Country Star
 

Perhaps I missed the thread, but I haven't seen any mention of her. Indian Blessing will get the Eclipse, but 'Star has really looked good (albiet on synthetics) and Frankel seems to be really high on her. Thoughts on her race the other day?

She's a good horse, and ran faster I think than Zenyatta, and I am very curious to see if she can run on the dirt. If she's as good on dirt as she is on turf and synthetic turf then she's a potential star. However, personally I look forward to betting against her on dirt.

She did look very good the other day but I'm with BTW. Her debut was on the grass (I believe) and then her next two were on the fake dirt. The good thing for her is that if she winters out here in Southern California or goes back to Keeneland for a race like the Ashland, she will get to continue on the fake stuff. Her first race on the real dirt might not come until the Kentucky Oaks if she continues to stay healthy and on that route. I guess that in that same way, we have to wonder how Indian Blessing will fare on the fake stuff if they race her on it this winter at Santa Anita. She appears to have been working fine on it but then again, it's Baffert and they always work fast. Indian Blessing began her career on the fake stuff down at Del Mar but I think from all indications, that stuff was even further away from dirt than the fake stuff at SA and Hollywood so it wasn't a true indicator. In either case, I think that both of them are interesting fillies to watch and have bright futures ahead of them.

Is this the debut on the turf going to dirt thing that you have talked about?

That's certainly a reason I am dubious about her actual dirt ability.

Do you recall her dam, Rings A Chime, as a runner? I know she won the Ashland & was 2nd in the Oaks but was she actually very good?

'Star is a half sis to Black Cat Crossing (Storm Cat) who sold for 3.1M in F-TSAR and is currently running in Ireland.

I barely remember her dam.

I won't be shocked if Country Star handles the dirt but I will bet against her on that surface at a short price.

Assuming that Country Star and Indian Blessing were in the same race and were the same price, who would you play? I'd take Country Star.

Also, given Frankel's desire for time off with his horses, I'd be surprised if Country Star ran in a race like the Ashland. If my memory serves me right, when Flute and Keeper Hill won the KY Oaks, their last race was the Santa Anita Oaks.

Indian Blessing will be ruined in no time. She has done enough. Country Star's turn of foot was extremely impressive. I doubt dirt is going to be any issue. The good ones run on anything. Who cares about dirt anyway?

What's the distance? CS is 2 for 2 in G1 2 turn races. Not bad, on any surface.

Two-turn 8.5F.

Looking back at the stakes histories for the Ashland, it doesn't appear that either Keeper Hill (I'm still thinking SA Oaks) or Banshee Breeze ran in the Ashland (I think BB's last race before the Oaks was the Bonnie Miss); neither placed if they did.

FYI, Rings a Chime won the 2000 version, by a nose over Zoftig, with Circle of Life (dam of Circular Quay, The Roundhouse) third. She was trained by Lonnie Arterburn, and time for the race on a "good" track was 1:44.2.

I'd take Indian Blessing without any hesitation. I always take quality speed over a horse that needs help from others.

Why wouldn't it be enough if she were just a turf and poly star? The game is changing.

It's interesting that the other in the money horses out of her initial race have come back to perform very, very well on the dirt. (Of course, they had worse trips than she did.)

Does something in her stride/racing style indicate that she won't be able to handle the dirt? If anything, there's been steady improvement in her form/footwork from race to race.

I never said there was anything wrong with her being just a turf horse. I love turf racing. All I said was she hasn't shown that she can run well on the dirt.

She's a very talented horse. Whether or not she's a " very talented dirt horse " has yet to be determined. We'll see. In my opinion, if Frankel thought she was a dirt superstar her debut would have come on the dirt.

I know this was not for me but I wanted to give my answer to that anyway. I've always had a feeling that when people start their horses out on grass, it's often a sign that they haven't been too happy with what they've seen on dirt. Maybe that's silly but that's just something that's always been a part of my thinking. In America, dirt racing has always been king and while there have certainly been some great grass horses here, it often seems that quite a few of them go that route only after they've not lived up to expectations on the dirt.

As for what you say about the game changing, that's certainly correct. Because all of the racing in California will be done on synthetic tracks, a horse can have a pretty solid career and pick up some pretty big wins and never race on real dirt in his/her life. The fact that it will be done on fake dirt will always leave some question but at the same time, if the horse is better than all of the competition, that's all that matters. But as I said, there will be questions. Sort of like the situation with Lava Man. No question that he was a star and he dominated California racing like few others have. But we know how his story went when he had to leave his comfort zone. It used to be that we would only have to debate turf horses versus dirt horses in trying to decide who's the best. Now we will have something else thrown into the mix. This year, Ginger Punch is the top dirt mare, Lahudood is the top grass mare and Nashoba's Key is the top synthetic mare. Who is the best? Who knows?

I think he indeed thinks her a superstar with scary-good potential, and has purposely avoided the dirt (no Breeders Cup) to help prevent possible injury, so she can dazzle as a 3-year-old.

Running her on synthetics possibly makes her a bit fitter than her dirt counterparts, giving her a good 3-year-old base without the same risk of time off for bucking or chips.

I understand this philosophy. The only thing in my mind that causes me to wonder whether that is the case here is the general inability of MSW races going long, especially for fillies, to fill in New York. Perhaps Frankel ran her on turf because the distance of the race was more important to him than the surface over which it was conteted. Certainly, Country Star was well-bet first time out on turf, so she probably showed something somewhere in the morning. I'm not saying this is the case, but just offering another possible explanation.