Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

hank — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 01:57:03 GMT

IHA wins this in a gallop, just watch him an Bodemisteer running in the stretch of both their races, this horse is like oil in a can, he is absolutely fluid gaited, plus he has something you can't teach, that is desire and determinaton, he has it all.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

JayJay — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 17:54:12 GMT

Rusty : Yeah, I'll probably toss Guyana or Optimizer. I'm keeping Street Life though and the reason is that I'm not buying into Dullahan. I don't know if Dullahan is his main opponent. I probably will have a look at how Paynter looks as I don't see any other speed in the race, at least anyone that can go with Paynter.

Post 11 is perfect for IHA, all he needs is a clean break and Super Mario should have him in a good position. Union Rags is again inside, we'll see what Johnny V. does. He'll have to hustle him out or he'll get burried again. With an added 2 furlongs, I don't know if he'll have enough left in the tank after having to gun it out from the 3rd hole.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Thelwell Pony — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 14:23:35 GMT

ksweatman9 - I'm ashamed to say that I'm getting nervous about Dullahan and Paynter as well. My husband had Dullahan for the Derby... but he's on the IHA bandwagon now. Otherwise, it might be dangerous for him. :)

Alex'sBigFan, I am so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine not being with my Dad to watch this race. My heart goes out to you.

It looks like IHA is working without his nasal strip. Doesn't seem to be a problem! He is so much fun to watch. Thank you for hooking us up, Mr. Haskin!

I think the Belmont will be a very interesting race, and a nail-biter. Mr. Haskin, do you have any predictions yet as to who will want the early lead?

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Greg R — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 04:45:17 GMT

I just hope they give I'll Have Another a couple of easier days before Saturday. If he is "galloping" as fast as a horse normally works, he needs to "taper" before the race, as Olympic swimmers say. Is it even possible to get this colt to canter at a leisurely pace?

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

ksweatman9 — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 22:41:22 GMT

I hate to be a poor sport, but edging closer to the day, I'm getting nervous and I really wish Dullahan would've stayed home. He was my Derby pick along with Bode, and I think he has alot of potential to be the spoiler. Not this time, I have to think positive, I'll Have Another WILL win the Belmont.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Dr Drunkinbum — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 22:01:05 GMT

Alex'sBigFan

I'm sorry for your loss. It does help a little when a loved one has lived a full life but the pain and loss is still very difficult. I hope you're doing OK.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

derblin — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 21:55:33 GMT

Will one of the experts on here explain why the big fuss over the nasal strip? What is so wrong about it? I am getting tired of NYRA always seemingly trying to interfer with a Triple Crown try ie detention barns. But I still think IHA can over come it all. And in this numbers world he will be the 12th Triple Crown winner, the 12th to go for it since Affirmed and in 2012. How many horses are running?!

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Barbara W — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 19:37:06 GMT

Steve,

Thank you for this great article. I was one of the ones worried about the strategy. I won't be now. He looks great. Hoping for another TC winner--it has been too long, but most of all praying for safe trips for all. Dullahan is looking great too. What a race it is building up to be. Go, IHA.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Kanz — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 16:51:17 GMT

Great article. From the first time I saw him "gallop" at Belmont Park I was thinking the same thing. He is very economical and covers so much ground with what appears to be little effort. The Belmont will be interesting!

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Slew — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 13:10:25 GMT

I don't know about Horse size for certain, but from photos I've seen, Man O'War seems quite large for a TB, and he goes back a long way. Secretariat was 16h 2in. While the wild man Seattle Slew is listed at 16h...he always looked so much larger to me. Perhaps he was, perhaps he just puffed himself up as an intimidator. Rock Hard Ten was the largest colt to race at 17h 3in.

Artists' renderings of Citation always seem to make his legs look a tad longer than his actual photos...it would be helpful to find a cohesive listing of all our heroes' sizes, but I think owners and trainers often have kept us in the dark. They always said Zen was more than 17-1, but never said outright that she was 17-2. ???? We know only that she was taller than Midnight Lute who is 17-1 because Baffert measured for himself. Maybe all we have to do is look at the race of man...every generation, we stand a few inches taller.

As far as the Raise A Native strain, I do believe genetic anomalies have shown up more in the Unbridled's Song line than in any other. "The breakdown of Eight Belles following the 2008 Kentucky Derby focused attention on the soundness record of Unbridled's Song's offspring. The stallion has developed an industry reputation for producing speed, precocity, and fragility." He's a big roan who has big offspring. In spite of the attention to his failings, he keeps producing winners like Unrivaled Belle who won the BC Distaff.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

ksweatman9 — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 12:43:40 GMT

Big Z ran late, suppose it made any difference? After all, she's a big girl. I think these horses all need more time before they start running hard. It may have an impact on the high percentage of injuries suffered by young horses. I always thought the triple crown races should be for 4 year olds, but these days alot of 4 year olds are already in the breeding shed. It's very odd.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

gracwalk — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 12:33:06 GMT

Every horse is different but I like how Secretariat, was trained very hard for the Belmont.

I read all the details of his training in William Nack's book.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

JayJay — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 06:22:29 GMT

Nice article, I'm still trying not to get carried away at the possibility. I didn't like IHA in the Derby and pretty much decided and thought was I was dead right that he would be 2nd to Bodemeister in the Preakness. IHA and Super Mario are deserving of this win and I wish them the best.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Greg R — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 04:27:52 GMT

Rusty is right about Birdstone. He came right back and won GrI at 1 1/4, right? Showing his Belmont over Smarty was no fluke. Then sired Belmont winner Summer Bird in first crop.

Funny Cide is always compared unfavorably to Empire Maker in terms of distance pedigree, going back to Jerry Bailey's comments before that Belmont. I remember seeing that Funny Cide actually had the LOWEST Dosage number in the KY Derby field that year, including that of Empire Maker. Lower Dosage number indicates greater stamina at the classic distances. So, despite his middle-distance sire, Funny Cide's pedigree, viewed in depth, shows that this common misconception about the two rivals is a myth.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Bill Two — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 02:08:51 GMT

What grabs me about this horse is his determination. The way he dug in and ran down Bodemeister was impressive. That's the kind of move only a very good horse could make. He is very good.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Paula Higgins — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 01:47:21 GMT

Pedigree Ann, interesting information and I totally get what you are saying. As much as I loved Zenyatta's physical appearance, it always worried me that she might have problems during a race with her legs. To me, Secretariat was the perfectly built horse. Union Rags is pretty spectacular looking as well.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Racingfan — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 01:09:45 GMT

Pedigree Ann: when people make public statements as if they are presenting facts they should be careful that they are in fact correct in their statements. Raise A Native did NOT race only 4 times due to ankle problems. He was retired due to a ruptured tendon sheath. It it obvious in your many negative comments about him that you do not like him and that is your perogative. However if you are going to publicly "blame him" for any problems in today's horses, you should probably present the science that backs up those claims as well.... Since his offspring (and therefore Native Dancer's and Mr Prospector's also) are the ones winning most of the big races for the past many years, I would take a barnful of them any day!

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

UncleStosh — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 01:05:21 GMT

Man, horse racing is an insular group. This article is funny because it reads the equivalent of someone discovering just yesterday that lifting weights builds muscles. Exercise science is the hallmark in businesses playing with billions upon billions of dollars as well as national/worldwide obsession(sport) that dwarfs horse racing. It is exceptionally advanced and even serious amateurs know all of the techniques. Apparently, the entire world, except horse racing knows that to train to run a distance of ground at 90%+ capacity for the maximum distance, you train by running much longer distances than your race distance at 75-80% capacity with some short pre-determined intervals of 95% capacity(sprints). There is no argument, it is proven fact with massive increases in human capacity to prove it. It is not a small advantage but a complete advantage yet no one does it in TB horse racing. Meanwhile, the TB really doesn't run 10f any faster than they did in 1910. The only increase is the obvious industry change in track conditioning almost over night around 1960 and the use of medication and PED's. With those things times are about still only 2 seconds better over a hundred years. We all know what humans have done and if you want to know what another horse has done with this type of training, look at harness racing where long distance interval training is the standard and :25-:30 seconds have been shaved off of typical race times during the same 100 year period. If someone came along and took the time to learn and incorporate this stuff into action with high quality TB's, they would clean up in the Triple Crown. Two trainers have done it now and won two legs of the TC easily with the best horse(Afleet Alex also ran a lot of miles galloping strongly. He often ran twice a day). And these trainers aren't even really running as long they could and should. It also is the way that you build up your tolerance against injury. As an 800meter runner, each time I am out pounding the track the stronger my shins, feet and muscles are for when I will be pounding way harder going all out. It's like the martial artist hitting their shin against a hard surface hardening against injury for when they really strike it with full intent. I have written it here many times because it is baffling that with all this money on the line no one in the TB horse racing actually knows the optimum way to train for the Kentucky Derby.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Davids — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 00:54:34 GMT

Steve, with Alpha gone I am starting to believe we may finally, finally, be cheering on a Triple Crown Hero. Mind you, he still has to beat Union Rags and Dullahan with Paynter the obvious wild card. European trainers have managed to win classics on similar regimens as O'Neill is perusing so I expect I'll Have Another to be more than ready for his biggest challenge.

Pedigree Ann, it's interesting what you wrote, with reference to 'massive front-ends' because I have been wondering myself what influence, as stallions, these '17 hand 3 year olds' will have commercially.

On a positive note, Bold Reasoning was a fair size with good bone and substance so it's a waiting game - caveat

emptor.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Old Old Cat — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 19:24:21 GMT

Another great article Steve. Thanks for the inside scoop. According to your Blood Horse Mag, IHA ran the last fraction in 19.0. He really didn't look like he was going that fast even though he was closing ground. If he had enough left in the tank to run like that at the end of the Preakness, he should have more that enough for the Belmont. And your analysis of his workout shows how efficient his stride is. For the first part I thought he was loligaghing.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Pedigree Ann — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 17:29:38 GMT

It has been depressing to see the increase in size of the average TB over the last 4-5 decades.

Northern Dancer was advertized at 15h2in, but was stretching the truth a bit; he barely cleared 15h if that. 15h2 to 15h3 was probably average back then; 16h was a pretty good-sized horse, while 16h2 was big. Colts who looked like they would get to 17h were usually gelded, to keep them from developing a stallion's front-end weight and over-stressing their forelegs, like Forego, who still had iffy ankles throughout his career.

Raise a Native was a tall, bulky type horse whose ankles were insufficient support for his body, which is why he only ran 4 times. Raise a Native genes are all over the studbook now and one of the reasons we see so many of these "big, beautiful colts" who are prone to leg injuries. Yet yearling buyers are impressed by big colts, so commercial breeders breed to the big stallions (despite their often injury-shortened careers). It's a vicious circle. We used to have breed-to-race high-end breeders who didn't have to cater to the market, but these are for the most part gone.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Age of Reason — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 16:44:11 GMT

Ditto what Katherine said, Mr. Haskin. I read quite a bit from the internet every day, but your articles seldom fail to be the highlight.

Alex'sBigFan: condolences, thoughts and prayers on your loss. MonicaV: Your quote sent chills up my spine: "I knew IHA was going to...sweep all three. I feel in in my bones. It's time." From your lips to God's ears, my friend!...

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

genie918 — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 15:30:59 GMT

The June 11th issue of "ESPN Magazine" (with Danica Patrick on the cover) has an interesting article about the training of I'll Have Another. My husband is a runner and he was fascinated with the story. The emphasis of the training is about endurance and the approach and use of equipment is similiar to how human runners train. To no surprise, California trainers appear to be the ones embracing this method. It is cetainly not traditional, but if this horse wins the Triple Crown, no doubt other trainers may start to consider adopting this practice.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Shutterbug — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 15:09:52 GMT

While I'll Have Another is not as diminutive as Jackson Bend or Mine That Bird (he's more comparable to Caracortado or Midnight Transfer) one thing that I've learned from experience is, between Lava Man eclipsing his left side and the giant groom blocking our view of his right side, it's not easy taking a good picture of him. He's very well protected from the equine paparazzi.

The fact that IHA is one of the very few O'Neill horses (possible the only) that runs without blinkers strikes me as another indicator that this horse is special.

re: Haskin's Belmont Report: 'Another' Gallop? Not Quite

Slew — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 14:58:32 GMT

To I'll Have Another and his entire team (including Lava Man, grandson of Seattle Slew) I can only say....

GO, BABY, GO!

And kudos to Doug for consulting Billy Turner.