he just got up(not official yet, but i think he got the bob)-good for the King!!

Well, Shug apparently wanted to see how Imperial Council would rate and didn't plan on winning. Either that, Or Maragh thought the race was a mile and a quarter.

If I was Shug.. Id be pleased the horses effort..

As a bettor you have to be pleased with Shug if he decided to throw the race. It just makes you want to root for him if that's the case.


But really it's not. The horse isn't good enough.

Yeah I just heard. Pleased to see that. That race sure had some blasts from the past. I forgot all about Joey P. and Saint Daimon.

What's going on with the Gotham finish? It's not up yet on the charts/results but the SA feed I'm watching just announced I Want Revenge nailed it. Any further info?

Ran lapped on Mr. Fantasy to midstretch, then kicked clear and won by 4 (or more). Mr. F caught by Imperial Council for second.

i was irritated, i want revenge had just gotten away from mr. fantasy and the screen went blank-hrtv had 'technical issues'.

i want revenge over imperial council, who just nosed out mr. fantasy

Its up on U-tube.
They get these bigger races up pretty quickly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvUh7XMy3Tc

there are a number of others.

I have to tend to agree here.
Anything resembling a derby contender should have challenged for the win here with this group. I want revenge did seem to run a pretty good race on first viewing. I don't think that Revenge is going to like 10 furlongs but he looked pretty good at 8.5. Imperial Council ran a disappointing race. I don't really consider him a derby horse, but he was still supposed to win this race.

True, the goal was the Gotham.. not the more important future races..

The horse is a disgustingly slow slob..

humble Pie
 

I have to eat crow for this one! :o
They both went off at 5-1, and Haynesfield only had $2,000 more dollars total, out of 100K in the whole WPS pools. Whether or not the ML had a little bit of self fulfilling influence or not is moot, I said their would be a clear difference in Post Time Odds. When betting opened and smaller betters(fan money/otb,trackgoers) began to bet, Haynesfield was 7-2 while Masala was 8-1. However when the bulk of money began to count up there was actually more going on Masala. Just an example of how tough the pools can be. Wasn't really money to be made on Haynesfield quitting.

What? He was supposed to win the best Gotham in years (a.) in his first route, (b.) with one sprint race since a long layoff and (c.) off a three-week turnaround and ship? It's not like he ran terribly. He lagged behind and came flying late to nail the place horse. I'm not sure how you can be disappointed with his race.

I agree..
He was up near the lead in his previous 3 races. Clearly, they wanted to take him back and see how he would do. Whether he's good enough to win the Wood is another question, but they changed tactics today to see if how he would run from way off the pace.

i don't see how either. his previous was a 6.5 f race-til today he'd never run past 7f. i think this race may well have set him up for the wood-we shall see.

I'm not disappointed, I thought he ran decent for what he is, but I do think if anyone viewed him as Derby contender, they should probably be disappointed.

He didn't have to beat a good race from I Want Revenge, but (IMO) he should have challenged for the win. IC isn't going to get any better at 9 or 10 furlongs. He also has a little bit of a conformation problem with his stride, and it's my opinion that he really needs to be head and shoulders above in these weaker preps to be projected highly for May.

i don't think the gotham was a weaker prep-and i thought IC ran well for his first time routing. whether he's a derby contender i don't know; but i wouldn't take him off of a list at this point.

I haven't seen the chart but it looked to me like Imperial Council didn't gain any ground on the winner in the final 1/4.

Still, I think he earned the right to move on.

Every year it's the same thing --- a horse impresses and the hype becomes contagious. Imperial Council is one example. Today's effort wasn't terrible. They went 48 2/5 to the half, not exactly flying, and it showed as the pacemakers had plenty left late. So, all said, Imperial Council does deserve another chance, but I hope the superstar hype ceases.

The big story of the Gotham is that I Want Revenge dusted these guys, and he lost to Pioneer of the Nile. If Pioneer of the Nile stays on course, and takes to dirt, how good is he? These synthetic preps are screwing up my brain.

i have a hard time believing that all the west coasters will take to the real thing. or that if they do, that they'll all show high ability on each surface.