All of the Bernardini races were grossly overrated. And even Beyer is somewhat apologetic about Bernardini when he recently stated that, "Bernardini is no super horse". Somebody should ask Beyer how he popped those excessive speed figures for a horse that never broke 1:35 in a mile race or 1:50 in a 9 furlong race. Suddenly the horse is cranking 116s and such? And then Beyer comes up with the split variant on Breeders Cup day -- just some "cover your ass" to justify the earlier bloated hype figures for Bernardini. The track suddenly slowed on BC day? No -- the later races were just won by slow horses.
If Beyer and the other press that touted Bernardini worked in the financial services industry they would be on trial or perhaps be in jail for fraud.
Some other hyped performances this year were definitely Lava Man's races out west. Whether it was the proverbial "juice" in CA or beating up on weak fields in CA Lava Man didn't run on BC Classic Day. His connections shipped early, prepped at KEE, and the horse didn't offer much on the big day.
Another dog was Bob and John. How anybody -- be it Hank Goldberg -- or whoever could pick this dog to win the Derby or the Belmont is beyond me.
Some of the underrated performances of the year:
Jazil. This is a race horse. Solid fractions in the Belmont and solid final time. Would have beaten all of the previous Belmont winners in this decade including Afleet Alex. Look at the charts if you don't believe me. Would have beaten any other class of '06 3 year old at 12f with the exception of Barbaro. This horse can be 30 lengths back and charges unfazed through traffic. Dirt in his face, traffic, slop, you name it -- this horse is a charger. You might have missed the call in the Belmont. That's no reason to deny this horse the the accolades that are due. He's a credit to the class of '06 and a credit to horse racing. The only horse that hung with Barbaro's final fractions in the Derby was Jazil (2nd fastest final fractions -- only Secretariat closed better in Derby history).
Lost in the Fog. Foggy -- cancered up -- blistered Churchill Downs. A Soldier for sure.
From a kid who watched Secretariat to an adult who had a great time this year. 2006 -- despite the difficult times -- was definitely one of the greatest years I've ever seen in horse racing. This year was stunning.
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