War Pass out with fracture

[whodey17]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

What a day for the naysayers?

At what point would you have made a decision differently from what Zito did? It's clear your distaste for Zito blinds you to reality, but where did he make a mistake? The horse's 2YO campaign was perfectly laid out. He brought him back in an easy spot. He ran poorly at Tampa but came out of it OK, then he did what any logical trainer would have, he ran him in the Wood Memorial.

It's perfectly OK to have preferences for some trainer over others and while I'm pissing in the wind even replying to you, why don't you take the blinkers off for a second and realize that injuries happen to horses, even to ones that are being handled with care.

NT

To be fair to Zito, he has done some good training jobs. War Pass was not completely 100% healthy for the Tampa Bay Derby. Then he puts the horse in a spot (The Wood) knowing that it was highly unlikely he would get the distance. Then the horse goes out there and runs blazing fractions in the Wood. I think it is up to the trainer to know what type of horse he/she has (this mistake happens all the time). Zito should have known War Pass was a horse that was better at distances between 7 furlongs and 1 1/16 miles. Some believe the plan was good for War Pass. But the plan didn't work. Some people on this board believe that when a plan doesn't work then the horse was mismanaged. For me, I think the plan for War Pass should have been a plan that included the Preakness instead of the Derby if you wanted to run in a Triple Crown race. However, he should have been pointed to the Met Mile.

[TheSpyder]

You seem to have good insight. I'm just wondering if you posted this view prior to WP getting injured.

Spyder

Originally Posted by whodey17

To be fair to Zito, he has done some good training jobs. War Pass was not completely 100% healthy for the Tampa Bay Derby. Then he puts the horse in a spot (The Wood) knowing that it was highly unlikely he would get the distance. Then the horse goes out there and runs blazing fractions in the Wood. I think it is up to the trainer to know what type of horse he/she has (this mistake happens all the time). Zito should have known War Pass was a horse that was better at distances between 7 furlongs and 1 1/16 miles. Some believe the plan was good for War Pass. But the plan didn't work. Some people on this board believe that when a plan doesn't work then the horse was mismanaged. For me, I think the plan for War Pass should have been a plan that included the Preakness instead of the Derby if you wanted to run in a Triple Crown race. However, he should have been pointed to the Met Mile.

[whodey17]

Originally Posted by TheSpyder

You seem to have good insight. I'm just wondering if you posted this view prior to WP getting injured.

Spyder

I believe I stated several times that War Pass had distance limitations. I put him in my Derby top 5 because someone would have to pass him and all these horses are pretty bad (see War Emblem). So why not take a shot with a horse that was going to be 15-1 or more who at least will be on or very very near the lead. I didn't post a plan for him because no one asked me.

Originally Posted by whodey17

To be fair to Zito, he has done some good training jobs. War Pass was not completely 100% healthy for the Tampa Bay Derby. Then he puts the horse in a spot (The Wood) knowing that it was highly unlikely he would get the distance. Then the horse goes out there and runs blazing fractions in the Wood. I think it is up to the trainer to know what type of horse he/she has (this mistake happens all the time). Zito should have known War Pass was a horse that was better at distances between 7 furlongs and 1 1/16 miles. Some believe the plan was good for War Pass. But the plan didn't work. Some people on this board believe that when a plan doesn't work then the horse was mismanaged. For me, I think the plan for War Pass should have been a plan that included the Preakness instead of the Derby if you wanted to run in a Triple Crown race. However, he should have been pointed to the Met Mile.

Usually owners call the shots with Derby horses, not trainers. They were smart to do what they did. He always had a small shot if the track came up sloppy. If they didn't try and it rained that day they would never forgive themselves.

Zito already has an older horse that is targeting the Met Mile and there is no reason to run 3yr olds against older horses that early in the year.

[whodey17]

Originally Posted by Benevolus

Usually owners call the shots with Derby horses, not trainers. They were smart to do what they did. He always had a small shot if the track came up sloppy. If they didn't try and it rained that day they would never forgive themselves.

Zito already has an older horse that is targeting the Met Mile and there is no reason to run 3yr olds against older horses that early in the year.

I would normally agree with your statement that owners call the shots. But LaPenta values Zito's opinion greatly and I am sure Zito could have talked him out of running War Pass in the Derby. I would say the blame should be shared between the two of them. And if Zito has a horse already being pointed to the Met Mile, then run War Pass in the Preakness. Heck, they have Cool Coal Man for the Derby. If Cool Coal Man wins the Derby then they have two for the Preakness. If CCM doesnt win the Derby, then you have War Pass for the Preakness and CCM for the Belmont with a 5 week layoff.

all-all-4-all.

3 out of 4.