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#1
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![]() Cox Offers Sackful of Limp Excuses for Skipping Preakness
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Where else could you possibly run these horses? Quote:
Yeah, after missing a chance at finally winning the Derby, I’m sure John Ed Anthony will be satisfied with the consolation prize of winning the Matt Winn. So many horses have won that race to go on and lose a bunch of other races the rest of the year… And I doubt he’d get a kick out of winning the Preakness again. Been there, done that. Quote:
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Actually, I think the sheer fact that the horse is by Into Mischief is enough to compromise his ability to run as an older horse if Juddmonte decides to start dispersing some of their stock. Quote:
In the last 30 years (ignoring 2020), only a handful of horses have won the Travers that did not start in either the Jim Dandy, Haskell, or Los Alamitos Derby (previously the Swaps at Hollywood). Those were: Arrogate - conditioned allowance Catholic Boy - Belmont Derby Code of Honor - Dwyer Golden Ticket - conditioned allowance So yeah, either (1) sit on him and run him off the bench, (2) run in the Dwyer and sit on him, or (3) run in one of the 2 glaringly obvious races which have accounted for not only the vast majority of Travers winners but probably over 95% of the placings as well down to 4th place. Wait…now that I think about it, Los Alamitos should go full bore to entice Essential Quality out to California for the race. The Sheik’s entourage alone should double normal daily attendance (and they can stay for the Quarters!) Quote:
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In terms of distance, traveling between Kentucky and Maryland is not as grueling as shipping to the Arabian peninsula. In terms of climate, the difference in weather between Kentucky and Maryland is not as radical as shipping to the Arabian peninsula. Even in terms of urban crime, going from downtown Louisville to northwest Baltimore is not that much of a change. And don’t forget Mandaloun wintered in Mid-City New Orleans. Quote:
Did they switch it to the Derby, Haskell, and Travers or something? Does that make the Discovery Stakes the new Travers? Quote:
But the numbers seem to say otherwise. In the past 45 years: 8 Preakness winners did not start in the Derby in their prior start. 17 Preakness winners won the Derby in their prior start (including 4 TC winners). and…you guessed it… 20 Preakness winners lost the Derby in their prior start. Quote:
That’s like surviving an earthquake in Haiti, escaping the subsequent cholera outbreak by braving a voyage across the Caribbean on a migrant raft made of sheep bladders, reaching Honduras and outflanking CIA-funded death squads through anaconda-infested jungle, hitching a ride in Oaxaca with a coyote dude on the back of a turnip truck through cartel territory and miraculously reaching Tijuana, only to end up waking up in a bathtub full of ice after a night of partying in Zona Norte and finding out you’re missing a kidney… Quote:
He might have a runner in the Dwyer if we are lucky… |
#2
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![]() The problem is not that Cox thinks this way (well, that is a problem, but that he’s not alone. So many have adapted this way of thinking that I almost fear that the Preakness is going to become a virtual walkover with no significant Derby also rans and a bunch of “new shooters” that have blanks in their guns. Then when there is no TC on the line, I feel like the Belmont Stakes is the dumbest race in America. It used to make sense when the Jockey Club Gold Cup was 12f so it was interesting to find out which 3yo could handle that distance and take on their elders in the fall. Now though, it’s not a Test of Champions. It’s a battle of attrition with a bunch of horses sired by sprinters and milers seeing who can survive at a distance they’ll likely never see again unless they switch to grass. Trainers don’t prepare for the TC anymore. They train only for the Derby and as much as I hate to say it, if you don’t win the Derby, the Preakness is not a good spot to return in. More likely than not, none of the horses has ever run back in two weeks in their career and to ask them to do so after what was probably their toughest race ever is a shock to their systems. I know that the argument will be that the high majority of those that win the Preakness are horses that exit the Derby (or the Oaks in the case of Rachel Alexandra) but I believe it has more to do with the lack of competition in the Preakness rather than a sign that running back that quick led to their repeat performance.
I think the best thing you said was pointing out the absolute hypocrisy in the statement, “best interest of the horse.” I hate it about 95% of the time I hear that. As if what’s in the horse’s best interests changed whether he won the Derby or lost by a neck.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020) Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine |
#3
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![]() Quote:
I can't recall more than a handful of those Preakness' being won in a landslide (Hansel, Funny Cide, Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex) and even then only the Funny Cide Preakness had a weak field devoid of any significant Derby runners (although Peace Rules was quite accomplished both before and after). Meanwhile, since it is such a shock to the system for a horse to run back 2 weeks after the Derby, I figure history would be replete with tales of glory of uber-successful Derby also-rans that skipped the Preakness. But there aren't too many. Holy Bull (who won the Met Mile about a week after the Preakness), Lemon Drop Kid (who used the Peter Pan as a prep for the Belmont), and General Challenge (who utilized a now defunct 3yo stakes program at Hollywood Park to regroup from his Derby debacle) are all I could find as far as I looked. Maybe there have been a bunch in more recent years. |
#4
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![]() FDA guidance on certain newly approved equine therapeutic drugs suggests more time required to get maximum benefit ... Have a heart, SCIENCE IS REAL
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#5
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![]() I thought with the headline, there would be something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIcyFSYhvV4 ![]() |