I wouldnt be shocked to see an announcement soon. dang.

Giacomo didnt have to pass 19 of em but he sure passed most of em... I'll never forget the first time I saw the blimp view, Mike Smith was movin that horse boy...Its a shame Rose let up on Alex for we would have another tc winner... O well , the mystique continues

If that was the case, and I was the owner of CQ, he'd be yanked from Pletcher's barn so fast his head would spin...I would borrow my buddies flatbed truck if I had to...Its safe to say that no horse will ever win the derby off of a 2 month layoff..No way, no how, unless he's a monster amongst stuffed animals...You take all chances away of him being primed for the big race.. A big disservice would be done to the owners of CQ if he was held out of the Wood because of a stablemates earnings (or lack thereof)...I would say "Let's hope thats not the case", but if it wasnt the horse would have soundness issues...Let's hope that's not the case

which of pletchers horses would he be trying to get in the gate in the ky derby at the expense of circular quay? i'm not sure that theory makes a lot of sense.

his most interesting horse at this point (besides AGS) is deadly dealer, and if run on the board in the arkansas derby, he should be okay for the race.

This is the kind of situation that makes you think of the way t-breds used to be handled.

Was very interesting hearing Bob Fox's segment this afternoon on the show about War Admiral and that he raced in a mile and a quarter allowance race just 4 days before his derby win.

4 days.. 8 weeks.. what's the difference?

romp over nobiz ? he will be lucky to win

maybe

I shouldn't have to start with this but on these boards, sometimes it's necessary.......I'm sure Pletcher knows his horses better than I do. Now, having said that, I don't like this at all. I'm not too concerned about the layoff. In today's game, it's just not as big a deal as it used to be. Used to be that u could count out all of the horses using only two preps because 90% of the field had three. Not this year. A couple of contenders will be coming in with only two so it's not as big a disadvantage now. I believe that Notional and Scat Daddy are the two biggest obstacles for Circular Quay to have to beat in the Derby.....and both of them will be coming in off of a five week layoff, which everyone said couldn't be done......until last year. So the game has changed and along with it, many old "rules" are being changed also. So the layoff is not a huge concern. Of course, it's not ideal but it's not that big a deal to me. What I find of greater interest is the fact that they had a plan for Any Given Saturday and now they are changing it, leading me to believe that he will be one work short for this race. I think this is going to be the last time we see this horse this year.

BINGO!

Me thinks, this is the case :(

It's totally logical for Pletcher to give Any Given Saturday his earnings shot in this spot rather than risk it next week at KEE against a group where there is a legitimate chance he would be gutted again going for a top placement. This would seem to assure 'Saturday' a healthy check if he does anything other than fall down as well as an extra week's rest going into Churchill. A win-win.

But as for going into the Derby with Circular Quay off a 2 month break... Yeesh.

If he actually does train CQ up to the Derby, I would be rooting mightily against CQ. That's all we need is for some horse to miraculously win the Derby off an 8-week layoff.

--Dunbar

i think it is a decision based on necessary earnings. CQ has them, AGS doesn't. even if AGS finished 2nd or 3rd that will give him enough earnings.

good decision? NO
just doesn't make sense from a conditioning standpoint