Ramon D. regarding Champs Elysees
 

RAMON DOMINGUEZ, CHAMPS ELYSEES, THIRD:

“This horse absolutely loved the surface. I feel without hesitation that he was the best horse in the race. But unfortunately.. I don’t know if being in the one-hole had something to do with it.. having to wait for the other horses to load.. but he broke very, very flat-footed. He had so much ground to make up.

I was last through almost the whole race. And then we were weaving in and out of traffic. But he felt extremely strong under me and he galloped out just great. I can’t tell you enough good things about him. I love this horse. This is going to be a very serious older horse, and on any surface.”

Would love to see some quotes from R.B. on what he was thinking aboard Monterey Jazz.

RUSSELL BAZE, MONTEREY JAZZ, TWELFTH AS 7-2 FAVORITE:

“The first three-eighths he was very relaxed. He picked up the bit and was running along nice and relaxed. But just before we got to the first turn, he grabbed the bit and jumped up into it. They told me the harder you pull on him, the faster he is going to go. So I was trying to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He just went.

He did take a breather around the second turn. I looked back and I was seven or eight lengths in front. I was hoping when I gathered him up, he would jump back up into the bit for me, but he just never gave me anything. He was spent at that point.

I know the track hasn’t been favoring speed, but you can’t use that as an excuse because everybody else ran over it. A speed horse on any track has to win or lose on his own ability. If he would have relaxed today and run a perfect race, I think he would have been a tough horse to beat. So I think he kind of cost himself the race. I can’t blame it on the track.”

It really is hilarious.

Any surface? Yeah right Ramon.

Well no sh*t Russell. You are going 1 1/4 mile...yet you go sub :47, 1:10 and a sub 1:35 mile...


As Bill Engvall would say....."Here's your sign"

What were his fractions in the Strub?

It was much faster that day. I will have to go back and watch the replay from that race and see if Flores had him geared down late or if he was just tiring. It's painfully obvious the track has played against speed of late, but MJ would still have been hard pressed to hold on for the full 1 1/4 setting those same fractions on a fair track.

It's neither here nor there with me, as I had no dog in the fight.

In other related news though...Mike Mitchell is leading candidate for trainer of the year:rolleyes:


Ever A F*cking Friend....grade 1 winner...damn

MJ ran the same as when he destroyed the field in the Strub. The track is what changed. This is a turf sprinter who they stretched out and lucked into a dream bias early in the SA meet. the added 660 feet didn't help either.

I believe Ramon. The guy rides top stock at Delaware and Aqueduct on the inner.

Re: Mike Mitchell....Now, I am the last person to come to a defense of an assumed drugger, but I got curious after reading this, especially given that you chased that damn horse ever race that he has ran in. I looked on www.chrb.ca.gov under admin hearings, which is where they post all drug positives and fines. Mitchell has recieved ZERO at Del Mar, 3 at Hollywood since 2004 (one of them for meds) and 4 at Santa Anita (one for meds). He got fined for failure to report a gelded horse (my guess is that this can be considered common), one for entering an non-eligible horse, and two for milkshaking the horse.

Now, I am most definitely not saying that he is a saint, but given that they haven't caught this guy with a serious positive, I might become more inclined in his ability.

I think Champs Elysees is a nice horse....

1. Baze rode the race perfectly. If he'd have fought his horse, the result would have been worse. He let a free running front runner do just that.

2. My question for Dominguez would be "Yeah, you may have broken flat footed, but why the hell did you feel the need to be 30 back halfway through the race?"

I have been around Santa Anita since 1973 and Mike Mitchell was the claiming king for years, but couldn't get anybody to give him good babys or good older horses. Today we can say Mike is a trainer that is always on the cutting edge.

What doesn't make sense to me is that MJ ran a slow 1st QTR split on the straight (and slight decline on the start) then runs a very fast 2nd QTR, essentially on the 1st turn. Exactly where he lost the race. So, the horse relaxes on the straight but takes off on the turn? Yeah


Check out the chart

I agree 100%. He will win several more graded races.jmvhfo