6/2 (BEL): Pennine Ridge (G3)
 

What a field. The 2 and 4 are superstars. Everyone likes the 3, I never really have, but his grass raced are strong. I also think the 1 and 5 could be any type of horses. And that's not even mentioiong Untamed Domain.

I'm not a big Catholic Boy fan. Untamed Domain's BC race was tons better.

Stating the obvious, but the 4 is one of the best grass 3yo's this country has seen in a long time. The Transylvania was a devastating performance in a race that is turning out to be key.

Curious to see if they stick to a mile-ish or try longer and position for the BC Turf.

Hawkish running at Penn National..

[quote=philcski;1110435]Stating the obvious, but the 4 is one of the best grass 3yo's this country has seen in a long time. The Transylvania was a devastating performance in a race that is turning out to be key.

Curious to see if they stick to a mile-ish or try longer and position for the BC Turf

9 furlongs today should tell where he will head

I don't think seeing Catholic Boy ( probable winner )next to him would have been good for him mentally. It's a Much easier spot at Penn National .

Now scratched down to a 5 hoss field :mad:

If I'm wrong about Catholic Boy so be it, but I believe he finishes 4th or 5th. Never been a fan, didn't understand the huge BC buzz. I would take the 1,4,5,6 ahead of him.

Ran well on turf last year. Just lost to Hofburg and Audible , who are 2 who could win the Travers if Justify doesn’t go there after winning Triple Crown. Plus, what are the chance we have 2 hosses go 4 for 4 lifetime on back to back days ? I think the fave is vulnerable.

4-5 exacta is the play.

Catholic Boy was training lights out going into the breeders cup and was a nice healthy 12-1 that's what the buzz was about. He finished a nice 4th in that race and ran a decent race. Analyze it is in a different class then these. The rest are running for second which Catholic Boy will be right there. Only 5 horses running so single analyze it and move on

Not a fan.

Short fields can sometimes produce quirky results because of the pace, as you know.

That said, I’m singling and moving on. :D

I'm playing a 4-5 and boxing a 4,5 as a b/u.
I think the 5 has some upside and could be good. Big step up. We will see.

Catholic Boy was sharp!!

javy wouldn't give up and neither did the Boy

I guess CB is OK. I prefer Hawkish.

Hawkish earned $300K today beating weaker than Catholic Boy who earned $140K. I wouldn’t be surprised If they gave Catholic Boy another chance on the dirt this summer.

In what kind of race? At a flat mile, I suppose I'd go with Hawkish, too.

But if we are talking about anything beyond 9 furlongs (e.g., The Belmont Derby) you might be in for a world of hurt.

I've only seen the stretch run, but from what I can gather from the chart, the Penn Mile was a curiously run race. Why Maraud, who has done nothing but stalk or sit well off the pace, ended up in a 3-way duel for the early lead is beyond me. Encumbered off a 7-month layoff I can see being a bit fresh and clearly the Live Oak Plantation horse is a one dimensional frontrunner who has already shown he will cave readily if pressured. It was a nice setup for a colt like Hawkish who has a devastating turn of foot, but suspect sustainability. The lugging in and wide action don't scream extra furlongs to me...

Meanwhile, Catholic Boy, already well-versed in late running tactics on the lawn as a juvenile, showed great versatility setting his own pace, absorbing a bold challenge from a top class rival, taking a couple of glancing blows along the fence, checking inside the final furlong, and re-gathering momentum to nail the laboring favorite at the wire. All this while making a return to turf off a couple months layoff after a significant bleeding episode. Throw some of that pace from the Penn Mile in the Belmont Derby and Catholic Boy will be able to position himself early wherever is to his advantage and truly assert himself in the latter stages.

As a side note, I'd be interested in Untamed Domain if he gets an invite to the Belmont Derby. He was taken out of his game (one late run) when making an early move to put some pressure on Catholic Boy down the backstretch (by the way Untamed Domain wore blinkers in the American Turf last out, but apparently the Kentucky Derby wasn't the only chart that was botched by Churchill that day).

And while we're on the subject of 10 furlongs for the Belmont Derby, I'd take a look at the minor Tale of the Cat Stakes at Monmouth today over a good turf course. Divisidero's half brother Gunnison rallied sharply late to tag the Sam-Son Tapit colt Strike Me Down after those two separated themselves from the rest of the field at the top of the stretch. Not sure about the class--though they are both bred in the purple--but they sure seem capable of handling more ground in the future.

Finally, the Artie Schiller colt in CA, Fibonacci is back working again after missing about 30 days after his latest win in late March. Not sure if he has a prep race he can point for other than a conditioned allowance against his elders (if Santa Anita can actually fill such a race), but he's another who looks suited to the distance.

I think Analyze must have had something go amiss in the last 1/16, maybe he bled, pulled something, who knows, and perhaps he just got beat on the square? We will see what team Galileo brings to the Belmont Derby; I am sure they have something that will test anyone one of the 4 or 5 good horses racing here.

It was nine furlongs....the final 1/16 is what separates it from 1 1/16. It’s a whole new ball game. Catholic Boy had more bottom when it counted.

Yeah, you are right on there! I forgot Chad's horses are typically short and rarely finish the last 1/16 when they don't have enough bottom.

On a serious note, fair play to Catholic Boy, my guess is it is the last time he beats him.

I'm not sure why Analyze It got late in deep stretch, but the connections are now in an interesting quandary with what to do next with the colt.

Is he simply a miler? Considering the exploits of his sire, he should get some distance, but the bottom side features horses like A.P. Assay, Nice Assay, and Came Home who all had a world of speed. Came Home could carry his, but the two fillies (3rd and 4th dams of Analyze It) couldn't get further than a mile.

What's his running style? He's settled decently in his last 2 starts after mixing it up on the lead in his juvenile starts. He could revert to the latter style in the Belmont Derby and try and pull an Oscar Performance-type victory or continue on with the former in an attempt to maximize his stamina.

There's always the question of competition, too. While he won off the screen in his first 3 starts, perhaps the best horse he has beaten is Pubilius Syrus who has disappeared after taking 2 minor stakes at Santa Anita this winter. Maraud has been quite the in-and-outer in his career thus far, so perhaps Analyze It caught him on an "out" day at Keeneland.

Oh brother. Your superstar was 2 in front inside the 1/16 pole and got beat. Even after fouling the winner twice causing him to lose momentum, he didn’t have an answer. Just because it says Chad Brown as trainer, does not mean the rules of having enough hoss at 9 furlongs don’t apply. after watching that race, your conclusion is that The catholic boy wouldn’t beat him again. I’d love to hear your reasoning. Catholic Boy was the impressive one. Hawkish and Catholic Boy are the leaders of that division.

P.S. Justify will whistle on Saturday

Guessing Chad will figure out much of the wonder related to distance and style? If he fooled me beating up on ordinary colts, it wouldn't be the first time a sexy winner swooned me. Maybe Catholic Boy is really good or maybe Analyze it was just so much better than the 2-year-old colts? As for Belmont Derby, I will probably defer to Coolmore's entrant and wish Mendelson would participate which he won't which sucks.

The 2017 BC Juvenile Turf has been won of the more productive races seen in a long time. Not only by the simple number of subsequent winners, but also by the versatility displayed by its participants. You have turf winners, dirt winners, poly track winners, Classic winners, route winners, and sprint winners.

1st Mendelssohn -- UAE Derby (G2 dirt, NTR), Patton (AW)
4th Catholic Boy -- Remsen (G2 dirt), Pennine Ridge (G3T)
5th Beckford -- William Walker (listed-T sprint)
6th Masar -- Epsom Derby (G1 Classic 12f-T), Craven (G3T), 3rd 2000 Guineas (G1 Classic 8f-T)
7th My Boy Jack -- Louisiana Derby (G2 dirt), Lexington (G2 dirt)
8th Flameaway -- Sam Davis (G3 dirt)
9th Sands of Mali -- Prix Sigy (G3T sprint), Sandy Lane (G2T sprint)
10th James Garfield -- Greenham (G3T sprint)
14th Hemp Hemp Hurray -- Animal Kingdom (AW sprint)

Does Noble Indy know about My Boy Jack's win in the Louisiana Derby? Boy is he going to be pissed.

Almost as pissed as his owners who rushed him back into the Lexington to get points for the Derby that they, apparently, didn't need.

Choose your own adventure:

(1) Damn autocorrect. I typed "Southwest" and that's what it came up with...

(2) The worse part is that I had trouble spelling "Louisiana"...

(3) The Louisiana Derby used to be run at 8.5 furlongs, so My Boy Jack would have been the winner were it not for the poor judgment of Fair Grounds racing officials...

(4) I'm just happy someone actually read the entire post.

Lone Sailor isn’t happy either.

I think we will see Untamed Domain join that list eventually. Anyone know why Voting Control hasn’t run since then?

Happy or amazed?

I was actually going to use "thrilled" but "amazed" is probably more accurate.

I just read this morning--buried in some article about Justify's latest workout-- that American Anthem, who received quite a bit of press last year during the Derby trail and then later put up a sharp effort on the Belmont undercard in the Woody Stephens, successfully returned to the races a couple of days ago at Churchill Downs.

My first reaction was that I wished these message boards were more active so I could more easily pick up on these things (where the hell was RHT on this?) before they happen. Then I realized that the racing news sites (the one's that are left) ought to have been promoting his comeback.

This is probably why the Blood-Horse's main distribution strategy is to hand out free copies of its latest edition outside the entrance to the Men's bathroom at the Keeneland Sales Pavilion.

I guess I should just be thankful that the Tapwrit allowance got a headline or two.

I thought American Anthem might run in the Met. He should have.

I thought Tapwrit actually ran OK. He was overly aggressive on a quick pace and stayed on reasonably well. If he can stay sound, maybe he can step forward and contend in some tougher races.

I'm still waiting for someone to figure out Hoffenheim. There still seems time for him to progress into a decent late running sprinter (like his sire), but not only do they keep flip flopping distances on him, now he's alternating running styles, too.

The horse was well meant from the get-go as an expensive yearling purchase and was also briefly touted as a 3yo as a potential Derby prospect in the Baffert barn. Now its a slippery slope back into the claiming ranks where Jacobson got him.

Hopefully they develop a game plan for him beyond the next available race between 6.5 and 8.5 furlongs.

In that barn, a plan would be unusual.

Not much love for Catholic Boy back in June