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I was disappointed with FD's CD race, but he obviously has some upside.....as for Latent Heat, anyone know why he scratched on BC day? Through the chaos I didn't hear a reason for it....I was looking forward to betting him in the Ack Ack....he was perfectly suited for the one-turn route and had better sheet numbers than It's No Joke....he's an interesting horse, but I think he's a tweener-type who won't be fast enough to sprint at a high level - but won't effectively go two-turns at a high level...

I wish they would have left him at CD for a one-turn mile race like the Ack Ack...that seems like his niche....kind of like Joint Effort....he'll do best at places like BEL, AP, CD, etc. with the one-turn route races IMO....

What is a one turn route?Maybe a one turn mile.

7 1/2 panels on up is a route race...I believe the Ack Ack was 7 1/2 furlongs and it was around one-turn...these are generally specialists distances when they are around one-turn....some sprinters can be fooled by the one-turn and carry their speed longer - but most legit sprinters (6-7 furlong horses) will fade at this trip....However, many two-turn horses can't get up in time around a one-turn route race because of the pace scenario, etc. leaves them at a greater disadvantage than a two-turn race...

Many horses cannot negotiate the second turn with effectiveness and cannot get a mile around two turns as well as a mile around one turn.....BEL always brings out the specialists IMO because they run 1 1/8-mile, one-turn events.....

Horses with a high-cruising speed and stamina generally get this trip, or the opposite - ones who have a stout one-turn closing punch who do not have the stamina to negotiate the second turn....

The Ack Ack is a mile, I believe.

You're correct. It's one mile...

Yeah, it used to be 7 1/2 furlongs for the longest time and they changed to a mile, which is about the same thing IMO....the outcome of the race at 7 1/2 is just as likely at a one-turn mile trip IMO......kinda like a mile around two turns and a mile and 70 yards around two turns...not much different from the dynamic of the race....

Actually, as a tidbit - I do remember Bredar changing this race to a mile now.....they also want to get rid of the Ack Ack name (because there are like 3 races around the country named Ack Ack) and they were seriously thinking about changing it to the Muhammed Ali Mile (or maybe just the Ali Mile)....I'll have to find out what happened to that....I hate to say it but maybe they are waiting for him to pass away first....you never know...CD loves publicity as much as the next publicly traded company does......

Agreed about the minute difference between a mile and 7 1/2 furlongs... it's only a 100m difference... hardly enough to have a major effect IMO.

Yeah, and the 100m is in the already long run down the backstretch (a hair closer out of the chute)....the finish from the far turn to the wire is the same - and from what is about the same pace scenario and race set up early on.....almost no affecting difference...

Hilarious
 

On dirt, Frankel is aiming Juddmonte-owned Latent Heat to the Grade 1, seven-furlong Malibu on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. Latent Heat earned triple-digit Beyer Figures in two straight before finishing ninth, with an alibi, in the Perryville Stakes on Oct. 13 at Keeneland.

"He came out of the race sick," Frankel said. "He's going to run in the Malibu, and he will win."

He's a pretty good horse and will be tough if he makes the Malibu. That race is usually one to look forward to.

I've loved this horse all year. I think he'd be the horse to beat in the Malibu at this point........unless Your Tent or Mine comes back for that race.:D

Frankel had High Limit all keyed for that race if I am not mistaken either last year or the year before, either way, I just thought the quote was hilarious....

I acually wouldn't disagree with him....the Perryville was over the rubber tires anyway - so it is a toss....

Hell, if I liked him against Magna Graduate, Its No Joke, Awesome Twist and all of those other tough older horses in the Ack Ack as a 3-year-old then I have to like him in the Malibu against straight 3-year-olds....the horse has run some 1s and 2s on the Rag sheets....not too shabby....Frankel is STRTICTLY a sheets guy and he knows those figs are good enough to be tough in the Malibu....be curious to see whoelse shios in for the race.....Too Much Bling has run faster than Latent Heat and is a seven-furlong specialist....we'll see...

We shall see said the blind man. The Malibu can be and will be loaded this year.

The Malibu will certainly be easier if the connections of Brother Derek foolishly pass the race and run in the Hollywood Derby instead. That plan seems like a bad sign for Brother Derek.

Have we really come to the point in horse racing where running November 26th precludes a horse from running back on December 26th? I thought it would be at least a few more years before we got to that point.

I wouldn't say it precludes it but going turf to dirt, and cutting back, at that level is probably unlikely. Not saying it won't happen, or wouldn't work, but they are two such distinct directions.

One of the reasons trainers often go to the turf as a last resort, especially with good horses, is many don't like to switch back and forth between surfaces. Or...so I hear.

I'll agree that it is a bad move if they wind up skipping the Malibu or he runs extremely poorly there. I can't blame them though for seeing a big race on the calendar, a horse with a hole in his calendar, and actually deciding to run that horse in the big race. It is an actual sporting act in a sport where such acts are few and far between.

I wouldn't like Brother Derek on the turn-back to 7 panels from a hard race in the 1 1/4-mile Classic....he'd be a bet-against for me...

I'd breifly freshen him for a start in the $1 million Sunshine Millions Classic at Gulfstream Parl in January...I mean, it is freakin' Cal-bred and Fla-breds for $1 MILLION!!!....can't pass that up. Plus, Lava Man is reportedly running in the turf race on Sunshine Millions day against Miesque's Approval - which means that the ONLY horse Bro Derek may have to beat is Sweetnorthernsaint...but at least it is at his best distance of 1 1/8 miles - and did I mention that it is for $1 MILLION!!!....can't pass that for the Malibu if you're Bro Derek's connections....