Weak Jim Dandy field
 

These small fields have to stop, but the Ministers Bid-Bernardini showdown should be interesting.

Saratoga - July 29th, 2006 - Race 9
Jim Dandy S. - Grade: 2
Estimated Local Post Time: 5:46 PM
Race Type: Stakes
Breed: Thoroughbred
Age Restriction: Three Year Old
Purse: $500,000
Distance:One And One Eighth Miles
Surface: Dirt
Post Horse Name Age Sex Weight Jockey Name
1 Sunriver (KY) 3 Colt 121 John R. Velazquez
2 Oh So Awesome (KY) 3 Colt 115 Kent J. Desormeaux
3 Bernardini (KY) 3 Colt 123 Javier Castellano
4 Dr. Pleasure (KY) 3 Colt 115 Garrett K. Gomez
5 Hemingway's Key (FL) 3 Colt 115 Julien R. Leparoux
6 Minister's Bid (KY) 3 Colt 115 Edgar S. Prado

sunriver with JV/pletcher at toga not easy..
Gomez on Dr. Pleasure should be interesting as well.

this is a good card for saturday.
dam, they have more action out there in three days than we have all summer.

Two horse race and that is if Ministers Bid has figured out how to race. None of the others are anything special, especially that overrated Sunriver.

Bernardini/Sunriver ex box. But then again I suck lately so take it for what it is worth! :)

Small Field YES

But not a bad one at all!!! Any of these horse could win if Bernardini does not fire

Could be a nice betting race- No 20/1 but some decent prices especially if the public gets happy on Sunriver and Bernardini

I think it is a great field. It is restricted to 3 year olds so you are naturally going to have a small field. Coupled with the Haskell so close and then horses in Cali are going to stay in Cali you dont have much to choose from. But this is a great field. I say Bernardini gets beat in this race.

Bernardini
Ministers Bid
Sun River

The rest are slow....

Yeah, it really isn't weak, just small. I think the Diana is probably the better race. This race has the potential to be another blowout. Let's just hope we don't get another Noble Causeway type scratch at the gate.

The Travers should be an incredible race if a horse like Ministers Bid steps it up here. If not, we could have a 5 horse Travers.

Just looked at whole Card, Looks Great Fun Card

a Nice 2yr old race (Pegasus Wind, Bullara, Piggott)

Corinthian back against Reverberate,Hesanoldsalt

Diana is a WOW Race (Angara,Wend,Lady of Venice)

Starting to think that Seattle and Bold are lovers, flair for the dramatic.

This is far from a two horse race and it is extremely possible that Bernandi runs 3rd in this race. Both of Ward's horses are long on breeding, long on talent, short on experience, Oh So Awesome took action in the Belmont and is suppose to be a monster, Hemingway ran a good race in the Preakness.

The Diana is clearly the race of the day. Awesome field.

I'm glad you clarified that about this race being weak.
It's a small field, but so what?
Now watch this...longshot Hemingsways Key comes home for big bucks.
Minister's Bid finishes four lengths back for place.
Bernardini is another two behind for show...and the bridge jumpers are spared their anguish.

You are insane. Bernardin is so much more talented than these horses it isn't even funny. Unless Ministers Bid lives up to his billing, this race is a yawn. Bernardini will be geared down at the 1/8th pole.

What's wrong with that race? No love for Oh So Awesome?

Now that's exactly the kind of thinking that has humbled more than a few (myself included). Let them pound Bernardini, fine with me...better the odds for HK.

Bernardini will be an all-time great. That coming from a guy who worships Barbaro and told me Bernardini probably is a better horse. He is the goods.

Complete order of finish

1. Bernardini
2. Sunriver
3. Minister's Bid
4. Hemingway's Key
5. Dr. Pleasure
6. Oh So Awesome

Huh, what race are you looking at...

Dr. Pleasure is slow, long on breeding, please, that horse has been hyped only to be a pile of dung...

Oh So Awesome, he's weak...

Heming got drilled by Bernardini once and will get it again...

It's really up to Bernardini and we'll see how good Ministers Bid is, I love MB I told all of you back in April that he will win a Graded Stake, but he's no match for Bernardini...

I think Minister's Bid could give Bernardini a run for it, not sure about Sunriver. They're all fresh horses now, and Bernardini did run against BD and SNS when they'd already run the Derby. Don't get me wrong - Bernardini could indeed be something really special, but I want to see one more race before I join the bandwagon. I still have a lot to learn, so please be kind when you jump all over me. :p

You are obviously not familiar with the bounce theory. This horse ran HUGE last night. At the 3/5 or 4/5 he is going to be this coming weekend, he is a great play against IMO...when I say HUGE, I MEAN HUGE....I would be willing to say that horses that run as huge as he did fail about 75% to get anywhere near that number again and bounce (regardless of time between races) heavily

Huh..he was supposed to bounce in the Preakness...horses that have almost 2 and a half months off tend not to bounce....

A perfect example of this is that Dubai escapade filly that bounced like a superball last out at Calder, that horse had run a monster race, degressed slightly and the TOO THE MOON she went, didn't even hit the board....

Not saying he is a guarantee to bounce but from an investment angle, get your money in against him

mace, have you seen the number he ran in the Preakness?

I am telling you, it is a number that says "Don't play me again for a year"

She did not have as much time off between races....

She had enough going into this race, like 60 days, and 60 in between the other I think, I will have to look it up, but I am telling you, instead of exacta keys it is exacta boxes. The other thing is like they really care about the Jim Dandy, they care about the Travers, he isn't cranked fully....play against him

Scav,
I remember a day at Saratoga about three or four years ago.
Every race was won by a long shot.
People were tearing their hair out cause they were playing the tote and getting it wrong every time.
You know what I mean.

yes I have, he's a developing 3yo and they gave him time off, he'll be fine...

No bounce here. In fact, I don't think he was even working too hard to win the Preakness, which is scary. That is how good he is. And I hate the Darley horses.

Yeah Wayne look at the late Pick 3 yesterday:eek:

Exactly. He has been off for over two months.

I agree, he's had plenty of time to recover plus he's so lightly raced. He walks all over this field

I'd rather look for another race where I can get a decent price in a 10-horse field than to bet this race with a 4/5, 5/2 qnd 7/2 to choose from. Looking forward to watching though.

Curt,
That's what's so interesting about Saratoga. You have people pounding chalk all day long. They never look at how the track is playing, just watch the odds on the tote board.
So when you score on a longshot, you really score.
It's called "the grave yard of champions" for a good reason.
One of the best places to make something if you bet against the favorite.

I'm not kidding about that day when longshots won every race. And the chalk got pounded right up to the 9th race.
I made money that day. Others were shaking their heads.
I learned something that day....even though you capped the whole card, so did many others. When you see favs getting beat badly in the first three races, it's not too late to readjust your strategy rather than "hanging tough".
Hope that makes sense.

I still think DE hurt herself in that race. She didnt look well turning for home. I think we wont see her for a few months if at all.

I like Oh So Awesome and Bernardini here. . . It might be a little too short of a distance for Oh So Awesome but I think his performance in the Belmont was sneaky good. He got left at the gate and still got up for fifth. His works have been kind of strange leading up to this in my opinion. He worked 3F today I think and 7F before that. I can see the 3F as just a way to keep him loose, but 7F seems like kind of a strange distance for a work. Maybe it'll be to his advantage though. Any thoughts?

Also, the field in the Diana (G1) is tiny too. It's like the same problem with Belmont and Hollywood all over again. . .

Harty says she came out fine. No excuses he said but also hinted that all he could think of was she didnt like the track, but he said he didnt want to use that as an excuse because he hates when other trainers say it, if that makes any sense. SHe goes next in the Ballerina at Saratoga...

As of right now, I wouldnt read too much into the field sizes. What the Diana lacks in size, it makes up for in quality. The Jim Dandy is what I'd expect of a prep featuring the best three year old in teh country. Not that anyone wants to take on Bernardini with the Haskell, WV Derby, etc. just around the corner. All roads lead to the Travers, whihc should be awesome!

yo dude you want the drf for the washington >
send me a message with your email

Dubai Escapade needs the lead and wasn't the quickest horse in that race.
I'm just saying it had more to do with pace than it did "bounce"

I haven't looked at the Jim Dandy yet but I can't imagine a pace scenerio tht would allow that plodder Hemingway's Key to get around 2 horses let alone all of them

Maybe they could put up the fences for this race...and then see who can Jump the best.. LOL...... < Just kidding>