no love for ravel

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by ArlJim78

Ravel deserves to be on Derby watch lists imo. His races have shown a nice progression, he finishes strong, and he runs in a profeesion manner as others have pointed out.

I still like Liquidity better.

[SniperSB23]

Let's see how many weeks it takes Ravel to come back from that race. If he is back in four weeks for the Robert Lewis then I like his chances. If it takes him six or nine weeks to be ready for the San Felipe or Santa Anita Derby then I really hope he has nothing to do with the Triple Crown. For some reason I have a feeling he is going to wind up going to the San Felipe off six weeks rest and then to the Derby off seven weeks rest.

[Travis Stone]

I have a feeling Ravel shoots up the Dispatch Derby Poll later today. I voted him high, I was super impressed.

[Scav]

Has Bandini written all over him, same exact pattern also. Debuted fast, got faster, will win one of the big preps and then poof, runs 14th in the Derby

[KY_Sasquash]

Originally Posted by Scav

Has Bandini written all over him, same exact pattern also. Debuted fast, got faster, will win one of the big preps and then poof, runs 14th in the Derby

Possibly, except Bandini had to run huge in the Bluegrass Stakes to get into the Derby due to a lack of earnings, thus Todd had him cranked up; then he lost his cookies in the post parade in the Derby...........i did think that the 102 beyer was high for the race and I wasnt awed by his race-seem like a good effort, nothing spectacular.

[peddler]

Originally Posted by KY_Sasquash

Possibly, except Bandini had to run huge in the Bluegrass Stakes to get into the Derby due to a lack of earnings, thus Todd had him cranked up; then he lost his cookies in the post parade in the Derby...........i did think that the 102 beyer was high for the race and I wasnt awed by his race-seem like a good effort, nothing spectacular.

Nice point about Bandini needing earnings. Ravels effort was good, but have been tricked by this kind of thing before. WIll be skeptical for time being. Anxiously awaiting return of CP West who I thought was impressive but immature in Futurity last fall, and just read in Haskin article wrenched ankle in BC Juvenile. Maybe a possibility to follow on trail this spring

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Ravel looks like a nice horse.Right now,most people would certainly take him over Liquidity,but I like the versatility,and competitiveness of Liquidity.He is starting to get reliable good position in races.He gives himself a chance.A lot of good horses in the Derby get lost.They just see nothing but horses everywhere.They can't see the leader.They get in tight..etc.etc. Remember,there will probably be 15-20 horses.There is something to be said for a competitive horse who will break well,and be top 4 into the 1st turn.He is getting beat,but I wouldn't rule him out just yet.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Ravel is getting his love.......

[ArlJim78]

Originally Posted by Cajungator26

I still like Liquidity better.

All I said was he should be on watch lists, not that he should be the only one people watch.

If you want my opinion on the comparision between the two, Liquidity has shown less in more starts than Ravel. Ravel handled him in only his third start. Ravel finishes his races stronger than Liquidity.

They're still both relatively lightly raced and things could change down the road perhaps, but for now I give the edge to Ravel.

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by ArlJim78

All I said was he should be on watch lists, not that he should be the only one people watch.

If you want my opinion on the comparision between the two, Liquidity has shown less in more starts than Ravel. Ravel handled him in only his third start. Ravel finishes his races stronger than Liquidity.

They're still both relatively lightly raced and things could change down the road perhaps, but for now I give the edge to Ravel.

I wasn't downing your opinion... just stating that I like Liquidity over Ravel. Liquidity has a nice way of going and he seems to be very consistent. I like that.

[ArlJim78]

Originally Posted by Cajungator26

I wasn't downing your opinion... just stating that I like Liquidity over Ravel. Liquidity has a nice way of going and he seems to be very consistent. I like that.

i know, and i'm not downing your support of Liquidity either. It's too early to have real hard and fast opinions on any of them imo. and i assumed that we are talking about liking them in the sense of the Derby.

consistency may not be the thing to look for right now when considering derby contenders. I actuall look for some forward movement including winning a race or two here or there. Liquidity has found it hard to reach the winners circle since his maiden win. Other than a horse like giacomo, the derby winners usually win a lot, and often by nice margins. Not always but more often than not this is true.

[King Glorious]

I think that in order to be a really top horse, u have to have the ability to "turn it on" at some point in the race and I just don't see that with Ravel. I will be surprised if he's a threat in a race like the Santa Anita Derby and especially in the Kentucky Derby. Of course, he's still got time to develop and could show me something more in his next race but what I've seen so far, I don't see what there really is to like about him.

[lemoncrush]

Steve Haskin's new derby trail article is up, and he has him listed #2, which is a surprise.
Nice horse, and I planned on betting him last weekend, but missed the race.
Still, there wasn't much in that race, other than Liquidity.
It will definitely be a test if they bring him back in the Robert Lewis, as that race should be fairly loaded.

[Hickory Hill Hoff]

#1 on my Derby list, the best runner of this year so far (of the 3yrs.)
let's hope he isn't like Bandini!

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

Not that I think he is the next coming, but I definitely think he is an improving colt. So my question is what exactly you mean by "turning it on." Because the horse has made 3 starts and won two of them. It looked to me like he turned it on in the Sham especially closing into a slow pace.

When I say turning it on, I like to see a horse that has the ability to, at any point in the race, throw in a quarter-mile fraction of around 23 seconds. Watching Ravel, he went in 23.57, 24.69, 24.49, 23.92, 12.24 in that race (approximate fractions). That is just running evenly throughout. Nothing necessarily wrong with that but I like to see a little quicker turn of foot at some point and I didn't see that from him. I didn't see him closing into the pace at all as much as I saw the leaders giving way and Ravel just keeping his pace. I think that's what fools a lot of people into thinking a horse closed when he really didn't. He just didn't lose as much speed as the others that were dropping back faster.

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

Unless I'm reading wrong didn't he throw in 2 23 second quarters in the race? His first and 4th and came home in 12 and 1. Not too bad especially since he was behind Liquidity who is a good horse and ran him down. I don't know, I like him. I think he is an improving colt and I think if he continues to progress will be a factor as the triple crown trail rolls on.

He did have a 23.57 and a 23.92 Those were basically 23 3/5 and 24. I know it's nitpicking but I want to see a little faster. Because of run-up distances, I don't place too much value on opening quarters. And personally, considering how the pace was allowed to run early (I will admit that it's good to see a horse relax when the pace is slow like that), I would have expected a come home 8th in the range of 11 2-3/5. In retrospect, the race wasn't a bad one. There was nothing wrong with his effort. I just didn't see the things that I like to see to have them "jump" at me and get excited about.