Any respect for Pyro now?
 

J Be K and Tale of Ekati both won today after running behind Pyro in Louisiana Derby. J Be K switches to sprint, probably his intended spot, and wins convincingly. Tale of Ekati wins Grade I Wood Memorial.

Or, am I going to hear chorus that contends that horses that Pyro has beaten are coming back to defeat inferior fields? Another reason to love this game -- everybody has a theory and everybody has a chance to be right some of the time.

Tune in next week for Pyro's performance in Blue Grass Stakes. I hope Pyro makes moderate move forward (he doesn't have to win), then wins Kentucky Derby in all-out effort.

i still dont like him

j be k is special, im tossing fairgrounds, i think he will stretch back out eventually

LMFAO

i'd say that pyro has been very flattered by some of the company he has been keeping. i would also say it's hilarious that only a week removed from big brown, and suddenly we have a new best three year old, and a new best prep...nothing ever changes!

I hope they keep J Be K short. He's a sprinter, he looks like one and is bred like one.
Visionaire was 3rd to Pyro and came back to win the Gotham, though Texas Wildcatter's race today doesn't flatter him.
I think that Pyro is the best of this scraggly lot.

Not me ...

I have to say that Colonel John looks like the Derby winner at this point to me. Big Brown is certainly talented, but the lack of starts concerns me.

Personally I don't agree with this type of analysis. Neither J Be K nor Tale of Ekati ran their "A" race in Louisiana (or their B or C). You can't really tell anything about Pyro from their efforts today. Personally I think Pyro is slow but they're all slow this year so clearly he has a shot.

Pyro has done nothing wrong except beat a bunch of slow horses but the same can be said for Colonel John and Big Brown. There will be at least 15 slow horses in the Derby.

Pyro has respect. People just don't know how good he is. Today's Wood was an ungodly race. Another slow as molasses Derby prep race. I view it as Tale of Ekati was just the least bad of the group today.

I think Pyro is the most likely winner, especially when he dusts the field he is going to face on this coming Saturday.

I was also very impressed with Colonel John today, especially his runout, although he got a great trip today.

Not sure what to think about Tale of Ekati. I had him as my 'Derby horse' in like November of last year, then got off him, and not really sure what to think about his performance today, they looked like a bunch of lugs coming down the lawn, was going to formulate an opinion based on what some other people saw, a confusing race to me.....

Considering the the 3 best horses at Oaklawn were Cal horses coming off synthetics (Zenyatta, Heatseeker, Tigao), it gives me more hope for Colonel John at Churchill. HE was visually impressive today, and should be fine if it is a fast pace with all the speed headed there. I would be completely stunned if any horse that ran in the Wood were in the tri on Derby day.

Looks like the BSF for Tale of Ekati will be 96 or less. The AQU figs from yesterday are included in the DRF Leaderboard, and Tale of Ekati didn't make the 97 cutoff.

--Dunbar

Other than racing surfaces, both Pyro & Colonel John seem to be on equal footing with thier racing style during the prep races so far.

j be k cost me the pick 4. :mad: :( :D

He's just a horse by a Super Trainer who had a big race on a big day. He had a dream trip in a one turn race. Whoopty doo.

Pyro and Colonel John
 

I would agree Pyro has had much more hype because of Asmussen and running 2nd in the Breeders Cup. But Colonel John has had the same 2 races, 2 wins, and has the same if not better breeding for 10 furlongs. Pyro has had more hype and the Big Brown Bear has gone on hype overload.

Biggest winners yesterday Pyro and Col John.Biggest loosers War Pass,the bad cat and de cork. Where does Louies horse fit in? Wondering if War Pass and El Gato Malo even go now. While Im not sold on him for a win, Bobs blackjack could be a key horse in the Derby.

Colonel John enjoyed what Santa Anita has been for quite a few weeks - a closers paradise. Yesterday, 5 synthetic races, zero wire jobs, no one sat second and just one horse came from third to win. It's been like this for weeks.

Bob's Black Jack ran a huge race, and if he hits the Derby road, he and Colonel John will be making their first starts on dirt in the race.

The impact of a synthetic/dirt comparison is seen right with Coast Guard, who is solid on synthetic, but was drubbed in his lone dirt start (Real Derby), only to return yesterday to run a game 3rd in the SA Derby.

If I had time, i could absolutely RIP this post apart. You are out of your mind thinking Colonel John trip was because of a closers paradise. Those horses up front went FAST as hell, them holding that LONG shows you that track was somewhat fair, three weeks ago, they wouldn't have hit the board. You are right Bob's Blackjack running a truly amazing, gut wrenching race, but the trip at Santa Anita has been 4w4w and closing mid track, Colonel John was 1w1w and closed in the middle of the track. And he was pretty close to this pace, only about 3-4 lengths back, it wasn't like he was 10 lengths back.

And using Coast Guard for example is ridiculous. I can give you TWO just from yesterday before doing any research. Tiago and Heatseeker.

Lets dont be selective. Explain the Hot springs results, Even tho not TC related it is synthetic to dirt.