Denis of Cork <96 BSF>

[Kasept]

Considering that most seemed to like the quality of the field coming in, how does this get brought up after the fact? What does West Coast lower tier mean and what's the difference anyway? He was within a length or so of Colonel John in the Cash Call and beaten 3L for everything there... He couldn't keep up in the San Rafael, but stayed on nicely yesterday getting back on dirt for the first time since September as a 2yo. With moves to and from the synthetic surfaces, it's hard to know what any of the California based horses actually are.

I recall that when Denis beat Unbridled Vicar in the FG ALW we heard the same song. Unbridled Vicar came back and ran very nicely though in the Risen Star, no?

I'd say it's much more significant that Denis of Cork continues to do anything required of him to win despite spotting experience each time he's run.

[justindew]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Considering that most seemed to like the quality of the field coming in, how does this get brought up after the fact? What does West Coast lower tier mean and what's the difference anyway? He was within a length or so of Colonel John in the Cash Call and beaten 3L for everything there... He couldn't keep up in the San Rafael, but stayed on nicely yesterday getting back on dirt for the first time since September as a 2yo. With moves to and from the synthetic surfaces, it's hard to know what any of the California based horses actually are.

I recall that when Denis beat Unbridled Vicar in the FG ALW we heard the same song. Unbridled Vicar came back and ran very nicely though in the Risen Star, no?

I'd say it's much more significant that Denis of Cork continues to do anything required of him to win despite spotting experience each time he's run.

I never said I liked the field. I have always thought Turf War was a phony. And I can't believe that Lukas horse wasn't 15-1. I bet Sacred Journey because he was 14-1 at the time, and then he went off at 9-1. Dagger!

I guess by "West Coast lower tier", I mean I can probably name 15 Derby hopefuls in California who are better than Sierra Sunset. And Massive Drama isn't even one of them becasue he isn't in CA anymore.

Don't get me wrong. Sierra Sunset looked great against three foes at Bay Meadows in that September race you mentioned. But I think the jury is still out on Denis of Cork. All things being equal, I doubt he would be among the top four betting interests in the Fountain of Youth on Saturday, and I doubt he would hit the board.

[justindew]

....also, weren't there like 18 horses within 3 lengths of the Cash Call winner?

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

You're right about the first part, but I'm not so sure about the second. Who are the killers in there? Court Vision? Monba? You can have them both. Adriano's a turf horse. I'm really high on Elysium Fields, but he's just a maiden winner. And then you have Zito's pair.

Make the Point.. from KMc there too.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Considering that most seemed to like the quality of the field coming in, how does this get brought up after the fact?

" Most " were wrong going into the race if they considered this a quality field. What it was, however, was a good mix and match of horses coming from different races, distances, and jurisdictions. However, there were no horses that screamed " quality " going into the race.

There might, however, be one coming out. But, like others, considering the decent performance chasing by the second finisher, and his resume coming in, I will withhold judgement on Dennis of Cork. He did run well though and in a year that is light on good 3YO performances he certainly looks promising.

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

" Most " were wrong going into the race if they considered this a quality field. What it was, however, was a good mix and match of horses coming from different races, distances, and jurisdictions. However, there were no horses that screamed " quality " going into the race.

There might, however, be one coming out. But, like others, considering the decent performance chasing by the second finisher, and his resume coming in, I will withhold judgement on Dennis of Cork. He did run well though and in a year that is light on good 3YO performances he certainly looks promising.

what would giant moon do to dennis of cork?

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Denis of Cork rec'd a 96 BSF for yesterday's Southwest effort..

Those that are wanting to embrace David Carroll's exciting colt should not be concerned about the 'finishing kick/closing times' as Oaklawn is a bizarre oval when it comes to this analysis. Remember back to the Afleet Alex and Smarty Jones seasons because the final quarters have frequently seemed slow in this series. Randy Moss discovered years ago that the stretch at Hot Springs runs slightly uphill

Oh yeah, now that you say it, I kind of remember hearing about that uphill thing before. His race still didn't seem that impressive to me given the suspect nature of the competition, but a 96 certainly makes him one of the top contenders at this point.