1/29 (GP): Pegusus Day

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

If I'm interested it is only because I think both horses will be exposed; just like last year's Saudi Cup. Of course, we may see a scam like in the 2004 BC Classic.

There is really no interest in Knicks Go; he was already exposed multiple times last year and he won't start ever again after Saturday (at least not in NA). Poor man's Black Tie Affair.

Life is Good has done nothing to warrant his reputation. The only race of consequence he was in, he lost, although to be fair he had excuses (layoff, genius jockey). But either way, he's not much better than Jackie's Warrior. Ginobili came back to get massacred by a NY-bred in the Cigar Mile; Snapper Sinclair and Eight Rings have been buried in multiple starts since the BC Undercard Mile. If he ran in the Classic, he would have done no better than Uncle Mo or French Deputy. If he had a real career I doubt he would do much more than a horse like Honour and Glory. Poor man's Forestry.

Funny that you say Knicks Go was exposed multiple times last year (I kind of agree a little) but then the horses you say are the real horses, he kicked their asses on multiple occasions too.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

Funny that you say Knicks Go was exposed multiple times last year (I kind of agree a little) but then the horses you say are the real horses, he kicked their asses on multiple occasions too.

Not sure what horse that was running in 2021 I would describe as "real". But in general, horses get brave when given clear, uncontested leads. In the two races he got dusted, he faced significant pace pressure.

That's why I likened him to a poor man's Black Tie Affair, who was allowed to control the BC Classic pace without any pace rival. Doubt that would have happened if In Excess (and maybe Scan and Sea Cadet) ran in the race. BTA caved in the Met Mile and Razorback earlier in the year when he failed to establish a clear lead.

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Not sure what horse that was running in 2021 I would describe as "real". But in general, horses get brave when given clear, uncontested leads. In the two races he got dusted, he faced significant pace pressure.

That's why I likened him to a poor man's Black Tie Affair, who was allowed to control the BC Classic pace without any pace rival. Doubt that would have happened if In Excess (and maybe Scan and Sea Cadet) ran in the race. BTA caved in the Met Mile and Razorback earlier in the year when he failed to establish a clear lead.

But should it be held against a horse that he has more speed than most of the horses he faces and they aren’t able to be pace rivals with him?

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

But should it be held against a horse that he has more speed than most of the horses he faces and they aren’t able to be pace rivals with him?

What do you mean, "held against" him? I certainly wouldn't bet money on Knicks Go in a race where I was confident he wasn't going to make a clear lead. If I recall correctly, the horse has been in about 10 races where he was not on the lead at the first point of call and he has lost all of them and only hit the board in 2 (and was beaten open lengths even in those).

And let's not kid ourselves, it's not like he has some sort of otherworldly speed; the horses with comparable speed and quality don't show up, or they are ridden conservatively to secure at least a placing rather than a meltdown. It is highly likely that Life is Good will be ridden in just such a way considering his post, his trainer's Twitter comments about getting him to "settle", the uncertainty of his stamina, and the damage to his stallion career that will be done by an unplaced effort as compared to a second place finish.

My guess is Life is Good will be hard held in second early and hope for one of two things (or both): 1) Knicks Go is a tired horse ala California Chrome or Accelerate, or 2) the turn move he displayed in the King's Bishop will be enough to break Knicks Go's heart and hold sway in the stretch.

At any rate, we won't be seeing anything special today (how could we in a 9 furlong race anyways?). Best case scenarios: Knicks Go is going to be left alone and do his normal thing or Life is Good is going to work hard to put him away and might have just enough left to hold off an allowance horse.

[King Glorious]

This sport can’t provide you much joy or entertainment.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

This sport can’t provide you much joy or entertainment.

That's not true.

The sport provides plenty of opportunity to witness competitive athletic endeavor at a variety of levels and different conditions, to exercise one's mind (problem solving, detailed analysis, pattern recognition, memory, etc.), to test the success or failure of breeding methods, and to gamble, among other things.

The one thing that probably doesn't fit in with any of the above is using the sport to indulge in fantasy...

[Dahoss]

I love a day where favorites win 80% of the races.

Real exciting stuff at Gulfstream today.