Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 21 to 40 of 60
  1. #21
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    I remember the classic duels between Easy Goer and Sunday Silence. I saw an article that blamed Easy Goer's jockey, Pat Day, for his losses in the Preakness and Breeder's Cup, when he waited too long to challenge Sunday Silence. Especially the Breeder's Cup, where Sunday Silence won by a neck after Easy Goer came charging late. I watched both races yesterday, and this does appear to be the case. In the Belmont, Easy Goer just blew him away. Makes me wonder if the big son of Alydar wasn't the better of the two after all.

  2. #22

    A few Things

    Quote Originally Posted by Devilwin View Post
    I remember the classic duels between Easy Goer and Sunday Silence. I saw an article that blamed Easy Goer's jockey, Pat Day, for his losses in the Preakness and Breeder's Cup, when he waited too long to challenge Sunday Silence. Especially the Breeder's Cup, where Sunday Silence won by a neck after Easy Goer came charging late. I watched both races yesterday, and this does appear to be the case. In the Belmont, Easy Goer just blew him away. Makes me wonder if the big son of Alydar wasn't the better of the two after all.
    A few things. Easy Goer did not look comfortable on the rail. His head was cocked and he was in close quarters. If I recall, he won the Belmont from the outside. The geometry of the Preakness suggested to me that his mind was all about racing at the end.

    Remember I mentioned earlier in 1986 when I went to Kentucky. That must have been 1987 because after I visited Claiborne that morning I went over to Keeneland to see the high priced yearling sale. I saw Houston get sold there. He was the high priced horse sold that day for a million and change. I like the thoroughbred sales. Free drinks!!

    Larry

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by DevilHorse View Post
    A few things. Easy Goer did not look comfortable on the rail. His head was cocked and he was in close quarters. If I recall, he won the Belmont from the outside. The geometry of the Preakness suggested to me that his mind was all about racing at the end.

    Remember I mentioned earlier in 1986 when I went to Kentucky. That must have been 1987 because after I visited Claiborne that morning I went over to Keeneland to see the high priced yearling sale. I saw Houston get sold there. He was the high priced horse sold that day for a million and change. I like the thoroughbred sales. Free drinks!!

    Larry
    And Affirmed and Alydar. I pulled hard that year for Alydar. Shame how he died. Lots of intrigue there.

  4. #24

    Alydar and.. Believe It

    I saw Affirmed and Alydar in the Hopeful and Saratoga in the Fall of 1977. I was an undergraduate in the great state of New York at the time and loaded my tack into the dorm in the early AM and made it up the Northway to the Spa for the last card of the meet. Affirmed was just a freak. Alydar could only beat him through a DQ (Travers) or by brushing by him near the wire so Affirmed couldn't react. Affirmed beat a brillant sprinter in Sensitive Prince in the Jim Dandy as a 3YO by coming from (something like) 15 lengths back in the stretch to nip him at the wire. Affirmed benefited from having "The Kid" as his pilot. Steve Cauthen was a wonderful jockey that we saw briefly here in the US. He used to win half of his mounts at Belmont when he had the bug. Exacta bets used to box him as did Daily Double bets. In a couple of years he outgrew the US weight system and went to Europe.
    Also, home from school for thanksgiving, I followed up my Alydar fetish by going to Aqueduct and checking out the Remsen Stakes. Alydar was a big favorite and I couldn't in good conscience bet him. So I picked a good looking horse named Believe It who paid $15.20 and finished 3rd in the KY Derby next year.

    My girlfriend (now wife) and I had front-row seats at the Belmont the next year for that great Belmont.

    Say what you want about Sunday Silence, he became a much better sire than Easy Goer, for 1 generation. He dominated the Japanese breeding sire list. But alas, that dominance only seems to be lasting for 1 generation as Sunday Silence does not seem to be a sire of sires.

    Larry
    DevilHorse

  5. #25

    Paved

    I apologize, but I meant to write about Paved on Friday, and I started to do so, but my computer browser died 80% through the post and I had to get onto some work and didn't want to re-create the post.

    Paved won the El Camino Real yesterday and I'm excited about this filly.
    She beat the boys.
    Why did I key in on this horse in that field.
    She won her first and only race by 5, and it looked easy.
    She was the only horse that has gone 1 1/8 miles, and from off the pace.
    But there were a few others in there that had previous wins, so what else?
    But she is by the interesting sire Quality Road.
    The pedigree is interesting.
    Quality Road was a dirt runner who was really good. He was on the Triple Crown trail and $2M.
    His Sire Elusive Quality set a mile world record on the Turf at 1:31 3/5 at Belmont. Paved's maiden victory was on the Turf.
    Elusive Quality's sire was a miler named Gone West who was a super mudder, out of the Secretariat mare Secretame.

    When Secretariat was a sire, he didn't hit his stride until his 3rd crop (Secretame and Terlingua were in that one) that is when breeders saw what foals he was producing from which type of mares from his first crop and could book back mares to produce the 3rd crop. So I put stock into what happens in the 3rd and 4th crops of sires.

    Quality Road just had 2 Eclipse award winners this past year from his 3rd and 4th crop. Both fillies! So Quality Road can sire fillies.

    This caught my eye. A really good horse can win the El Camino Derby, so that is the horse that I would back, and I did. Paid $6.20.

    Bravazo won the Risen Star and I couldn't say why. May never hear from him again.

    Larry
    Devilhorse

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Alysheba was a good one. Three year old of the year in '87.

  7. #27

    Alysheba like Sunday Silence

    Quote Originally Posted by Devilwin View Post
    Alysheba was a good one. Three year old of the year in '87.
    Alysheba's Triple Crown was like Sunday Silence. Won the first two legs, but got blown out by Bet Twice in the Belmont. Alysheba's stud career was lacking though. Part of the general demise of the Alydar line.

    Larry
    DevilHorse

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Calumet Farms had one of the best three year old classes in 1948, with TC winner Citation, Coaltown, and the filly Bewitch. What a great class, all three in the Blood Horse top 100. In their careers, Citation won 32 races, Coaltown 23, and Bewitch 20.
    I would have loved to have seen the battles in '57 between Bold Ruler, Gallant Man, Round Table and Iron Liege. There was a class of champions if there ever was one.
    And what about Damascus? And Native Dancer? And I loved Riva Ridge, who ( in spite of the lack of mention in that terrible movie by Disney on Secretariat) by winning the Derby and Belmont in 1972 was the horse that saved Meadow Stable, not the surpassing Secretariat, as was shown in the movie. I hated that movie. I think the greatest racer of all time deserved better, it was nowhere near as good as Seabiscuit. Both movies were rife with bad info. In Seabiscuit, they kept referring to War Admiral as a huge monster of a horse, when in fact, both horses were just over 15 hands, and Seabiscuit was actually heavier. It also made it look like Riddle was ducking Seabiscuit, when in fact Howard scratched Seabiscuit twice when they were scheduled to run.
    I was talking to a guy a few weeks ago who declared the mighty filly Ruffian could have beaten Secretariat. I laughed at the notion. I mean, she was probably the greatest filly ever, but beating big Red was a bit much to ask. And speaking of her, I don't believe ( we will never know, sadly) that she would have beaten Foolish Pleasure. Foolish Pleasure was a gutsy, hard running horse that hated to trail another horse.

  9. #29

    Ruffian

    Quote Originally Posted by Devilwin View Post
    Calumet Farms had one of the best three year old classes in 1948, with TC winner Citation, Coaltown, and the filly Bewitch. What a great class, all three in the Blood Horse top 100. In their careers, Citation won 32 races, Coaltown 23, and Bewitch 20.
    I would have loved to have seen the battles in '57 between Bold Ruler, Gallant Man, Round Table and Iron Liege. There was a class of champions if there ever was one.
    And what about Damascus? And Native Dancer? And I loved Riva Ridge, who ( in spite of the lack of mention in that terrible movie by Disney on Secretariat) by winning the Derby and Belmont in 1972 was the horse that saved Meadow Stable, not the surpassing Secretariat, as was shown in the movie. I hated that movie. I think the greatest racer of all time deserved better, it was nowhere near as good as Seabiscuit. Both movies were rife with bad info. In Seabiscuit, they kept referring to War Admiral as a huge monster of a horse, when in fact, both horses were just over 15 hands, and Seabiscuit was actually heavier. It also made it look like Riddle was ducking Seabiscuit, when in fact Howard scratched Seabiscuit twice when they were scheduled to run.
    I was talking to a guy a few weeks ago who declared the mighty filly Ruffian could have beaten Secretariat. I laughed at the notion. I mean, she was probably the greatest filly ever, but beating big Red was a bit much to ask. And speaking of her, I don't believe ( we will never know, sadly) that she would have beaten Foolish Pleasure. Foolish Pleasure was a gutsy, hard running horse that hated to trail another horse.
    I like your list of famous "triples".

    I was just starting to cut my teeth on racing in 1975 when I took my girlfriend to see the Belmont that year (won by Avatar). When the Match Race came up, I was at school, but I think that was on Labor Day so I brought a friend down from Albany (actually, she had the car) and I took the girl friend and her sister to see this great match race. We stopped in the OTB which was giving out HIM and HER buttons (great gimmick). I recall looking closely at the Daily Racing Form and seeing that Ruffian was about a second faster at like distances than Foolish Pleasure, although Ruffian did get the weight advantage. I didn't think Ruffian would lose. It was a humid day and got a bit thundery when the horses came out. I think only on the Affirmed/Alydar day was Belmont more packed. It was quite a loss, but I just don't see how Foolish Pleasure could have beaten Ruffian based on the racing form. Foolish Pleasure didn't win much after the Derby as I recall. But then, the Match Race became a walk-over.
    I usually kept the Past Performances back then, but I could never locate the one from that day. Drats.

    Larry
    DevilHorse

  10. #30

    Florida Derby - Audible Returns

    Folks,

    The Florida Derby (this Saturday 3/29/2018) sees the return of Audible (into Mischief - Blue Devil Bel) to the races. Out ONLY 56 days. Today's thoroughbred seems to race just enough to gather points to be eligible to start in the KY Derby, stay fit, and avoid injury. Key Contenders against will be Strike Power, Promises Fulfilled, and Catholic Boy (the day before Easter).
    Audible will NOT have the services of his regular rider, Javier Castellano, because JC will be in Dubai riding West Coast for Bob Baffert, in the Dubai World Cup. Understandable, I'd expect Pletcher is forgiving. John Velazquez will be up. He piloted Audible to his maiden win (and his only loss). If Audible wins, I'd expect JV to become Varsity on Audible.

    Here is a link to free Past Performances, courtesy of Briswatch:
    http://www.brisnet.com/php/bw_pdf_vi...param3=2005892

    Only #2 Millionaire Runner has no Secretariat blood (for those tracking Big Red's influence).

    Larry
    DevilHorse

  11. #31

    An Audible Candidate

    Quote Originally Posted by DevilHorse View Post
    Folks,

    The Florida Derby (this Saturday 3/29/2018) sees the return of Audible (into Mischief - Blue Devil Bel) to the races. Out ONLY 56 days. Today's thoroughbred seems to race just enough to gather points to be eligible to start in the KY Derby, stay fit, and avoid injury. Key Contenders against will be Strike Power, Promises Fulfilled, and Catholic Boy (the day before Easter).
    Audible will NOT have the services of his regular rider, Javier Castellano, because JC will be in Dubai riding West Coast for Bob Baffert, in the Dubai World Cup. Understandable, I'd expect Pletcher is forgiving. John Velazquez will be up. He piloted Audible to his maiden win (and his only loss). If Audible wins, I'd expect JV to become Varsity on Audible.

    Here is a link to free Past Performances, courtesy of Briswatch:
    http://www.brisnet.com/php/bw_pdf_vi...param3=2005892

    Only #2 Millionaire Runner has no Secretariat blood (for those tracking Big Red's influence).

    Larry
    DevilHorse
    Audible stamped himself as a probable co-favorite for the Kentucky Derby with a strong performance in the Florida Derby. With a workmanlike performance, he stayed back in the pack during a hot early pace. Later he put away Catholic Boy who did not look like he wanted any part of the winner.
    Here is the race result, courtesy of Brisnet:
    http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/insta...e=inc&print=on

    In other news, McKinzie will not run in the Santa Anita Derby, which casts doubt on whether he will enter the Kentucky Derby or if he does enter, be at his sharpest.

    Larry
    DevilHorse

  12. #32

    The Kentucky Derby is Here - Calling an Audible

    Well, the Kentucky Derby is here. Audible has done nothing to deter bettors (betters?). With a juicy post 5 he is likely to encounter some traffic problems since he has not shown a lot of early speed, but it is a long race. Castellano is up. You will get good odds as the likely 3rd favorite behind Justify and Bolt D'Oro. Justify is the 'girl with the curl' as that one is trained by Baffert and ran a hole in the wind the last time out, beating Bolt D'oro. Only the backstretch whispers and the lack of 'need' for anything but a tightener by Bolt D'oro propelled Justify into his big favorite's status. Is he Seattle Slew or Demon's Begone? He is a front-runner and will have to fight off horses for 1.25 miles, which is a tall order. Audible will have time to sit back and make a long, sustained run; sounds easier if he doesn't get too far back.

    I count 3 out of the 20 horses as being devoid of Secretariat blood (Good Magic, Bravazo, and Vino Rossi).

    An interesting horse is Mendelssohn. Out of the super broodmare Leslie's Lady who brought us the improving sire Into Mischief (sire of Audible !!) and the super racemare Beholder ($M).
    Mendelssohn is from Europe (Turf Turf Turf) and came to the US last year to win the Breeder's Cup Juvenile Turf. Has never been on dirt, but obviously has a dirt pedigree.
    Although, historically, horses from Europe have not competed well in the US in the KY Derby, but they have done well in the Breeder's Cup. Thunder Snow did poorly in last year's KY Derby, but won the Dubai Cup this year.. just sayin.

    Magnum Moon is also undefeated. Hasn't been spectacular but has done everything asked of him. A Todd Pletcher entry.

    Here are the race lines, courtesy of Briswatch.
    http://www.brisnet.com/php/bw_pdf_vi...param3=1622472

    Other opinions/views?

    Larry
    DevilHorse

  13. #33
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Richmond, Va

    DevilHorse

    please handicap this race. I plan on making many wagers along the lines: 7&14 w 7&14 w 5,6,11,18 and many variants to this. I'm also hearing about the 4, 8 and 9 horses as long-shots. Your thoughts, please.

  14. #34
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Justify....All the way!

  15. #35
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Richmond, Va
    Quote Originally Posted by Devilwin View Post
    Justify...All the way!
    Please Justify why!!

  16. #36
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Richmond, Va
    Which Kentucky Derby horse has a Duke lean/influence?

  17. #37
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    I told ya!! Justify was a man among boys today. Stalked the leader all the way, made his move near the top of the stretch, and easily held off two pursuers.

  18. #38

    Audible was Laudible

    Well, here are the lines from the race, courtesy of Briswatch:
    http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/insta...e=inc&print=on

    The weather reports, straight from the track, were off.. as was the track.
    The horse with the Duke connection, Audible, did well but was a bit far back for a stalker and could not catch Justify who was leading almost all of the way.
    The race went in a very fast first 1/4 of 45 4/5, which would normally doom any horse, but Justify was a tough competitor and our-ran his pedigree.

    Being out of the sprint oriented, and ill-fated Scat Daddy, it would have been easy to doubt that he could stay a classic distance, especially going out that fast.
    Although, the race was in a slow 2:04 1/5, that is easily attributable to the conditions.

    Audible closed with a rail skimming trip to be 3rd, just missing 2nd by a head.

    I imagine better conditions, and a smaller field in the Preakness will greatly improve Audible's chances.
    I don't think that throwing in a rabbit will affect Justify much, but a closer trip will help Audible.

    Mendelssohn will go back to Europe to lick his wounds but I expect he'll be back for the breeder's cup classic.

    Larry
    DevilHorse

  19. #39
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Promises Fulfilled led most of the race. Justify took the lead with a half mile to go. Audible and Good Magic had nothing for him in the stretch. Like you said, HD, I believe the shorter Preakness could help Audible, but I am sticking with Justify. Seems I remember another horse that had a sprinter for a Daddy that did pretty good..

  20. #40

    Going the Distance

    Quote Originally Posted by Devilwin View Post
    Promises Fulfilled led most of the race. Justify took the lead with a half mile to go. Audible and Good Magic had nothing for him in the stretch. Like you said, HD, I believe the shorter Preakness could help Audible, but I am sticking with Justify. Seems I remember another horse that had a sprinter for a Daddy that did pretty good..
    Justify may not have led the first mile, but he wasn't drafting. More like first over. Mike Smith and Justify came back looking clean from their race.
    I don't know if Ghostzapper was the route runner that Princequillo was. Ghostzapper only sprinted at 2 and 3, although he did win his only 1 1/4 race.
    Second BM sire of Justify was Pulpit, who I believe did not race at 2, but won each race up to the KY Derby and finished 4th and was injured/retired. But since he was out of A.P. Indy had license to go long.

    Princequillo was considered to be one of the best long distance horses ever produced in this country. Secretariat could have been a great sprinter, distance horse, grass horse, whatever.. and he was.
    Justify might be too..

    Larry
    DevilHorse

Similar Threads

  1. Hurley Horse Happenings 2010
    By DevilHorse in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 05-16-2010, 04:01 PM
  2. Hurley Horse Happenings - 2009!
    By DevilHorse in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 53
    Last Post: 12-12-2009, 04:10 PM
  3. Hurley Horse Happenings - '08 Edition
    By DevilHorse in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 114
    Last Post: 10-06-2008, 09:20 PM
  4. Hurley Horse Happenings - Dagger
    By DevilHorse in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 47
    Last Post: 11-26-2007, 05:32 PM
  5. Hurley Horse Happenings - Oct 5 - Big M Cup
    By DevilHorse in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 10-06-2007, 04:28 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •