How would The Classic have been...

[ALostTexan]

...if Invasor didn't have his injury and ran today? Would have been an interesting year...

[Danzig]

thoughts like those will keep you up nights.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

The way Curlin ran - I haven't watched replays and studied charts and done any work on todays races - but I doubt he was beating Curlin today.

While Invasor is obviously a MUCH better horse than Hard Spun....Hard Spun is an underrated horse when he makes the lead....and it was totally shocking with the ease that Curlin passed him - especially considering how Hard Spun had a favorable pace on top of making the lead.

On first impressions - even though everything went the way you'd draw it up forHard Spun...he was no disapointment today at all. I certainly don't think Hard Spun lost anything in defeat...even with the harshest of critics who knew he had it all his way.

Curlin is just plain awesome. I think Invasor's class probably would have willed him past HS though.

[Danzig]

how many people can't/won't celebrate curlin? i have a hard time with it. honestly, i do. i wish that horse was with practically anyone else.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Danzig

how many people can't/won't celebrate curlin? i have a hard time with it. honestly, i do. i wish that horse was with practically anyone else.

Well - I met Steve Asmussen up here this September - and he seemed to enjoy talking with me...so much so that our conversation carried for over ten minutes and he wasn't even the one who ended it.

So, while he might be a convicted cheater...... he's nice to DrugS. And honestly, isn't that what really matters when judging someone anyway?

In all seriousness - Curlin ran a MONSTER debut race at Gulfstream for a trainer who no one has ever accused of taking advantages. He was all over the racetrack - and his adjusted final time in that maiden victory was faster than seasoned stake horses Nobiz Like Shobiz and Scat Daddy ran in a stake race on the same card.

I think Curlin is a spectacular horse who would have been fine for any competent trainer. I have no problem rooting for him. He isn't a horse who made some hard to explain move-up when switched to a "super trainer" - like a certain 2005 Horse of the Year was.

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Well - I met Steve Asmussen up here this September - and he seemed to enjoy talking with me...so much so that our conversation carried for over ten minutes and he wasn't even the one who ended it.

So, while he might be a convicted cheater...... he's nice to DrugS. And honestly, isn't that what really matters when judging someone anyway?

In all seriousness - Curlin ran a MONSTER debut race at Gulfstream for a trainer who no one has ever accused of taking advantages. He was all over the racetrack - and his adjusted final time in that maiden victory was faster than seasoned stake horses Nobiz Like Shobiz and Scat Daddy ran in a stake race on the same card.

I think Curlin is a spectacular horse who would have been fine for any competent trainer. I have no problem rooting for him. He isn't a horse who made some hard to explain move-up when switched to a "super trainer" - like a certain 2005 Horse of the Year was.

Why the coyish slam on Dutrow? Why not say it straight up? Go on and say there's no way he could improve a horse trained by Reinstedler and that the horse was busy training himself the first 3/4 of the year when he was winless.

What exactly do you think Dutrow did to the horse to improve him?

While you're at it, fill me in on how he kept moving Kip Deville up and won a half dozen G1s with Silver Train, ok?

Dutrow's got 3 wins from 6 total Breeders Cup starters.

Maybe you should go interview him?

Most important, why in the world would you be the one to cut short time spent with the trainer of the HOTY? If you had a date with Rosemary, Jr., that's one thing. Anything else, ....

[TitanSooner]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Well - I met Steve Asmussen up here this September - and he seemed to enjoy talking with me...so much so that our conversation carried for over ten minutes and he wasn't even the one who ended it.

So, while he might be a convicted cheater...... he's nice to DrugS. And honestly, isn't that what really matters when judging someone anyway?

In all seriousness - Curlin ran a MONSTER debut race at Gulfstream for a trainer who no one has ever accused of taking advantages. He was all over the racetrack - and his adjusted final time in that maiden victory was faster than seasoned stake horses Nobiz Like Shobiz and Scat Daddy ran in a stake race on the same card.

I think Curlin is a spectacular horse who would have been fine for any competent trainer. I have no problem rooting for him. He isn't a horse who made some hard to explain move-up when switched to a "super trainer" - like a certain 2005 Horse of the Year was.

Amen.. that was an awesome run.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Well - I met Steve Asmussen up here this September - and he seemed to enjoy talking with me...so much so that our conversation carried for over ten minutes and he wasn't even the one who ended it.

So, while he might be a convicted cheater...... he's nice to DrugS. And honestly, isn't that what really matters when judging someone anyway?

In all seriousness - Curlin ran a MONSTER debut race at Gulfstream for a trainer who no one has ever accused of taking advantages. He was all over the racetrack - and his adjusted final time in that maiden victory was faster than seasoned stake horses Nobiz Like Shobiz and Scat Daddy ran in a stake race on the same card.

I think Curlin is a spectacular horse who would have been fine for any competent trainer. I have no problem rooting for him. He isn't a horse who made some hard to explain move-up when switched to a "super trainer" - like a certain 2005 Horse of the Year was.

i don't care if he could charm a free nookie from a hooker, he's a many times over cheater.
as for the horse, yeah, he's good and has been so from the get go. dammed shame that guy gets to celebrate as tho he had something to do with it. so, as always with that one, i try to focus on the exploits of curlin, not the fact that a certain oh so charismatic trainer gets a windfall from the horse being so good.
would be much easier to stomach had he stayed with ms pitts.

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by Danzig

how many people can't/won't celebrate curlin? i have a hard time with it. honestly, i do. i wish that horse was with practically anyone else.

Been saying this since the Preakness. Of course it sucks that the horse is managed by criminals, but he's a flat-out superstar nonetheless, and he just completed one of the more impressive seasons I've seen since I started watching racing.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

Been saying this since the Preakness. Of course it sucks that the horse is managed by criminals, but he's a flat-out superstar nonetheless, and he just completed one of the more impressive seasons I've seen since I started watching racing.

yeah, he's good. makes it that much harder to appreciate.

[Merlinsky]

As much as I want to grumble, I can't argue with a time of 2:00.59. A second and a half faster than Invasor last year. So there's no way to make his connections seem more warm and fuzzy? Would beer goggles help?

The ESPN folks sure seemed to have trouble liking those people. Rather surprised they didn't try to gloss over it but too many informed people would smell a rat. There aren't just laypersons watching for whom to create a BS feel good tale.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

As much as I want to grumble, I can't argue with a time of 2:00.59. A second and a half faster than Invasor last year. So there's no way to make his connections seem more warm and fuzzy? Would beer goggles help?

i don't like to compare times from different tracks, surfaces, pace, etc.
as for beer goggles, it would take a LOT of beer.
i think curlin is top notch. but his humans.....ugh

pass the beer.

as for the espn folk, they aren't the only ones. is it just me, or was the grandstand somewhat subdued at races end?

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

As much as I want to grumble, I can't argue with a time of 2:00.59. A second and a half faster than Invasor last year. So there's no way to make his connections seem more warm and fuzzy? Would beer goggles help?

The ESPN folks sure seemed to have trouble liking those people. Rather surprised they didn't try to gloss over it but too many informed people would smell a rat. There aren't just laypersons watching for whom to create a BS feel good tale.

Two different tracks, though...

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

The way Curlin ran - I haven't watched replays and studied charts and done any work on todays races - but I doubt he was beating Curlin today.

While Invasor is obviously a MUCH better horse than Hard Spun....Hard Spun is an underrated horse when he makes the lead....and it was totally shocking with the ease that Curlin passed him - especially considering how Hard Spun had a favorable pace on top of making the lead.
On first impressions - even though everything went the way you'd draw it up forHard Spun...he was no disapointment today at all. I certainly don't think Hard Spun lost anything in defeat...even with the harshest of critics who knew he had it all his way.

Curlin is just plain awesome. I think Invasor's class probably would have willed him past HS though.

:23 and :45 and 4 is way too quick of a pace for 10F. I thought Hard Spun did a heck of a job to hold second after going that fast early on.

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by sirbarton

:23 and :45 and 4 is way too quick of a pace for 10F. I thought Hard Spun did a heck of a job to hold second after going that fast early on.

Hard Spun is an impressive horse. I think it's a shame we won't see him run again because he's a colt that seems to put in an awesome effort almost every time. I love horses like that.

Originally Posted by Cajungator26

Hard Spun is an impressive horse. I think it's a shame we won't see him run again because he's a colt that seems to put in an awesome effort almost every time. I love horses like that.

He tries hard every time, no doubt. That's one of the things I like about Octave. She gives her very best every time. I had HS across--wish he could have gone the early fractons in something like 24, 48 and 1:12. He might have had more left when Curlin came to him. Although the way the winner finished he would have been hard to hold off regardless of early pace.

[2Hot4TV]

Originally Posted by ALostTexan

...if Invasor didn't have his injury and ran today? Would have been an interesting year...

Hope he liked mud.

[Pedigree Ann]

Originally Posted by 2Hot4TV

Hope he liked mud.

Most South American horses do take to our mud, oddly enough. The consistency of their dirt tracks is different from that of ours, and it may be that the action required works wells on US off-tracks.

[Crown@club]

Originally Posted by ALostTexan

...if Invasor didn't have his injury and ran today? Would have been an interesting year...

We would have gotten better odds on Curlin!