Anyone have any 2YOs they like?

[VOL JACK]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

After the Damascus, I thought Smart Bid would be the horse to beat in the Malibu. But I kept checking the work tab and he didn't have any works so I assumed he had gotten hurt. Now I see that he just started working again, so I assume he will run in the Malibu.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Coronet of a Baron in there. I think that Monolingual is even a possibility. It will be interesting to see if Hunch ends up running. It would be a fairly tall order to come back in 15 days. But I do know that the connections were pointing him for the race. It will probably just depend how he came out of the allowance race the other day.

It's not unlike Motion at all to wait 4 weeks to work a horse after a big race.
He seems to prefer to train them instead of racing them.
Especially since he just ran big at SA and the G1 Malibu is at SA.
If I was Smart Bid's trainer I would be tempted to take down one of the 4 horse fields at HWP to fill the time gap.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by VOL JACK

It's not unlike Motion at all to wait 4 weeks to work a horse after a big race.
He seems to prefer to train them instead of racing them.
Especially since he just ran big at SA and the G1 Malibu is at SA.
If I was Smart Bid's trainer I would be tempted to take down one of the 4 horse fields at HWP to fill the time gap.

In this case, you wouldn't think that Smart Bid would have needed a break after that race. He hadn't run since April. The Damascus was his first race in over 7 months. It doesn't surprise me that Motion would have skipped Hollywood. There weren't really any great races for him over there. But it does surprise me that he didn't work the horse for 4 1/2 weeks after the Damascus. As I said, that was his first race in 7 months. If the horse came out of the race in good shape, wouldn't that be unusual for Motion to wait that long for a work considering that the horse was so fresh going into the Damascus?

[VOL JACK]

Motion is somewhat different when it comes works and spacing of works and races.
I read on his blog that Smart Bid was being pointed for the Malibu or the Sir Beaufort on the same day. I don't take that as a huge vote of confidence.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by VOL JACK

Motion is somewhat different when it comes works and spacing of works and races.
I read on his blog that Smart Bid was being pointed for the Malibu or the Sir Beaufort on the same day. I don't take that as a huge vote of confidence.

I agree with you. That is very surpising that he would even be considering the Sir Beaufort. The horse just ran his best race ever at 7 furlongs at Santa Anita. Now he has a chance to win a Grade I at the same distance at the same track. He is by Smart Strike. A Grade I win would be huge for his value. If the horse is doing well, it seems like a no brainer to run in the Malibu.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

I agree with you. That is very surpising that he would even be considering the Sir Beaufort. The horse just ran his best race ever at 7 furlongs at Santa Anita. Now he has a chance to win a Grade I at the same distance at the same track. He is by Smart Strike. A Grade I win would be huge for his value. If the horse is doing well, it seems like a no brainer to run in the Malibu.

Before the Damascus, Smart Bid's synthetic form was suspect at best (hence the long odds). On the other hand, he has a very good turf record, including a graded stakes placing, so I would say its a no-brainer that he'd be nominated for both even though Motion is probably leaning to the Malibu.

In addition, you never know what the weather is going to be like, the Sir Beaufort could easily come off-the-turf (Gio Ponti's synthetic win) making it likely an easier score than the Malibu.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Before the Damascus, Smart Bid's synthetic form was suspect at best (hence the long odds). On the other hand, he has a very good turf record, including a graded stakes placing, so I would say its a no-brainer that he'd be nominated for both even though Motion is probably leaning to the Malibu.

In addition, you never know what the weather is going to be like, the Sir Beaufort could easily come off-the-turf (Gio Ponti's synthetic win) making it likely an easier score than the Malibu.

I agree with you that his synthetic form was not good before the Damascus but all of these synthetic tracks are slightly different from each other and he obviously loved the track at Santa Anita. That was the best race he ever ran. Before the Damascus, I would have never guessed that this horse would run his best race at 7 furlongs. I think 7 furlongs at Santa Anita plays more like a mile because that track is fairly tiring and doesn't seem to favor speed.

If he is doing well right now, I would think he would be the horse to beat in the Malibu. That's why it surprises me that they would consider the other race.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

If he is doing well right now, I would think he would be the horse to beat in the Malibu. That's why it surprises me that they would consider the other race.

Well, we don't really know what sort of emphasis was placed on the "...or the Sir Beaufort" part of the quote, but nonetheless, it wouldn't be shocking to learn that he (and several other horses, eg Fiesty Suances) are nominated to both races. I don't think it really means anything in terms of his current condition (I would suspect Motion wouldn't run in either race if he isn't in top form).

Because the Malibu (as are most other 7f races) is quite friendly to route horses and the seemingly inherent affinity for synthetic surfaces exploited by turf horses, I would guess it will be standard practice among CA horsemen to nominate late season 3yos to both races in the future (so long as the synthetics stay put, anyways).

In recent years, these horses have run in either the Malibu or the Sir Beaufort. I suspect several of these were nominated to both, and I don't think it outlandish to think they couldn't have been contenders in the race other than the one they competed in:

Colonel John, El Gato Malo, Orientate, Medjool, Awesome Gem, In Summation, Mizzen Mast, Monterey Jazz, Mast Track, Buzzard's Bay, Lava Man, Osidy, Wilko, Shamoan, Spring At Last, Arson Squad, Desert Code, and Unusual Suspect.