Zito: Commentator passing BC; Targets '09 season

[Kasept]

Coming back too slowly from Mass Cap.. Will return for 8yo year..

http://www.drf.com/news/article/98869.html

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Coming back too slowly from Mass Cap.. Will return for 8yo year..

http://www.drf.com/news/article/98869.html

like if it was at Belmont he wouldnt be up to it?

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by freddymo

like if it was at Belmont he wouldnt be up to it?

Would they have bothered working him yesterday if they weren't at least considering it? Seems to me Farmer wanted to give it a shot so they worked him and he wasn't ready.

[KirisClown]

It's the right move.. Give him all the time he needs to recuperate..

The older male divison will be horrendous again in 09... he'll have another good year on the track and another Whitney win...

[2MinsToPost]

Man talk about proper management of a horse putting them in the right spots at the right times - 20 starts lifetime 13 wins 7 years old.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

Would they have bothered working him yesterday if they weren't at least considering it? Seems to me Farmer wanted to give it a shot so they worked him and he wasn't ready.

or maybe the work yesterday told them he wasn't coming back well, which is why they shelved him. he indicated he was tired, they're doing the right thing, regardless of what they may have been considering. i'd have been surprised had he shown up on the west coast for the bc, even if he worked like gangbusters. that surface is not inspiring confidence in many people.

As hard as it is for me to say this, this is 100% the correct decision

[the_fat_man]

I don't get it.

If the BC was the ultimate aim, why 'risk' running in SUF if the horse needs extra time between races?

And, given the EASY time of it he had at SUF, why the extra time to recover?
Here's a case where a horse (physically) bounced.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by freddymo

like if it was at Belmont he wouldnt be up to it?

I don't know about that. He runs best when given the proper time.

[cakes44]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

Would you ship a known fragile horse across the country to run on a surface he's never run on, while you have him in possibly the best form of his career?

The best form of his career part doesn't matter a whole lot here being that he will be laid up until 2009.

[blackthroatedwind]

Anybody that thinks Nick wouldn't like to take a shot in the BC Classic with Commentator isn't really thinking. What trainer wouldn't take a shot with a horse under 10:1 in a $5 Million race that could well earn his horse Horse of the Year with a victory?

The simple fact is he needs real time between his races to do his best running and the BC comes a little too soon for Commentator. Obviously, polytrack and California are part of the equation, but even with all that, if this horse was absolutely prepared he would be going. His connections are well aware of what's at stake.

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Anybody that thinks Nick wouldn't like to take a shot in the BC Classic with Commentator isn't really thinking. What trainer wouldn't take a shot with a horse under 10:1 in a $5 Million race that could well earn his horse Horse of the Year with a victory?

The simple fact is he needs real time between his races to do his best running and the BC comes a little too soon for Commentator. Obviously, polytrack and California are part of the equation, but even with all that, if this horse was absolutely prepared he would be going. His connections are well aware of what's at stake.

I guess then the Mass Handicap "America's Race" or Suffolk Downs "the birth place of CHAMPIONS" precluded the 5 million dollar race? Explain not running in an earlier dated/carded stake and heading to BCC if Zito knows the horse needs 120 days between starts?

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by freddymo

I guess then the Mass Handicap "America's Race" or Suffolk Downs "the birth place of CHAMPIONS" precluded the 5 million dollar race? Explain not running in an earlier dated/carded stake and heading to BCC if Zito knows the horse needs 120 days between starts?

I'm confused Freddy....he ran Commentator in the Mass Cap because it was exactly seven weeks after the Whitney. That was how long he felt the horse needed......he would not have been ready for a race at an earlier date. He's a gelding, so winning a Graded race isn't of real importance, and the Mass Cap was a perfect spot ( hard to argue with that in result ). Now the BC is six weeks from that race and he feels the horse needs more time.

What am I missing?

[Indian Charlie]

Did you ban pg1985 again?