3/3 (TP): John Battaglia Memorial S.
 

10th (5:31) John Battaglia Memorial S.

1 1/16 Miles (All Weather Track) | Open | 3 Year Olds Stakes | Purse: $75,000

1 Dynamical Martinez L J Jr 118 LA
2 Ill Conceived Elliott S 118 LA
3 Phantom Fury Prescott R 118 LA
4 State of Play Lebron V 124 LA
5 Posey Rose Pedroza M 118 L
6 Mr. Prankster McKee J 124 LA

Maker yesterday said he's crossing off the Battaglia fiasco with Mr. Prankster and moving forward. Spiral or Rushaway. Sounded like he wasn't too happy with McKee's decision-making Saturday..

Motion pleased with State of Play and looking to Transylvanian, possibly Blue Grass..

It's his own fault, he refuses to give these pinheads pre-race instructions.
He claims, 'they are going to do what they want to anyway.'

The Team Valor steed added "adjunct" medication which obviously enhanced his performance. I'm sure Barry will not mention this little tidbit when espousing the virtues of the win despite claiming that US stakes winners running on medication are laughed at throughout the world.

:tro:

If he espouses the virtues of this particular win wouldn't that be ridiculous enough?

:tro:

I'm impressed with the severity of Derby fever that the Team Valor-Motion juggernaut has developed. They have 3 or 4 prospects that are predictably targeting polytrack and turf races as a way into the Kentucky Derby. Yeah, they really discovered the proper winning formula last year with that ridiculous route. Just insert Euro-raced or -bred horse and press "go".

If anything, Animal Kingdom won the Derby in spite of their clueless handling. Who knows how much more accomplished he would have been had he campaigned in a more traditional manner. Probably would have actually deserved the Eclipse award at the very least.

The worst symptom, as you suggest, is their continued insistence that State Of Play is a viable contender. I like the excuse for the Sam F. Davis: "He fizzled on dirt at Tampa, but that is an unusual surface and he warrants at least some breezes over a conventional dirt track." Sure he does, Barry, but not until he makes enough Derby cash to secure a spot in the starting gate, right?

It was as impressive a race as a grass horse beating a Philly Park horse while trouncing some Turfway horses and a GP maiden on a synthetic track could be expected to be. In other words he is screwed now that he no longer has the nw2x condition.

I was going to post something similar to this. Simply because they were successful in putting a square peg into a round hole once, they're going to keep trying.

State of Play showed all the signs of developing into a nice turf horse by the end of the Saratoga meet, but he was then put in the BC Juvenile Turf after missing training because of an illness. His 2012 comeback was on dirt (?) and now he's taking the synthetic route to a potential Derby start. Let's hope they get him back to turf as soon as possible.

There's really not enough money here for that.

The St. James Palace perhaps?

Little did you know when they crossed the wire in the With Anticipation that the exacta was two of the most mis-managed horses of the coming year.

Doubtful. Stephanie's Kitten is already penciled in for a start in the Coronation Stakes.

What's the odds that NA-based runners take down two prestigious events at this year's Ascot meeting? Especially if Wesley Ward trains neither?

Of course, State Of Play's best race was his debut, so a matchup with Black Caviar isn't so far fetched, I suppose.

What does Dullahan have to do to make it on that list?

Stay in Dale Romans' shedrow, probably.

JHC, I forgot he was 3rd. Mind boggling.

Optimizer is by far the greatest example, as he has repeatedly proven that he can't run on dirt. At least one shot was all State of Play was given. You look at horses like Optimizer, then look at a couple of day's worth of Oaklawn PPs, and you can begin to understand how D. Wayne is 0 for his last 102 in graded stakes races.

At least in Stephanie's Kitten's case, she can win the Ashland, and really only miss the Sands Point ( I guess American Oaks but were they really going to ship? ).

Dullahan did win the Breeders Futurity. He'll also probably win the Blue Grass. Tough to knock Dale for running him in the Derby after that given doing the same with Paddy O'Prado facilitated him becoming a stallion.

I think Dullahan is starting on turf before the Blue Grass. Anyways, despite his overall success, I think Paddy O'Prado's campaign was pretty much botched by taking a shot in the BC Classic rather than the Turf. They had to realize by November that the results of the Kentucky Derby were an utter fluke.

I shouldn't really knock Romans too much, though, since his horses don't miss too many dances.

He's running in the Palm Beach at Gulfstream on Sunday.