Jockey Club Gold Cup 2009
 

Cribbed from Grening's report.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Travers first- and third-place finishers Summer Bird and Quality Road completed preparations for their rematch in next Saturday's $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup here by putting in five-furlong workouts Saturday morning over Belmont Park's main track.

A field of six or seven is shaping up for the Gold Cup, one of five Grade 1 stakes on Saturday's program. Others pointing to the race include Dry Martini, Macho Again, Sette E Mezzo, and Tizway. Asiatic Boy is possible.

Will Quality Road be the favorite by post time again?

Nope Sette e Mezzo..I wonder if this is his owners call or conditioners..lol

Thanks for the mercy post Freddy....I guess there's not much interest in this race now that Rachel Alexandra is prematurely retired for the yr.

Anyway I for one am really looking fwd to this race.

The JCGC is a premier race. No matter the year it is a must watch. Summer Bird is a lot better then these isn't he?

Apparently he went a little too fast in one of his works which which could be a concern, he's showing more speed with every race which should be a good thing as long as he continues to finish his races strongly.

If he does win this Saturday, it will put him in very select company with Easy Goer and Damacus as winners of the Belmont-Travers-JCGC triple.

I can't remember if he has been on the dirt yet or not.

He is certainly the improving sort and the longer the better for him, dirt the obvious big question mark...

With the probables listed above QR is going to get the trip he covets as Tizway should be one-way speed who he can stalk.

I think this race will give us a much better indication of who's better between he and Summer Bird.

NT

I don't want to get ahead of myself, but if he wins convincingly Sat, does he still have an outside shot of HOY?

I believe he would be the first horse to win The N.Y Triple of The Belmont-Travers-JCGC and to cap it off in the classic and I know you don't like him on poly but if he can do it, isn't that a worthy resume for any horse for HOY and especially a 3 yr old to boot?

It's a big IF however....

Summer Bird would have to win by epic proportions then come back to win the Classic. Sure, that's ALL he has to do.

It would take those two wins because after all the horse who he's behind in the HOY race beat him the only time they faced one another. By a lot.

NT

Well there's always next yr to rectify that loss. ;)

My guess would be no. But then again, I'm of the mind that HOY is a done deal already.

The problem will be that outside of QR, everyone who's anyone that Summer's beaten, she's beaten too...including him.

It's a done deal, I can't see anyone beating out RA for HOY regardless of what races they win the rest of the yr.

Unless, of course, Zenyatta gets moved to the Dutrow barn and pulls off the Ladies Classic/Classic double.

If we get creative, what if Summer Bird beats Macho Again by 10 who RA just outlasted, then wins the Classic beating Zenyatta among others...then Ice sends gift baskets to the voters....alot if's but...

I dont think Zenyatta should be the gold standard to be judging HOY. Shes done nothing besides beating the same field over and over again at the same California tracks/surface. I dont think Summer Bird beating Zenyatta would be enough to get him HOY. He would have to either avenge his big loss to Rachel and thats not going to happen, or win the Jockey Club as the field is now and then win the BC Classic (only if it has Sea the Stars and a few others like Gio Ponti and Einstein).

Will Summer Bird be participating in a suicidal pace up front before winning by 10 and having those who chased him finish last, 2nd last, and 3rd last, or just stalking and then blowing the race wide open?

Dynamics play a big part.

What concerns me as no surprise I am a Summer Bird fan, is he was reported to have had a fast work prior to his last work, he does have a new dimension of showing more early speed, but you don't want to run too fast early on in a 1 1/4 race. You have to expect a better race from Quality Road so a duel is possible, his last work was reported as better as he went slower early on and finished in 36, I expect him to run big, so if he does he might open some eyes and get out of the shadow of RA. To be in a position to do what Easy Goer did is a worthy accomplishment any way you look at it.

Great-aunt English teacher taking control again. Between Summer Bird and HIM. Which do you say - between we? or between us? That gives you the clue. It's not that hard to speak (or type) literate English. The Sarge and his "for he and I" makes me want to climb the walls.

Easy Internet police