Who will lead the older horse division this year?
 

I think Tiago has a real chance to be horse of the year. Well Armed is off form. And now I'm read Colonel John is sidelined from the spring races at SA. Tiago can sweep the races leading up to the Big Cap and he can win that race as well. Then he can go to Oaklawn and win that one again. And he can probably win the Goodwood, and there is no Raven's Pass to deal with this year in the Classic..

Court Vision.....on "grass" :D

A $40k claimer from KY, I just don't know which one. maybe Stratostar. This is his year!

Da'Tara.

i thought tiago retired to stud? as for the classic, and there being no raven's pass-there wasn't a 'raven's pass' at this time last year-he came into his own later in the year.

edit~just look, tiago is at adena.

With the new drug rules in place we'll see if a real clean horse emerges . I'm hoping for a level playing field for a change .

Maybe Tin Cup Chalice .

i think letswastemoney was posing a serious question.

I think Nicanor will be HOY in 2009.

Or Dunkirk.

Or maybe Flat Out.

Has to be Smooth Air.

It's Zenyatta's award to lose as HOY but as for top older male, I'm guessing the leading contenders will be Commentator, Harlem Rocker, Tale of Ekati, and Colonel John.

Col. John is out as of now. Not sure how long he'll be sidelined. Rocer and Ekati are nice but are best at about 1m.
Will the Suburban this year be slower than the (in)famous 2007 Pacific Classic?

I don't have a strong feeling about any of them but I just can't think of any other horses that fit as real contenders. Someone will probably come out of nowhere but of the established horses, this is all I can think of.

Bullsbay

oops my mistake...I looked at the drf rankings and saw he was 2nd and assumed he was still training

Bullsbay is in the Donn this weekend IIRC.

no biggie.. i would only begin to question your sanity if you agreed with sumitas re tin cup chalice.
besides, not a stretch to expect tiago to remain in training-i don't think he's done enough to warrant a trip to the barn.

I thought I read somewhere that Tiago was working towards a return in the Feb 8 San Antonio and then the Big Cap. I believe he has a recent work tab.

Tiago worked out this morning at Hollywood. It was his sixth workout since early December. He's not retired.

Here's to hoping it's Arson Squad or My Pal Charlie. Chances are slim but I have them in a fantasy league.

NT

Champ Elysees

He is too slow. His last two wins were just coincidences

I don't know about putting Court Vision down when your suggestion was Champs Elysees, one of the most disappointing horses of 2008.

NT

Maybe Church Service will carry on .

Yes Tiago is back!! I'm happy

Of course my comment on Court Vision was sarcasm. Lol! I am a huge Court Vision Fan! However he may not run in that many races that will consider him older male HOY honours. He is sure to be in the running for the Turf Male Division

I dont think Champ Elysees was a complete disapointment. I agree he lost races he should have won with ease but he did win the Northern Dancer, San Marcos, and the Hollywood Turf Cup. 2009 is a new year and there are no real standouts in the handicap divison as of yet. I think Frankel is sending him to Dubai this spring and start his campaign from there. Though CE is a better turf horse, he has run well on synthetic races at SA, finishing 3rd in the SA cap and only 5 lengths behind in the BC Classic. We will see how frankel preps him up this year.

This thread makes me long for the days of Formal Gold, Skip Away, Will's Way, Siphon, and Alphabet Soup.

really? interesting....and bloodhorse even had a stallion page for him already. guess they missed the news too!
bookings are down all over, can't say i'm surprised about him not staying in the shed.

I'm hopeful Bullsbay could turn out to be a solid runner, but yes, Albertus Maximus doesn't exactly peak my interest.

Shoot I'll settle for the days of Congaree, Medaglia d'Oro, and Pleasantly Perfect.

This years bunch will make those three look like Man O' War, Citation and and Kelso. Congaree would gang rape this year's Donn. I don't think that there is anything out west but for Tiago. Has Heatseeker re-surfaced?

Ladies and Gentlemen, the finalists for the 2009 Eclipse Award for Old Male are: (drumroll please...)

Anak Nakal Winner of the (G2) Suburban in 2:06.34
Tiago winner of the SA H'cap, Hollywood Gold Cup and Pacific Classic
AP Arrow, trained to a stellar end of season by a conglomerate of Marty Wolfson and Rick Dutrow (Special veterinary categories have been announced for the 2010 Eclipse Awards)

The envelope please....

I'm sure it will be Harlington.

:rolleyes:

Albertus Maximus-been waiting for a while for him to get back to racing on dirt.

The year Tiago actually finishes first in three races will be the year we have a black president.

Oh, wait, nevermind.

Tiago will never win (finish first) three times in a year.

Don't get too excited, this appearance at GP is a cameo as he was purchased by Shadwell and is Dubai bound. There's an excellent chance this is the last time you see him.

NT

Ravel should be included too..........:D

He has in 2007, I don't see why it's impossible, just because he didn't do it one year.

Who or what does he have to beat? I see these races as overfilled with stretch out sprinters, setting Tiago up nicely.

Shadwell brings them back and they usually come back OK. Invasor wasn't hurt by going to Dubai. They don't go to bin Suroor.

You are correct, the Shadwell runners are generally OK when they come back. However, I thought I had read that he was being purchased to run in the World Cup and stay in Dubai. I might be wrong.

NT