Animal Kingdom @ Royal Ascot

[Cannon Shell]

This may be redboardish but I hadn't paid that much attention to this race but a straightaway mile race would not seem to fit AK's style or profile very well. Kind of like asking Mariano Rivera to start and go 7 in his final game.

IMO he was a very good horse who did some unique things in his career but i don't see how he could be considered a Hall of Fame horse considering that he won less than half his starts and only 3 stakes races. Sure 2 of them were the top of the top (though hardly great editions of those races) and the 2nd in the BC mile was also great effort under less than ideal circumstances but when your 4th best race was at Turfway I'm not sure that you have done enough. He is more or less the horse racing version of Bret Saberhagen

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pl...aberbr01.shtml

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

This may be redboardish but I hadn't paid that much attention to this race but a straightaway mile race would not seem to fit AK's style or profile very well. Kind of like asking Mariano Rivera to start and go 7 in his final game.

IMO he was a very good horse who did some unique things in his career but i don't see how he could be considered a Hall of Fame horse considering that he won less than half his starts and only 3 stakes races. Sure 2 of them were the top of the top (though hardly great editions of those races) and the 2nd in the BC mile was also great effort under less than ideal circumstances but when your 4th best race was at Turfway I'm not sure that you have done enough. He is more or less the horse racing version of Bret Saberhagen

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pl...aberbr01.shtml

US based horses are 66-1-3-0 in Dubai World Cup races at greater than 6 furlongs on either turf or tapeta.

Animal Kingdom was the lone winner in 2013. That coupled with a Kentucky Derby win and a very good 2nd off a long layoff in the Breeders Cup Mile might propel him into the Hall of Fame if things stay the way they are with how candidates are voted in.

He's certainly more deserving than the long list of jockeys who were slightly above average everyday riders at major circuits that find their way onto the ballot in volume.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

This may be redboardish but I hadn't paid that much attention to this race but a straightaway mile race would not seem to fit AK's style or profile very well. Kind of like asking Mariano Rivera to start and go 7 in his final game.

Worst analogy ever.

I think you're spreading yourself too thin on message boards these days.

[Stickhorse]

Animal Kingdom left his race in the paddock at Royal Ascot today when he lost his focus after becoming studdish. I wrote a blog for tomorrow's TDN, which more fully explains what happened. Horrible way for him to end his career, but it happened, I saw it with my own two eyes and the horse spent his last 15 minutes in the paddock on 5 legs. Not what we wanted to see. As one of our partners said to me "Sex in the work place is never a good idea."

[Rudeboyelvis]

Was Scav in the paddock?

[cakes44]

Hopefully Sumitas will come back with a more in-depth report of the situation.

[GPK]

First time ever someone uses the word "thin" describing Chuck?

[NTamm1215]

So Animal Kingdom got excited and saw to it that Barry Irwin would no longer be the biggest dick at Royal Ascot yesterday.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by GPK

First time ever someone uses the word "thin" describing Chuck?

Not the first but by far the most recent time

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Worst analogy ever.

I think you're spreading yourself too thin on message boards these days.

So going from 1 1/4 on Tapeta to 1 mile straightaway isn't that big of a difference?

Did you at least like the Bret Saberhagen comparison?

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

So going from 1 1/4 on Tapeta to 1 mile straightaway isn't that big of a difference?

Did you at least like the Bret Saberhagen comparison?

I'm going to get in trouble if I answer that, as I think Saberhagen was great. That was, however, a much better analogy.

Animal Kingdom is a really cool horse. I think on everybody's best day, he was likely the best of today's group, it was much more the circumstances that were the problem. In a way, you could almost be more critical of him had he lost today by a neck. He simply didn't show up today.

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by Stickhorse

Animal Kingdom left his race in the paddock at Royal Ascot today when he lost his focus after becoming studdish. I wrote a blog for tomorrow's TDN, which more fully explains what happened. Horrible way for him to end his career, but it happened, I saw it with my own two eyes and the horse spent his last 15 minutes in the paddock on 5 legs. Not what we wanted to see. As one of our partners said to me "Sex in the work place is never a good idea."

Originally Posted by Rudeboyelvis

Was Scav in the paddock?

Originally Posted by cakes44

Hopefully Sumitas will come back with a more in-depth report of the situation.

[geeker2]

Originally Posted by Sightseek

See what kissing a Dolphin can do

[OldDog]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Animal Kingdom is a really cool horse. I think on everybody's best day, he was likely the best of today's group, it was much more the circumstances that were the problem. In a way, you could almost be more critical of him had he lost today by a neck. He simply didn't show up today.

Agreed, and you have to like a Kentucky Derby winner who is brought back -- successfully, if infrequently -- to race as a 4 and 5-year-old in spite of physical issues.

More of this, please.

[Rudeboyelvis]

Originally Posted by OldDog

Agreed, and you have to like a Kentucky Derby winner who is brought back -- successfully, if infrequently -- to race as a 4 and 5-year-old in spite of physical issues.

More of this, please.

He didn't have the pedigree to support being whisked off to stud duty after recovering from the Belmont imo. He was brought back to build a resume, which you can make the case that he kinda did. Versatile and determined - best way to describe him and I'd take that over preciosity any day. Hall of famer? World beater? hmm... I don't know.. certainly a discussion...But he showed up every time and amassed a nice fortune on the track.

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