You Leave Kenny Alone...he's gotta have that Royal Ascot Chicken!

[RolloTomasi]

I don't know...McPeek trains a pretty mean bird!"

or

What...Mr. Marbles McPeek? He's harmless!

or

Classic Causeway Among 6 Grade/Group 1 winners in the Prince of Wales’

Well, we’ve certainly come a long way since Rick’s Natural Star:

Belmont Derby winner Classic Causeway is the sole runner trained outside Britain and Ireland in the field and is on course to have his first start in Europe for Kentucky trainer Kenneth McPeek.

Shocked to see this after Classic Causeway’s ho-hum effort in the Grade 3 Arlington…and when I say “shocked” I’m talking electroshock therapy (without the wooden spoon) which is what McPeek should be treated with for whatever is affecting his brain.

I guess it’s debatable whether or not they would be directly treating his brain if they put the paddles on either side of his head…he might keep his brain in a DEWALT Tool Box or something. Emphasis on the “tool”…

In the Arlington, Classic Causeway finished behind Set Piece, who ironically never won on turf in Europe despite starting his career there. Set Piece did run a good 14th in the 2000 Guineas years ago so there is some comparable form at least…

Electroshock therapy aside, the decision to send the horse became a no-brainer (that’s not a pun since there’s never a brain involved when it comes to McPeek & European racing) when Derby hero Desert Crown got hurt again. Plus the mighty Emily Upjohn is opting to wait for the Eclipse Stakes.

Now only if archrival Bolshoi Ballet, the only other 100-1 shot in the field, would defect we may get to see McPeek & his trusty top hat (likely purchased from Bob Sacamano in Central Park?) in the winner’s circle rubbing elbows with the Queen Consort.

When it is all said & done, you’ll never guess what the ultimate cause of this ridiculous turn of events was?

That’s right, Todd Pletcher & his continual mismanagement of anti-inflammatory medication.

Last year, before Classic Causeway won the Belmont Derby--which essentially punched his ticket to all international top class racing—the Pletcher-trained Emmanuel was entered to race. He was generally considered to be the main speed of the race, and was a near certainty to keep Classic Causeway from stealing the race…which is exactly what the McPeek colt ended up doing.

Why is that Pletcher’s fault? Well, Emmanuel had to be scratched by the Stewards because Pletcher failed to follow the rules for $1 million races in NY & had the horse treated with too many anti-inflammatory drugs the week of the race…So for all intents & purposes, McPeek owes this horse's Grade 1 win to Pletcher.

Still, to look on the bright side, we’ve entered the era of advanced equine safety in the face of outside threats to horse racing’s social license.

Over in Australia, they implemented compulsory CT scans for all foreign runners in their big races (Cox Plate, Melbourne Cup).

Who knows? Maybe on the strength of this example set by McPeek, the BHA will nowstart requiring PET and/or CT scans of all foreign trainers’ brains…

At any rate, I just want to see this:

McPeek coming out of the Royal john in top hat & tails (toilet flushing in background):

"Nice place you got here, Charles! A man can really get some thinking done!"

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Now only if archrival Bolshoi Ballet, the only other 100-1 shot in the field, would defect we may get to see McPeek & his trusty top hat (likely purchased from Bob Sacamano in Central Park?) in the winner’s circle rubbing elbows with the Queen Consort.

Well, the stars have aligned.

Pace rival Bolshoi Ballet has opted to take his chance in a listed stakes tomorrow on opening day at the Royal Ascot meet rather than in the Group 1 a day later. He's rated an 8/1 chance in the listed race.

Of course, this begs the question, why isn't Classic Causeway in that listed race?

Classic Causeway will line up against just 5 other horses in the Prince of Wales'. 3 of those 5 are the ONLY 3 horses to EVER finish in front of the much ballyhooed Baaeed, who at one point was rated as highly as the great Frankel. As it stands, he ended up only being rated between Flightline and Japanese star Equinox at the end of last year.

The other 2 horses are the 6-for-9 Luxembourg who has won Group 1s at age 2, 3, & 4. If you need some strict form to compare to Classic Causeway's 4-for-16 slate, Luxembourg has beaten the bitterly disappointing US import Royal Patronage multiple times by an average 10 lengths or so. Classic Causeway has also beaten Royal Patronage multiple times, by an average of 1 length. That's a difference of just a 'zero' if we are using the McPeek theorem of mathematics...

The final horse is 8-for-14 multiple Group stakes winner Mostahdaf, who has failed in all 3 Group 1 attempts although last time out was his best try, finishing 7 lengths behind runaway winner Equinox and 4 in front of BC Turf winner Rebel's Romance. Classic Causeway skipped last year's BC Turf to run off-the-board in an age-restricted Grade 3 on the BC undercard...

Logic aside, with just 5 other runners in the Prince of Wales', Classic Causeway's connections have a very good chance of being able to say they finished in the top 6 in a race at Royal Ascot when it is all said & done.

And of course, with Classic Causeway presumably going straight to the front, his owners can always simply eschew video recording technology & take some snapshots of him leading all his rivals in the first couple of furlongs of the race. Later back home they can photoshop the finish line in the background & dupe some of their friends that live off the grid...

[blackthroatedwind]

He has gone out of his way to find the worst spots for this horse, on both surfaces. At this point, I expect to see him in the AP Smithwick early in the Saratoga meet.

[freddymo]

Solid 7f effort, but hey, the tea and crumpets were great.

On to the Sword Dancer, nothing like Saratoga in August

[RolloTomasi]

The best part was the pre-race interview asking why McPeek was in the UK.

"We wanted to get some more Grade 1-type with him..."

Unfortunately, the interviewer failed on her follow-up, the obvious 1-2 punch which should have been:

1) Is that because you couldn't get any Grade 3-type with him in the past 6 months?

2) So you thought running in what could conceivably be the most competitive middle distance race of the season for older horses in the WORLD would be a good spot?

Sad thing is he may have impacted the race, as Ryan Moore for some reason opted to out-foot Classic Causeway early on race favorite Luxembourg & perhaps utlimately going faster than he needed to & setting it up for the Gosden horse from the back (the only non-Group 1 winner in the field)

[cakes44]

I thought he ran huge.

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by cakes44

I thought he ran huge.

Who ran huge? Luxembourg?

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by cakes44

I thought he ran huge.

You're right.

He normally totes around 118 lbs but today ran with 128 lbs.

[blackthroatedwind]

If this sport was covered in a more mainstream manner, Kenny would get raked over the coals for this. It was an indefensible decision.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

If this sport was covered in a more mainstream manner, Kenny would get raked over the coals for this. It was an indefensible decision.

I can see it now.

Headline on the sports page:

"Kenny Rogered & Roasted..."

[freddymo]

I dont get how the Sanford Hopeful or Champagne didn't make sense for Ward(American Rascal). What did they want to do, make a turf stallion out of Lady Aurelia? But what the heck? The tea and crumpets are great

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by freddymo

I dont get how the Sanford Hopeful or Champagne didn't make sense for Ward(American Rascal). What did they want to do, make a turf stallion out of Lady Aurelia? But what the heck? The tea and crumpets are great

Regardless of what he was capable of in what amounts to an early season training race at Keeneland, do they really expect a son of Curlin to be the ideal candidate for a 5 furlong race at Royal Ascot?

I'm going to hazard a guess that Coolmore never sent a Galileo over for this race.

Hopefully horse isn't fried.

Speaking of Coolmore, their runner His Majesty ran a deceptively good race. Broke slow, stuck in the back of his group, but then worked his way into contention & accelerated between horses to take command before finishing with a strong charge, though a couple lengths behind the opposite group (which might have had the better ground).

He's by No Nay Never so perhaps destined for sprints, but if he gets to the end of the season he might be a viable prospect stretching out for the BC Juvenile Turf.

[freddymo]

No, but the joy of having the dam's offspring potentially win at the same meet was too much to pass up.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by freddymo

No, but the joy of having the dam's offspring potentially win at the same meet was too much to pass up.

Trying too hard for a fairy tale by breeding Lady Aurelia to their own stallion; if they had bred her to Kingman or No Nay Never they might have got a horse destined for Ascot greatness.

Nevertheless, there's still hope.

They can always transfer the horse to McPeek. Based on his Norfolk form I would presume McPeek thinks he's good to go for next year's St. James' Palace...

[RolloTomasi]

How the hell did I miss this...

McPeek left Classic Causeway in England & the horse ran back today in a Group 2 going a mile.

There was some grumbling last time about why Leparoux didn't utilize the horse's front running speed at Royal Ascot, instead sitting an unpressured second for half the race before meekly falling away.

Not to worry this time. The mission was clear: Go to the front & run them off their feet.

One problem...Godolphin had 2 in there including an obvious pacemaker.

What ensued was even more embarrassing then what took place at Royal Ascot; in fact it looked a bit dangerous like if a 4'5" granny with Coke-bottle glasses, a beehive hairdo, somehow managed to get her 1988 Ford Festiva onto the fast lane of the Autobahn...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y5l...9mIHRoZSBzZWFz

[theguarantee]

^bit unfair not to mention that he won....the best turned out award...

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by theguarantee

^bit unfair not to mention that he won....the best turned out award...

I thought the same; or at least I should have used it as some sort of joke.

For example:

He should have won the Best Ought to Be Turned Out (to a farm) Award.

The silver lining in this utter humiliation is that based on the display of raw speed, McPeek might cut the horse back to a sprint at some point.

Whether that would be the Vosburgh in NY or the Nunthorpe in England remains to be seen...

[theguarantee]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

He should have won the Best Ought to Be Turned Out (to a farm) Award.

much better than my joke

[freddymo]

Still time to get him a stallion deal in Turkey

[freddymo]

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes shaping up to be a BELTER @Ascot in 10 days…

AUGUSTE RODIN
KING OF STEEL
PYLEDRIVER
DESERT CROWN
EMILY UPJOHN
WESTOVER
LUXEMBOURG
HUKUM

Any chance McPeek gives it a go with Classic Causeway? He fits, right?