YEA, It's DERBY WEEK, all Contest Extras & Banter go here . . .

[DonGuido]

Originally Posted by JolyB

Todd Pletcher must be relieved, since the past two years one of his entrants had drawn the dreaded 1 post. I think that 15 for Forte is perfectly acceptable. As a fan of Tapit Trice, I would have been happier if he had drawn a bit further out. He is a beautiful horse and very strong, but hasn't always gotten out of the gate smoothly. If that happens out of gate 5, he could be buried by the pack as they reach the first turn and would need to work his way to the outside of horses. He seems to lumber along and will undoubtedly be passing lots of tired horses, but he doesn't seem to have the acceleration to deal with getting blocked and having to get back to cruising speed.

Good stuff on TT, JB. I like him too but . . . as you said he needs a good clean break out of the gate. On the other hand I think Forte has the stuff to win from anywhere if he's on that day and runs his usual race.

[cal828]

If Derma Sotogate wins he will have to overcome history in a couple of ways. No horse has ever won from the 17 post and no horse from the UAE Derby has ever even hit the board. Not sure that means much. The Derby over the years has had several taboos, if you will. I remember when it was said that Funnycide couldn't win because he was a New York bred and Street Sense because he was the BC Juvenile champion.

If there are any more scratches, don't mind that as long as they are not under the same circumstances as the last one. Painful to even think about that.

Even though Forte didn't in some respects look as good in the Florida Derby, I was impressed. He gets great extension when he gets going and hopefully the added distance will help him. On the other hand, the Florida Derby was fast early and hard to ferret out how fast this Derby will go. No pace figs on Derma S. and there don't appear to be a whole lot of others that will want to set the pace.

[RUFFIAN]

CAL CHIRPS
“ If there are any more scratches, don't mind that “
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I HOPE WITH ALL MY MISCHIEF LOVIN HEART
THERE IS ONE MORE SCRATCH SO HE GETS IN

[cal828]

Originally Posted by RUFFIAN

CAL CHIRPS
“ If there are any more scratches, don't mind that “
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


I HOPE WITH ALL MY MISCHIEF LOVIN HEART
THERE IS ONE MORE SCRATCH SO HE GETS IN

Fine with me. Just don't want anymore horses breaking down so that others can get in.

[DonGuido]

Thanks y'all for the idle banter . . . errrr I mean Ideal Banter. Keep it going and I'm sure others in our group can chime in with some insight or hopes and dreams. Some idle banter is OK too.

[RUFFIAN]

CAL

“ Fine with me.
Just don't want anymore horses breaking down so that others can get in.”

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~~~~~ OMG
SURELY YOU DID NOT BELIEVE I MEANT BREAKDOWN
HORSES SCRATCH OUT FOR VARIOUS REASONS

[JolyB]

Don Guido, I know that the track choice is one of our mandatories this week, but have you given any thought to which races should be on our race card?

Churchill Downs has a very full card for Derby Day. They commence at 10:30 AM and don't finish until 8:30 PM. The 14 race card suggests numerous trips to the ATM during the course of the afternoon.

I wonder whether something less than the full card might be welcomed by many of our players and by our scorers. The final two races appear to be designed mostly to keep some fans at the track while the vast majority head for the exits after the trophy for the Derby has been presented. Alternatively, some might be less than enthused about the first couple of races. Fortunately, the stakes races on the undercard are as good as you will find anywhere.

Could you please give us some guidance so we may sharpen our pencils as get to work on what should be a great day of racing.

[JolyB]

Originally Posted by cal828

If Derma Sotogate wins he will have to overcome history in a couple of ways. No horse has ever won from the 17 post and no horse from the UAE Derby has ever even hit the board. Not sure that means much. The Derby over the years has had several taboos, if you will. I remember when it was said that Funnycide couldn't win because he was a New York bred and Street Sense because he was the BC Juvenile champion.

If there are any more scratches, don't mind that as long as they are not under the same circumstances as the last one. Painful to even think about that.

Even though Forte didn't in some respects look as good in the Florida Derby, I was impressed. He gets great extension when he gets going and hopefully the added distance will help him. On the other hand, the Florida Derby was fast early and hard to ferret out how fast this Derby will go. No pace figs on Derma S. and there don't appear to be a whole lot of others that will want to set the pace.

I suggest that Derma Sotogake might have one more obstacle to overcome. In the UAE Derby he was very comfortable setting and controlling the pace. I don't know if that has been his running style in his other races, but if he wants to be on or near the lead, Lemaire will need to use him a lot to establish a lead position from post 17. He is a world class rider who knows his horse, so it will be interesting to see how he handles this issue.

[cal828]

Originally Posted by JolyB

I suggest that Derma Sotogake might have one more obstacle to overcome. In the UAE Derby he was very comfortable setting and controlling the pace. I don't know if that has been his running style in his other races, but if he wants to be on or near the lead, Lemaire will need to use him a lot to establish a lead position from post 17. He is a world class rider who knows his horse, so it will be interesting to see how he handles this issue.

Not sure where I saw it, but I think I read that he did not have the lead in any of his other races. Somehow, can't imagine that after winning so emphatically in Dubai on the front that they would take that away from him.

[Alli]

Originally Posted by DonGuido

Good stuff on TT, JB. I like him too but . . . as you said he needs a good clean break out of the gate. On the other hand I think Forte has the stuff to win from anywhere if he's on that day and runs his usual race.

I think an outside post will be beneficial to him. We'll see.