The MassCap
 

65th MASSACHUSETTS HANDICAP

$500,000 Guaranteed

1 & 1/8 Miles

Saturday, September 22

Approximate Post Time: 5:23 p.m.

PP Horse Jockey M/L

1 Dr. Pleasure Cornelio Velasquez 6
2 Palladio Richard Dos Ramos 12
3 Who What Win Shaun Bridgmohan 15
4 Fairbanks Richard Migliore 7/5
5 Shuffling Maddness Raul Rojas 12
6 Fire Striker Kevin Krigger 30
7 Evening Attire Jose Espinoza 5
8 Brass Hat Willie Martinez 5-2

You know it's a weak field when Evening Attire has a shot lol

Count me among those who thought Dr. Pleasure was going to be a good racehorse. I can admit I was wrong.

I believe he's exiting the Three in the Bag staggerfest from Test day at the Spa. I may go back and watch the replay right now just to remind myself what a terrible race I thought that was.

NT

But for race that's been in limbo and held at a small claiming track that's actually not too too bad of a field. It'll get better in upcoming years.

Besides I LOVE Evening Attire. It's always great to watch him run.

I think the best thing to do with the MassCap would be to just do away with the race....but then bring it back.....and then do away with it again....but then bring it back for a couple of years......then do away with it once more.....and then.....well.....I guess, try bringing it back again.
I think all "big" races will be going to this system in the future, but only if they also go from 9f to 10f to 12f and then back to 9f like the MassCap. It makes for a great tradition.

Sort of like the Pim. Special

If Evening Attire runs back to AQU form,

WIN
:)

Yeah sort of like that, but I don't think the Pimlico Special has ever taken off 2 or more years in a row. Those folks at Pimlico just don't get it (as usual). In order to make the entire racing world wait breathlessly to hear whether or not the race is going to be held that year, you have to take long breaks like the 2-year and 5-year breaks of the MassCap. That way the anticipation grows so great every year that racing fans around the world are absolutely beside themselves.

What a putrid collection. But then again, the race is ungraded.

I think Evening Attire gets it done here.

It's funny what a few months can do. If this race was held 3 months ago with these names we would be saying this is a pretty nice collection.

You have a mouse in your pocket?

I don't think any of these were rated highly by anyone 3 months ago, with the possible exception of Brass Hat.

I do but that's besides the point.

Fairbanks was a horse people were looking at as well as Dr. Pleasure and as you stated coming into the sprig/summer Brass Hat was pretty highly regarded. Alot higher than Lawyer Ron was before the Saratoga meet.

And come on you have to love Evening Attire.

Wasn't Brass Hat a G1 winner with a Dubai WC 2nd before Lawyer Ron beat older in a stakes? You'd have to downgrade not only his G 1 win but also his second in the DWC to say he was never regarded higher than LR.

are you talking Morning line odds or post time odds? I can't remember.

Sounds like an argument for the sense of an argument. Neither was really comparable in that Brass Hat got hurt as Lawyer Ron was coming on the scene as a 3YO. Thus there was never really a comparison. By the time Brass Hat came back from a serious injury Lawyer Ron had at least established himself as competitive and Brass Hat was at best suspect due to his injuries, time off, and advancing age. Certainly Lawyer Ron was a likelier winner of the Whitney, their first meeting, whomever you liked in the race.

Aww Evening Attire to run once again. Got to love this horse. The race would be better if Funny Cide would come out of retirement and race in the Mass Cap. But I love any race that Evening Attire is in.

If Perfect Drift and Funny Cide were entered in this race hypothetically...and with Evening Attire and Brass Hat in..then you would swear this was 2004 and we've all somehow traveled back in time :eek:

Who would win...FC and PD always liked to finish 2nd or 3rd...Evening Attire 4th...I guess Brass Hat lol :cool:

The funny thing of course is that Evening Attire has run in this race before....and finished second......behind Macho Uno. That is how long this old guy has been running.
I think Funny Cide finished second in this race a few years ago too....but I can't remember who won that year.

Shouldn't we all be cheering for a Fairbanks blowout victory in a 110+ Beyer to draw a lot of money come BC Day on a horse we will all toss? And really it isn't that farfetched, the field sucks and the figure makers won't be afraid to give him a good figure if he wins big again against another field that sucks.

Even if he crushes,will he really draw a lot of money in the BC?

Of course, if he opts for the Dirt Mile, it might be a different story...

He won't be a favorite but even if he draws 8-1 or 10-1 we just need another horse or two to feel solid in having already beat the takeout.

Oh, and people are overrating the draw of the Dirt Mile, it will be Corinthian, Wanderin Boy, and a bunch of other horses that want nothing to do with 10 furlongs or 6.

Fair enough. As far as Corinthian goes, is he really a horse with distance limitations or did he just go horribly off form in the Suburban? In that respect, if he doesn't improve, he should be no count in the Dirt Mile, too.

I didn't see his Woodward, but I think I read that he made a middle move and hung, so maybe he's also just not that good.

He hung, but Lawyer Ron looked like he was on a bullet train compared to the rest of them in that field. Its not fair to look at that race and say he "hung". He put in a nice move, but it wasnt enough. I dont think we can put the distance tag on him yet.....

Is he supposed to run again before the BC?

I would think he should. Maybe not wanting to tangle with the big boys, he could land somewhere like the Meadowlands Cup.

He broke very poorly, was the only one that threatened Lawyer Ron on the turn and then tired late to finish fourth. He's not good enough for the Classic but shouldn't have a problem in the Dirt Mile as long as the monster in Royal Blue doesn't show up and bring his 'A' game. I just don't believe that the Dirt Mile is going to be a big draw that is going to suck away all these Classic horses like others think. More likely it will be the horses that would have just skipped the Classic anyways. If it ever becomes a G1 then that would be a huge disaster that would have exactly the same ramifications that all the Chicken Little's have projected. Until then it is just an undercard race with a souped up purse that isnt going to stop people from going for the big prize.

Not to be too outlandish, but I don't think much of the Classic field this year either. In fact, aside from Curlin (who might be toast by now), which of those horses in there seems at its best at 10f?

Street Sense could win on ability, but he really doesn't look comfortable beyond 9f and in a tougher group, I'd look hard to beat him.

Everyone is always trying to beat Street Sense, yet he's done little wrong this year.

He's like Forty Niner, too many photo finishes. Can't get too confident with him despite all the wins. Plus each successive race is less impressive than the next.

Seems like he's passing up an easy prep in the Super Derby, too (not that Turfway or Hawthorne will be tough). Nafzger said yesterday that the horse was ready to run this Saturday so what is he waiting for? He can avoid the poly and 10f if he goes to Louisiana, for a race he's used successfully in the past (ie Unbridled).

Do you say this based on the fact the he went off at 1/5 odds in his last two races - or the fact that he was the post time favorite in his last five straight races?

The few that have tried to beat SS have continually lost.

Yes - 3 out of those five times - twice as a 1/5 favorite - he's really stuck it to them.

5 out of the last 7. I would say the lower his odds, the more someone is likely to bet if taking a stand against.

political force is supposed to run in the jcgc. he finished ahead of lawyer ron earlier this year. anyone giving him a look at all??