There was nothing wrong with his ride in the Derby. Mediocre trips aren't always rider's faults.

It's turned into that by misuse.....sort of like the subversion of the word "value" in racing. A horse doesn't have value just because it's a big price.

You’re right. I meant to say brutal trip and didn’t mean to cast blame on the rider. I don’t think there was much the rider could have done to make it better.

Agree.

I assume this has happened before in the Belmont but its still strange to me. I understand training multiples for the Derby but its not reality to think that B.B doesn't want Justify to win. Its not like he is sending a rabbit for him to close in to. I'm sure he will be happy if R.H wins but not as happy the other way around.

Interesting none the less and I would like to hear that post race press conference.

I think you are both right. I think the definition has changed over the years. The way the term is used today, I think it is typically used on horses like My Boy Jack. And it seems like those types of "wise guy" horses practically never win. When you hear about a horse who is a decent price (5-1 or higher) that everyone seems to be touting, they seem to practically never win.

I like Hofburg a little bit, but if a lot of other people like him I'm probably on the wrong horse.

The "smart guy" horse to use underneath Justify :$: I totally agree!

The definition hasn't changed....it's been subverted by people using the term inaccurately.

Been meaning to ask, how's your former protégé KYRIM?

Blended Citizen with a SHARP bullet workout @ Belmont this weekend.

Maybe he will be the wise guy Hoss in the Belmont. The first wise guy hoss that I remember was McKenzie Bridge in the Belmont against Bold Forbes in 76. He was flying late and almost got up at a big price. I think this Belmont could be a similar type race with Justify on the engine 5 or 6 in front, though not necessarily in the 8 path. I'd be surprised if he didn't widen his lead and win by many but they could run in late.

It might be 10+ open if something with some gas doesn't appear in the entry box.

So what was up with that work by Blended Citizen? http://live.drf.com/nuggets/42870-bl...belmont-stakes

Yeesh. I like Blended Citizen for this race but may have to re-evaluate.

Doesn’t seem as troublesome as I first thought. BC looked good in those 5 furlongs.

Out of curiosity, does anyone give any weight to Jody Demling? I always see CBS bragging about his record but it seems like a lot of fluff and hype.

1. Justify (Bob Baffert/Mike Smith) 4/5
2. Free Drop Billy (Dale Romans/Robby Alvarado) 30-1
3. Bravazo (D. Wayne Lukas/Luis Saez) 8-1
4. Hofburg (Bill Mott/Irad Ortiz Jr.) 9-2
5. Restoring Hope (Bob Baffert/Florent Giroux) 30-1
6. Gronkowski (Chad Brown/Jose Ortiz) 12-1
7. Tenfold (Steve Asmussen/Ricardo Santana Jr.) 12-1
8. Vino Rosso (Todd Pletcher/John Velazquez) 8-1
9. Noble Indy (Todd Pletcher/Javier Castellano) 30-1
10. Blended Citizen (Doug O'Neill/Kyle Frey) 15-1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiKcd7yPLdU

Dale was in fine form for the post-draw panel. They were all great, but him in particular. If NBC's coverage of horse racing started off with a tight 5min from Dale Romans, I think you'd see a definite boost to the numbers. ;)

Dale has FDB ready to run the race of his life. 3 bullets in his holster. And he is not gonna be wide this time. Watch out. He I a very real love longshot to juice up the exotics.

During the work, sure, wouldn't have noticed anything amiss, but I never love hearing that description for how a horse wraps up their work. Is there a scenario where it's actually indicative of something positive or at least not negative? Of course Doug's gonna say it's fine. Could be, but eh.

Any thoughts on Hofburg yesterday? Seemed to recover his stride from that stumble (about 32 sec in on this footage), but you don't love the disruption. https://twitter.com/WatchXBTV/status...36720482926592

I didn’t like the way he went. He looks tight and won’t be on any of my tickets

That workout is a little more concerning. He recovers but looks to me like he doesn’t want to run.

Before doing that, I’m going to look at his other workouts. I try not to throw a horse out for one bad race, probably fair not to do it for one bad work either.