2008 Kentucky Derby follow up questions

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by miraja2

100 times?
I think the thing you are missing might be a decent hobby.

Watching Youtube videos doesn't qualify as a hobby? Oops.

[Soaring Softly]

Quoted from Jay Hovdey's piece in Sunday's DRF:

"Big Brown is as good a 3-year-old champion as we've seen in the last decade."

Well at least he didn't say "the best".

Both Tiznow(2000) and Point Given(2001) would have eaten Big Brown for lunch! Bernardini(2006) would embarrass the 2008 Derby field, and Smarty Jones(2004) was brilliance that Big Brown didn't begin to see in his short career. And, though he wasn't named Champion, there was Barbaro(2006). Big Brown might stand on his tip-toes and punch Barbaro in the knee!

I love Jay Hovdey, but his statement above was driven by the "today", and, in making that statement, he forgot a few horses that might have made Big Brown an afterthought.

[RollerDoc]

Originally Posted by Soaring Softly

Quoted from Jay Hovdey's piece in Sunday's DRF:

"Big Brown is as good a 3-year-old champion as we've seen in the last decade."

Well at least he didn't say "the best".

Both Tiznow(2000) and Point Given(2001) would have eaten Big Brown for lunch! Bernardini(2006) would embarrass the 2008 Derby field, and Smarty Jones(2004) was brilliance that Big Brown didn't begin to see in his short career. And, though he wasn't named Champion, there was Barbaro(2006). Big Brown might stand on his tip-toes and punch Barbaro in the knee!

I love Jay Hovdey, but his statement above was driven by the "today", and, in making that statement, he forgot a few horses that might have made Big Brown an afterthought.

All I heard leading up to the BCC a couple of years ago how Bernardini was going to eat Invasor's lunch and we all saw the brilliance of Invasor. You just never know when you deal with hypotheticals.

[RollerDoc]

Originally Posted by Soaring Softly

Quoted from Jay Hovdey's piece in Sunday's DRF:

"Big Brown is as good a 3-year-old champion as we've seen in the last decade."

And, though he wasn't named Champion, there was Barbaro(2006). Big Brown might stand on his tip-toes and punch Barbaro in the knee!

In Barbaro's Kentucky Derby, the field seemed to be strong with contenders like Jazil, Sinister Minister, Sharp Humor, Sweetnorthernsaint, Bluegrass Cat, Lawyer Ron, and Brother Derek. Perhaps I've missed some others.

Barbaro's victory after watching again was more impressive than Big Brown's victory from the stretch to the wire. I still might argue that Big Brown positioning himself to the stretch from post 20 vs. Barbaro doing it from post 8 is worthy of my continued discussion here. In that hypothetical scenario, I am fairly sure Barbaro would have beaten Big Brown by 2 - 2/12 lengths. If Big Brown was in the 9 post, I think he has a chance to make this an incredibly close race.

Regardless of my comments above, I do have another question in reference to the 2006 Kentucky Derby. Why weren't Discreet Cat or Bernardini entered in that race? If they were, that field would have been completely loaded.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by RollerDoc

In Barbaro's Kentucky Derby, the field seemed to be strong with contenders like Jazil, Sinister Minister, Sharp Humor, Sweetnorthernsaint, Bluegrass Cat, Lawyer Ron, and Brother Derek. Perhaps I've missed some others.

Barbaro's victory after watching again was more impressive than Big Brown's victory from the stretch to the wire. I still might argue that Big Brown positioning himself to the stretch from post 20 vs. Barbaro doing it from post 8 is worthy of my continued discussion here. In that hypothetical scenario, I am fairly sure Barbaro would have beaten Big Brown by 2 - 2/12 lengths. If Big Brown was in the 9 post, I think he has a chance to make this an incredibly close race.

Regardless of my comments above, I do have another question in reference to the 2006 Kentucky Derby. Why weren't Discreet Cat or Bernardini entered in that race? If they were, that field would have been completely loaded.

bernardini was very lightly raced at that point, the preakness was only his fourth (or maybe fifth?) lifetime start i believe. he was under everyone's radar until the withers. even had they wanted to run in the derby, he wouldn't have had the earnings to get in the gate.