5/31 (TDN): Ohio Derby (Gr. II) Smooth Air-102 BSF

[King Glorious]

I think Divine Park is a much better example. I suppose that going into the race, he figured Divine Park and First Defence were both capable of doing the same thing, something that I didn't see before and certainly don't see after. Personally, I'd take the brilliant horse too. If you give me a choice between two horses and say they will run three races each and the average Beyer will be 105, I'd rather have one that will go 105-120-90 than the one that will go 105-105-105.

[The Bid]

Visionaire couldnt get Smooth Air out of a jog, foolish

[arulus]

I like following Smooth Air, just because there are so few horses that there are to follow these days! He's a nice little horse with a solid shot at some Grade III's and Grade II's in the future, and he's outrun his pedigree. Plus, maybe they'll run him longer because he seems less likely to rake in the big bucks at stud. I read they're going to aim him next for the Iowa or West Virginia Derby.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by arulus

I like following Smooth Air, just because there are so few horses that there are to follow these days! He's a nice little horse with a solid shot at some Grade III's and Grade II's in the future, and he's outrun his pedigree. Plus, maybe they'll run him longer because he seems less likely to rake in the big bucks at stud. I read they're going to aim him next for the Iowa or West Virginia Derby.

Ultimate summer target is the Gr. I King's Bishop (7f) ala Hard Spun..

Congratulations to Bennie and Diane Stutts, the entire Burns Family, Manny Cruz, and Idella, Smooth Air's groom... Now a multiple Graded Stakes winner at one and two turns... He's a really neat little horse.

[arulus]

I don't think that anyone is arguing that Smooth Air is a top notch horse. But he's a handy type who happened to be born in a weak crop, and he can do well if put on a strategic campaign. And it's fun to root for him, because the back story is good. I'm tired of Big Brown drama, steriods drama, breakdown drama, trainer drama. I just want to find a couple of cool horses with no controversy surrounding them, and watch them campaign. And, guess what? In a real campaign, sometimes you win, sometimes you get second, sometimes third! I don't mind that. It's bad for the sport if everyone tip toes around and only enters races that they're sure to win. Chances are fun, goals are fun.

Also, I draw a line through Smooth Air's Derby; he got quite a terrible trip, and I thought his finish was actually quite an honest effort. He lost training time due to illness, broke into the air, got bumped around at the started and was heavily checked during the first half of the race, yet still beat about half the field. If all that had not happened, I could see him finishing in the top ten. Maybe even top five, who knows? Sure, it does say something about the weakness of the competition, but it also shows that he really gives an effort each time, and I like that. What was Monba's excuse? Smooth Air is much more likeable than half of the Derby field, like Cowboy Cal, Court Vision, Gayego, etc, who seem to be totally inconsistent and all over the place. And at least he's showed up and raced again and has races set for the future! *yawn* When the hell are Colonel John and Pyro going to surface?

[Bobby Fischer]

tale of ekati is a failed experiment to add a little class to a tale of the cat.

At least smooth air is easy to root for.