5/9 (HOL): Mervyn LeRoy H. (G2)

King Glorious · #1 05-09-2009, 07:50 PM

So much for HOY. What a piece of ****.

asudevil · #2 05-09-2009, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Glorious

So much for HOY. What a piece of ****.

Andy Serling was right!! Paper!! He's a useful front runner, and that's about it.

King Glorious · #3 05-09-2009, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asudevil

Andy Serling was right!! Paper!! He's a useful front runner, and that's about it.

Please. Andy said Dakota Phone could beat him. Didn't say anything about the winner. And Dakota Phone didn't beat him.

10 pnt move up · #4 05-09-2009, 08:38 PM

Hind sight is always 20/20 but I wonder if Valdivia should have used that horses natural speed a little more, those fractions were very soft. I hate when fast horses make the race a sprint to the wire.

King Glorious · #5 05-09-2009, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10 pnt move up

Hind sight is always 20/20 but I wonder if Valdivia should have used that horses natural speed a little more, those fractions were very soft. I hate when fast horses make the race a sprint to the wire.

He didn't give himself the best chance but I'd bet that if odds could have been taken at the 1/4 pole, Rail Trip would have been 1-50. If he was the kind of horse that he is supposed to be, he wins that anyway. In my opinion, Ellis wasted some races with him. The horse was going well and instead of stepping him up to take on better, he wasted a couple of races at SA. I feel like each work and race is taking something out of a horse and I don't think of them as reserves that can be replinished. I see them each as having a finite number of efforts in them and, especially when you get one that had whatever the issues he had that kept him off the track for so long, when you get them good, take advantage. Don't waste efforts. They found out absolutely nothing in starts four and five that they didn't find out in start three. Then they were talking about running him three times during this meet. That would have given him eight starts from the end of November thru the Gold Cup. I thought they were trying to go from overly conservative to overly ambitious.

RolloTomasi · #6 05-10-2009, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Glorious

In my opinion, Ellis wasted some races with him.

I hear you. Running horses in their current conditions is never a good idea.

Quote:

The horse was going well and instead of stepping him up to take on better, he wasted a couple of races at SA.

Yep, the Big Cap as his 4th career start was a no-brainer. Its not like he would have been stretching him out in distance significantly at the same time.

Quote:

I feel like each work and race is taking something out of a horse and I don't think of them as reserves that can be replinished. I see them each as having a finite number of efforts in them and, especially when you get one that had whatever the issues he had that kept him off the track for so long, when you get them good, take advantage.

Yeah, cuz when you got an unsound one going good its best to rush them into top company even if it means sacrificing a little foundation and experience. Its not like running in a Grade 1 is any more stressful than a modest allowance race.

Quote:

Don't waste efforts.

Yes, waste careers instead.

King Glorious · #7 05-10-2009, 02:13 PM

It's ok that you are stuck in the old ways and can't adapt to the way the game is played today. Conditions just don't mean as much these days. Was it last year when there were hardly any 2yo allowances run at Belmont or something like that so maiden winners often have to go straight to stakes company? You have eyes. You can see that the differences these days between stakes and allowance races is not like used to be. You saw that field yesterday. Was it really what you'd call a grade two level race? Not to me. Without knowing what the name of the race was, that could have easily passed for a Thursday allowance at Hollywood. It was not more stressful simply because of the title and grade. I just happen to think it's silly to waste two or three races getting this supposed foundation and experience (all the good it did him yesterday) when he's probably not going to have more than 6-7 more career races anyway. This is not the game of the past.

10 pnt move up · #8 05-10-2009, 02:15 PM

I cant blame Ellis for the horse losing yesterday or taking his time with a nice colt, but it certainly turned him into a paper Tiger. Ellis does frustrate me despite winning at such a high %, he is a bit like Harty IMO.

That race had to have taken nothing out of him, it was a crawl pace. They should wheel him back in two weeks in the Met where he fits much better, but I am sure Ellis has a race in August planned.

blackthroatedwind · #9 05-09-2009, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10 pnt move up

Hind sight is always 20/20 but I wonder if Valdivia should have used that horses natural speed a little more, those fractions were very soft. I hate when fast horses make the race a sprint to the wire.

Agreed.....if he was more aggressive, Dakota Phone would have jogged.

He's certainly not a distance horse. Maybe if the turn him back he will be OK. He's got ability but the hype was ridiculous.

King Glorious · #10 05-09-2009, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Agreed.....if he was more aggressive, Dakota Phone would have jogged.

He's certainly not a distance horse. Maybe if the turn him back he will be OK. He's got ability but the hype was ridiculous.

I was the only one that hyped him like that and I didn't reach the levels that some did with Harlem Rocker last year. I don't think so anyway.

NTamm1215 · #11 05-10-2009, 12:40 AM

The TVG dream team was fellating Ron Ellis and going on and on about Rail Trip before the race (looks great, flesh is perfect, blah blah blah). Then, they show all of his stretch runs and Frank Lyons has a revelation about how his high head carriage will make it hard for him when he gets into a tough stretch battle. It was almost as if the first time they had seen his replays was on that back-track.

NT