Lava Man---California Is His Home

[randallscott35]

Don't bet him outside of Cali however unless you want to lose money

[Left Bank]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

Don't bet him outside of Cali however unless you want to lose money

I couldn't agree more.

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by miraja2

The only play that makes less sense than betting against Lava Man in California, is betting on Lava Man anywhere else.

I said this on another thread...and I stand by it.

[zippyneedsawin]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

Don't bet him outside of Cali however unless you want to lose money

It's really unbelievable. I still can decide how good he is, or isn't. How can a horse be so dominant in grade 1's in one state, and do squat when he leaves SoCal?

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by zippyneedsawin

It's really unbelievable. I still can decide how good he is, or isn't. How can a horse be so dominant in grade 1's in one state, and do squat when he leaves SoCal?

In the end I think you have to say this guy is good. Not being able to win outside of SoCal is obviously a BIG limitation, but he wins at all three of the SoCal tracks, on dirt and turf, against anyone who shows up there.
It is pretty impressive.
But I agree, it is weird to determine how good he is given his strange Home/Away record.

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by miraja2

In the end I think you have to say this guy is good. Not being able to win outside of SoCal is obviously a BIG limitation, but he wins at all three of the SoCal tracks, on dirt and turf, against anyone who shows up there.
It is pretty impressive.
But I agree, it is weird to determine how good he is given his strange Home/Away record.

Oh, I agree with you. He is tough and consistent. I actually am more impressed with his turf races which have been smashing. Not many horses can win Grade 1s on the turf and the dirt. As Andy would say, he's a "real good" horse. (IN CA)

[miraja2]

I just can't think of another horse ever who could win at a variety of different tracks, on a variety of different surfaces, but was severely limited geographically. It is really odd.

[Scurlogue Champ]

Horseplayers are pretty negative bastards aren't they?

A horse who shows up for all the battles wins the goddamned Santa Anita Handicap twice in a row and the first thing said is "don't bet him (insert location) unless you want to lose money..."

****ing ****, man..

[onebadbeast]

Lavaaaaaaaaaamannnnnnnnnn!

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by moodwalker

Horseplayers are pretty negative bastards aren't they?

A horse who shows up for all the battles wins the goddamned Santa Anita Handicap twice in a row and the first thing said is "don't bet him (insert location) unless you want to lose money..."

****ing ****, man..

Apparently you didn't read the post above yours. No matter. Curse away.

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by moodwalker

Horseplayers are pretty negative bastards aren't they?

A horse who shows up for all the battles wins the goddamned Santa Anita Handicap twice in a row and the first thing said is "don't bet him (insert location) unless you want to lose money..."

****ing ****, man..

I don't see it as negative....just factual. He deserves all the credit in the world for his accomplishments.

[Scurlogue Champ]

37 lifetime races and 10 for his last 11 in stakes races and people will be talking about Pletcher and his bunch of speedsters who last for 10 lifetime starts hopefully.

[boswd]

I posted this on another forum. What do you guys think if you owned Lava Man?

What would you do if you owned him? Would you

1. Keep him in Cali, since there doesn't seem to be, as of yet, any horse out there who is in the same league as him and just win every major stake in SoCal same as last year.

2. Put him on a full time grass schedule and go after the Arlington Million and Turf Classic. Again has nothing else to prove on dirt in So Cal.

3. Ship him out East for the remaining of the year. Sounds weird but, He obvioulsy has nothing to prove out in Cali, is head and shoulders above the rest. If he ships and stays out East he can put to rest the notion that he can't win outside the state and if he wins some big East Coast races, Stephen Foster, The Whitney etc. he would go down in history as one of the best. Not just a great horse but can't win outside his home state. But one of the ALL TIME GREATS!!!!!!

[Sightseek]

DRF reported that O'neil has been in contact with Churchill Downs on possibly getting Lava Man into the field for the Woodford Reserve if he doesn't go to Dubai.

[Left Bank]

Originally Posted by Sightseek

DRF reported that O'neil has been in contact with Churchill Downs on possibly getting Lava Man into the field for the Woodford Reserve if he doesn't go to Dubai.

I will make the call right now that if he goes to either,he will get his ASS KICKED!!!

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by Kimmeastar

I will make the call right now that if he goes to either,he will get his ASS KICKED!!!

I agree, but at least they haven't given up hope of him winning outside Cali.

[TitanSooner]

I would love to see him ship and run on turf.. He just seems all sorts of comfortable on the grass. Maybe it's the "painted asphalt" out here, but who knows. Maybe he'll fare better than he has in his "shipped dirt" attempts.

Certainly he hasn't won when he has bent sent outside of CA, but it hasn't seemed to hurt him in the long run. I'd rather see him go to the Woodford Reserve than see him get crushed in the desert and have him out until the later part of the year, or even later.

[pointman]

I haven't looked at Lava Man's PP's in a while, but if I remember correctly, I don't think it has anything to do with shipping, but that he races his best when he is in a state where he can get bute. When he doesn't get bute, don't bet him.