Eight Belles

[horseofcourse]

Originally Posted by The Bid

On the overhead you can see the filly duck down to the rail even though he was lefty sticking her.

Im sure Dutrow was lost in the moment and hes not the most humble guy to begin with. Hard to fault him for being overjoyed, and certainly very sad to see such a nice filly give all she had and pay the ultimate price.

On the fillys behalf she was gaining at the end and didnt have a very good trip. Had she been given a clean run instead of the hard steady off heels I feel she may have been very close at the end.

Ducking to the rail was the filly's calling card...she did it continually...even in her works. I actually remember Steve calling attention to it after the Fantasy Stakes and calling her a toss even in the Oaks with that being one of the reasons. I thought Saez gave her an ok ride...not perfect, but I don't think she could beat Big Brown under any circumstance. Incredibly talented filly who I thought could win and I really liked. Quite unfortunate to happen on this stage and somewhat mar Big Brown's superb performance.

[The Bid]

What she did in the Derby inside the 8th was different than what she had done before. Espcially with the way she was being ridden. Im assuming she probably wasnt comfortable, its ashame he didnt get her pulled up sooner.

[horseofcourse]

Originally Posted by The Bid

What she did in the Derby inside the 8th was different than what she had done before. Espcially with the way she was being ridden. Im assuming she probably wasnt comfortable, its ashame he didnt get her pulled up sooner.

I don't remember...you may be correct on her last 8th. But even in her last work...Saez pulled out the whip with his left hand just in case...she was on top of the rail. I'm not going to second guess the jock at this time. He is quite young however.