tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post4852892090516530420..comments2024-03-05T05:38:22.024-05:00Comments on Left at the Gate: Odds and EndsAlan Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12570505944559196118noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-40776311323186813872011-03-10T11:47:51.550-05:002011-03-10T11:47:51.550-05:00The San Felipe is gonna be a great race this year....The San Felipe is gonna be a great race this year. Many talented sorts, early developers, late developers, fast fucking horses and great pedigrees too. I'm very excited, but it looks like a tough spot for Albergatti.<br /><br />DirtyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-90603753886611117282011-03-09T21:00:28.778-05:002011-03-09T21:00:28.778-05:00Anyone ever hear of RTN - Racetrack Television Net...Anyone ever hear of RTN - Racetrack Television Network? Just got an offer from Dish Net to add it (a mere $50/month), and get 50 channels of live race feeds from tracks around the country. It names Woodbine, Meadowlands, Hawthorne, Santa Anita, Balmoral, and GP on the ad - no NYRA.steve in nchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04061356872686618093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-85490587098477925052011-03-09T18:50:48.525-05:002011-03-09T18:50:48.525-05:00Hey Alan what is wrong with the colorful character...Hey Alan what is wrong with the colorful character's from OTB. You seem to be a colorful character yourself. You will fit in perfect with the OTB crowd.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-63901910732303346632011-03-09T13:24:22.448-05:002011-03-09T13:24:22.448-05:00This is a much better 3yo crop than Big Brown'...This is a much better 3yo crop than Big Brown's, no comparision.<br /><br />Stay Thirsty, Brethren, The Factor?, Dialed In, To Honor and Serve (every right to bounce back), even Dutrows horse, deep and talented group.Figlessnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-13130639705746693012011-03-09T09:39:10.693-05:002011-03-09T09:39:10.693-05:00Mo hasn't run in 4 months. The fact that Plet...Mo hasn't run in 4 months. The fact that Pletcher has waited this long with him is somewhat of a troubling sign. I understand the path to the Derby has changed dramatically in the past 15 years and it's possible Pletcher knows he has the goods and just wants to keep the horse sound and in one piece. But jeesh, it's less than two months to the Derby and the horse has yet to make his 3yo debut. Who knows if that massive effort in the BC knocked him out. Two year olds that run such a fast number very often can never run back to it. Also, Uncle Mo's sire ran out of juice after running a sizzling SA Derby. And he never ran again after the Ky Derby. <br /><br />Uncle Mo could be a superstar, but I'd say he's a bet-against this coming Saturday and probably a bet-against eight saturdays after that. And picking the Derby winner right now is silly, though if you do, more power to ya. -jpAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-75312660011323891152011-03-08T22:42:00.979-05:002011-03-08T22:42:00.979-05:00Thoroughbred ranks are so thin that you can accura...Thoroughbred ranks are so thin that you can accurately dis almost any horse and/or race with the "who did he beat" or "what did they do after" line of reasoning.<br /><br />That's why the speed figures and the pattern of them matters more to me than the rest. I'm not trying to handicap who will end up in the Hall of Fame, just who will win the race in question.<br /><br />Mo has been running unreal figures, and if he keeps it up, it won't matter in the Derby how few run against him in his preps. If he runs a mediocre figure in preps, regardless of how many he wins by, I'll be happy to jump off his bandwagon.<br /><br />Given Pletcher's success, I'm not abaout to question what he's doing with the horse.steve in nchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04061356872686618093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-27733893438662120072011-03-08T22:11:50.107-05:002011-03-08T22:11:50.107-05:00Dialed In will run them all down.Dialed In will run them all down.Voy-technoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-88964648724195612292011-03-08T16:14:13.316-05:002011-03-08T16:14:13.316-05:00To me, the question with Uncle Mo is going to be i...To me, the question with Uncle Mo is going to be if there are any halfway decent horses that can challenge him. That's why Big Brown broke all the rules in 2008, there was no real competition. Take a look at the results chart--the best dirt horses in that field were a bunch of sprinters that had no business running 10 furlongs (Tale of Ekati, Visionaire, Pyro, Gayego). The most successful horses besides Big Brown were Cowboy Cal and Court Vision, who were really turf horses. Just a horrible field all around.<br /><br />So Uncle Mo can be underprepared and untested going into the race. The bottom line is that unless there's a good horse or two that can beat him, it may not matter. So far the only horses we've seen this year that might approach that level of good are Soldat and The Factor.El Angelohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14145024095815950963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-68251983197160921602011-03-08T14:05:13.466-05:002011-03-08T14:05:13.466-05:00Perhaps to a point, but Big Brown did score a high...Perhaps to a point, but Big Brown did score a highly impressive win from the outside post in the Florida Derby, a post from which no horse (or only one horse?) had won from at that distance over a pretty large sample size. That's not quite the same thing as an easy prep in the Wood vs. a tiny field. <br /><br />Some similarities though, for sure. Big Brown made his 3yo debut around one turn (though i think it was originally scheduled for two turns before being rained off the grass), then had only prep thereafter. It should probably be noted however that Big Brown was known to have bad feet, and his light campaign was at least partly by design. Not the case with Uncle Mo, at least as far as we know.DiscreetPickshttp://www.DiscreetPicks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-89026620472065227972011-03-08T11:47:08.560-05:002011-03-08T11:47:08.560-05:00Discreet:
Your points are all true, but wasn'...Discreet:<br /><br />Your points are all true, but wasn't this also true of Big Brown? Who of course faced one of the worst Derby fields ever.El Angelohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14145024095815950963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-9691324290515228262011-03-08T07:49:12.433-05:002011-03-08T07:49:12.433-05:00I thought you made a good point about the configur...I thought you made a good point about the configuration of Aqueduct versus Belmont in regards to hecklers and even the general public at large. It has an interesting set-up. In fact the entire layout is such that after making my way to up Equestris on Saturday, I joked that it almost feels like there is a caste system in place at Aqueduct.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-74008023315433589732011-03-08T01:19:01.169-05:002011-03-08T01:19:01.169-05:00I didn't bet the exacta. I generally stay away...I didn't bet the exacta. I generally stay away from exotics altogether, you know that. <br /><br />Regarding the Uncle Mo scenario that Alan referenced, i think Uncle Mo has the potential to go into the Derby as the worst-prepared raceday favorite i've ever seen. He only ran three times as a juvenile, and he still hasn't made a single 3yo start yet. And when they do finally run him, they're cutting him back to one turn? Potentially followed by a tiny field in the Wood??? <br /><br />Last time i checked, the Derby was still a 1 1/4-mile race with 20 starters, right? And it's not exactly kind to frontrunners, either. I can't find fault with anything that Uncle Mo has ever done on the track, and he does own a big two-turn win @ Churchill Downs in front of a monster crowd (ala Street Sense). And the fact that Stay Thirsty (who had worked heads-up with Uncle Mo in 3 of their last 4 drills) just won the Gotham bodes well also. But the way things are going, it's going to be very hard for me to like Uncle Mo in the Derby. Right now, i think Brethren represents Pletcher's best shot to win, not Uncle Mo. I really wonder what these trainers are thinking sometimes. It seems like they're more concerned with simply getting to the race than they are with winning it.DiscreetPickshttp://www.DiscreetPicks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-56345327821472339232011-03-08T00:43:55.084-05:002011-03-08T00:43:55.084-05:00Thanks Kilograeme.Thanks Kilograeme.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-65627738856766801572011-03-08T00:41:12.225-05:002011-03-08T00:41:12.225-05:00I bet Discreet hit the exacta too. I crushed it (l...I bet Discreet hit the exacta too. I crushed it (look at the payout). Easy money.<br /><br />Dirty.<br /><br />And going back to the previous comments section - I firmly believe Misremembered will win BC classic this year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com