Haskin's piece from today ...

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by dagulla

Some of the horses on the current list were very unrealistic... the KM horse, Taquarb over the over KM horse Mr. Fantasy, makes no sense at all to me.

Really? Do you think highly of Legal Consent and Driven by Solar?

There is a great deal of talk about Mr. Fantasy but everyone needs to remember, he has beaten two NY bred fields. At Aqueduct. In the winter. That really adds an asterisk to what he's done.

I'm as big a Kiaran McLaughlin fan as anyone, so I hope Mr. Fantasy ends up being a terrific horse, but at the moment Taqarub is significantly more accomplished than him. Now discussing Taqarub's accomplishments thus far is a different discussion.

NT

[dagulla]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Really? Do you think highly of Legal Consent and Driven by Solar?

There is a great deal of talk about Mr. Fantasy but everyone needs to remember, he has beaten two NY bred fields. At Aqueduct. In the winter. That really adds an asterisk to what he's done.

I'm as big a Kiaran McLaughlin fan as anyone, so I hope Mr. Fantasy ends up being a terrific horse, but at the moment Taqarub is significantly more accomplished than him. Now discussing Taqarub's accomplishments thus far is a different discussion.

NT

I never said he would win the derby, even make it into the starting gate, but i find him a lot more likely to make it and do well then Taqarub, and he would have def. took more money then Taqarub will. As for the more accomplished, based on what ? He defeared horrible open company fields, with things his own way everytime he has raced.

[AeWingnut]

Terrain sucks? great. I put him in my RTTR stable thinking he would be pointed to the Illinois Derby

[Ogygian]

Not only will Terrain make the Derby field, he will pick up the pieces to finish a well beaten 8th,

[blackthroatedwind]

I'm confused, didn't PG lose a bet which was supposed to result in his no longer posting ( a bet which included him behaving even badly for him )? Is he not welshing on a bet?

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

I'm confused, didn't PG lose a bet which was supposed to result in his no longer posting ( a bet which included him behaving even badly for him )? Is he not welshing on a bet?

yes, he lost. and yes, he's reneging on the deal.

and he makes just as little sense as he did then. i think he went to the merasmag school for posting....

[Linny]

I tend to question the choices every year for the 23 spots. Some are obvious (Pioneer, Friesan Fire etc) but horses like T14P? Dutrow said that part of the "improvement" was bringing him back to his best distance, 6 furlongs. That's a Derby contender according to the panel who put this together?

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Linny

I tend to question the choices every year for the 23 spots. Some are obvious (Pioneer, Friesan Fire etc) but horses like T14P? Dutrow said that part of the "improvement" was bringing him back to his best distance, 6 furlongs. That's a Derby contender according to the panel who put this together?

It would be an absolute outrage if This One's For Phil was left off ... and just because his alchemist trainer was grasping for every reason he can think of to explain the horses improvement to media types.

The horse had already won a stake race at a mile - and was a better router than a sprinter when Kathleen O' Connel had him.

The horse is by a son of Unbridled who broke his maiden going 10 furlongs on turf .. and as a sire .. he gets better production with routers than sprinters... both win percentage wise and avg TG figure wise.

The tail female family is loaded with slowpoke stamina ... he had a half sibling run in the Belmont Stakes and plod past some quitters to finish like 5th or 6th.

The horse can rate - and hasn't gone a route yet for Dutrow. He will take money. There are some on that list who won't take much money ... and they are the ones who might not belong.

[paisjpq]

Well, whose the jackass that keeps approving his new personas? (steve)
Its very simple to keep him honest, stop letting him rejoin.

Originally Posted by Danzig

yes, he lost. and yes, he's reneging on the deal.

and he makes just as little sense as he did then. i think he went to the merasmag school for posting....

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Really? Do you think highly of Legal Consent and Driven by Solar?

There is a great deal of talk about Mr. Fantasy but everyone needs to remember, he has beaten two NY bred fields. At Aqueduct. In the winter. That really adds an asterisk to what he's done.

I'm as big a Kiaran McLaughlin fan as anyone, so I hope Mr. Fantasy ends up being a terrific horse, but at the moment Taqarub is significantly more accomplished than him. Now discussing Taqarub's accomplishments thus far is a different discussion.

NT

With West Point owning Mr. Fantasy, and him already having been two turns (and being pointed to the Gotham which, aside from Haynesfield, is likely to come up a soft spot), he's much more likely to be a Derby starter at this point than a Shadwell owned-colt who has never been farther than 6F.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by parsixfarms

With West Point owning Mr. Fantasy, and him already having been two turns (and being pointed to the Gotham which, aside from Haynesfield, is likely to come up a soft spot), he's much more likely to be a Derby starter at this point than a Shadwell owned-colt who has never been farther than 6F.

I didn't say anything about Mr. Fantasy being less likely to get to the Derby starting gate. I don't think there's any chance West Point would pass on the Derby with a horse who had sufficient graded earnings whether he/she even had a chance.

What I said was that Taqarub is more accomplished at this point in time and that is part of the reason why he's on the list of 23 right now and MF is not. Another poster in the thread questioned Mr. Fantasy's exclusion and Taqarub's inclusion, so that is how I responded.

Taqarub is being stretched out to a mile next time out, so using the races he's run thus far as a barometer for whether he's Derby bound might be unwise. If he is the same one-way speedster that he's been in NY then he's in trouble with Notonthesamepage also pointed there. That being said, Taqarub's damside is full of distance runners, so there's reason to believe he can stretchout.

We'll see what happens but right now I find it hilarious that someone would say Mr. Fantasy should be one of the 23 prospects on the Future Wager list.

NT

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by parsixfarms

With West Point owning Mr. Fantasy, and him already having been two turns (and being pointed to the Gotham which, aside from Haynesfield, is likely to come up a soft spot), he's much more likely to be a Derby starter at this point than a Shadwell owned-colt who has never been farther than 6F.

Neither will be in the KY Derby. Not that you said that, and one could probably argue either side, but even in this year's disaster of a TC chase these horses are pretenders. Though, if I had to take one, Mr. Fantasy would be head and shoulders ahead of the other. Taqqarub is laughable as a Derby contender.