Is Grasshopper a walk over?
 

Sounds like Howard is being very cautious in his prep talks now. What happened to his powerful upside when taking with Travis on the phone the other day?

He doesn't know what the Travers might have done to him, wow, he can't tell if he will flatten out now?

Same thing I would say too

:)

I think he is attempting to not exude too much confidence, that's never been Howard's style. Of the probables for the Super Derby, he definitely seems like the one to beat.

NT

enjoy the day
:)

It seems to me like there are a couple of ways to look at this race.
On the one hand, Grasshopper's performance in the Travers was very good given his lack of experience. He might still be able to improve off that effort, especially since he is cutting back to 9f, which - I think - will be a better distance for him than the 10f of the Travers. In terms of speed figs, I don't think there is anybody pointing to this race who approaches the 107 BSF he ran in the Travers.
On the other hand, Grasshopper's biggest claim to fame is that he battled Street Sense so gamely down the stretch and was very close to that one at the finish line. However, Street Sense - for all of his abilities and accomplishmnets - does tend to hang a bit, which can make his competition look like they are "digging in" or "battling" a bit more than they might be in reality.
I guess what I am saying is that Grasshopper's Travers might be overrated in a way that makes him overbet in this race, but if the only colts that show up to take him on are Going Ballistic and others of that ability level, then it probably won't matter, and he'll win easily.

I have honestly not heard of any of the likely opponents for him in this race. A once proud race that was for a while the most productive prep for the BC Classic has been reduced to nothing at all. Sad.

All sorts of articles in the DRF this week.

The Super Derby has still produced more BC Classic winners than any other 3-year-old race.

They all came a long time ago though.

1984-Gate Dancer won the SD and finished a very close 3rd in the BC.
1987-Alysheba won the SD before being nosed out in the BC.
1988-Seeking the Gold won the SD before losing by 1/2 length in the BC.
1989-Sunday Silence pulled off the double.
1990-Unbridled ran second in the SD before winning the BC.
1994-Concern ran second in the SD before winning the BC.
1997-Deputy Commander won the SD before finishing second in the BC.
2000-Tiznow pulled off the double.

For some stupid reason, it was decided to move the race down to 9f in 2002, with the exception of the 2005 running which was back at 10f. The race has totally lost it's significance since then.

I don't normally advocate using a 10f race to prep for another 10f race. But if it's going to be an easy race, where u don't have to exert much effort to win it, then I don't have a problem with a 10f prep. The reason I don't like the JCGC is because it takes too much out of a horse to try to come back in the BC. But when it's going to be an easy race AND only 9f, that's a combination that leads to what we have with the race now. Give me an easy 10f or a tough 9f race as an ideal prep.

10th (5:10)

Super Derby (G2)

1 1/8 Miles | Open | 3 Year Olds Stakes | Purse: $500,000

Post # Horse Jockey Weight Claim Price Equip. Med.
1 Point Gold Jacinto J 124 L
2 Forty Acres Gonzalez C V 124 L
3 Beta Capo Quinonez L S 124 L
4 Cajun Conquest Perrodin E J 124 L
5 Leonnatus Anteas Jones J 124 L
6 Past the Point Bejarano R 124 L
7 Strong City Hamilton Q 124 L
8 Tortuga Straits LeBlanc K P 124 L
9 Grasshopper Albarado R J 124 L
10 Going Ballistic Berry M C 124 L

The best was 1991 Free Spirits Joy. Wondering if this was Calvins biggest win untll last years BC juvi. If you can access a replay. Watch it. FSJ was a local horse trained by Clarence Picou. Several Heavy hitters came to LAD to take the winners share of the1M purse{Ithink it was back then] Calvin took the race on the front end,on the rail wire to wire at about 20/1. MC Hammer had a huge entorage that left Shreveport very disapointed..

that's funny. i love that movie. "juuusssst a bit outside"

That is a pretty good field...

Yea, who is Grasshopper?

I honestly have never heard of a single one of these other than Grasshopper and only heard of him in the weeks leading to the Travers. It's just unbelievable how this race has fallen. It used to be routine to get one of more of the leading 3yo's to this race. Some of the top ones:

In it's first year, 1980, 3yo champion (Ark Dby, Belmont, Travers) Temperance Hill.
1981, Belmont winner Summing.
1983, Blue Grass/Travers winner Play Fellow. Ky Dby/Ark Dby winner Sunny's Halo.
1984, Preakness winner Gate Dancer and Swaps winner Precisionist.
1985, Belmont winner Creme Fraiche.
1986, Haskell/Travers winner Wise Times.
1987, Ky Dby/Preakness winner and 3yo champion Alysheba.
1988, Seeking the Gold (2nd Wood, Haskell, Travers) and Swaps winner Lively One.
1989, SA Dby, Ky Dby, Preakness winner and 3yo champion Sunday Silence.
1990, Fla Dby, Ky Dby winner and 3yo champion Unbridled.
1993, Canadian TC winner Peteski.
1994, Ark Dby winner (2nd Travers, 3rd Preakness/Haskell) Concern.
1996, Belmont winner (2nd Fla Dby, 3rd Preakness/Blue Grass) Editor's Note.
1997, Travers winner Deputy Commander.
1999, Haskell/Blue Grass winner (2nd Ky Dby/Preakness) Menifee.
2000, Belmont winner Commendable and a horse named Tiznow.

Since then though, the race has really gone downhill. I can only think of two upper level 3yo's that have gone there since then, Ten Most Wanted (Travers, 2nd Belmont) and Lawyer Ron (Ark Dby). In it's first 11 runnings, eight times there was a Classic winner there and in two of the three years u didn't, u had Wise Times (who very easily could have been 3yo champion in 1986), Seeking the Gold (two noses and 1/2 length kept him from winning the Haskell, Travers and BC Classic). It can be argued that over those first 11 years, and perhaps even through 2000, the Super Derby was a more desireable race than the Travers was. What the hell has happened?

Honestly, Glorious, I think it's the competition. The Penn Derby, the Indiana Derby - they all take away from our race, much like I'm sure we take away from theirs. There is too much racing for too few horses now-a-days.

I think Grasshopper is a great score, he could be one where we look back and say, "Oh wow, he ran in the Super Derby."

Lawyer Ron is nothing to sneeze-at either, as he's a leading candidate for HOTY. It all goes in cycles.

[quote=King Glorious]

For some stupid reason, it was decided to move the race down to 9f in 2002, with the exception of the 2005 running which was back at 10f. The race has totally lost it's significance since then.

QUOTE]

The BC and the fragile horses of today has caused a lot of classic races to be shortened in distance. Woodward, JCGC, Vosburgh,Brooklyn...to name a few.

[quote=Slewbopper]i think races have beenshortened because the emphasis has been placed on speed, rather than stamina. can't showcase fast, fast horses in a 2 mile race.
it's a shame that now versatility is the ability to run at a couple of tracks, and ship--rather than in earlier times, when a horse might sprint one week, and then run a two miler the next. they just showcased forego recently in bloodhorse, and he did both of those within days, winning both.

[quote=Slewbopper]I've understood and agreed wth the shortening of those other races though. They are run closer to the BC and they were having horrible success as preps for the BC races. The Vosburgh and JCGC especially were routinely sending their winners to the BC to get pounded at low odds. I don't think it's the fragile horses that have caused that though. I feel it was because of the timing and the toughness of those races. For a long time, those races were THE races to point for in their respective divisions and sort of like the Arc de Triomphe, it's hard to have a horse at his peak for a race.....and then ask them to repeat it. The Super Derby didn't have that problem though. It was far enough in advance of the BC that there was time to recover from the 10f distance and it wasn't such a tough race depth wise that a horse had to extend himself to win. It was a top race but since the BC started, it was clearly a prep race while the NY races were more objective races than preps.

After looking at the PP (http://www.brisnet.com/bris_link/pdfs/darley_88232.pdf) I think it might be worth a shot - depending on how the odds end up of course - at trying to beat Grasshopper in this race with either Forty Acres and/or Going Ballistic.
Grasshopper is clearly the most likey winner, but his last two performances came with him on the lead going :48 for the half, and 1:12&2 for 6f. With Forty Acres in this race, those kind of fractions are unlikely.
Forty Acres has won three in a row over this course impressively, has posted two solid works leading up to this, and could get an easy lead here. If he does, he might be dangerous.
Going Ballistic's last win on the dirt came last October, so he clearly would be a bit of a price here, but he has closed very well in his last three. If Grasshopper, Forty Acres, and perhaps one of the others gets locked in a battle early, it could set up for Going Ballistic late.
I'm just not totally sold on Grasshopper. He towers over this field in terms of speed figures, but if he goes off at some ridiculous price, I think trying to beat him makes sense.

Past the Point is a little bit interesting

normally i'd have to agree with you, just because he's one of the best bred horses on the planet, but man, he's trained by harty!!

Good luck on Saturday with the Super Derby Travis!!

I love Triumph!! Nice one!

[quote=King Glorious]Flashback 1980. A horse named Temperance Hill won the Belmont at 53/1. He also won the Travers, the initial running of the 1 1/4 mile Super Derby and the Jockey Club Gold Cup. 2 1 1/4 mile races and 2 1 1/2 mile races...on the dirt. Not a bad season. There was another horse running that year that he never faced though that took away the big honor...HOY, although he never won at 1 1/2

A horse for course....maybe

There are at least two races being run in this Super Derby and Grasshopper is the lone horse in his. The rest may or may not be competitive with each other but Grasshopper towers over them.

I know it's obvious but why are others even talking about hopelessly overmatched horses?

He has beaten CPWest and that Phipps horse

Past the Point has a shot

Whats your book on Harty Eoin?

I don't know a whole lot about him, other than he seems to get some decent Darley horses now and then. I haven't noticed him developing that many stakes horses.

He's the dubya of horse training.

Not in a fairly run race he doesn't.

If the pinheads are idiots(on occaision this happens) and they all go out to beat Hell from the start, Going Ballistic might nail Grasshopper on the wire.

Grasshopper rates just fine and is in a completely different world that the decidedly mediocre Going Ballistic. He can only be second, and may be, if two many others move too soon. But, without an incident, he can't beat Grasshopper.

I think Grasshopper's talent is being massively undervalued by some here. he's VERY good.

there are a few of us here that are very high on him. i bet him to win the travers cause i thought that highly of him.

Not only do I think Grasshopper is very good, I also think his competition in the Super Derby is extraordinarily weak, and just don't see him losing.

I guess he's another horse who people think may bounce.....you know like Lawyer Ron in the Woodward.

several people were telling me that Grasshopper would bounce in the Travers, you know, because he was coming off of a big top.

They all bounce.....except when they don't.

Do Neil Howard's horses bounce like horses from other trainers?