Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Ranagulzion — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 14:26:42 GMT

Coldfacts,

The inaccuracy of your Breeder's Cup selections etc tells the tale about your coldness (never mind the absence of facts). Following the blog without posting is like a horse being prepared for a big race on long gallops only or on a few breezes. Admit it bro, you're a "short horse" on here (LOL). You need a couple of blog posting "races" under your belt to match strides with Rana (LOL).

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Coldfacts — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 13:03:18 GMT

Ranagulzion,

Just as one swallow a summer doesn't make, one day identifying two 9-5 and one 7-1 winner does not an expert handicapper make.

I did not go cold as I continue to follow the themes and posts but have limited myself to very few posts.

Self confidence is good. However, your history suggests many crash and burn moments await you are ahead.

That specified, let take this opportunity to again congratulate you on your good 9-5 day.

NB: Trinniberg lost his three races proceeding his BC victory. Does he deserve the eclipse for champion sprinter?

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

arrrrgh arrrgh ARRRGGGGH! — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:18:06 GMT

I agree with Lunar Spook and Midnight Lute. If America finally has a solid top shelf turf horse...send him over the pond, and let him run in one of the 150 year old GR1 mile races, and show his ability to the part of the world on their courses. Why not the Dubai Carnival?. The world cup, Dubai Duty Free Stakes or the Godolphin Mile?. Let see him run!

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

arrrrgh arrrgh ARRRGGGGH! — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:14:24 GMT

Saratoga AJ- Wise Dan is no John henry, or Forego. Now he will turn 6...will see how much longer he can win at the top level. I will root for him. I always have love for the Geldings!

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Ranagulzion — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:53:18 GMT

Coldfacts,

I see you're warming up. Keep trying until you get hot my friend. You'll need to be sizzling in 2013 to match strides with yors truly (LOL).

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Davids — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:14:01 GMT

Well, for what it's worth, my most exciting moments were watching Tapizar demolish the field with pure speed (great coaching by Richard Migliore), Hightail giving D. Wayne Lukas another BC trophy, and He's Had Enough's courageous attempt in extreme difficulty - most 2 year olds would have 'had enough' and retreated.

The racing 'gods' were blind to Bob Baffert, which was a shame, and the track bias was unfair. Fantastic 2 days though.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Coldfacts — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 12:22:43 GMT

The MR. Prospector sire line continues its dominance of the BCC with 5 victories in the last 6 years. I wonder if Darley will try to retrieve E Dubai for the resumption of stud duties in the US. He is the fastest son of the great stallion. It appeared he was not getting the level of support befitting his pedigree and speed.

Ranagulzion,

Congratulations on some of your picks. However you need to temper your enthusiasm as only two of them won.

Mucho Macho Man:

I did not specified that he could not win. I highlighted that THAS had defeated him on three of the four occasions they met.

Noble Tune:

He performed better that I anticipated due to the under performance of many of Euros. He was handily beaten by the one that showed up.

NB: Let me reiterate two victories in moderate times does not equate to star on the rise. That was the bigger point I was communicating.

Trinniberg:

He performed on a track that was tailor made for speed. My selection Sum Of The Parts was not good enough but ran well.

Wise Dan:

Should be HOY. The race did not turn out the way I expected. The surface appeared rock hard and that ended that chances of the closers. Animal Kingdom will be tough in 2013 if he can stay sound.

Groupie Doll:

I preferred DAD. Groupie Doll is an exceptional sprinter.

Rennesgotzip and Great Attack:

Who is Unbridled's Note? My selection lost a heart breaker. However I made a substantial profit from the race as I boxed him with the winner.

Optimizer:

He only wins when the opposition is mediocre. I was spot on.

"You lost your files but have you lost your mind"

Being incorrect does not equate to a lost of one's mind. In a horse race anything can happen. You have made predictions in the past that have not exactly turned out the way you expected. Did you loose your mind in those cases? Who would have believed that Speedy Bob would not have recorded a victory over the two days? Who would have believed that Little Mike would have defeated Point Of Entry and Sir Nicolas?

I will joint those who are of the opinion that the tack was not fair as it was extremely speed favotring. That said many horses under performed. It's the nature of the game.

Enjoy the victories recorded by your selections. You have been overdue for a good day as far too many occasions your face has been covered with eggs.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Greg R — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 05:03:22 GMT

Back to Fort Larned and Mucho Macho Man.......!

Considering that F L got the jump on M M M and then M M M made up the margin ON THAT TRACK and running wider than the winner, I think that M M M was at least equally good in the Classic. I thought all along that M M M had the right profile to win a big race at ten furlongs on a fast track. I just didn't count on F L's proving as good at ten f. as he had at nine f.

Flat Out's good run made you wonder, though, what he could have done that day on a fair racetrack.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Dr Drunkinbum — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 03:50:25 GMT

Rachel Alexandra was a amazing. I think she actually is underrated because her dominance, stunning fractions and fast final times weren't continued after an amazing string of wins. She ran times and fractions that Dr. Fager would be proud of. The Mother Goose was 1:33.60 at the mile with a 9f time of 1:46.33, and The Haskell was the mile in 1:34.29 and the 9f in 1:47.21. She won nine in a row before finally being given a long break and then losing in her comeback race six months later. With the great ones who have a series of races like Dr. Fager and Damascus or Affirmed and Alydar the debate still won't be completely settled but at least people have something to argue about. If they never meet there is no answer. Great ones are great ones and that is it. If you wanted the dream matchup you'd have to throw Animal Kingdom in there with Wise Dan and Frankel. If you had three races they'd each probably win one. Groupie Doll wowed me, Little Mike shocked me, Trinniberg surprised me but it was brilliance resurrected so it shouldn't have, the duel between Fort Larned and Much Macho was a duel for the ages. The juvenile gave me Derby Fever. In the mile my WPS bet was Obviously who I thought would set the track record that day but Wise Dan was spectacular. Before Derby 2011 Steve Haskin said that Animal Kingdom was one that really caught the eye. Well he still catches the eye, unless you blink. I couldn't believe he got second. He came out of nowhere. If we get to see more than a few races from him next year we will be blessed. He is special.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Saratoga AJ — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 02:36:47 GMT

Casandra,

You sound like you don't know what your talking about, dear. You certainly no nothing about the greats of years passed.

So Kelso and Forego were "the poorly bred, poorly made, too slow, or rogues who are early culls from the breeding population".

Outrageously naive comment.

They were huge stars because of longevity. There was no need to cut their great careers short because of the rush to get them in the breeding shed. Thus they were allowed to reach their full potential. If a race horse is ranked by the toughness of the competition, surely Kelso is the greatest of all time. He beat more great or very good horses, more champions, for a longer period of time than any other thoroughbred in modern history. FIVE HOTY titles in a row. Five. Against the who's who of the early half of the 1960's. Do a little research.

That's the kind of race horse that becomes a star, and builds a fan base that lasts over several seasons. Racing sure could use another Kelso.

I am not saying Wise Dan is in that category yet. But since he won't be breeding anytime soon, he does have a shot at becoming one of the greats. With longevity.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Lammtarra's Arc — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 01:15:21 GMT

Age of Reason- No not at all. I called Wise Dan a brilliant Miler....because he is. I just don't like when people run their mouth about a horse's result by being ignorant. Like I said bring wise Dan the other way, and run the Queen Anne or the Sussex and let him do his thing. He certainly will not post any 1:31's...but at least I get to see this fine creature run over the historic Rowley Mile, or Stewards Cup Course at goodwood. He has the brilliance...send him!.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Cassandra.Says — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 00:14:37 GMT

Saratoga A J:

Good grief. Now we're on to geldings as the stars to give racing continuity. The poorly bred, poorly made, too slow, or rogues who are early culls from the breeding population.

Connect the damned dots. Which in racing have their own websites, legions of fans, do encores? (Beat geldings.)

No wonder you lot didn't ratify the ERA.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Cassandra.Says — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 00:08:58 GMT

All Frankel's races are on YouTube. Why don't you just watch them if you suspect those who have watched them are over-rating him? Especially watch how many pounds and lengths he is superior to Excelebration.

Slew: Yes, Chantal just announced her retirement, but it was after she was jocked off Game on Dude. It doesn't strain credulity that such a humiliation and ingratitude led to that decision. (Or maybe she's pregnant. I don't really know.)

Game on Dude has earned c. $3 million in 21 starts, of which c. $2.5 million was earned in the nine starts Chantal was riding him. It really sticks out if you look at his whole career. Never good in the gate, but worst ever break in the Classic, and Ole Bid and Faltered returned to form. Yeah, Dross and others beat him but with Chantal he was game in defeat.

"Rapport" is a little misty to describe this. Before ever sitting on a racehorse, Chantal was an accomplished show jumping and dressage rider. Show jumping is a lot about keeping your horse's courage up, and dressage has centuries of technique devoted to establishing your unquestioned leadership without inhibiting your horse's elan and forward impulse.

There were probably dozens of potentially good horses that Chantal could have improved dramatically had anyone introduced them to her rather than trivializing her special skills.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

CHIEF PICAWINNA — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 23:36:11 GMT

As a reminder for those that have forgotten last year there were 9 starters from the Breeders Cup juvenile that started in the KD out of 20 in the race.The highest finish was third.I am going to test my thesis that the early developing colts will already have peaked long before the first Saturday in May and in 2013 there wont be any Breeders Cup starters that finish in the top 3.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Saratoga AJ — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 22:44:03 GMT

lunar spook,

Absolutely. He still would have beaten him, or perhaps any other horse, especially at one mile on grass. 2 week comeback? Why not. That horse is in a rare zone and has been all year. The amazing thing is he can do it on dirt, synthetic and grass. He tops both Beyer lists, grass and dirt/synthetic and actually has the top 3 Beyer ratings for grass. The surface doesn't seem to matter.

It will be fun to see what he does at 6. That's prime time for a gelding. And we really haven't had a truly great gelding since the days of John Henry, Forego and the immortal Kelso. Racing sure could use a star that shows up year after year and beats the best. Colts never hang around long enough. Geldings do.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Saratoga AJ — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 22:23:33 GMT

Footlick,

The Brits almost always rank their horses higher than those here. I believe the last American horse to be ranked #1 by the Brits was Curlin over four years ago. Even Zenyatta never was ranked #1. Right or wrong, they are prejudice about their horses, no doubt about it.

I am not trying to belittle Frankel, merely expressing my feeling that there may be a bit of exaggeration going on here.

And to tell you the truth, I would bet on Dan if they met. I'm sure he'd be the overlay! :)

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Footlick — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 22:22:03 GMT

Age of Reason- whatever you think, the turf course at Santa Anita has been a freeway. It is a hard, fast course that does not have a lot of cushion. It has produced ultra fast times. Whatever you think about me, go right ahead and think it. You seem very sensitive on the subject of Wise Dan and if it makes you feel better to lash out at me or Midnight Lute you go right ahead. Much has been made by many about the ease which Wise Dan beat Excelebration, and you all ignore the fact that it was Excelebration who shipped from the UK and went through quarantine and the had to run on a course much harder and tighter than he ever encountered. I mentioned Wise Dan not shipping because he did not have to go through what Excelebration did. I also mentioned the ease which Frankel defeated Excelebration, on courses suited to a European hors I might add so Excelebration would not have been at the disadvantage of having to handle courses and conditions that he had never seen before, because everyone was saying look how easily Wise Dan beat the celebrated Euro and that Frankel must be overrated because this celebrated Euro could not beat OUR horse. So I pointed out that Frankel actually defeated this horse easier thanWise Dan did. Do you realize how rare it is that a European horse wins by the margins Frankelhas won by? AndI don't know how many times I have to repeat that I think Wise Dan is a wonderful horse. If it makes you happy to label me and decide I do not appreciate the horse, the go ahead. I'm done.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Steel Dragon — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 22:11:58 GMT

Bombay Duck would've buried this juvenile crop.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

lunar spook — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 21:10:26 GMT

SARATOGA AJ-Do you really think wise dan would have beat excelebration if he was the one that had to travel 5000 miles , go thru qaurantine , race in strange weather on a strange course ? i think not ! if the american horses are as eager to show how good they are why dont they start making some trips to europe ?

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Saratoga AJ — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:26:01 GMT

Footlick,

I am not trying to belittle Frankel, merely expressing my feeling that there may be a bit of exaggeration going on here.

And to tell you the truth, I would bet on Dan if they met. I'm sure he'd be the overlay! :)

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Slew — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:02:17 GMT

I should have added that I thought Fort Larned ran an exceptional race, especially in his ability to stay ahead of Mike Smith on MMM. (Of course my Ron the Greek, even with the fast pace, just couldn't get up there in time.)

As far as HOY...here we go again. As good as Wise Dan may be, it's Royal Delta for me. I thought she was the star of the 2 day meet, and she's coming back to run next year too.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Slew — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 19:57:26 GMT

I thoroughly enjoyed the BC races, and even moreso..Steve's recap. The right person for the inside story.

Congrats to all the winners.

I really feel terrible for Bob Baffert, who has had heart aches all year, literally and figuratively. Yes, I believe Chantal had a special rapport with Game on Dude...but..they lost to Dross last year in the Classic...and didn't Chantal just get married and retire from horse racing?

Footlick: Kenny McPeek has also run his string in the UK, and Carl O'Callahan took Kinsale King to the UK after his Meydan win. The British are happy to see American trainers bring their horses, and quite a few of them do.

I did hit a trifecta...unfortunately it was for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th as Beholder beat them out in the Juvenile. But Mizdirection did come through for me. She and Royal Delta were the only winners I managed to pick. But it didn't stop me from enjoying every race. I did feel bad about The Fugue, who I felt was actually the best in her race, but who was kept pinned to the rail.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

DontHateMe — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 19:53:50 GMT

Hate to tell Mrs. Whitham that I do remember the Breeders cup race between Bayakoa and Go For Wand. Not just because of the injury, but for the fact that Go For Wand was about to lay the smack down on Bayacoa before she got injured. I think we could all see that coming!

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Age of Reason — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 19:32:15 GMT

Footlick, I have almost always found great delight in reading your comments on this and other sites, but I must take exception with your last post. Don't look now, but your Euro-centrism may be showing. You criticized AJ for supposedly "downgrading Frankel", yet contradicted yourself in your reasoning. You implied that Frankel not running in the Breeders' Cup Mile is a non-issue because "they never had plans to run here", then immediately make an issue of the fact that Wise Dan didn't run in the QE-2, when his connections clearly never had plans to run there, either. Second, your negative comparison of Wise Dan to Frankel based on the reasoning that Wise Dan didn't beat Excelebration by a Frankel-like margin is ridiculous, and you know it. I've seen you correct people several times on HRN for trying to compare winning margins from race to race, so why are you doing it now? Besides, it isn't as if (as you said) that Wise Dan somehow "couldn't" beat Excelebration by more, for as many reporters noted Wise Dan won the Mile by a geared-down margin because he had the field at his mercy, and a blowout win would have just been overkill. I could point out several other things you said as well, like your statement that the Santa Anita turf course was somehow "rock hard" (simply false, even metaphorically so--and besides, would you have been happier with a pathetically drenched swamp-like turf course a la Monmouth in '07?), but suffice it so say that it seems to me that it is you who are too biased to fully appreciate Wise Dan's truly fine performance over the weekend, not the other way around.

re: Classic Recap: Fort Repels Attack

Footlick — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 19:17:44 GMT

Linda in Texas- Frankel and Excelebration have different owners and trainers. Frankel was never, ever under consideration for the BC