2/24 (GP): Fountain of Youth (Gr. II)

He'll have to be a super horse to win from that post AND have Eddie Castro on his back.

[Indian Charlie]

yeah, the post is a concern, but this field is so awful, i actually think court vision and monba look like standouts (minus adriano). i think both of those are pretty weak at that, so my perhaps wishful thinking says he can overcome his post based on being superior.

as for the jock, well, i think they are all liabilities. anyone not named gomez at this point seems to be a cancer.

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

this field is so awful, i actually think court vision and monba look like standouts (minus adriano).

I don't think this field looks awful at all. There are no sure-fire standouts to be sure, but there are a number of horses who are coming off fairly nice races in their last starts.
Cool Coal Man, Kentucky Bear, Anak Nakal, Elysium Fields, and Make the Point are all coming off decent wins. For a race like the Fountain of Youth, I don't think this is a terrible field.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by miraja2

I don't think this field looks awful at all. There are no sure-fire standouts to be sure, but there are a number of horses who are coming off fairly nice races in their last starts.
Cool Coal Man, Kentucky Bear, Anak Nakal, Elysium Fields, and Make the Point are all coming off decent wins. For a race like the Fountain of Youth, I don't think this is a terrible field.

i dont know man. cool coal man looks awful if you ask me. you can make an okay case for the others you name, but i really feel that adriano is such a much better horse than anyone in here, that he really needs to only handle the dirt to beat these.

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

i dont know man. cool coal man looks awful if you ask me. you can make an okay case for the others you name, but i really feel that adriano is such a much better horse than anyone in here, that he really needs to only handle the dirt to beat these.

Why do you think Cool Coal Man looks awful? In my opinion he seems to be steadily improving and looks plenty competitive with these colts at this point.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

I find it very hard to believe Adriano is going to win this race, with that post on the dirt. I just can't see it happening.

think halfbridled in the bc dude.

if one is so much better than the others (assuming he doesn't hate dirt, as BTW implies), he should be able to overcome some lost ground.

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

think halfbridled in the bc dude.

if one is so much better than the others (assuming he doesn't hate dirt, as BTW implies), he should be able to overcome some lost ground.

How many have overcome that lost ground at Gulfstream?

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

think halfbridled in the bc dude.

if one is so much better than the others (assuming he doesn't hate dirt, as BTW implies), he should be able to overcome some lost ground.

Not at 9 furlongs at Gulfstream.

Is Barbaro still the only one to win from an outside post since the reconfiguration? How many have won from 9-12?

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

The difference is NO ONE wins from post 12 at Gulfstream going 9 furlongs and why do you think he is so much better than these? I agree Monba and Court Vision suck, but what has Adriano done that makes him stick out so much? I'm not being sarcastic, but I don't see it, so what am i missing?

i didn't realize the stats for the outside going 9f there was so abysmal.

to answer your question though, i feel that he's so much better by watching him run. his last race was so much more impressive than anything i've seen in this crop so far (minus war pass).

that might not be a logical explanation to you, but i'm pretty decent at this sort of thing. he was just extremely visually impressive. i like his stride and his way of going, he seems to have more than enough stamina, and as of his last race, has a pretty nice turn of foot.

[blackthroatedwind]

Apparantly Adriano has some hidden race that only the poster Indian Charlie has seen. Apparently he possesses some sort of ability that doesn't show in his pps. Surely none of his races last year were anything to write home about. Not bad, but certainly nothing spectacular, and probably worse than just about any race the rest of the field has run. And, then there's his race this year, where he sat a perfect trip behind a pace that collapsed so badly that a horse as bad as the second finisher, Ablazewithspirit, was even able to give the appearance of being decent. In case, like Indian Charlie, you're not familiar with Ablazewithspirit, he broke his maiden on the turf in a $40K maiden claimer in his previous start. The third finisher, who also benefited from the collapsing pace, lost to Celestial Comet by a like amount in his next start. I suppose I should call Bruce Lunsford and tell him to put that one on the TC trail as well.

So, all Adriano has to do to win this race is.....overcome post 12 and improve dramatically on the dirt. At 100-1 I'm not even sure he's a good bet.

[Indian Charlie]

yeah, think what you like man. i can take some heat for sticking my neck out.

if i'm wrong, so be it. but when i have a pretty strong opinion about horses like that, they usually do okay. perhaps tomorrow isnt his day due to the post he drew, but i see this as a horse with much more upside than anyone else in this race.

it would be nice to see him duplicate his last performance, sure, but that's part of the fun of this sport for me, seeing horses that have greater ability early in their career than most people give them credit for.

i'm just glad i was not around back in 05, when i thought barbaro was going to win the derby off his debut turf win. i probably would have been ridiculed to death.

is that a redboard?

[Bobby Fischer]

kentucky bear has such a slim chance of being anything more than an allowance horse. Baker is known for send his 1st timers out in mid-season shape, and most of them are at a peak and good for maybe a maiden and an allowance. Kb drew into such a weak maiden field and it was pretty hard to tell if he really galloped out as well as it appeared or the field was that bad.

Plenty of better allowance horses entered like Cool Coal Man, Elysium Fields or even Golden spikes.

Can't see Make the Point or Adriano getting the trip they need, but they are decent horses. Worth reviewing their performances after the race with the track config in mind. You get 11 seconds to turn1.

For the sake of the division, like to see Court Vision, Anak Nakal, Monba, or Adriano run a big race. Not in love with Gomez on CV, although if Go-Go gives his good stuff their styles mesh well and could win it on the far turn.

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

He'll have to be a super horse to win from that post AND have Eddie Castro on his back.

Agreed.