The synopsis of the post-Derby mahem was frank, honest and extremely detailed.
Some thoughts:
Archarcharch looks like he is going to be fine. The hairline was "a clean break" and he is ready to undergo surgery. I really like that horse and when you read the story and how disappointed the connections are it truly shows how you can be on top of the world one day and at the bottom the next in our sport. That horse is as game as they come.
Often times as bettors we strike out a horse off a poor effort because of some preconceived notion like distance limits or bad rides (or whatever it is we make up to fit our handicapping view). A lot of times we are off base. Pants on Fire bled pretty bad in the Derby and looks to be a no-show for the Preakness. “We’ll take him back home to a big old fluffy stall and see how he is in a couple of days.” Great quote.
Speaking of the Preakness there are a couple of horses for shooters, which should make the task very difficult for Animal Kingdom. Dutrow's horse has talent, Sway Away (I think) is a top three year old and Dance City, who raced so well near the speed in the Arkansas Derby, have booked flights. This will be one heckava horse race, and in my opinion, much better than the Derby was for bettors with an opinion.
Master of Hounds, who I agree looks like a great addition for the Belmont, was "bright as a button" today.
Zito's comments on Dialed In were good, I thought. Originally it looked to me he did not fire, because he was being asked at the three quarters without a real surge, but looking at the replay he closed fairly well. A lot of folks thought he was not a 10f horse, but I think the Derby erased those questions. If the half was 46.3 I am pretty sure that he would have been right there. I am not sure if y'all agree.
We need a Dialed In caption contest for Jessica's pic of him after the Derby. I'd go with "Nick, what the hell did you just put me through?"
I am a bit curious on Soldat. I am not a huge fan, but I think he'll show something later on. I think he was not right at GP and perhaps just did not like the going at CD. There is nothing wrong with him. “He had a perfect trip, but just wasn’t good enough yesterday. He came back fine and scoped clean last night.”
Quote of the day for me from trainer Kathleen O'Connell, who saddled a well beaten Watch Me Go:
- Although disappointed with the fate of her Tampa Bay Derby (GII) winner, O’Connell was able to put things into perspective Saturday night. “My only consolation was: I felt so bad, so depressed leaving here, and then I drove by Mr. Jinks’ barn and thought ‘I should be ashamed the way I was feeling the way I did,’ ” said O’Connell, referring to Jinks Fires, whose Derby starter, Archarcharch, suffered a leg injury. “Here his horse was coming back in an ambulance, that’s about as devastating as you can get.”
That's the kind of class and perspective we had in a different age in racing. We need more of it.
Have a great Sunday everyone.
2 comments:
So I was disappointed with Dialed In's performance and a) the replay clearly showed he hated having dirt in his face at the back there, bad positioning, but b) he ran the fastest last 1/2 mile of the race, as far as I've seen, and c) equaled AK's fastest last 2 furlongs. His closing was impressive. I still feel he has a ton of heart and guts (his maiden showed that). He did fire. He just did so from an untenable position.
I haven't really heard anyone giving Johnny V many props. He put his horse in a position to win and did not make any glaring mistakes on the way to the winner's circle. That's the name of the game.
Dialed In had no chance from dead last. Between the Dubai World Cup and the Kentucky Derby, I am amazed as how few jockeys seem to have any sense of pace anymore, especially on the biggest stages of all.
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