Animal Kingdom @ Royal Ascot

[brockguy]

Was just thinking to myself - would a win in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot be bigger than his win in Dubai or even his Kentucky Derby win?

The purse is lower, the opposition will most likely be less than Dubai but it would be some achievement if he does win and would show him off as a superstar on 3 surfaces!! I rather hope he does do it!

[casp0555]

Originally Posted by brockguy

Was just thinking to myself - would a win in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot be bigger than his win in Dubai or even his Kentucky Derby win?

The purse is lower, the opposition will most likely be less than Dubai but it would be some achievement if he does win and would show him off as a superstar on 3 surfaces!! I rather hope he does do it!

he definitely has a fan here

[PatCummings]

Originally Posted by brockguy

Was just thinking to myself - would a win in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot be bigger than his win in Dubai or even his Kentucky Derby win?

The purse is lower, the opposition will most likely be less than Dubai but it would be some achievement if he does win and would show him off as a superstar on 3 surfaces!! I rather hope he does do it!

There are many ways to interpret your question, but in the most general sense, I absolutely believe an Animal Kingdom win at Royal Ascot would definitely be "bigger" than the World Cup.

A US horse, winning the Derby, then later in his career 2nd in BC Mile, then winning the World Cup, then winning at Royal Ascot...it's additive. Because he won the Derby, winning at Ascot becomes such a bigger deal. It was great winning in Dubai, a huge purse, a huge feather in his cap, becoming the first American to do it on Tapeta...but to be the first Derby winner to take down a race at the Royal meeting - a mammoth occasion in the modern history of the sport.

[brockguy]

Its going to be a big day tomorrow and best of luck to Animal Kingdom - it's a pity that there aren't a few better challengers for him but we won't remember that in a few years if he wins and it will be good to be there. And also best of luck to one of my favourite Americans Wesley Ward with Ogermeister in the last tomorrow. If the rain stays away, he might not be caught!!

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by brockguy

Its going to be a big day tomorrow and best of luck to Animal Kingdom - it's a pity that there aren't a few better challengers for him but we won't remember that in a few years if he wins and it will be good to be there. And also best of luck to one of my favourite Americans Wesley Ward with Ogermeister in the last tomorrow. If the rain stays away, he might not be caught!!

There's something very unfortunate about this. You're right, but it's too bad.

As for Ogermeister....he carries the hopes of many degenerate horseplayers. To know Oger, is to love him.

[brockguy]

He is floating around the even money mark which I find surprising. It may be more to do with the bookies here trying to get the first favourite of the day and enticing the punters in as they do annually at Cheltenham for the first race.

[asudevil]

What time is the race? TVG?

[Danzig]

hate to see him end his career like that. going too soft?

[Cannon Shell]

This may be redboardish but I hadn't paid that much attention to this race but a straightaway mile race would not seem to fit AK's style or profile very well. Kind of like asking Mariano Rivera to start and go 7 in his final game.

IMO he was a very good horse who did some unique things in his career but i don't see how he could be considered a Hall of Fame horse considering that he won less than half his starts and only 3 stakes races. Sure 2 of them were the top of the top (though hardly great editions of those races) and the 2nd in the BC mile was also great effort under less than ideal circumstances but when your 4th best race was at Turfway I'm not sure that you have done enough. He is more or less the horse racing version of Bret Saberhagen

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pl...aberbr01.shtml

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

This may be redboardish but I hadn't paid that much attention to this race but a straightaway mile race would not seem to fit AK's style or profile very well. Kind of like asking Mariano Rivera to start and go 7 in his final game.

IMO he was a very good horse who did some unique things in his career but i don't see how he could be considered a Hall of Fame horse considering that he won less than half his starts and only 3 stakes races. Sure 2 of them were the top of the top (though hardly great editions of those races) and the 2nd in the BC mile was also great effort under less than ideal circumstances but when your 4th best race was at Turfway I'm not sure that you have done enough. He is more or less the horse racing version of Bret Saberhagen

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pl...aberbr01.shtml

US based horses are 66-1-3-0 in Dubai World Cup races at greater than 6 furlongs on either turf or tapeta.

Animal Kingdom was the lone winner in 2013. That coupled with a Kentucky Derby win and a very good 2nd off a long layoff in the Breeders Cup Mile might propel him into the Hall of Fame if things stay the way they are with how candidates are voted in.

He's certainly more deserving than the long list of jockeys who were slightly above average everyday riders at major circuits that find their way onto the ballot in volume.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

This may be redboardish but I hadn't paid that much attention to this race but a straightaway mile race would not seem to fit AK's style or profile very well. Kind of like asking Mariano Rivera to start and go 7 in his final game.

Worst analogy ever.

I think you're spreading yourself too thin on message boards these days.

[Stickhorse]

Animal Kingdom left his race in the paddock at Royal Ascot today when he lost his focus after becoming studdish. I wrote a blog for tomorrow's TDN, which more fully explains what happened. Horrible way for him to end his career, but it happened, I saw it with my own two eyes and the horse spent his last 15 minutes in the paddock on 5 legs. Not what we wanted to see. As one of our partners said to me "Sex in the work place is never a good idea."

[Rudeboyelvis]

Was Scav in the paddock?

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Worst analogy ever.

I think you're spreading yourself too thin on message boards these days.

So going from 1 1/4 on Tapeta to 1 mile straightaway isn't that big of a difference?

Did you at least like the Bret Saberhagen comparison?

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

So going from 1 1/4 on Tapeta to 1 mile straightaway isn't that big of a difference?

Did you at least like the Bret Saberhagen comparison?

I'm going to get in trouble if I answer that, as I think Saberhagen was great. That was, however, a much better analogy.

Animal Kingdom is a really cool horse. I think on everybody's best day, he was likely the best of today's group, it was much more the circumstances that were the problem. In a way, you could almost be more critical of him had he lost today by a neck. He simply didn't show up today.

[Stickhorse]

He was too fresh.

Johnny V tried to get him to relax and AK didn't like it.

Hindsight 20/20 but the race was only a mile maybe it would have been better to let him run.