Most Impressive in Defeat?
 

Will Take Charge and Declaration of War would definitely get in there. One of these days O'Brien's gonna get himself a Classic win. Reneesgotzip and The Fugue deserve kudos too.

Might nominate Bobby's Kitten to soothe the temper of Ken Ramsey over the ride. He probably thought that was the race he was most likely to win, then he ends up publicly firing the jockey and making sure everybody on tv knew it.

Za Approval. Strong Mandate/Havana. Was amazed by maiden Colonel Joan hitting board in JFT. Rosalind likely wins JF with clean break.

Havana. Will Take Charge ran huge too.

Will Take Charge. Against a pedestrian pace, he was flying home and lost an inch.

The Fugue was another that ran very well in defeat. Strong Mandate was probably best in the Juvy, though a case could be made for Havana. The winner was clearly 3rd best.

as much as it pains me to say it, Im going with Bobbys Kitten, just to even hang in there and be in a dog fight in deep stretch for any top 3 placing like that was amazing. Horse could of easily just packed it in, but running that fast at that distance on grass being that young was amazing.

I've watched the stretch run of the classic multiple times...several times I've keyed in on Declaration of War. I realize J O'Brien has won some huge races but I can't help but focus on how inefficient his motions are. Since he's 6' or more he bounces all over the place and it makes you wonder if he was potentially hurting the horses momentum.

Going through again preparing for today's show and noticed that Gentleman's Bet stayed on admirably after attending the collapse pace of the Sprint..

Ty..

Chuck said the same thing to me after the race.. that a domestic rider could have made the difference. Completely understand O'Brien sticking with Joseph in the spot, but after flogging him on radio and in the XB Wagering Guide, I backed it up at the window and really needed Declaration. Even 2nd was a good result. Game try.

Surely not aerodynamic to be doing that **** on a horse.

Best against the grain run of the day.
Too bad his jock was the cause if it.

Will Take Charge
Za Approval
Strong Mandate
She's a Tiger

Steve.. Great job on Declaration of War though given the dearth of data we have on Euro's.

I'd suggest there were plenty...

She's A Tiger - who deserves an Eclipse after a great campaign - she's maybe a full length away from an undefeated season and 3 G1s wins.

Agreed on Za Approval, Havana, Will Take Charge...

Alterite ran a huge race in the F&M Turf

But my overall winner for "most impressive loser" is absolutely, positively Declaration of War. The inside scoop over the course of the week was expecting he was going to break slow (as he has in the past) would force Joseph to keep him outside and lose ground, but he'd be out of the kickback. O'Brien was leery of his work at Southwell two weeks out where they thought he didn't get enough kickback in case he ended up inside. It was Joseph's first mount on dirt, EVER...he's 6'4" and when I saw him early in the week, he'd pass for a marathon-running banker.

The boys of Ballydoyle walked away from the Classic just about as fulfilled as any losing connection possibly could. His performance validated the pedigree, their planning, the belief he could compete in this race, and his potential universality as a sire. Tough to find a more "winning" loser than Declaration of War.

What a bloody shock you chose a Euro. :o

Or you could look at it objectively and recognize his performance was a phenomenal one in defeat...

I can...the idea that it was the most impressive horse in defeat is hard to imagine over the course of 2 days...I always feel that Euros in general have short man's syndrome in a big way. It was evident way back on the ESPN board as well. It is an illness.

I thought Joe gave him a great trip. He just didn't look good doing it.

They kept saying he was 6' on television, they shorted him 4" inches I guess.

Fun with numbers. I doubt he's 6 foot, let alone 6' 4"...

I believe he's 5' 11"

i'd have to give the nod to will take charge.

but 6' 4" In Europe, jumps tall buildings etc...

Hard for me to say it was better than Will Take Charge. He ran well, but so did Za Approval and many others. I'd probably pick a few more over him if based strictly on the thread title.

Will Take Charge.....

Attachment 2232

Did Pat really write " The boys of Ballydoyle " in this thread?

Excuse me while I barf.

I'm not suggesting this be the way to answer the question but...according to Trakus, what horse covered the most ground relative to margin of defeat?

Will Take Charge was very wide and still game down the stretch.

You of course are assuming 2 things.
1. Wider paths weren't possibly better path during either of the 2 days
2. Against the clock, all races were equal, i.e. a horse that loses a ton of ground in a dreadfully slow race didn't necessarily put in the most impressive performance in defeat.

She's a Tiger looked great to me.

The problem with that pick is visually and figure wise that race came up unbearably slow. For a juvy filly fig winner it is probably 10-15 Beyer points off par for the race.

I'm not assuming anything. In watching the race the horse was wide in the turn (5-6 path) and lost by mere inches.

I wasn't commenting on the speed of the race or figures....Just watching the race one can't help but wonder if he would have been able to nail MMM if he had only be three wide.

I think I get your point but you're attacking an argument I never really made.

Trakus is very useful. I was simply pointing out the ways it can be misinterpreted. You made no argument, I wasn't being critical. :)

Thanks...Sorry I misread your comments.

Funny thing about this board and the game we enjoy is that the entire thing is based on opinions and then we're all a little defensive with the slightest challenge....

Carry on...

Lovers of horse racing tend to be opinionated...it is what it is. What we lack in social graces we make up for in honesty.

I'll take this to mean you'll be against Ria Antonia when she attempts to take on the colts as was reported after the race...owner said goal was first SATURDAY in may. :rolleyes:

Worth noting that I read where Englehart wanted to take the POS path to May.

Either owner or trainer aren't on the same page or someone needs to let them know that the POS route won't get them into the derby.

Maybe she improves a lot between now and then...who knows. Happy for the connections, but doesn't change that the race was unimpressive.

I'm assuming Englehart will layout potential plans on ATR which I haven't listened to yet...

Ria Antonia is far more likely to never win any race again than she is to earn a single qualifying point for the Derby.

:D

there ya go, first name only again..... :p

wider path might be 'better' but it's also longer.

Strong Mandate was pretty damn good in defeat.