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Totally agree on your views about Zen, Aly.
I think he could be something very special and really hope that he is purely for Bob B after Pioneer of the Nile had to be retired before having what would’ve been HIS big chance in the Classic. It’d be great to see Bob pick up another big race like this however I can see him being taken on quite hard for the lead.
He hasnt been running against many class horses, in my opinion, and he is vulnerable to a top class closer. Gayego looks like being the right kind of closer.
I’m worried about Espinoza too. If Victor is staying on board he seems to have hit a bit of a slow patch at Santa. He was 4 from 67 on the course last time I looked (thats under 6% of winners!) whereas Gomez, who I presume will keep the ride on Gayego, has gone the other way and improved as the Cali circuit has moved to Santa Anita.
I was worried about Gomez’s form at Del Mar but he’s firing them in now. A 55% strike rate for a win, place or show speaks for itself. Thats better than both Bejerano and Rosario
Whats your opinion on Girolamo by the way?
I think this one is a superstar in the making. Didnt realise connections were considering the Classic though?
Watched the Jerome this morning HtH.
Poor old Prado had a look behind him entering the straight with plenty of horse beneath him and Girolamo being scrubbed along at his horse’s flank.
The Godolphin horse bluffed him!
Striking sort, cruised along very smartly with the head tucked in. Is he bred to be a miler? Get Lucky was a mile-and-one-sixteenth horse and so was the sister Daydreaming, but interestingly not his brother Accelerator, who could stay a little further.
Very interesting horse. As mentioned I’m out to get Rip Van Winkle beat but without Gitano Hernando in the picture my idea of the winner is largely unknown.
Watched the Jerome this morning HtH.
Poor old Prado had a look behind him entering the straight with plenty of horse beneath him and Girolamo being scrubbed along at his horse’s flank.
The Godolphin horse bluffed him!
Striking sort, cruised along very smartly with the head tucked in. Is he bred to be a miler? Get Lucky was a mile-and-one-sixteenth horse and so was the sister Daydreaming, but interestingly not his brother Accelerator, who could stay a little further.
Very interesting horse. As mentioned I’m out to get Rip Van Winkle beat but without Gitano Hernando in the picture my idea of the winner is largely unknown.
Haha I must admit Kensei did worry me for a minute. I thought Prado had ridden the perfect race only to get caught out.
I was pretty keen on Mastercraftsman before AOB rerouted his priorities to the Dirt Mile. I’d love to see Zenyatta confirmed for the Classic.
It’s pre-entry day today (Wednesday) so we’ll get a clearer picture of who is going for what race by the end of today.
An interesting day for the BC fields
Girolamo confuses me. He has had only six starts in his career. By AP Indy out of a Mr. Prospector mare, he could get the distance. He showed flashes of brilliance in the Jerome but he didn’t really beat anyone significant. Kensei finished third to him and he is a grade two winner at best. The second horse was making up some ground in the end and I would have to say he’s biting off more than he can chew in the Classic. I would have opted for the dirt mile if I had him. Plus the Jerome was a one turn mile as opposed to a two turn mile and a quarter for the Classic. Honestly, I would not choose him to win. I think he will get some play but I would steer clear. The Jerome was impressive yes, but he didn’t beat much.
The pre entries are up. Two more added to the Classic field. Chocolate Candy and Twice Over.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/pdf/2009BreedersCupPreEntries.pdf
It appears that Zenyatta will challenge the colts in the BC Classic.
RP online reported on Saturday that after an ultra-impressive workout at Hollywood Park, connections were seriously considering the race.
She went six furlongs in 1min 11.20sec under regular rider Mike Smith and galloped out the mile in 1min 39sec.
Her time was more than a full second faster than the second-best time recorded on the morning.
John Shirreffs (trainer) said "If she was running in the Distaff we could have coasted in with a couple of maintainance works. We needed to be more aggressive in case we go the other way."
What a race it promises to be.
I really hope John S does keep the Classic as her number one choice.
Last year we went into the Classic with Curlin as the main attraction and a reasonably substandard field in all honesty. This year we have The Z Monster, two Triple Crown race winners and a massive representation from Europe. It’s going to be a great race.
I’m still reasonably suprised Girolamo is in for the Classic. Cannot work that one out.
Similarly I cant work out why Interactif is 4/1 on the DRF books for the Juvenile Turf!
My main fancy for the BC (particularly place/show) is
Gladiatorus
in the Mile. Think he’s going to run huge.
I’m also very keen to oppose
Mastercraftsman
in the Dirt Mlle. I think he’s had enough racing for the season and I don’t think he’ll be quick enough. No idea who I will bet against him but will start to have a good look. He’d be my lay of the meeting anyway.
I would have preferred Gladiatorus in the Dirt Mile HH – just reckon he might burn out on the speed in the Mile and perhaps play a kamikaze role to knock out Goldikova, with Delegator flying down the outside!
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My main fancy for the BC (particularly place/show) is
Gladiatorus
in the Mile. Think he’s going to run huge.
I’m also very keen to oppose
Mastercraftsman
in the Dirt Mlle. I think he’s had enough racing for the season and I don’t think he’ll be quick enough. No idea who I will bet against him but will start to have a good look. He’d be my lay of the meeting anyway.
Gladiatorus certainly looked something like his old self when winning in Italy and the way some of these Godolphin horses all of a sudden improve would have to have me agreeing with you. However Frankie rides Delegator and in truth he has the much better form in the UK as does Godikova. Be very disappointing if one of the 3 can’t win it.
Can’t agree on Mastercraftsman though. He’s not a flashy looking individual like Rip Van Winkle and he gives you the impression he’s not going very fast but make no mistake he can motor with the best of them. He had one helluva tough race at York when he went too fast for his own good in an attempt to burn out Sea the Stars. The ground, distance and the fact there was less than 3 weeks between York and L/stown did him no favours. However he’s had a good rest if you consider Dundalk was no more than an excersise gallop to see how he reacted doubt if he’s over the top.
I wouldn’t touch the 2’s AP as I reckon he’ll be a much bigger price on the day as the yanks will look at the form and see him as one of AOB’s lesser challengers.
It could be a very open market on the day and if you can get anything remotely near evens on Betfair (place only) he’s be buying money IMO."As for the Turf itself, I do like Spanish Moon (as I said) but I’ll be even more confident if he gets a low draw. I think it’s very important to get a low draw the way the turf course is riding this year even though the race is over 1m4.
Nothing has won from anything other than the lowest 2 stalls on the turf over 1m2 or 1m4 so far this year."
HtH, That is an amazing statistic – to save me checking though – how any races have been run over more than a mile on the Turf as SA this year.?
Could definitely be worth waiting on the draw before committing in the Turf and the Marathon. Although I have already backed Conduit but could increase the stake..
Some interesting info in this thread that I have struggled to obtain elsewhere (although I go to a few of the big meetings, I am more of a football punter and do not study the horses as closely as I should). Corals are offering 6/1 on California Flag and based on your comments, I should get a run for my money at that price.
I’ve taken Ladbrokes’ 6/1 Zenyatta. Just too big to resist. I am sure RVW is a better horse than her and if I thought he would run to his Eclipse/Sussex form then I wouldn’t look to oppose him. But AOB’s record with horses at this time of the year is enough to make me oppose him.
"As for the Turf itself, I do like Spanish Moon (as I said) but I’ll be even more confident if he gets a low draw. I think it’s very important to get a low draw the way the turf course is riding this year even though the race is over 1m4.
Nothing has won from anything other than the lowest 2 stalls on the turf over 1m2 or 1m4 so far this year."
HtH, That is an amazing statistic – to save me checking though – how any races have been run over more than a mile on the Turf as SA this year.?
Could definitely be worth waiting on the draw before committing in the Turf and the Marathon. Although I have already backed Conduit but could increase the stake..
Some interesting info in this thread that I have struggled to obtain elsewhere (although I go to a few of the big meetings, I am more of a football punter and do not study the horses as closely as I should). Corals are offering 6/1 on California Flag and based on your comments, I should get a run for my money at that price.
Luther,
You’ll definitely get a run for your money with California Flag. He’s very fast. Cannot work out why he’s drifted to 6/1 – there hasnt been any negative vibes from America about his fitness or workouts as far as I’m aware.
As for the middle-distance draw, I’m a couple of days behind on my stats but on my figures we’ve had 8 so far with varying field sizes. It’s interesting that the low draw has produced double the winners that a middle to high draw has produced in the 1m 16th races too (Theres been 25 races over that distance)
From what I saw today I thought that Einstein look really good and Bickersons who goes in the Juvenile fillies appears to be training well on the track. Saw Lord Shanakill for the first time since he left Britain
Golden Jubilee runner-up Cannonball trained on the Downhill Turf course and didn’t seem to like crossing over the main track-unlike Canadian Ballet.
I’ve taken Ladbrokes’ 6/1 Zenyatta. Just too big to resist. I am sure RVW is a better horse than her and if I thought he would run to his Eclipse/Sussex form then I wouldn’t look to oppose him. But AOB’s record with horses at this time of the year is enough to make me oppose him.
You won’t get anywhere near 6-1 on Zenyatta in the US no matter what race she goes in. Good call. She’s in the biggest race of her life and she’s going to have to leave it all on the table if she goes in the classic. This will be her last race and if they want any shot at Horse Of The Year she has to go in this race. Winning the Filly and Mare Classic would not be enough to beat Rachel Alexandra for the title.
Golden Jubilee runner-up Cannonball trained on the Downhill Turf course and didn’t seem to like crossing over the main track-unlike Canadian Ballet.
That isn’t good. I really like him for that race but if he does that in the afternoon, that will be it. Those horses are too fast for anyone to hesitate.
If you see any of Graham Motion’s horses work let me know how they look Pengamon. He’s got 2 in the Juvinile Fillies Turf. It’ll be interesting to see if Bullsbay will like the going. Cherokee Artist has won on it already.
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