Showing Up vs. Barbaro (on the grass)

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

IMy brother said this weekend they are very serious about trying him in the BC Classic instead of the BC Turf.

If that is true I think it is crazy. The horse was good on dirt, but come on, he took a big step up when they switched him.
I think SU would be closer to Barbaro on turf than he would have been/was on dirt. They were probably both better on the lawn, but I think SU is MUCH better on the turf than the dirt, while Barbaro was only a little bit better.

[Nostradamus]

Originally Posted by miraja2

If that is true I think it is crazy. The horse was good on dirt, but come on, he took a big step up when they switched him.
I think SU would be closer to Barbaro on turf than he would have been/was on dirt. They were probably both better on the lawn, but I think SU is MUCH better on the turf than the dirt, while Barbaro was only a little bit better.

I agree but Showing Up is not the same horse he was in May. He is bigger and stronger and he was good on the dirt back then too so they have to try him on the dirt again at some point. His only loss was the KY Derby. They have to be thinking stud fees and a good showing on the dirt would set him up nicely for 2008. I wonder if he wants to go 12F on the turf against europeans anyway. Other than Bernardini and Invasor I don't see any dirt horse to run from. Worse horses have won the BC Classic with the right trip.

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

I agree but Showing Up is not the same horse he was in May. He is bigger and stronger and he was good on the dirt back then too so they have to try him on the dirt again at some point. His only loss was the KY Derby. They have to be thinking stud fees and a good showing on the dirt would set him up nicely for 2008. I wonder if he wants to go 12F on the turf against europeans anyway. Other than Bernardini and Invasor I don't see any dirt horse to run from. Worse horses have won the BC Classic with the right trip.

He already has a G2 win on the dirt so I don't know if they have to switch him back to dirt for stud fees. You are probably right in saying that he is better now on any surface than he was in the spring but as long as he keeps winning on the grass I see no reason to switch him.
I think both BC races will be pretty tough, and since I don't think Deep Impact or Hurricane Run are going to be coming over for the BC, his main competition may come from the horses that were in Chicago on Saturday. I am not saying he would beat those, but I think maybe he could.

[sham]

No less than Barclay Tagg himself said he did not want his horse chasing Barbaro. He also said that Barbaro's performance in the Laurel Futurity as a 2yo was the best he'd seen since Secretariat. The trainer of Showing Up has provided the answer to the question. And, Barbaro was much better on grass than dirt is the opinion of his trainer, exercise rider, and most anybody else that saw the horse run on grass. I think the reason Barbaro looked so superior in the Derby had more to do with that Dynaformer stamina thus being the only true 10fl horse in the race, than his actually being much better on dirt than the other top five or so horses that ran in the Derby.