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Does this taint the Travers?
I posted a separate topic for this because I didn't Bluegrass Cat deserves his own thread, poor guy.
Do we assume that the injury happened during the running of the race? If so, how do we now view Bernardini's performance? Do we now have to be skeptical? I honestly thought he was lengths better than BC anyway, but will there always be a feeling that he was beating an injured horse? This is so frustrating for so many reasons - it's a shame for BC, who was a really good racehorse, even if he wasn't Bernardini. It's a shame for the Cat's connections, who won't get to enjoy him race anymore. And oddly enough, it's a shame for Bernardini and his connections, because skeptics who may have been convinced yesterday will now claim that he only beat an injured horse (despite us not knowing where the injury occurred - it could have happened after the race, as he was pulling up.....not necessarily during the running). Horse racing giveth and taketh away, but sheesh - within 24 hours? |
well...if anything taints the race yesterday, it would be that bernardini got to set an easy pace, while bgc did everything he could to keep him honest up front. which took bgc out of his element, because he never ran a race like that before. let him lope, he'd have too much left for the finish, press him too much, neither has a shot at the end. high cotton wasn't classy enough to keep up. props to bgc for trying.
ought to be interesting when bernardini has a legit frontrunner....of course than he'll probably just track off him and blow by...but i'd like to see it to know for sure. commentator is set to return next wknd in the forego. maybe he'll be at the jcgc after....that ought to be interesting. basically, we'll never know if it's a skewed result. so you just applaud the win and go on. |
You only had to take a quick look at the Past Performances to realize that Blucat was a cut below Bernardini.
The news that he got injured takes absolutely nothing away from another outstanding performance by a terrific 3-year-old colt. A damn shame that we never got to see how Barbaro would've fared against him, though.... |
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Bern is so versatile, which is partly why I was so confident in him. Jerry Bailey said it best on the telecast - he has such a quick turn of foot, that he can escape some situations that many horses can not. For instance, if BC had him blocked on the inside,Javier could just back Bern up and go around......pretty quickly, too. It would take too much out of a horse like BC, who is more of a grinder. If a horse is going to be great, then there will still be questions to be answered. Like you, Danzig, I'm sure Bernardini would have no problem with legitimate speed, but if we want to find out, we won't have to wait too long. What a frustrating game........I won't let BC's injury taint this for me, but it certainly makes it bittersweet. |
A broken heart probably led to the pastern injury....let's face it...Bluegarss Cat was a game horse thought fought to the wire like all of the good Storm Cats do and he was probably over-extending himself when Bernardini broke his heart at the top of the stretch when he tried him with everything he had twice and couldn't get Bernardini to break a sweat...BGC was all racehorse and you gotta love his competitiveness....thats what makes the good Storm Cats so damn good...they are all fighters
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I had thought after the race that Todd might point the Cat for the Super Derby, so as to give his colt a chance to recover from chasing Bernardini. His quotes seemed to indicate that he thought the loss was due mainly to the extra week of rest that Bernardini had on him........although I think at heart he knew Bernardini would have to be subpar in order to lose. I'm sorry the decision was taken out of his hands........... |
The injury could have occured at any time between the race and Sunday morning.
Most likely it didn't occur during the race ... because Bluegrass Cat outfinished the rest of the field ... not an easy thing to do with a cracked pastern. If he had backed up suddenly around the turn or in the stretch ... we could attribute his performance to the injury. But that wasn't the case. |
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... did Barbaro and Jazil also "break his heart"? Then this guy has had more heartbreaks than a soap opera star. Pfoooey on this Oprah hogwash. |
I saw him cool out and he looked fine at the time, but like someone else pointed out, the blood is still circulating well at that time.
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more heartbreaks than a soap opera star... |
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BB you are really supposed to be better than this. Do you honestly believe whatyou just said? That he fractured it just hanging around his stall last night? It happened during the race obviously, and no it didn't taint it one bit. But it does give me just a little perspective on why he ran away so easily. That borken heart **** is for sappy movies. Horses dont get broken hearts, if they did then poor ole BC wouldnt been 2nd in the Derby after "getting his heart broken, sniff sniff" in the Blue Grass. Amd I really talking to adults here? You honestly believe in broken hearts and horses fracturing a pastern in a stall vs in the mile and a quarter race they just ran in? This thread is a new low here. |
personal ensign broke her leg in a workout, seemed fine, no bad step etc. didn't suddenly stop. they went to her stall later and she was lame.
horses don't always stop, they ignore the pain, or try to. i don't think the injury caused the loss. he didn't quit. speaks volumes about bluegrass cat and his will. storm cats are half nuts anyway.... but talk of breaking hearts? nah the only hearts that got broken are bettors who had ministers bid in all their tris!!! |
I think the "broken heart" thing is just a poetic way of saying that it must have been very discouraging to Bluegrass Cat to be working as hard as he was to stay close to Bernardini, while Bernardini was going so easily. None of us made this theory up - Man o' War was considered to have broken John P. Grier's heart in the Dwyer (not that it was necessarily true, but that thought was out there at the time). Also, trainers say all the time that they enter their horses in spots to give them their confidence back.........why would they do that if there was no credence to the theory?
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some horses are like people, they hate to lose. and some actually pout when they know they didn't win. they're sore losers! lol
the whole thing with getting their confidence back is that horses are herd animals, with an alpha in the herd...everyone else is subordinate to that alpha animal. a horse starts losing, he starts moving himself down the pecking order...so you run against slower, lesser horses, he wins--the lightbulb (hopefully) goes on...'why, i'm the alpha!' is what they hope the horses believes.... |
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No ... make that two words ... Saint Liam. Oooops ... I guess that's three words. Hey, Mike ... anything can happen at any time with these fragile creatures. If the horse was in pain during the race ... his body language would have shown it ... and an experienced jockey like Velazquez would have picked up on it right away ... or pulling up after the race ... or walking back to unsaddle ... or surely the groom would have when he led him back to the barn ... or before putting him beddy-bye. |
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... but injuries can also occur when a horse isn't racing. In this case ... as in most ... we'll never know ... 'cause the horses never tell us. |
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... it's known as "anthropomorphism" ... ... attributing human traits to animals. |
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But that too ... is just a guess. |
I think the idea that this fine performance was tainted is ridiculous. Even on BGC's best day, it wasnt going to beat Bernardini yesterday.
I agree with BB. The injury could have happened any time and it certainly did not affect the outcome. |
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from Nyra.com
Bluegrass Cat, by Storm Cat, bred and owned by WinStar farm, sustained a non-displaced fracture of the right hind pastern while running second to Preakness Stakes winner Bernardini in the Travers. Subsequent to the race, radiographs were taken when it was discovered that Bluegrass Cat was significantly lame in the right hind leg. Surgical options are currently under review by owners Bill Casner and Kenny Troutt. The injury is career ending but not life threatening.
“We are clearly disappointed that Bluegrass Cat’s racing career has come to an end. We are excited however about his extraordinary prospects as a stallion,” said Doug Cauthen, president of WinStar farm. “He was three for three as a two year old with Todd in New York, winning two graded stakes races including New York’s juvenile derby prep, the Remsen (G2). He set a stakes record at three, won the $1million Haskell by a record seven lengths, ran second in both the $2 million Derby (G1)and the $1 million Belmont (G1) and placed to the great Bernardini in the $1 million Travers. With his pedigree, race record and exceptional conformation, Bluegrass Cat is a commercial breeder’s dream.” “This horse was just coming into his own. Bluegrass Cat was bringing his game to a whole new level coming off his performance in the Haskell. It is quite disappointing that his career has come to an end. He was a very special horse,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. Bluegrass Cat was bred to be a racehorse and bred to be a sire. He is by Storm Cat out of a Grade 1 producing A.P. Indy mare who is out of a Graded Stakes winning / multiple graded stakes producing daughter of Mr. Prospector, herself of a Grade 1 winner and Champion producing of Northern Dancer. It has not yet been determined when the horse will ship back to WinStar. It happened during the race- ok everybody?! |
This doesnt at all taint Bernardini's win...I'd like to think it more shows the guts of Bluegrass Cat for taking two shots at the winner despite this injury.
BCG has a lot of temerity and he showed it yesterday, it's too bad he injured himself in the process. |
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It appears that BC was going to be retired anyway at the end of the season, since an Win Star ran an ad for him in this week's Thoroughbred Times |
The way I feel..
1.) It's definitely a shame that this happened.. BGC was a nice 3-year-old who could've taken some of the later 3-year-old stakes (IN Derby, Pegasus, etc.) this year. 2.) It's pretty irrelevant whether it happened in the race or not, considering BGC could've had eight legs plus a set of wings and never gotten close to Bernardini at the wire. |
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The race was over when Bernardini got in front of BC before the 1st turn. I really thought that BC would try to get the lead in this race. I cannot believe that Pletcher didnt send BC or HC. Or maybe Bernardini is that much freaking better than neither could get the lead. But kudos to BC for trying so hard. But he is a Storm Cat and they will eventually be their own demise.
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the soundest Storm Cat at stud is the little known Cornish Snow, 46-12-8-5 $351,149
STALLION SIRE FARM LOCATION FEE ENTERED STUD CornishSnow Storm Cat Mt. Mebo Equine Center AR $2,000 2002 he was bred to 27 mares in '05. Hurricane Wilma is still running with at least 33 starts. Cat Thief and Harlan had 30 each. And With Distinction is still toiling away with 28 starts to date. Adcat stands in Fla with 28 starts. |
Bernardini is an absolute monster, nothing taints anything he does. Bluegrass Cat may have injured himself after he crossed the finish line for all we know. Bluegrass Cat's Beyer was typical of all his Beyers this year and near what his Haskell was. He ran his race. And as many have said...he just ain't Bernardini.
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Bluegrass Cat is suddenly a " special horse "? I guess when you can say, with a straight face, that after seeing the Ragozin numbers that Flower Alley ran as well in the Whitney as he did in his previous effort, then you can pretty much say anything. However, Bluegrass Cat, while certainly being a nice horse, hardly fits the category of special horse. I guess he's the second best 3YO in a race as long as Dr. Pleasure is third best.
The BS parade just rambles on. |
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You wanna laugh just pick up the Bloodhorse during breeding season and read the ads for the new sires and the quotes in there from trainers. Its always worth a huge laugh. |
Those ads are somewhere between a big chuckle and criminal.
I understand part of Todd's, or any trainer's, job is to tell tall tales. However, my BS meter is beginning to explode these days. I'm still trying to figure out how many more lengths Dubai Escapade could have won by. |
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Ah yes, the ole " the horse could have won by many more lengths" gang who havent figured out yet that the whip will maybe get you a length tops(my source on that one is a hall of fame jockey who I asked about that, but what would he know? He only won 7000 or so races you know?). I dont always agree with you but I've had it as well with the bs lately. I'm reading guys who want props because they said a few months ago that some extremely fast stakes winners would win more stakes. Now gee, there is an original thought, certainly mind blowing stuff. |
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"This was the best little filly I ever put a tack on." "I've seen his first yearlings ... and I've never seen a finer-looking group of young horses in my 45 years in the business." "This grand-looking colt has more potential as a stallion than anything I've seen come to this stud in the last 20 years." "She's already throwed a couple of good ones ... and this one is the best one yet." Pretty good, eh? But I'll try to make them even better between now and the publication closing date. |
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... they really say things like that ... especially when they're laying it on thick for the gullible, nouveau riche, city slickers. |
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