Dreaming of Anna pointed towards the Derby?!
 

http://www.drf.com/news/article/82057.html

I don't think this has been mentioned yet, but I think this is a huge mistake if Calabrese decides to take that route. Why waste a filly with so much potential when she really doesn't look to be at the same level as the likes of Nobiz Like Shobiz, Street Sense, Hard Spun, etc? This is no different to me than when owners/trainers enter cheap speed in the derby that have no business going 10F just so they can have a derby horse.

She will get her head tore off. Calabrese better leave the spotting of the horses up to Steve Leving.

Leving is a moron

He gets fired about 6 times a meet becuase of his spotting. Lewis Michael at Colonial comes to mind recently......

Yeah Leving is a moron, the guy does a great job. He gets fired because Calabrese is impossible to work for.

Believe me, any bad move made with those horses is Calabrese on override.

Calabrese wants a Derby horse, and possibly has one that could be competitive, don't fault him one bit. Catalano won't let it happen though.

I think its a little premature to say if shes the kind of filly who can handle boys mid 3yo season. Shes nice no doubt about it, but I would be very surprised if shes that kind.

Catalano and Leving have no final say, if Calabrese decides shes going the Derby route, shes going. It would be one of the worst decisions ever, but like I said hes been known to override all logical decisions.

That is false, Calabrese listens to Catalano, especially when it comes to this filly. Leving is the one that is a smart guy, but his cockiness gets in the way......

If they really want to take on the boys I hope they give up the Derby plans and instead go to the filly dirt races in the early part of the year through the Oaks and then try the Grand Slam of Grass races against the boys. If she fails there are always the NYRA filly dirt races to continue on with or she could go whoop on the 3yo fillies on the turf. Seems the chance of succeeding against the boys on the turf is a lot higher than on the dirt in a 20 horse field that will not play to frontrunners.

Scav

Calabrese doesnt listen to anyone, that includes Catalano, and Leving. Leving is an advisor, but by no means does he make any final decision, nor does Catalano.

Hearing Calabrese say "maybe Derby" last night means exactly that. They are going to put her in some bad spots shortly.

Sniper, I agree with you...If you want to take on the boys later in the year, do it on the grass

and you know this HOW?

I stand right next to Calabrese when I am at Arlington, matter of fact have had MANY of conversations with him.

He is a tough guy, but he listens to both of them. Not saying he isn't impossible to work for but he does listen to them, otherwise, they would have never run at Belmont with Lewis Michael because that was CATALANO's IDEA....

She will probably be targeted for the Beverly D, if not this year, next year

Snip, she doesn't have to be on the lead, she is flexible, she won at Woodbine from like 6 back or something......

Scav

I just know.

I am dropping this, you know what you know, and I know what I know, not going to have a swinging d*** contest......

Its hard to swing a dick like mine, drags the floor and I have a 32inch inseam, you do the math.

LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Um...Tom....not to burst your bubble, but she was on the pace the entire race at Woodbine...never worse that 2nd the whole race, just off the pace setter.

She won a race f'n rating, that is all i know

Which one?

You just watch, this team will screw up this horse, mark my words.

Summer Stakes @ Woodbine...she never was more than 1 length off the leader the whole race until she decided she was done playing with the boys.

There have been worse fillies who have faced the boys.

She's already faced them and beaten them, so that's definitely a mark in her favor, as all the other female Derby winners ran against colts before Derby Day.

For the past few years, everyone has talked about the BCJ Fillies winner taking on the colts (Storm Flag Flying, Halfbridled, Sweet Catomine, etc) and it never panned out, so let's not get our knickers in a twist yet, saying that Dreaming of Anna is going to be ruined when we don't even know what her first race is going to be.

Exactly....

the thing to remember to, for those who follow chicago racing with any regularity, is that Catalano is the trainer he is, and has the percentage he has because he spots his horses realistically. Many of his horses would show up in AOC races for many other trainers, but he'll drop them right back into claimers to get a win.

With that in mind, if they think Anna's got any shot (ie she races well this Spring), I've got to think they would send her there. But knowing how Catalano spots his horses, even with Calabrese breathing down his neck, I would be hard pressed to think they'd throw her to the wolves just for the sake of doing it. If she shows well this Spring, I imagine they'd send her, and if she's done well this Spring -- they'd have every reason to.

(have no idea how i ended up posting this in another thread!)

These posts are the best! It amazes me how pessimistic this board is.

When you see a horse spotted wrong for that stable rest assured Calabrese's ego has gotten in the way AGAIN. Catalano, didnt place Anna up at Woodbine, they got rained out of Calabrese's spot. I dont remember which stake, if you said it I would know. Anyway it rained and they were forced into a better spot. Calabrese had already entered the wrong spot, lucky for them they got rained out and went with Levings choice.

not sure of the mechanics, or accuracy, of your claiming the reasons for why things happened -- but they got rained on as the favorite in the Arlington Washington-Lassie, and scratched in favor of the race at Woodbine

100% accurate

Yeah, thats the spot they scratched. That was Calabrese's spot. The rain is why they got to run in the right spot, which was Leving and Catalano.

My point is if not for unforeseen circumstances she would have been were Calabrese wanted her. If he says Derby, its Derby.

I'm not being a jerk, but do you have any way to back that up, or is that just speculation?

I get that Calabrese would push to run her in other places (though the Lassie, after being won by Lisa M., likely would have been a romp in retrospect), but do we know whose spot is whose definitively?

Yes, Im 100 percent positive, I dont speculate. Ask Calabrese where he wanted to run her and he will tell you the Lassie. It rained and they took the spot Leving was pushing for in Canada.

Lets see how she does in her 2007 debut and then we'll take it from there.

Right on, just asking. She probably ended up being better served going there than the Lassie anyway, even though I'm pretty sure she would have won that one too.

aka a win, where does she go from there?

Yeah, Im not saying she wouldnt have won the Lassie either.

My point was just to show that Calabrese does call the shots. If he says Derby, he will push her in that direction. Leving does a fantastic job spotting those horses. When you deal with owners like Calabrese you are dealing with some huge egos, guys who arent used to being told how things should be done. Not that Leving doesnt have an ego, but he also has a clue.

Right and my point is that from following CHI racing, I can't believe that Calabrese is a TOTAL tool, or he'd be pushing his local horses above their head, which is not the case. Doesn't mean that once THE horse comes along that he might get a little bit ahead of himself -- but I doubt they are going to force her there if she doesn't show well this Spring.

ALL Calabrese cares about is WINNING. I have seen him out there with his family on the Friday before the Million and he took a 16k claimer and dropped him into 4k just to make sure his family was in the winner circle, horse won by about 40 lengths.

You are giving WAY too much credit to Leving. The whole Lewis Michael debacle was his fault, horse should have never been running at Colonial off that huge Belmont run and should have been pointed towards Arlington Mid Summer Classics, he could have ran 2nd to Showing Up in the Secretariat if he did. Running here was CALABRESE'S IDEA and Leving talked him out of it.....

Thats nothing, i can be far more pessimistic actually.

Would you guys like for me to call Wayne Catalano and settle this thing for you?

NC Tony

SHe's not in the class of Sweet Catomine, IMO. Not even close.

Ain't that the truth! :D :p

Yes Tony.