Is it just me or is Godolphin winning everything

Originally Posted by oracle80

But they won't have any champions in the Us this year.

This is a very bold statement....if Bernardini wins the Travers and BC Classic, then he'll be Horse of the Year IMO...also, Shawanda is close to her return at Ascot and if she comes for the BC F&M Turf in November, she'll win that race and could also be a champion...Plus, you have Songster and henny Hughes who are both legit BC Sprint candidates...I would disagree against the predicting that they'll have no 2006 champions in early June...the second half of the year is in front of us...

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

This is a very bold statement....if Bernardini wins the Travers and BC Classic, then he'll be Horse of the Year IMO...also, Shawanda is close to her return at Ascot and if she comes for the BC F&M Turf in November, she'll win that race and could also be a champion...Plus, you have Songster and henny Hughes who are both legit BC Sprint candidates...I would disagree against the predicting that they'll have no 2006 champions in early June...the second half of the year is in front of us...

Joel with all due respect he won a Preakness that was marred by Barbaro breaking down and Bro deerek being compromised by getting hurt in the gate.
Sweet NS wandered like a drunken sailor down the lane. Flower Alley hasn't even cranked up yet but soon will. To predict that a three year old will best his elders at this point is not something I'm willing to do.

Originally Posted by oracle80

Joel with all due respect he won a Preakness that was marred by Barbaro breaking down and Bro deerek being compromised by getting hurt in the gate.
Sweet NS wandered like a drunken sailor down the lane. Flower Alley hasn't even cranked up yet but soon will. To predict that a three year old will best his elders at this point is not something I'm willing to do.

Bernardini is the most talented horse in the country...period...I firmly believe that...he beats Barbaro in the Preakness if that colt doesn't break down...firmly believe that.....we'll see at year's end.

My prediction of Bernardini being the best horse is bold, but I also thought he'd win the Preakness and I was awarded by hitting the EX, TRI and SUPER...your prediction is bold, too, which is fine..I'm just saying that you are throwing a blanket over a significant amount of talented horse flesh if you are saying halfway through the year that they won't have an Eclipse horse....Have you even seen any of their babies run?...No, cause they won't run until Saratoga. So, what if they have a BC Juvenile or Juvenile Fillies winner that hasn't debuted yet?..Certainly not out of the question considering they spent hundreds of millions of dollars at auction on the crop of 2-year-olds they are about to unveil.....shaky prediction, but we'll see..

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

Bernardini is the most talented horse in the country...period...I firmly believe that...he beats Barbaro in the Preakness if that colt doesn't break down...firmly believe that.....we'll see at year's end.

My prediction of Bernardini being the best horse is bold, but I also thought he'd win the Preakness and I was awarded by hitting the EX, TRI and SUPER...your prediction is bold, too, which is fine..I'm just saying that you are throwing a blanket over a significant amount of talented horse flesh if you are saying halfway through the year that they won't have an Eclipse horse....Have you even seen any of their babies run?...No, cause they won't run until Saratoga. So, what if they have a BC Juvenile or Juvenile Fillies winner that hasn't debuted yet?..Certainly not out of the question considering they spent hundreds of millions of dollars at auction on the crop of 2-year-olds they are about to unveil.....shaky prediction, but we'll see..

Shaky?
Well Joel I live in saratoga. And pletcher has more talent in this barn up here in saratoga than the sheikh has throughout the world. YOu think Scat daddy and Minefield are great? Wait til Saratoga. Hes got babies breaking watches every morning, and many of them. Todd's 2Yo's will sweep every grade one in the Northeast this year, every one. You ain't seen anything yet. Wait until you see the Pletcher show this summer. Its a gonna be a smash hit.

Originally Posted by oracle80

Shaky?
Well Joel I live in saratoga. And pletcher has more talent in this barn up here in saratoga than the sheikh has throughout the world. YOu think Scat daddy and Minefield are great? Wait til Saratoga. Hes got babies breaking watches every morning, and many of them. Todd's 2Yo's will sweep every grade one in the Northeast this year, every one. You ain't seen anything yet. Wait until you see the Pletcher show this summer. Its a gonna be a smash hit.

Yeah, I know he has The Green Monkey and many others...saw several of them train...that is come to be expected every year....I've talked to people out of that camp...Scat Daddy is the goods in that barn....

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

Yeah, I know he has The Green Monkey and many others...saw several of them train...that is come to be expected every year....I've talked to people out of that camp...Scat Daddy is the goods in that barn....

Hes the best, but there are more, many more.

I'd take any action on a two year old US champ prop(either sex) Pletchers barn vs all the Sheikh's horses, anywhere, any country.

[Betsy]

Originally Posted by oracle80

Joel with all due respect he won a Preakness that was marred by Barbaro breaking down and Bro deerek being compromised by getting hurt in the gate.
Sweet NS wandered like a drunken sailor down the lane. Flower Alley hasn't even cranked up yet but soon will. To predict that a three year old will best his elders at this point is not something I'm willing to do.

I have to ask what made you change your tune on Bernardini; right after the Preakness, you had no hesitation in claiming Bernardini's performance to be phenomenal and that he might very well have beaten Barbaro. Now you turn around 180 degrees and his race wasn't that good?

I'm glad that racing writers have been able to put aside their feelings and look at Bernardini's performance in the cold hard light of reality - it was brilliant. There is still so much more racing left but Bernardini is championship quality, of that I have no doubt. He's got the chance now to prove it on the track, as it should be.

Originally Posted by Betsy

I have to ask what made you change your tune on Bernardini; right after the Preakness, you had no hesitation in claiming Bernardini's performance to be phenomenal and that he might very well have beaten Barbaro. Now you turn around 180 degrees and his race wasn't that good?

I'm glad that racing writers have been able to put aside their feelings and look at Bernardini's performance in the cold hard light of reality - it was brilliant. There is still so much more racing left but Bernardini is championship quality, of that I have no doubt. He's got the chance now to prove it on the track, as it should be.

It was a great race. But to be beat elders in the BCC is another story. I personally think Flower Alley will slay all comers when he returns and I think the late comeback is by design. I think he wins the Whitney, the JCGC, and the BCC. His talent is immense, and his BCC as a 3yo against older truly unappreciated.

[blackthroatedwind]

The Woodward basically is " fall racing ".

I just feel like with horses this good they will not run in races like the Super Derby or Pennsylvania Derby and will point for a combination of the Travers, Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup. Considering Discreet Cat's obvious issues I could easily see them waiting the additional week for the Woodward and then going directly to the BC.

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

The Woodward basically is " fall racing ".

I just feel like with horses this good they will not run in races like the Super Derby or Pennsylvania Derby and will point for a combination of the Travers, Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup. Considering Discreet Cat's obvious issues I could easily see them waiting the additional week for the Woodward and then going directly to the BC.

I guess you are right. Hes some horse, no doubt. But I will take Flower Alley against anyone alive in the BCC right now.

[Betsy]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

The Woodward basically is " fall racing ".

I just feel like with horses this good they will not run in races like the Super Derby or Pennsylvania Derby and will point for a combination of the Travers, Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup. Considering Discreet Cat's obvious issues I could easily see them waiting the additional week for the Woodward and then going directly to the BC.

I don't think Bernardini and Discreet Cat will race against each other, either. Godolphin has some questions as to how far DC wants to go - they think he'll be ok at 1 1/8 (not positive) but it's a huge ? after that. I can see DC going for the Woodward and Bernardini the Gold Cup......I hope they just stay healthy and make it that far

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by oracle80

It was a great race. But to be beat elders in the BCC is another story. I personally think Flower Alley will slay all comers when he returns and I think the late comeback is by design. I think he wins the Whitney, the JCGC, and the BCC. His talent is immense, and his BCC as a 3yo against older truly unappreciated.

What is so immense about Flower Alley's talent? Where is his monsterous performance?

Don't get me wrong, he is a nice horse, and ran very well last year, but he hardly strikes me as a world beater. And, sorry, I find his late start troubling, and wonder what the true story may be. We already saw one disasterous return by one of that barn's stars, Indian Vale, and let's face it, the connections have not had an abundance of success in keeping horses together for long periods of time.

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

What is so immense about Flower Alley's talent? Where is his monsterous performance?

Don't get me wrong, he is a nice horse, and ran very well last year, but he hardly strikes me as a world beater. And, sorry, I find his late start troubling, and wonder what the true story may be. We already saw one disasterous return by one of that barn's stars, Indian Vale, and let's face it, the connections have not had an abundance of success in keeping horses together for long periods of time.

Well his Travers was awesome as was his BCC. I hear he had a breathing problem in the JCGC and tend to believe it after his BCC. I thinkhis BCC performance would have won 85% of BCC's ever run. And I think that they set a campaign designed for HOY. Melnyk has too much cash to race one like that who isn't right.

[blackthroatedwind]

I'm not sure how you can describe his Traver's as " awesome ". He stalked a horse that was going 1 1/4 miles off a four month layoff and beat Roman Ruler who couldn't get 1 1/4 on the back of a flatbed ( and isn't that terrific anyway ).

I happen to think last year's BC Classic was at best an ordinary group. Saint Liam was a fairly nice horse who was questionable at 1 1/4, and considering how well Suave ran while contesting the pace I have a lot of trouble projecting Flower Alley's performance as anything particularly special.

[Seattleallstar]

"Coolmore" has already done well, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith have done very well.

Thunder Gulch
Left Bank
Adieu
Jburg

just to name a few

Originally Posted by oracle80

Well his Travers was awesome as was his BCC. I hear he had a breathing problem in the JCGC and tend to believe it after his BCC. I thinkhis BCC performance would have won 85% of BCC's ever run. And I think that they set a campaign designed for HOY. Melnyk has too much cash to race one like that who isn't right.

85%??...Wow...doubt it...he wasn't even close to the best of his generation..Afleet Alex would have urinated on him (excuse my cajun)..he blossomed at year's end and finished nicely, but I don't give him that much credit..

I know Discreet Cat and Bernardini are more talented than Flower Alley....we'll see

[Betsy]

Originally Posted by oracle80

It was a great race. But to be beat elders in the BCC is another story. I personally think Flower Alley will slay all comers when he returns and I think the late comeback is by design. I think he wins the Whitney, the JCGC, and the BCC. His talent is immense, and his BCC as a 3yo against older truly unappreciated.

Yes, that's true - I wonder if he actually needs to beat his elders to win the Eclipse, anyway (if he wins the Jim Dandy/Travers), as long as he runs well. I think he belongs but I agree that Flower Alley is really good -not unbeatable, but certainly a tough, talented colt. I'm not going to make predictions and to clarify my other posts, I'm not predicting Bernardini will run the table or anything like that. He just floored me in the Withers and shocked me in the Preakness -I'm really looking forward to the summer/fall, and especially fall racing at Belmont. It doesn't get better than that.

[kentuckyrosesinmay]

Originally Posted by oracle80

It was a great race. But to be beat elders in the BCC is another story. I personally think Flower Alley will slay all comers when he returns and I think the late comeback is by design. I think he wins the Whitney, the JCGC, and the BCC. His talent is immense, and his BCC as a 3yo against older truly unappreciated.

Todd better have that horse cranked if he is going to beat the Sheik's horses. Personally, I would love for one of our US horses to be able to beat the likes of Bernardini and Discreet Cat, but it is going to be tough. The Darley stable is very, very deep this year. I really don't think FA is going to be good enough...we may need another Ghostzapper! Maybe Todd knew the battle that was coming, and that is why he waited to start Flower Alley so late in the year?