I Really Wish I Could Have Seen......

[CSC]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

She would have been thumped soundly by BTA.... but Inside Information probably would have beaten Cigar had she run in the '95 Classic.

I wouldn’t say thumped for 2 reasons, she already had beaten Fly So Free decisively in the Molson Million and he was hardly disgraced in the Classic beaten by less than 4 lengths by a loose on the lead Black Tie Affair. The times of the Classic and Distaff were not overly dissimilar 1:50.95 & 2:02.95. I think she would have given him a better run for his money than Twilight Agenda had.

Inside Information raced against the clock in the distaff on a sloppy track earlier in the day and the time was impressive, but at 1 ¼ and on a listed stickier track in the Classic, Cigar would have broke her down, one thing times do not tell in a race are race dynamics and the pressure a horse can emit on its competition. Cigar would have tracked her, pressured her and broke her in the last furlong. I will say this she was a slop monster but as we have seen Cigar was not chopped liver on a wet track either.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by CSC

Cigar would have tracked her, pressured her and broke her in the last furlong. I will say this she was a slop monster but as we have seen Cigar was not chopped liver on a wet track either.

Absolutely not.

A.) Jerry Bailey wouldn't have used Cigar and forced him out of his comfort zone just to pressure a filly. Had Inside Info run in the Classic she wouldn't have been viewed as Cigar's only possible danger.

B.) horses don't run faster - they run slower races when taken out of their comfort zone to pressure another rival. See Cigar's Pacific Classic.

2nd place finisher L'Carriere, like mostly all of the horses Cigar beat, was pretty much a bum. Before running 2nd in the BC Classic .. he was 4th in the Meadowlands Cup behind former nickle claimer turned Juan Surey move-up Poor But Honest. In his start after his 2nd place finish in the BC Classic - he was 4th to Wekiva Springs.

This kind of sillyness reminds me a lot of how every single trainer I talked with up here swore Mine That Bird would have beat Rachel Alexandra in the Ky Derby. And many insisted Rachel Alexandra would have run no better than 5th in the Derby.

It's amusing how dumb people act when you talk about fillies running against males. I'm surprised there still aren't people who insist Rags To Riches would have had no shot of beating Curlin in the Belmont ... even though she actually did run in the Belmont - and actually did win the race.

[CSC]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Absolutely not.

A.) Jerry Bailey wouldn't have used Cigar and forced him out of his comfort zone just to pressure a filly. Had Inside Info run in the Classic she wouldn't have been viewed as Cigar's only possible danger.

B.) horses don't run faster - they run slower races when taken out of their comfort zone to pressure another rival. See Cigar's Pacific Classic.

A couple things, yes this is generally true for some horses but not in this case when discussing Cigar. You cited the Pacific Classic and I am glad you did, infact that race and to a lesser degree the Donn Hdcp against Holy Bull showed his versatility as a horse. Bailey could ask for speed if he needed it.

In the Pacific Classic his hand was forced by an overzealous Nakatani on Dramatic Gold to run early with the legitimate speedball Siphon on the lead, the fact that he won the battle against a horse like Siphon but only to lose the war to Dare And Go post Dubai illustrates to me he would have fractured Inside Information in the classic(again 1/8th farther than the Distaff and a yr earlier when he was probably better) had she ran. In 95 there is no way Inside Information could have won the battle and survived the war against Cigar, and I don't even think he would have had to run with her early, all he would have had to have done is lay off of her, make that sweeping move on the turn and cruise on by per his normal MO.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by CSC

A couple things, yes this is generally true for some horses but not in this case when discussing Cigar. You cited the Pacific Classic and I am glad you did, infact that race and to a lesser degree the Donn Hdcp against Holy Bull showed his versatility as a horse. Bailey could ask for speed if he needed it.

In the Pacific Classic his hand was forced by an overzealous Nakatani on Dramatic Gold to run early with the legitimate speedball Siphon on the lead, the fact that he won the battle against a horse like Siphon but only to lose the war to Dare And Go post Dubai illustrates to me he would have fractured Inside Information in the classic(again 1/8th farther than the Distaff and a yr earlier when he was probably better) had she ran. In 95 there is no way Inside Information could have won the battle and survived the war against Cigar, and I don't even think he would have had to run with her early, all he would have had to have done is lay off of her, make that sweeping move on the turn and cruise on by per his normal MO.

If Cigar had tried to sit off II in that circumstance, that race would have been over before it started.

His only hope, and it would have been a slim one at best, would have been to try to duel her into submission.

[CSC]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

If Cigar had tried to sit off II in that circumstance, that race would have been over before it started.

His only hope, and it would have been a slim one at best, would have been to try to duel her into submission.

At 1 1/4 she may have backed up herself, if I were the Jockey of Cigar I would simply not let her get more than a length away from me, forcing her to make a decision to run faster or slow down, either way Cigar would have finished faster than her at 1 1/4 or even 1 1/8th, he already has shown he could run with Siphon and Holy Bull even for 1/2 a race and fare well, she would be a step down.

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by CSC

At 1 1/4 she may have backed up herself, if I were the Jockey of Cigar I would simply not let her get more than a length away from me, forcing her to make a decision to run faster or slow down, either way Cigar would have finished faster than her at 1 1/4 or even 1 1/8th, he already has shown he could run with Siphon and Holy Bull even for 1/2 a race and fare well, she would be a step down.

She wasn't a step down from Siphon.

[CSC]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

She wasn't a step down from Siphon.

Really it depends if you are looking at what and where she was racing on, she was at her best at Belmont and she was very proficient on off tracks, no surprise being she was by slop sire Private Account. For argugent's sake, do you think she would have been close to Siphon and Cigar had she run in the Pacific Classic?