Derby Thoughts - Animal Kingdom going forward; Mo

[paulo537]

Originally Posted by Travis Stone

Andy and Eric said on Talking Horses today that this is the type of year where the Triple Crown might be easier versus a year with a more top-heavy/competitive group and I agree.

I'm not saying Animal Kingdom can or will win the Triple Crown, but it's hard to argue with his effort today. Slow pace and all, he won fair and square. What happens if he gets pace? Plus, happy for Graham Motion, who is definitely one of the good guys in racing.

Nehro ran big, he'll be useful down the road too.

And what if - big what if - Uncle Mo were at his best today? Slow pace, tracking it, if not setting it... it's hard to imagine he doesn't open-up in the stretch, and then it's a matter of whether or not gets there first.

For a Derby trail that was frustrating and disappointing, it turned out okay today... but I do hope in the years to come we can return to triple digit preps and performances throughout the early spring.

Great and interesting Derby to me.

- Weather
- Track condition
- Record attendance
- Winner last prepped at Turfway
- Winner never ran on dirt
- Jock/Trainer/Owner get first win
- Fairly clean race without huge excuses. Maybe Nehro moved too soon.

I'd be surprised if we see Uncle Mo anytime soon, if ever. I also think Dialed In will be off a while. His race and work schedule certainly were not very encouraging. He has the look of a colt with some issue they managed best they could.

I don't care much about triple digit figures in preps. What do they mean? Good horses can come from anywhere.

I just wish Brilliant Speed had run at least a little bit.

[Mawhip]

Originally Posted by paulo537

Great and interesting Derby to me.

- Weather
- Track condition
- Record attendance
- Winner last prepped at Turfway
- Winner never ran on dirt
- Jock/Trainer/Owner get first win
- Fairly clean race without huge excuses. Maybe Nehro moved too soon.

I'd be surprised if we see Uncle Mo anytime soon, if ever. I also think Dialed In will be off a while. His race and work schedule certainly were not very encouraging. He has the look of a colt with some issue they managed best they could.

I don't care much about triple digit figures in preps. What do they mean? Good horses can come from anywhere.

I just wish Brilliant Speed had run at least a little bit.

What race were you watching. I would say Brilliant Speed ran a little bit. He got beat 5.25 lengths and was closing. He certainly outran his odds.

[PatCummings]

I thought I had heard Flay say Animal Kingdom would win the Triple Crown, but couldn't find confirmation...so if someone says it was for sure Soldat, so be it.

I did like his general logic, however, that because of the general lack of uber-quality, it might be easier to pull it off.

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by PatCummings

I thought I had heard Flay say Animal Kingdom would win the Triple Crown, but couldn't find confirmation...so if someone says it was for sure Soldat, so be it.

I did like his general logic, however, that because of the general lack of uber-quality, it might be easier to pull it off.

Yeah, I heard the interview on Versus where he said Soldat would win the Triple Crown...guess he knows as much as the rest of us.

[Left Bank]

Mike Battaglia picked Animal Kingdom to win the Derby!

[slotdirt]

Originally Posted by Left Bank

Mike Battaglia picked Animal Kingdom to win the Derby!

That says a lot.

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by pba1817

I saw that on NBC as well... the guy who makes the Derby ML picked a horse who he listed at 30-1...?

Nice line..

Again, his job is to project probable odds based on the public's betting not his views.