Can Don't Get Mad prove to be a legit BC Classic contender?
 

The 4-year-old makes his seasonal debut at CD today in an allowance event around one turn, and there is not a horse on the planet who runs better at that oval...he was maturing into a very solid 3-year-old at the end of last summer when he made a huge move and won the Indiana Derby going away over a decent field in pretty impressive fashion...I was there that night and he was impressive with that big sweeping move to blow by Scrappy T like he was tied down to the racetrack.....

Entertain this idea...Don't Get Mad continues to improve ionto his 4-year-old season, which is very logical based on his pattern, pedigree and the fact that most horses are better at 4 - and he wins today's allowance race and heads to the Spa, where he will probably be a little over-matched against the likes of Flower Alley and Invasor in his second or third start off the layoff....BUT, what if he runs some respectable thirds and fourths in say the Whitney and JC Gold Cup (all hypothetical of course) and is closing pretty nicely in those races......Is he a live contender for the BC Classic with the probable fast pace scenario in that 1 1/4-mile event on his return to his favorite track in the world on the first Sat. in November?....An intriguing thought at the least....

....I know some analysts that measure loss of ground and the fact that he was running in last year's Derby on just a week's rest, and they really believe had he not run in the Derby Trial and not gone so wide in the stretch of the Derby that he would have won last year's Derby with ease.....Now, obvious this is all speculative, but very, very intriguing....Remember, he and Giacomo were almost moving in tandem on the far turn of the Derby until Mike Smith cut the corner and dove to the inside to save ground in his run through the stretch, while DGM went widest of about all and still finished very well to be beaten by a small margin despite losing several lengths on the turn and stretch....

If he wins today, depending on how well of a fashion he wins, he'll probably be no lower than 5-1 in the next graded stakes spot he runs in, particularly if it is in New York....It is very easy to see him not being tuned up enough to travel and beat Flower Alley and Invasor, etc. - but a few solid efforts to show he belongs from a class standpoint would make him a VERY live longshot in the BC Classic at CD at year's end....just my opinion..

..BUT, he has to run well today to show that he is the same animal he was when he won the Indiana Derby last summer in his final start.....we'll see later today...I really can't see him losing unless he gets stuck down on the inside and someone gets loose on an easy lead, which shouldn't happen because there appears to be plenty pace for him....he should beat this group and be on his way to bigger and better things...

Simply Put, "NO!"

I said after last years Indiana Derby win that if they were taking future bets for the BC Classic at CD I'd have bet on him in the Classic and T.D. Vance in the Mile. TD Vance has doen nothting this year, but I am still hoping to see some good from Dont Get Mad. Somewhat discouraging that it took him so long to get back, but I think he has the goods to win today and down the line in some graded stakes. Also very nice to see Buddy Gil back on the track!

as long dont get mad runs in NY or KY he will be golden

I think that DGM would have won the Derby if Stevens would have just taken a hold of him in the Derby Trial and cruised to a 3 length victory under a strangle-hold. Instead Gary rode him hard and won by about 7 lengths. It's pretty tough to come back in 7 days after a hard race. I'm sure that Gary would have been more cognizant of saving something if he would have been riding DGM in the Derby, but since he knew he was riding another horse(Noble Causeway) in the Derby, he didn't really think about saving something for the Derby.

Good point, but in the same breathe I'm not sure they were dead set on coming back in the Derby at that time if I can remember corrrectly....

Joint Effort is another CD specialist, hopefully they point her to the distaff, because she will be struggling until she gets back to CD and she will be a mega-bomb to hit the board in the BC...

I would guess that if he makes it to the BC Classic,he would look like Asahi Rising(and somebody else would be looking like Wait a While.)

Two turns may also prove to be a huge hurdle for her...she seems like a niche horse that likes the specialist one-turn mile trip.....I'm not sold on her getting two turns...I do think she'll be fine outside of CD though..it just depends on the track...clearly the tighter tracks like KEE and GP were not her favorite, although she won on the Sunshine Millions program at GP....I think she ran badly at BEL Saturday for two reasons....she was coming off of two top efforts and shipping to the East coast and looked like a bounce candidate, and I'm not convinced 1 1/8-miles is her distance although it was around one turn...she seems like she's best on a non-biased track going 7-8 panels around one turn.....seems like her niche....I like this filly though and have watched her closely since she was a two-year-old...

Well, I'm not sure about this analogy....Asahi Rising was publicized as one of the weaker Japanese shippers that has come to the states...she only had a big reputation yesteday due to Dance in the Mood and Cesario's success at HOL....the fact of the matter is that yesteday's American Oaks was a HORRIBLE field IMO when you look at the money and prestige of the race...past years had far more European involvement and a much better and fuller cast of 3-year-old fillies...this year's group had to be very disappointing for the HOL racing office...it was a short group with no star power at all....that is why I am not overly excited about Wait a While's performance...she ran away from nobody and we know that she has been a cut below the best sophmore fillies all year....while this was on grass, it is weird to think that a Maria's Mon filly out of a A.P. Indy mare would be better suited for the grass.....she's nice ad obviously likes turf, but that was a very bad group she beat, including Asahi Rising - who looked average as publicized, and Attima couldn't be carried that distance in a dump truck....I think Lady of Venice and the field she demolished at Churchill on the Foster undercard a few weeks back was better than the American Oaks bunch...

If DGM makes it to the BC you cannot rule him out.

Don't Get Mad, run up the track at 3-5
 

Just don't think this horse is as good as people think. Although Bejarano has an uncanny knack for finding traffic in 6 horse fields. As far as Wait a While goes, how can you possibly find fault with her effort yesturday. She demolished the field, and I don't think it's weird at all a Maria's Mon (Wavering Monarch) out of an A.P. Indy mare, who has proven to be a very potent turf sire, should relish the turf. I'll agree Lady of Venice is a monster, but come on, I wouldn't mind having Wait a While in my barn. Especially since she is quite capable on dirt, turf and in the mud.

Screws on DGM were not 1000% tight today.....makes no sense to me how people can make a closer like him 1/2 on the line...

These breeding clowns never will get this game and I'm glad they are around. Horses don't know their pedigrees, they only know if they can run fast and have heart. Obviously Wait A While doesn't really know or care who likes her pedigree. As far as the field she beat give me a break. Noone Lady of venice beat is anywhere NEAR as good as Wait A While is. I love both horses but at this point they are dead equal at worst. What the heck does breeding have to do with how awesome Wait A While was yesterday?

It doesn't, and I agree with you, I am a big fan of Wait a While's. I was just making the point that it's not all that weird to think that she would like the grass.

Wait a While ran very well...with that being said, she didn't really run away from much but you can't fault her for that....I pride myself on studying pedigrees and I know hers well....I'm not saying she isn't bred well for the grass, I was just saying that she has a pedigree taylored to the dirt...I have bred to Maria's Mon a few times and he is one of my favorite stallions in the world because he is monster value for $25K and I've known that for a while and capitalized on breeding to him because of that (he'll go up to $40K after this year's runners)....she obviously has a really good slop pedigree which has shined through...and a fair grass pedigree, and let's keep in mind that the shortly manicured, hard courses on the west coast make it a lot easier for 'tweeners' to grip the grass...it is more like a golf fairway out there than a deep, true turf courses typical of the east coast and Europe and they don't require the bio mechanics of turf horses that can pick their feet up out of the long grass easier than 'tweeners'...either way, she is very nice and I would love to own her...I'm just not willing to crown her as the best 3YO turf filly in the country right now because I have been more impressed with Lady of Venice to this point...we'll see down the road...

I have those two in a dead heat as the leaders in the division right now and only a heads up confrontation will settle it in my mind. One thing i think we can all agree upon, those two are SERIOUS grass fillies and so far in front of the rest it isnt even funny.

As for DGM, I thought he would either skate today or feared he would be nowhere, and unfortunately it was the latter....you have to be sceptical of a horse that was rounding into awesome form at the end of last summer and sudden;y goes to the shelf forever and doesn't resume racing until July of his 4-YO season......he would've been pointed to the Foster a few weeks back logically if the connections knew he was 100% sound.......I'm surprised I cannot remember what happened to him (if anything)...can't remember???

I'm not sure what it was but something happened to him. After the Indy Derby, 10/05, he didn't work until May. He also had some minor throat surgery recenntly. He was not a good thing at 3/5 today.

She did break her maiden pretty stylishly on the "deep, true turf course" of Belmont. I can't recall what was wrong with DGM, but whatever it was, it looks like it is still hampering him.