George Washington very possible for BC Classic
 

..now that Dylan Thomas failed to take to the dirt, team Ballydoyle has come out and said that George Washington is in consideration for both the Mile and the Classic - but it sounds like the Classic is where they are leaning reading between the lines....

Theye will run Dylan Thomas in the Turf and now have Aussie Rules for the Mile, which gives them the intriguing option of trying George Washington in the Classic on dirt to have a representative in that race. Plus, they want to take their shot at beating Bernardini and Darley - that you can believe...

Aussie Rules doesnt stand a chance in the Mile. GW needs to be in the Mile.

I dont understand how you can say no chance. This is probably the most competitive of all the races with as many as 10 that you could make a strong argument for.

Go ahead and make a case for 10 of them. This should be good.

Aragorn,Miseques Aproval,GorellaAskelWayBecrux,Silent Name This is for starters . Im sure the bashers will bash all of them but all of these are prime contenders.

Don't worry JPops, when that 15-1 shot pops... the bashers will say thier chalk got caught in traffic

Those are nice horses but I would only consider Aragorn and Gorella are the only two that deserve any praise. I like Ashkal Way but I dont think he is good enough. Silent Name I didnt like yesterday and I don't know what all the hype about that horse is. Miseques Approval (I believe) has never won a Grade I race. If he has, I am sorry.

Looks like Ballydoyle is trying to make me look like a prophet.

I don't know about that Euro, pretty impressive this weekend at Keeneland

I take this back, I just looked at his TG sheet in the redbooard room and he is a tad slow for the BC Mile

There is no doubt he is a good horse. But he just isnt good enough to compete in the Breeders Cup Mile. I might be wrong, but I won't be betting him on BC day.

George Washington is going to run in the Classic? Thanks for the tip. ;) First I heard of it. A couple weeks ago the people here told me the guys at ballydoyle would never do that. I guess you guys know better than the people who train the horse and the people that bred him. I will let them know it is ok with derbytrail.

Just to let you know, Dylan Thomas had nothing to do with the decision. It has to do with his future stallion career.

Yes. I believe you told us this weeks ago. Put it at 74% or something. I think Ballydoyle knows what they are doing, but I will let Corballis know.

Oracle, still waiting for you to tell me who your friend is that knows Dr. O'Byrne.

Read it on TDN and there were quotes fron Aiden O'Brien to verify their intentions with him and Dylan Thomas...its legit I'm sure..

I can't believe this is anything but hype. They will go for the mile with George, retiring him after he wins there, if all goes well. They then want the option of being able to say that he could have taken the BCC route, saying amongst all their stud propaganda that they believed he had the stamina and ability to handle the surface for the BCC.
Whilst there was good reason for trying this out with Galileo, Hawk Wing and Giant's Causeway, I refuse to believe that they will endanger the reputation of such a hot breeding prospect as George Washington.
If anything, they will have a throwaway shot at the race with one of Aussie Rules, Ad Valorem or Hurricane Run.

agree with Harry, cant really see him being in the Classic.. He has the Mile at his mercy, Dylan showed what most Danehills do on dirt. Coolmore would have seen this weekend two very tough horses on dirt and Im sure will swerve them. Aussie Rules winning at Keenland showed them how good they are for the BC Mile.. I doubt 10f would suit and George is very very inclined to dwindle out of the gate, more so than other Euros which would be a huge disadvantage.. Id be shocked if they ran in the Classic..

It is 51-49 they are going to the classic. This has everything to do with increasing his stud fee. A BCM win would do nothing for him.

If you asked me, they think George Washington is the best horse in the world, some say the best they have ever had, and they want a shot at Bernardini. They don't like the Bernardini connections. No secret there.

The BCC has a built in excuse if he loses. It is a win-win. Everyone already knows he is a great miler. I think he has a great shot to run second.

Don't sit on the fence there!

Do you honestly think that people who own horses take the breeders input into any type of consideration when managing their own property?
If they do it would be the first I ever heard of it. Most owners pay their money when they buy a horse and do what they want with the horse because its their right to do so.
I don't anyone here has arrogantlyclaimed that they know what Tabor and O'Byrne have decided to do. Joel simply posted about something he had read where he read between the lines. He didn't say he had been informed by anyone of any specific details.
If you "heard" something weeks ago, do you not realize that owners and trainers change their minds on a dialy basis based up on happenings that occur?
Its plausible to me that they would try GW in the classic after the bad Dylan Thomas performance on the dirt. They obviously want a horse in the Classic and quite frankly it makes sense to try him there. The very best Euros have been beaten with traffic trouble in the mile many times. Rock of Gibraltar was even beaten, as hard as that was to believe. Makes sense to me that if you have already established that you are the best miler in Europe that your value can go down if you try the mile and get beat in a traffic jam. These aren't owners who care about purse money. Ginats Causeway was a similiar situation. ALready established as phenomenal on grass, they took the shot(gee who owned him again?) on dirt and were rewarded with an outstanding 2nd place effort which proved he could run on dirt, and as a result he was much more eagerly sought by breeders in the shed because they had a better idea that perhaps his offspring could handle dirt, which is the large base of US racing.
I see it as everything to gain and nothing to lose if they try the classic. If he runs poorly then they still had an OUTSTANDING grass horse who is still valued the same as he was before the Cup.
If he handles the dirt and hits the board his value skyrockets as a stud.

I think you've come to the wrong place if you are trying to impress people with insider knowledge.

I agree 100%. :D

Agree with you on this one.

I don't think you have to be a rocket scientist to see that once a horse has already established himself as a great grass horse, that the only thing left you can do to pump up his value is to try and get a good run on the dirt for him so he appeals to more breeders in the US.
Therefore, it wouldn't surprise me if they attempted this.
I have absolutely no knowledge on what they will do, I just see the sense in the Classic attempt.

You are right. They dont have anything to lose and they have everything to gain. Big deal if he gets beat or even crushed in the Classic. His value as a turf sire is there and nothing is going to change that. With a victory in the classic and a couple of good crop years he could be considered a sire of sires.

Well if he were owned by non billionaires, it might be different. But the chance at the purse money in the Mile to them is really worth gambling on the chance he hits the board in the Classic. I mean even if hes say third to Bernadini, just think about how much his stud value soars. He would then be placed in the most lucrative event on dirt in the US.
I don't really care either way to be honest with you. I have a tough time feeling concerned for billionaires and their "plights" with their horses.

That is funny....it is difficult to feel a billionaire's pain when deciding which BC race their horse should run in.

Yeah imagine having it so rough that your biggest problem is your anguish and torment over which multimillion dollar race to run your horse in?

From Sky Sports.....

http://www.skysports.com/skysports/a...236530,00.html

I don't quite understand what you're trying to say, but when a horse is owned by Magnier/Tabor/Smith et al then campaign the very good horses with a future view to breeding.


Now George Washington is already a better miler than Rock of Gibraltar, so connections must feel that they have the BCM at their mecy given luck in running etc, and there seems less chance of George staying the 10f than there was with the Rock. So whilst running in the BCC may be a 'no lose' situation, when the odds are that stacked against you actually winning, surely common sense would dictate running where there is a far greater chance of something being gained.

Its been no secret that Coolmore has desperately been trying to stand a son of Danehill in the US. They first focused on the ill-fated Landseer, but we all know how that story ended.

Then it was Dylan Thomas, hence the try on the dirty. And after that poor showing, they possibly sending Georgie into the wolves hoping for a Giant's Causeway like effort.

Remember this, Coolmore is ALWAYS about setting up a colt to appeal to the most breeders at the highest fee. I wouldnt be shocked to see them go for it. They've been biting at the bit for too long to stand a son of Danehill in N.A.

With that said, Aussie Rules is by far the best stallion-potential wise in my opinion. Would love to see him retired here. I would breed to him myself... with a mare, of course!

Harry you completely missed my meaning.
I was saying that the owner of a horse, doesn't check with the breeder of the horse(person who bred the horse that they purchased it from at auction or privately) before they make a move, lol.

Right, I getcha!

Polytrack makes a son of Danehill actually have a chance to make it here now.

Agreed... and I think Aussie Rules has the best stallion pedigree of the bunch by far.

green as the grass at Kildare, love the dam side with Alazo

I also think Oratorio would make a good US sire that carries Danehill

I think Retribution should go. He could be awfully scary on the front end.

He's already retired... standing for Coolmore in Ireland I believe.

James Willoughby has a good article on racingpost re george in the classic..