7/10 (HOL): Hollywood Gold Cup & Triple Bend H. (G1's)

[the_fat_man]

Would love to have seen the, POTENTIAL, Horse of the Year, Quality Road, entered in this race. Shouldn't the, presently, BEST DIRT HORSE in training be able to handle a bunch of turfers and POLY lovers? Why are they forcing the poor horse to run exclusively on dirt? Ship him across the country. Put him on another surface so we can see how a superior horse runs.

[cmorioles]

Yeah, that makes sense, ship a superior dirt horse across the country to run against poly and turf lovers on polyturf. Great plan. As an aside, I don't think Rail Trip is winning that race.

[the_fat_man]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

Yeah, that makes sense, ship a superior dirt horse across the country to run against poly and turf lovers on polyturf. Great plan.

In other words, he falls flat on his face on a non speed favoring surface.

[cmorioles]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

In other words, he falls flat on his face on a non speed favoring surface.

I don't think it has anything to do with speed favoring. It is a distinctly DIFFERENT surface. I wouldn't expect him to win if she shipped to Europe to run in a G1 turf race either.

[the_fat_man]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

I don't think it has anything to do with speed favoring. It is a distinctly DIFFERENT surface. I wouldn't expect him to win if she shipped to Europe to run in a G1 turf race either.

I think it has EVERYTHING to do with speed favoring when it comes to him. That's my point.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

As an aside, I don't think Rail Trip is winning that race.

What's your reasoning behind this?

[cmorioles]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

What's your reasoning behind this?

I haven't been that blown away by his races this year, and I don't think 10f is his best distance either. The track is not playing to his style like it was last year also, in my opinion.

[cmorioles]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

Yeah, that makes sense, ship a superior dirt horse across the country to run against poly and turf lovers on polyturf. Great plan. As an aside, I don't think Rail Trip is winning that race.

I'm just saying...

[hockey2315]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

I'm just saying...

You're not really taking credit for that - are you?

[cmorioles]

Originally Posted by hockey2315

You're not really taking credit for that - are you?

I said it early in the thread and I was right...he was 2 to 5. Am I supposed to recant?

[hockey2315]

I know you did. . . Congratulations. He also lost about 10 lengths on the winner trip wise who, as far as I can see, you didn't say you liked anywhere.

[cmorioles]

That is fair, but the race is posted on my site as the race of the week. However, I'm not here to advertise so you'll have to take my word for it. Awesome Gem has been consistently faster than Rail Trip.

As for the losing lengths, I think that is a dubious excuse at best given the race set up. Even so, knowing he was being overrated by many, I was pretty sure he would get an overconfident ride.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

Would love to have seen the, POTENTIAL, Horse of the Year, Quality Road, entered in this race. Shouldn't the, presently, BEST DIRT HORSE in training be able to handle a bunch of turfers and POLY lovers? Why are they forcing the poor horse to run exclusively on dirt? Ship him across the country. Put him on another surface so we can see how a superior horse runs.

Wouldn't it have been easier for the greatest synthetic horse of all time to just pop out of her stall and beat these horses? It's not like it would have been much of a ship.

NT

[the_fat_man]

Now, NTamm, is the preeminent back handed Z supporter online presently. He never misses a chance to bring Z into just about ANY argument, negatively, while insisting that he appreciates her ability.

Way to go, Nick.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

Now, NTamm, is the preeminent back handed Z supporter online presently. He never misses a chance to bring Z into just about ANY argument, negatively, while insisting that he appreciates her ability.

Way to go, Nick.

Appreciating her ability and thinking her connections are putting her through a worthless campaign are not mutually exclusive.

You don't have a sound reason for her not running here though, right?

NT

[the_fat_man]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Appreciating her ability and thinking her connections are putting her through a worthless campaign are not mutually exclusive.

You don't have a sound reason for her not running here though, right?

NT

I do. They gain NOTHING by running her in that spot, assuming they're objective for coming back was Horse of the Year. They started the year with a two pronged path:

1) Beat the reigning Horse of the Year in OP
and/or
2 Win the Classic again

Since 1 fell through, circumstances beyond their control, they're left with 2.
Explain to me how beating Rail Trip or Richard's Kid helps her?

If she doesn't win the classic, she's not HOTY. If she doesn't do the Classic and wins the GC, she's not HOTY. See a pattern?

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

I do. They gain NOTHING by running her in that spot, assuming they're objective for coming back was Horse of the Year. They started the year with a two pronged path:

1) Beat the reigning Horse of the Year in OP
and/or
2 Win the Classic again

Since 1 fell through, circumstances beyond their control, they're left with 2.
Explain to me how beating Rail Trip or Richard's Kid helps her?

If she doesn't win the classic, she's not HOTY. If she doesn't do the Classic and wins the GC, she's not HOTY. See a pattern?

So you've bought into the whole "Classic or die" mantra that the Moss/Shirreffs/Zenyatta gang has propagated now. I would have thought that someone with the appreciation of racing you have would recognize that a campaign pointed towards one race doesn't necessarily have to include the easiest stops along the way. When dealing with a seemingly great horse, why take the easy road with 6-7 week (or more) breaks? I blame Pletcher as much as anyone for doing it too.

I can tell you this much, if she was running in races like the GC and Pacific Classic and winning them, a 2nd place finish in the BCC with an upset from a new shooter would still equal a HOTY. You still have to try to build a resume to some extent. One that goes a bit beyond the Vanity and Hirsch IMO.

NT

[the_fat_man]

So, your argument, now, is that a 6 year old mare needs to put in her most ambitious year of racing to date, then, turn in a good showing in the GC, to get HOTY. If she were my horse and I had your option on #2 above, I'd go with #2 every time. I'm pretty sure, under those circumstances, you'd go for #2 as well. This horse has done enough, IMO. Keep her fit and try dirt at CD.

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

I do. They gain NOTHING by running her in that spot, assuming they're objective for coming back was Horse of the Year. They started the year with a two pronged path:

1) Beat the reigning Horse of the Year in OP
and/or
2 Win the Classic again

Since 1 fell through, circumstances beyond their control, they're left with 2.
Explain to me how beating Rail Trip or Richard's Kid helps her?

If she doesn't win the classic, she's not HOTY. If she doesn't do the Classic and wins the GC, she's not HOTY. See a pattern?

This is complete crap. Quality Road is light years ahead of Zenyatta at this point, and that gap only gets bigger and bigger after he wins the Whitney and Woodward. If she were the favorite for HOY at this point, your argument would make some sense, but she's not. She already has significant ground to make up, and we're only halfway through the year. Unless QR slips up considerably, a Classic win alone won't cut it.

[Danzig]

i agree, quality road is the top of the heap....

and this ought to fan some flames:

http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse...21/worldclass/


charts for top horses at the bottom of the page.