Who can we can expect in the Suburban?
 

Looks like Commentator wont race until the Whitney.
Too far for Bribon, who is pointing towards the Forego.
Coal Play looked really nice in his last. He will be in.
Formidable, Discreet Treasure, True Resurgence??
I hear Driven By Success is thinking of stretching out. How about Mr Fantasy?
Any shippers?
Big pot and the East Coast handicap division is looking pretty thin.

Maybe a star as good as Frost Giant!

DT should be looking to claim something for $40k that they can move up in the Suburban. Sad really, this has always been one of my favorite races.

I read where Nick Zito said he may run Commentator "once more" prior to the Whitney. You would think it will be in another very safe spot like against horses like Joe Corrigan and Naughty NYer, but my question is why wouldnt he run Commentator in the Suburban? The timing would be perfect, giving him a little less than a month to recover for the Whitney, and the pot is huge.

Giving the fact that Commentator came out of that paid public workout the other day so well, and that you can expect a field of glorified allowance horses in this year's Suburban, why not take down a huge purse instead of looking for another race to be written for him, like the Kashatreya was?

This might be an important detail.

So you think he would aim to run Commentator prior to the Suburban, which is a mere 2 1/2 weeks away? Maybe in another soft weekday race that is written for him? Wouldnt that be running too soon after his last race, which was just 4 days ago?

Probably a moot point anyways, as he most likely wont run at all until the Whitney. Just thought it would be a possibilty and maybe something Nick is thinking about, thats all. He looked so happy after the race on Friday. I know how much he digs this horse.

Who was the last real horse to run in the Suburban? Invasor?

I highly doubt he'll run him again before the Whitney, and if he does it'll be in another paid workout. I can't remember (seriously) - you're the big Zito hater, right?

Nope. You got the wrong guy. I like Nick Zito a lot. Met him up here at a local coffee shop I use to work at... served him coffee many a mornings. One of the most pleasant guys you will ever come across.

I agree with you...I dont think he'll run him before the Whitney, but I'm sure he'd be a huge favorite to win both races. I cant think of one horse off the top of my head who would be running in either of these races with any serious speed to make him work.

I think Nick should use the 1 1/4 Suburban for Commentator as a prep for the BC Marathon at 1 3/4. In fact, let me call him right now.

Great idea!

If Levine runs Driven by Success (who isn't much horse anyway) it will hinder Commentator's chances. Solar Flare, the 2008 Suburban favorite, is probably headed to the Suburban after earning a 111 Beyer figure in his comeback win.

NT

Driven By Success is pointed for the Tom Fool.
.

Levine mentioned the Whitney after the Tom Fool in the article about Kip Deville last week.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/hor...ory?id=4252778

NT

Would that be bad for Commentator?

You think Commentator could go toe to toe with a stretching out Driven by Success and stay? I recognize Commentator's accomplishments and his affinity for Saratoga but I'd have a hard time believing he could win that type of race.

NT

How many times had he won the Whitney? Two or three?? I just wish I would have bet a LOT more on him last year at 5-1. I'm such a wimpy bettor. should have just thrown 50 or more on his nose instead of 10 bucks!

Don't make me have to use emoticons.

Regarding the Whitney, Rising Moon may be given another shot in this race after last year's debacle which led him to the sidelines for 9 months.

Or maybe his connections will try Rising Moon in the Suburban instead? Dutrow would be going for the very rare repeat....Hmmm, very interesting.

I love this horse and wish he could have remained sound throughout his very odd racing career.

If he does win the Whitney will he get a 120 Beyer even if a race at the same distance earlier in the card that was only .19 seconds slower gets that winner a 93?

NT

I tend to agree with your analysis as to how the 8YO version of Commentator would likely deal with Driven By Success' participation in the Whitney, but please, you know better than this.

Did you expect me to let Andy get away with the threat of using emoticons? I had to (re)act once he drew that line in the sand.

NT

We need one of the 'pace engineers' to jump in and evaluate DBS' last race. After watching the race, I thought he ran huge; looking at the chart, I not sure. In any event, what was his Beyer for the race? just in case he does run huge, so we can deflate DrugS' post race comments in advance.

He probably got a 102 or 103.

He had the track in his favor but he still ran pretty well especially when you consider that he doesn't want to go that far ( he will REALLY relish 1 1/8 miles! ).

He's a pretty nice horse nonetheless.

yes, and they could ship him up from Shadwell and he could win again this year.

Ship him??

They could jog him over.

he could trot from Lexington to Belmont and still win the Suburban and it doesn't matter WHO is going.

Bill Brasky did it once.

enter the moose

a naked diane lane would win this.

and be more pleasant.