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  #21  
Old 08-28-2006, 07:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gander
I completely agree with your point Danzig. I have never heard so much credit given for a 2nd place finish in my life than Flower Alley got in the BC. He wasnt even close to threatening the winner. Nice effort but lets not get carried away. He didnt lose a close photo and he lost! Sure he was 3 against older horses but he lost while never threatening Saint Liam.
How about Roses in May who was , not threatning 2nd, beaten favorite in the Donn and then went off the even money favorite in the Dubai world cup. I'm not all gung ho on Flower Alley but I think he's far from an untalented horse and I'm taking a wait and see approach regarding his next race.
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  #22  
Old 08-28-2006, 07:41 PM
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argh, roses in may....

that bcc left a sour taste in my mouth. effing ken ramsey and his deal with the devil....

roses in may was overhyped as well. only reason the japanese wanted him is he was black and had a blaze. they think that if a horse kinda looks like sunday silence, he must be his twin....think i'm off?? two words--war emblem.

now watch roses be the next sunday silence over there.



naaaaah...
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  #23  
Old 08-28-2006, 07:42 PM
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At this point comparing Bernardini to Ghostzapper is laughable. GZ was clearly a fragile horse but he ran against everything out there. And won. Bernardini has not even faced older horses. He has faced the depleted 3 yo field. Where are the top 3 yo's from the TC races? He has not faced them. They are gone or injured. He looks like a great horse. But no way can he be compared to GZ at this point. No way from a race standpoint. You can always say he looks better. Thats easy. And he does look fantastic.
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  #24  
Old 08-28-2006, 07:44 PM
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I thought Roses was way overrated. Yes, his 2nd was even less impressive than Flower Alley's 2nd. I never said Flower Alley wasnt talented, but he hasnt lived up to any of the hype yet. Wouldnt want to bet him back this weekend either. Doesnt seem possible he could improve that much, but I guess ya never know. His odds wont be anywhere near enticing.
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  #25  
Old 08-28-2006, 07:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gander
I thought Roses was way overrated. Yes, his 2nd was even less impressive than Flower Alley's 2nd. I never said Flower Alley wasnt talented, but he hasnt lived up to any of the hype yet. Wouldnt want to bet him back this weekend either. Doesnt seem possible he could improve that much, but I guess ya never know. His odds wont be anywhere near enticing.
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  #26  
Old 08-28-2006, 07:46 PM
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Was Ghostzapper 3 when he beat older horses in the Vosbuurgh? Even so I still dont think beating older sprinters is the same as beating older horses going the classic distance. So you cant really say Ghostzapper did what Bernardini hasnt (in some respects).

They very much remind me of one another. I dont think its going too far out on any limb to compare the 2.
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  #27  
Old 08-28-2006, 08:24 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gander
Was Ghostzapper 3 when he beat older horses in the Vosbuurgh? Even so I still dont think beating older sprinters is the same as beating older horses going the classic distance. So you cant really say Ghostzapper did what Bernardini hasnt (in some respects).

They very much remind me of one another. I dont think its going too far out on any limb to compare the 2.

I do. I think its going out on a very thin limb. I just hope Bernardini can run in more races. Ya know I love you Gander. Ya like the claimers. Show some love for Butterface along with Lava Man.
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  #28  
Old 08-28-2006, 08:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danzig188
argh, roses in may....

that bcc left a sour taste in my mouth. effing ken ramsey and his deal with the devil....

roses in may was overhyped as well. only reason the japanese wanted him is he was black and had a blaze. they think that if a horse kinda looks like sunday silence, he must be his twin....think i'm off?? two words--war emblem.

now watch roses be the next sunday silence over there.



naaaaah...
Why?

Do you think Roses would've beaten Ghostzapper had that "deal with the devil" never taken place?
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  #29  
Old 08-28-2006, 08:34 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gander
Was Ghostzapper 3 when he beat older horses in the Vosbuurgh? Even so I still dont think beating older sprinters is the same as beating older horses going the classic distance. So you cant really say Ghostzapper did what Bernardini hasnt (in some respects).

They very much remind me of one another. I dont think its going too far out on any limb to compare the 2.

i'd shell out 200k to go to bernardini before i'd shell out 1/10th of that for ghostzapper. i've seen eggshells that were hardier than that horse.
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  #30  
Old 08-28-2006, 08:36 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smooth Operator
Why?

Do you think Roses would've beaten Ghostzapper had that "deal with the devil" never taken place?

lol

hell no


ramsey saw the beauty in running second all the way 'round. he knew if he sent early, they both go down. yeah, some horse race. great sports. let's see the best win.....

you ever watch dangerous catch??? the one guy yelled 'earn it'. i have more respect for someone who earns it!
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  #31  
Old 08-28-2006, 09:05 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danzig188
yeah, i know. got him the eclipse...oh wait, no it didn't....but it lead to bigger and better this year....oh wait...


i wonder if the bc winners lists will have an * and show that flower alley finished second last year....cause none of the other years lists show who ran second.
You know what I mean. We have already discussed in the Barbaro (The Champ) thread how Bernardini is much better at this stage of the game than Flower Alley was last year at this stage of the game. There is no comparison.

Also, Flower Alley obviously has an injury that is hindering him this year due to his performance in his last start and the fact that he started so late this year. He may not be a world beater, but I due believe that he is a classy enough animal to win a Grade I win he fires. He just hasn't been firing lately. I hope TP can get him straight. It is a similar situation to LITF.

Flower Alley's race in the BCC was darn good for a three year old against a horse that was able to challenge GZ.
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  #32  
Old 08-28-2006, 09:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danzig188
lol

hell no


ramsey saw the beauty in running second all the way 'round. he knew if he sent early, they both go down. yeah, some horse race. great sports. let's see the best win.....

you ever watch dangerous catch??? the one guy yelled 'earn it'. i have more respect for someone who earns it!
Funny, Frankel told Castellano that if anybody wanted the early lead....let them go ahead and do it.

Last time I checked, GZ did have some success from a stalking position.

59 flat and a 124 BSF....yeah, I'd say he "earned it".
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  #33  
Old 08-28-2006, 09:11 PM
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Don't talk bad about my Roses in May. He's the horse!, and he was very good in his own right. Running a second that was only three lengths off of GZ's 1:59 flat 1 1/4 mile race is proof enough that Roses in May was a very good horse.
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  #34  
Old 08-28-2006, 09:36 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smooth Operator
Funny, Frankel told Castellano that if anybody wanted the early lead....let them go ahead and do it.

Last time I checked, GZ did have some success from a stalking position.

59 flat and a 124 BSF....yeah, I'd say he "earned it".
from bloodhorse, way back when:


But when Ghostzapper drew post one in the Classic, Frankel knew his strategy was limited. He would have to go to the lead, something the colt had never done before. That didn't worry Frankel, who felt Ghostzapper could walk on water if he had to. His only concern was Ramsey's Whitney Handicap (gr. I) and Kentucky Cup Classic (gr. II) winner Roses in May, a brilliantly fast horse who, like Ghostzapper, was unbeaten in 2004 and had never been the Classic's distance of 11/4 miles.

Frankel knew the two colts could not afford to get involved in a speed duel, with top-class closers like Pleasantly Perfect and Birdstone in the field of 13. Roses in May, whom Ramsey owns with his wife, Sarah, had the advantage of drawing post 6, with the great mare Azeri, whose best running has been on or near the lead, breaking from post 3.

"Drawing the rail doesn't matter, wire-to-wire," said Ghostzapper's exercise rider, Nuno Santos, who had been the regular exercise rider of Azeri and Fusaichi Pegasus, the winner of the 2000 Kentucky Derby (gr. I). "Believe me, no worries. This horse is unreal, a freak, and everyone is going to see it on Saturday. You're going to see a Secretariat type of race. I can feel him getting stronger every day, and I've never been as confident in a horse as I am with this guy, and that includes Azeri. It's another world. They're going to have to wait years and years to see another one like this."

With that kind of ammunition, Frankel, who would saddle Ramsey's Nothing to Lose in the NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT), attempted to plant the seeds of his strategy inside Ramsey's head.

"If we lay first and second and the jockeys keep them slow and don't kill each other trying for the lead, they'll finish one-two," Frankel assured Ramsey. "You know what I'm saying? If they're not stupid and they stay cool, we'll be one-two."

"You're boxing them (in the exactas), huh?" Ramsey said, breaking into his customary broad grin and booming laugh. "In other words, how fast we go on the backstretch will dictate what happens in the homestretch. What about Azeri?"

"I don't think Azeri is going to be there," Frankel said. "She can't run with these two. Both our horses will get the mile and a quarter and we got two smart jockeys (Javier Castellano aboard Ghostzapper and John Velazquez on Roses in May). If they sit, they finish one-two. I'm telling you, that's the race; it's that simple. Look, I gotta go (to the lead) from the one post. But if they let us get away with a half in :47, the race is over. It'll be you and me, and let the best horse win."

Frankel could see his words were registering, and that Ramsey was coming around to his way of thinking. "That's the best shot we got, and if I outrun you or you outrun me, we're still talking about $800,000 for second. That's nothing to sneeze at," Ramsey said.

But Frankel wasn't thinking about second. He knew there was no horse who could eyeball Ghostzapper and outrun him in the stretch, and if Ramsey and trainer Dale Romans let him slow the pace down on the lead, he'd have his first Classic victory and they would have their $800,000.
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  #35  
Old 08-28-2006, 10:34 PM
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From Thoroughbred Times.com:

"I told [Castellano] that if anybody wanted to try and go past you on the lead, let them go ahead and do it," Frankel said. "I wanted him to ride like he was on the best horse, and he did. And he was."

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/tod...ate=10/30/2004


Wouldn't have mattered what Velazquez decided to do with Roses. Castellano wasn't gonna get in a speed duel in the biggest race of the year.

As it turned out, Roses got a perfect trip and couldn't hang with a superior animal in the stretch.

Spin all you want.....the best horse won that race.
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  #36  
Old 08-28-2006, 11:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danzig188
from bloodhorse, way back when:


But when Ghostzapper drew post one in the Classic, Frankel knew his strategy was limited. He would have to go to the lead, something the colt had never done before. That didn't worry Frankel, who felt Ghostzapper could walk on water if he had to. His only concern was Ramsey's Whitney Handicap (gr. I) and Kentucky Cup Classic (gr. II) winner Roses in May, a brilliantly fast horse who, like Ghostzapper, was unbeaten in 2004 and had never been the Classic's distance of 11/4 miles.

Frankel knew the two colts could not afford to get involved in a speed duel, with top-class closers like Pleasantly Perfect and Birdstone in the field of 13. Roses in May, whom Ramsey owns with his wife, Sarah, had the advantage of drawing post 6, with the great mare Azeri, whose best running has been on or near the lead, breaking from post 3.

"Drawing the rail doesn't matter, wire-to-wire," said Ghostzapper's exercise rider, Nuno Santos, who had been the regular exercise rider of Azeri and Fusaichi Pegasus, the winner of the 2000 Kentucky Derby (gr. I). "Believe me, no worries. This horse is unreal, a freak, and everyone is going to see it on Saturday. You're going to see a Secretariat type of race. I can feel him getting stronger every day, and I've never been as confident in a horse as I am with this guy, and that includes Azeri. It's another world. They're going to have to wait years and years to see another one like this."

With that kind of ammunition, Frankel, who would saddle Ramsey's Nothing to Lose in the NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT), attempted to plant the seeds of his strategy inside Ramsey's head.

"If we lay first and second and the jockeys keep them slow and don't kill each other trying for the lead, they'll finish one-two," Frankel assured Ramsey. "You know what I'm saying? If they're not stupid and they stay cool, we'll be one-two."

"You're boxing them (in the exactas), huh?" Ramsey said, breaking into his customary broad grin and booming laugh. "In other words, how fast we go on the backstretch will dictate what happens in the homestretch. What about Azeri?"

"I don't think Azeri is going to be there," Frankel said. "She can't run with these two. Both our horses will get the mile and a quarter and we got two smart jockeys (Javier Castellano aboard Ghostzapper and John Velazquez on Roses in May). If they sit, they finish one-two. I'm telling you, that's the race; it's that simple. Look, I gotta go (to the lead) from the one post. But if they let us get away with a half in :47, the race is over. It'll be you and me, and let the best horse win."

Frankel could see his words were registering, and that Ramsey was coming around to his way of thinking. "That's the best shot we got, and if I outrun you or you outrun me, we're still talking about $800,000 for second. That's nothing to sneeze at," Ramsey said.

But Frankel wasn't thinking about second. He knew there was no horse who could eyeball Ghostzapper and outrun him in the stretch, and if Ramsey and trainer Dale Romans let him slow the pace down on the lead, he'd have his first Classic victory and they would have their $800,000.

Ok guys, I have to set the record straight on this one. And this article was not written by the author in the correct way.
I was part of the Ramsey team for quite a while. We were as tight as two guys can be. Like family. We had a falling out, and I didn't think it proper to ever go into why and I still won't. But......I'm not gonna let him be spoken of in an incorrect context, because its just not so.
Thats not how it went down. The night before the race while sitting in the room with Ken and one other person we went over the strategy on all three races of the horses he had entered. Since I was part of the process, and I was there, I know exactly what went down.
The original plan leading up to the race was to go straight to the lead and try to wire it. After the draw when he drew outside of ghostzapper ken was very upset and said what do we do now. One thing about Ghostzapper that Frankel very wisely never made public was that he absolutely detested dirt in his face. he refused to run when dirt was hitting his face. he was never a "closer" by style. he was transformed into one because the only way to keep him form hating dirt was to drag him back and take him as wide as possible. Thats the reason every one of his races before that in his win streak, he was widest of all. It was by design.
When zapper drew the one hole frankel flat out knew he had to send the horse. Anything less meant that he would be pinned in behind horses with dirt flying in his face. We had heard through the grapevine that the reason Azeri was put in the Classic was to avoid a loss in the Distaff that might cost her the title if she lost because Sightseek had one hell of a year. We had heard that her camp felt anything above a back of the pack finish would mean she had teh title locked up. Which meant that they werent gonna gun her and risk finishing far back from a duel. Ken Ramsey may be a lot of things, but he will do anything to win a race, anything!! And second place to him is just the first loser. The decision was made to run to the first turn with Johnny having the option to make the lead if Zapper broke bad or took back because of being pinched or sawed off. But everyone realized that the likelihood of that was slim. As a result the decison was made to sit behind zapper, and hope that he couldnt go a mile and a quarter, something that was still in doubt after his narrow Woodward win and teh fact that he had never done it. Roses liked to be loose, either on the lead or running free in second with noone near him. Johnny was told to be no further back then 2nd and to try and be a clear second with no horses surrounding him. And then to just hope that he could run by a tired zapper.
Obviously it didnt work. Ken may have doen a lotta things wrong, but the way this has been reported is not at all accurate. he would have cut off his toes if he thought that would get him a win in this race. ANyone who knows him and his ego would tell you this. No deal was made, and the conversation quoted was one that was an exchange between ken and frankel when ken was by Frankel's barn to check on in and discuss Nothing To Lose, who Frankel trained for Ken. the notion that the two of them got together to somehow conspire to predertime the outcome of the richest race in the USA is utterly and completely false. Of this I KNOW from firsthand knowledge.
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  #37  
Old 08-28-2006, 11:19 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oracle80
Ok guys, I have to set the record straight on this one. And this article was not written by the author in the correct way.
I was part of the Ramsey team for quite a while. We were as tight as two guys can be. Like family. We had a falling out, and I didn't think it proper to ever go into why and I still won't. But......I'm not gonna let him be spoken of in an incorrect context, because its just not so.
Thats not how it went down. The night before the race while sitting in the room with Ken and one other person we went over the strategy on all three races of the horses he had entered. Since I was part of the process, and I was there, I know exactly what went down.
The original plan leading up to the race was to go straight to the lead and try to wire it. After the draw when he drew outside of ghostzapper ken was very upset and said what do we do now. One thing about Ghostzapper that Frankel very wisely never made public was that he absolutely detested dirt in his face. he refused to run when dirt was hitting his face. he was never a "closer" by style. he was transformed into one because the only way to keep him form hating dirt was to drag him back and take him as wide as possible. Thats the reason every one of his races before that in his win streak, he was widest of all. It was by design.
When zapper drew the one hole frankel flat out knew he had to send the horse. Anything less meant that he would be pinned in behind horses with dirt flying in his face. We had heard through the grapevine that the reason Azeri was put in the Classic was to avoid a loss in the Distaff that might cost her the title if she lost because Sightseek had one hell of a year. We had heard that her camp felt anything above a back of the pack finish would mean she had teh title locked up. Which meant that they werent gonna gun her and risk finishing far back from a duel. Ken Ramsey may be a lot of things, but he will do anything to win a race, anything!! And second place to him is just the first loser. The decision was made to run to the first turn with Johnny having the option to make the lead if Zapper broke bad or took back because of being pinched or sawed off. But everyone realized that the likelihood of that was slim. As a result the decison was made to sit behind zapper, and hope that he couldnt go a mile and a quarter, something that was still in doubt after his narrow Woodward win and teh fact that he had never done it. Roses liked to be loose, either on the lead or running free in second with noone near him. Johnny was told to be no further back then 2nd and to try and be a clear second with no horses surrounding him. And then to just hope that he could run by a tired zapper.
Obviously it didnt work. Ken may have doen a lotta things wrong, but the way this has been reported is not at all accurate. he would have cut off his toes if he thought that would get him a win in this race. ANyone who knows him and his ego would tell you this. No deal was made, and the conversation quoted was one that was an exchange between ken and frankel when ken was by Frankel's barn to check on in and discuss Nothing To Lose, who Frankel trained for Ken. the notion that the two of them got together to somehow conspire to predertime the outcome of the richest race in the USA is utterly and completely false. Of this I KNOW from firsthand knowledge.
Well Oracle, in case you didn't know. The expert opinion is that Bernardini could "urinate" on Roses In May. So he surely would have skipped right past old Ghostapper with the stream of urine still hitting poor Roses In May in the face.
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  #38  
Old 08-28-2006, 11:28 PM
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Ken Ramsey has an ego--na, come on--ha ha. He has the biggest ego of anyone I know. That man would sell his wife for a win. But i have mixed empotions about him. He loves the sport and spends some money but he is not very ethical. I guess ethics is more important than money so I will give an unfavorable opinion about him but would give him another chance.
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  #39  
Old 08-28-2006, 11:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eurobounce
Ken Ramsey has an ego--na, come on--ha ha. He has the biggest ego of anyone I know. That man would sell his wife for a win. But i have mixed empotions about him. He loves the sport and spends some money but he is not very ethical. I guess ethics is more important than money so I will give an unfavorable opinion about him but would give him another chance.

I like crazy-ass Kenny Ramsey, he is hilarious to watch at the track.
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  #40  
Old 08-28-2006, 11:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moodwalker
I like crazy-ass Kenny Ramsey, he is hilarious to watch at the track.
I like it when he is alive in the final leg of a pick 6. It doesnt matter if it will pay $2000 or $20,000 he is still a treat to watch.
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