3/1 (AQU): Top Flight (G2), Gotham, Tom Fool (G3's)
 

4th (1:52) Tom Fool H. (G3)

6 Furlongs | Open | 3 Year Olds And Up Stakes | Purse: $200,000

1 Strapping Groom Ortiz I Jr 123 L
2 Candyman E Lopez C C 120 L
3 Saturday's Charm Ortiz J L 115 L
4 Dads Caps Velasquez C 116 L
5 Non Stop Lezcano A 114 L
6 Sensational Slam Castellano A Jr 114 L
7 Jake N Elwood Franco M 114 L



8th (3:48) Top Flight H. (G2)

1 1/16 Miles | Fillies and Mares | 3 Year Olds And Up Stakes | Purse: $200,000

1 Flash Forward Velasquez C 117 L
2 Teen Pauline Ortiz I Jr 123 L
3 Centring Maragh R 117 L
4 Summer Applause Ortiz J L 123 L
5 Flores Island Franco M 116 L
6 Royal Lahaina Nakatani C S 120 L



9th (4:17) Gotham S. (G3)

1 1/16 Miles | Open | 3 Year Olds Stakes | Purse: $500,000

2 In Trouble Rocco J S Jr 120 L
3 Financial Mogul Bridgmohan S X 116 L
4 Uncle Sigh Nakatani C S 116 L
1 Noble Cornerstone Desormeaux K J 116 Blk-On L
5 Monopolize Decarlo C P 116 Blk-On L
6 Deceived Maragh R 116 L
7 Classic Giacnroll Franco M 116 L
1A Samraat Ortiz J L 123 L
8 Extrasexyhippzster Pimentel J 123 L
9 Master Lightning Velasquez C 116 L
10 Harpoon Ortiz I Jr 116 L

A-Coupled: Noble Cornerstone and Samraat

1 In Trouble 6-1
2 Financial Mogul 10-1
3 Uncle Sigh 3-1
4a Noble Cornerstone 5-2
5 Monopolize 20-1
6 Deceived 15-1
7 Classic Giacnroll 20-1
8a Samraat 5-2
9 Extrasexyhippzster 4-1
10 Master Lightning 20-1
11 Harpoon 10-1

Are there free pps for the Gotham anywhere? Link plz?

David Grening ‏@DRFGrening · 2h: Pletcher said that Monopolize likely to scratch from Gotham and point for a race in Florida. That would reduce Gotham field to 10.

It's always tough when you lose the worst horse in the race.

Looks like the like the inside horse is going to be pretty tuff in here? Or will I be InTrouble for betting on him?

But I always wanna bet the trainer/breeding combo hype. Hype goes further with me than actual substance and race performance ;P

I really hope Pletcher puts him in an AOC at Gulfstream instead

I like the Dutrow horse if he's in shape in the Gotham. Not exactly a bunch of killers in there and I think he'll sit just off a contested pace.

has this officially happened yet?

The Gotham is interesting in the sense that a lot of the themes from the past week or 2 of preps could really hold true in this race-

1) Could this race be just like the Fountain of Youth (and the Withers)- Who is gonna run up front with Samraat and Uncle Sigh? They might go right around the track just like Wildcat Red and General Arod did in the FoY. I know the Withers was extremely week, but the pace setup for the race has me thinking they could do the same thing again. Deceived maybe tries to go with them up front? Maybe In Trouble?

2) Financial Mogul has a lot of the same arguments to win this race as Intense Holiday had to win the Risen Star. He's raced against better, and by getting away from Cairo Prince and Gulfstream in general, he's eligible to move up based on that. Did Violette not enter him in the FoY due to the him not taking to the Gulfstream surface? Thinking he could get softer company in NY? Combo of both? He has the arguments to be Intense Holiday part 2.

3) To an extent at Gulfstream, but mainly in the Risen Star and the Southwest, you saw a lot of horses moving up from ALW, ALW/OC and minor stakes company at "lesser" tracks moving into these races as a "next logical step" (in most cases). And most of those horses got put in their place when going up against the big dogs. ExtraSexyHippzster has really caught my eye, and I think this is a great race to test his class. But I'm a little gun shy because of what I've seen in the Risen Star and Southwest where these horses haven't fared well (the ones moving up). But I love his running style, and he's beaten the lesser company easily. Mixed signals...

I think when it comes down to it, I like Samraat with Uncle Sigh, ExtrasexyHipzter and Harpoon underneath. But questioning if this race will play much of a factor on the overall derby trail?

2-1 was a gift

Jesus.

1-5 on Teen Pauline was the gift of the century then! :rolleyes:

Uncle Sigh is the better horse. He had the worst of the two again today.

You must be kidding...

They both got the trips they wanted. Samraat won again.

Pressing a good horse the entire way, then being in between cant be the trip they wanted for Uncle Sigh.

nice gutty win for Samraat. But honestly... do we see any major potential come Derby day for any of these? I suppose it's playing with fire underestimating a gamer like Samraat (and Uncle Sigh), but still question the quality of competition and how much further they wanna stretch out?

Why not? Which colt is head and shoulders more accomplished then any of these? If Kiaran was training this colt and Violette was training Cairo would you have said what you said? I tend to fall in love with pedigree pages and storied connections but neither of those things race and I have learned (slowly) to let the horses do the talking. You think this is Rockport harbor vs, that other Ny Bred? This crop is better

Samraat is the most exciting NY bred Derby prospect since Champagneforashley.

This is my obligatory, once a year pseudo-excited about a horse post. And a cheap way to confound PG1985 who has no idea who Champagneforashley is.

C'mon maaaaaaaaaan...Samraat gave him five more lbs and raced wider again, and still won.

I swear this has nothing to do with who the trainer is. I'm stuck on the field in the Withers which is probably clouding my judgement. But yeah tough to not a have a Gulfstream over AQ bias. But the trainer angle is seriously not the reason. Violette is a respected high % guy.

I was not a fan of that horse, and thought the crop was really quite difficult to get a read on.

:tro:

Samraat is clearly better than Uncle Sigh right now. There is no reason to think any differently.

He continues to draw outside, I guess thats not his fault. I do think that has made his job easier. I think Uncle Sigh is better, he better start proving it soon though.

No reason?

If only things were so black and white.

Samraat has won against Uncle Sigh twice in a row. He won pressing him up front, and he won stalking from behind. The jockey never used the whip too often from what I could see, and he even won with a wide-wide trip, the most hated trip in dirt racing for a speed horse, and on the same exact track.

Maybe in the future Uncle Sigh will improve more than Samraat. I'm not seeing how Uncle Sigh is better right now.

Sorry, two relatively close finishes, between two lightly raced horses, where one had the benefit of the outside stalking position, tells me nothing definitive whatsoever.

To me, they are two talented 3YOs, and the one that gets the better trip will likely be the winner when they meet assuming each runs his race.

Or maybe you think that definitively, had Samraat been engaging outside the whole race, he still would have won if Uncle Sigh, who had been able to stalk outside, put him in tight between horses during a stretch battle?

No, I don't know the answer either. But, I think it's at least food for thought.

I'll ask you another question ( anyone can check in )...if you offered both horses to 10 top trainers...how many do you think would choose Samraat and how many Uncle Sigh?

Chuck...feel free to weigh in ( surely you have an opinion ).

That's what I have been saying. You put it better though.

I don't know who that is, fill me in if you want.

Flip a coin.

He was pretty good though irrationally overrated. You would have loved him.

He was in Track Barrons first crop, whom I thought was irrationally overrated.

All 10 for Samraat. Just kidding.

I'd still think most of them would prefer Samraat by a slight margin, as it's nice to have an undefeated G1 quality horse in the barn. They're both G1 types though, so I realize they'd be happy with either.