Inspirational and depressing at the same time

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by parsixfarms

I agree that he should have won Horse of the Year in 1997. I was at the Woodward that year, and he smoked Skip Away.

On the debut Beyer question, the only horse that I can think of off the top of my head is Rodeo. He broke his maiden at Belmont by something like 14 lengths, getting 6F in 1:08 and change.

Rodeo didn't get that kind of number.

Meadowlake ran one of the highest debut numbers of all time ( somewhere between 109 and 113 I believe ). Chilluki ran around a 108 at 4 1/2 furlongs at CD.

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Rodeo didn't get that kind of number.

You're right. According to his page on the farm in LA where he stands, Rodeo ran a 104 Beyer in his debut, which they claim was the fastest of any 2YO that year.

[slotdirt]

I don't know, Louis Quatorze has had a couple of nice runners, and Black Tie Affair, of course, is the sire of Formal Gold. Free House, well, he died, so I'm not going to hold that against him. Silver Charm wasn't exactly given a chance domestically; we'll see how he works out in Japan.

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

I don't know, Louis Quatorze has had a couple of nice runners, and Black Tie Affair, of course, is the sire of Formal Gold. Free House, well, he died, so I'm not going to hold that against him. Silver Charm wasn't exactly given a chance domestically; we'll see how he works out in Japan.

I realize that some have had a few nice horses, but with the exception of Touch Gold and Skip Away, these horses have been relegated to serving regional markets. Consider how they have done versus some of the other horses that entered stud in either 1998 or 1999 (many of which had far less distinguished racing careers and started at very modest stud fees in comparison): Arch, Benchmark, Distorted Humor, Elusive Quality, Grand Slam, Indian Charlie, Langfuhr, Northern Afleet, Pulpit, Smoke Glacken, Stormy Atlantic, Tale of the Cat and Valid Expectations.