Palm Meadows on the turf (dogs up): 5f in 1:04.50

Palm Meadows: 5f dirt (gate): 1:01.35

Does anyone have any credible info/ideas on when this colt makes a start?

Bloodhorse blog says even Matz doesn't know for sure when or what surface mainly because it depends on what races come up. I don't have the condition book in front or me or anything but it could be 7 furlongs or so on dirt or a bit longer on turf he said. Is there anything in the last full week of January that fits?

Palm Meadows: 4f in 50.40

I will definitely be riding the Nicanor bandwagon in 2009. Can't wait for the spring to see exactly what this horse is made of.

A friend who used to work for Matz and still has friends in the barn says that they are looking at late Jan early Feb and that the specific spot has not been determined. There are plenty of options in the book in terms of surface and distance.

Running this Saturday according to Gulfstream announcer

i know i'm shocked.

Entry:

Gulfstream Park 1/31/09
Race 8
Maiden Special Weight
1 mile
PP: 4
Edgar Prado
full field of 12
purse: 40K

CBS story tonight on Nicanor
 

On the CBS Evening News right now 6:30 eastern, they are having a story on Nicanor carrying on Barbaro's legend.

Granted, Matz probably has him as ready as possible, and the field doesn't look too strong on paper, but any self-respecting horseplayer has to bet against what might be the biggest underlay in the history of the game.

Obviously.

And yet horse racing is getting great, empathetic, touchy-feely PR on the CBS Evening News right now.

:tro:

Sorry if I don't think the Friends of Barbaro stuff is good for the game.

Why not?

A better question would be why.

No, he will never knock The Green Monkey off that perch.

It was a great thing for horse racing: showed the horse, talked about Barbaro, interviewed happy friendly fans at the busy crowded paddock of the track on a beautiful Florida day, talked about the Friends of Barbaro TB horse rescue, talked to the smiling Olympic-hero horse trainer, even a final pastoral picture of Lentenor kicking up his heels with mom.

All those casual news watchers whose last dim memory of horses and TB racing was Eight Belles and the Derby and evil horse people that drug horses only to make money.

Replaced by this. It's terrific PR for the sport.

i just don't think it's a good thing that the #1 topic of discussion is a horse who broke down and was subsquently euthanized. how does that get people to forget eight belles' ending? i would think it would only reinforce it-along with whatever people got out of that stupid csi show--how many folks think that show is an accurate depiction each week??

Because Barbaro is the glue that holds us all together.

Well, go see if you can find the clip somewhere, and watch it. It went on from Barbaro.

The care Barbaro received only reflected outstandingly well upon horse racing. People not even involved in the sport worshipped Richardson and the horse and the connections and followed the story for months and wept when he was lost and donated lots of money to the vet school.

Thus the sustained interest in Nicanor, so much so that one of the three major network news organizations featured five minutes of incredibly good PR for horse racing during the prime time evening newscast.

Versus the Derby and Eight Belles going down on national TV and slick hair, sunglasses and Dutrow and steroids.

Perhaps CBS Evening News should have played Beyers' talk on ATR?

I had a guy at work, that never bet on a horse in his life - come up to me and ask about Nicanor

Take him to the track!

Better yet, tell him you are going to the track and if he likes, you'll place a bet for him.

This is after telling him the odds are expected to be really generous, like 10/1.

That way, if he loses you keep the bet money.

If he wins, you either pay him his winnings, or do what most high schoolers do to nubes, and say you didn't bet it because he was 3/5.

If anyone is interested, the news video story is up on the CBS website

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/i...adcastsContent


CBS news, go down to the very bottom of the page to click on the video.

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are all the horses in his race first time starters?

any reason nicanor did not race as a two year old?

And all this time I thought I was the only one who got away with this.:zz:

About not racing as a 2yo, I imagine they had thought it possible he would based on his work pattern last summer and their talk but he started growing like a weed and Matz decided to back off and let him settle physically. An article I read later puts him at nearly 17 hands.

Not sure about the other horses in the race, I haven't looked.

Of the 13 entered 8 have had previous starts, with Dubinsky ( Pompa/Reynolds ) and Stayonit ( AE Frankel/Bello ) the 2 that have had a decent prior race.

The match race offer with Rampillion is still open

The "this horse is bred for" game is wonderful. Barbaro started his career on the grass and many people thought that might have been his best surface. So they start his full brother off on the dirt. Minutes later on the opposite coast, a daugther of two dirt champions (AP Indy and Sweet Catomine) starts off her career on grass.

That last makes no sense. I don't get John Shirreffs at all............

Point taken.

i'll take the filly...

i'll give him benefit of the doubt. maybe she doesn't like the other turf--and it's either fake turf or real if you're going to run in cali.

thank you barbaro. thank you nicanor
 

only saw the first set of pics they put out a year or two? ago, but back then Nicanor didn't look very impressive, and Lentanor looked like a "baby/toddler" version of a nice turf turfhorse. Maybe Lentanor will be an OVERlay

theres a handful of good dirt horses who could do better out of cali

also a few tiznows you see win on the grass in various places and wonder how they would be IN cali

http://racing.bloodhorse.com/article/49033.htm

Nicanor grabbed a quarter leaving the gate...