i just think it's strange that his effort today is the complete opposite of every race he's ever run before. yeah, not as suspect company as a few weeks back, but this horse did a 180 compared to his usual effort. had he lost by just a bit, that would tell you that maybe the field had caught up to him maturity-wise. but this was certainly an anomaly for him. and unless your name was seattle slew, smarty jones or majestic prince, you've suffered a loss at some point leading up to the first saturday in may.

we'll see how he comes back. if he comes back.

one good effort doesn't make a champ, and one bad one doesn't mean you're not.

I thought WP was doomed when Todd T "all" called WP a free square it seemed like 10's of times.

He might have the title of Ultra Mush, seriously, any free square he talks about always runs poorly....

Great ROI angle!!:cool: :cool:

i don't know.

i think the connections wandering around with roses before the race might give him a run for the money.

Cornelio said ths:

Of War Pass, Velasquez said, "He just didn’t go today like he always has. At the half-mile, he wanted to go to the lead but he just couldn’t go. Today he just didn’t try like he has in the past. I don’t know. He just stayed back and couldn’t take the lead. He did not run today; he’s a nice horse, but I don't think he liked the track."

http://tcm.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=44103

Take An Armored Car To The Derby This Year. The Tri Will Be Huge! All The Horses Suck................

War PAss's owner La Penta said this:

War Pass owner Robert LaPenta said his colt had a fever earlier this week.

"He wasn't himself today," LaPenta said. "We wanted to come out of the gate and take the lead around the first turn. ... War Pass had some fever this week and we thought he'd be OK. But obviously it wasn't his day."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080315/...pa_bay_derby_3

With a couple million bucks in the people's money tied to this horse which went off at 1/20 ($.05-1) wouldn't it have been nice if the betting public had been made aware?

You never see an NFL player with a hangnail not reported.

I can't believe that they said that after the fact. They should have kept their mouths shut. Leave it to the owner:rolleyes:

They'll receive a lot of heat for this. I can't believe they would run an animal like this in a race that isn't that important if he is not 100%. I mean, it's not like this was the KD!

Can't believe they ran a sick horse (or one that wasn't 100%.). Nuts. :eek:

And this is even crazier IMO:

"Big Truck, who ran second to Zito's Fierce Wind in the Sam F. Davis at this track on Feb. 16, will likely not run again until the Derby at Churchill Downs in seven weeks." WTF?

They were fearful and greedy?

Touché. LMAO :D

I will never view Zito in the same light again. As if Bellamy Road wasn't enough, but I could understand the Travers because it was a really big race and they were only going to be able to get one more race out of the horse anyway. Plus, I'm sure he had pressure from the owners.

This is a different situation:mad:

That may not be so crazy. Big Truck ran so hard that he might not have come out of the race that great. I doubt Tagg would make a move like that unless something wasn't quite right with the horse.

Merci. Vous allez a le Derby de Floride?

Dont think we see War Pass again....
 

I was telling a friend of mine that not only did i not think that War Pass would win KD but that he wouldnt even run. Reason being b/c of the deal that has already been made for him after the season. The horse is just worth too much money right now and if he throws in more clunkers his stud value will plummet (i think).I just got done watching the race on replay and he looked like he was getting ready to pounce coming out of turn 3 to 4 but just did nothing. Just my .02

I was thinking about it, but probably not. I may change my mind. :)

I would think that it would be premature to make a decision like that until at least the day after his race (to see how he is in the morning), but what do I know?

that race by bellamy road gets a lot of respect from a lot of people. zito got an unsound horse to win the wood in record time, by an incredible margin, and then trained him to what is judged to be BR's best effort ever. yeah, i can see why some would have a problem with zito....


you have a horse today that allegedly had a bit of fever earlier in the week, running on a new surface to him, and he suffered some bad luck at the break, and a race that unfolded in a brand new way for war pass. any of those on their own may not have been enough to stop this horse, but if you add all together, then you have a different result...whether all those factors contributed to war passes loss today, i don't know. i am unwilling to second guess a hall of fame trainer, and considering war pass to this point, i'm not yet ready to say that this horse isn't a top horse. he just showed he's not unbeatable--but then, how many are?

we often see in this sport that owners and trainers begin to believe all the hype about a horse, and start thinking the particular horse can walk on water. and just about as often, you see them brought down a peg...or three!


i remember when a another zito horse faced a field that he just couldn't help but beat. regardless of the track, who cares if it was sealed....he should have walked all over the others, as he was much the best. birdstone ran up the track that day, and zito was angrier than i've ever seen a person before.

yeah, birdstone showed his true self that day.:rolleyes: