Fastest workouts

[The Indomitable DrugS]

The three that pop into my head are Candy Ride's two one-mile works before the Pac Classic - Old Trieste's 6f work before the Derby - and Funny Cide's infamous 57.42 before the Belmont.

I'm probably forgetting some very obvious one since it's a subject I don't pay much attention to.

I remember thinking the two by Candy Ride were complete and total BS. He worked a mile in 1:36 1/5 at Del Mar - and a week later worked a mile in 1:35.40. On those same two days - stakes and alw races were going in 1:37 and change. If the track was the same speed in the AM as it was in the PM .. he would have run like Beyers of 107 and 110 with his published work time a week apart.

Tomo brought up the Old Trieste pre-Derby work before - but he worked 6f in 1:09 flat. That afternoon - Personal Risk won a 6f race in 1:09.95 with a 93 Beyer...meaning Old Trieste's time would have registered a 106 Beyer had it come in a race that day.

Anyone have any others?

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Tomo brought up the Old Trieste pre-Derby work before - but he worked 6f in 1:09 flat. That afternoon - Personal Risk won a 6f race in 1:09.95 with a 93 Beyer...meaning Old Trieste's time would have registered a 106 Beyer had it come in a race that day.

Anyone have any others?

I believe Surf Cat or some other Headley horse worked 7f in 1:21+ just a couple of years ago.

Sunday Silence worked between races at Del Mar in preparation for the Super Derby in 1:33 1/5, putting Candy Ride to pathetic shame.

It's Rollo, by the way.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

I believe Surf Cat or some other Headley horse worked 7f in 1:21+ just a couple of years ago.

Sunday Silence worked between races at Del Mar in preparation for the Super Derby in 1:33 1/5, putting Candy Ride to pathetic shame.

It's Rollo, by the way.

Like the Candy?

I wonder how fast the track was playing when SS worked that fast. 1:33 1/5 would have broken Precisionist's track record.

[Indian Charlie]

I think Precisionist also blazed a fast mile workout at del mar coming off his huge layoff.

Snow Chief.

He was set to debut going 5 or 5.5 at HP on the day of my high school graduation. He had a 6f work down at Caliente that was something really sick, like 110 flat or faster. This is for a two year old in June!

He won and paid pretty decently actually.

Might have been third choice.

I barely made it back to my high school in time for the graduation ceremony.

[Indian Charlie]

I believe Secretariat once broke a long standing 10f track record in a workout, but I might be mistaken.

[ateamstupid]

I think I remember seeing Peace Rules work in :45 and change before the '04 Foster.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

I believe Surf Cat or some other Headley horse worked 7f in 1:21+ just a couple of years ago.

Wasn't Surf Cat.

Probably happened during the time when the SA track was insanely fast. I remember Bob Black Jack winning some Jan 3yo stake and running 6fs in a world record 1:06 2/5ths.

Thanks to google - I found out that SS worked the mile in 1:33 2/5ths on a Saturday between races at Del Mar. That's amazing. I'd love to know how fast the track was that day.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Wasn't Surf Cat.

Probably happened during the time when the SA track was insanely fast. I remember Bob Black Jack winning some Jan 3yo stake and running 6fs in a world record 1:06 2/5ths.

Thanks to google - I found out that SS worked the mile in 1:33 2/5ths on a Saturday between races at Del Mar. That's amazing. I'd love to know how fast the track was that day.

The track back then was FAST. Always.
And if I remember correctly, for whatever reason, mile races seemed to be run much faster than other route distances.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Wasn't Surf Cat.

Probably happened during the time when the SA track was insanely fast. I remember Bob Black Jack winning some Jan 3yo stake and running 6fs in a world record 1:06 2/5ths.

Thanks to google - I found out that SS worked the mile in 1:33 2/5ths on a Saturday between races at Del Mar. That's amazing. I'd love to know how fast the track was that day.

Midnight Lute also worked 1:21+ at Del Mar in advance of the 2008 Pat O'Brien. Broke the track record.

Give me a minute to figure out which Headley horse it was.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

The track back then was FAST. Always.
And if I remember correctly, for whatever reason, mile races seemed to be run much faster than other route distances.

I believe they would get surpringly fast fractions because the run-up was a lot longer than at other route distances at that track.

Notice in this video how long it takes the field to hit the wire for the first time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM0hmZ6ONIo

The field is at top speed by the time the timer starts. I believe that was the only distance at Del Mar where the field has that much of a running start to the beam.

The opposite occurs in Gulfstream races at one-mile right now. They break right at the pole - so it's almost like a stand still start to timer beam.

That's why a horse like Quality Road set the pace with a 25.15 first quarter in the Hal's Hope. Obviously, if he had a running start to the beam, he couldn't possibly go that slow even if the Boston Strangler was his jockey.

The 23.83 and 45.55 fractions This One's For Phil set in the '09 Fountain Of Youth are about as vicious as it gets for Derby preps.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Midnight Lute also worked 1:21+ at Del Mar in advance of the 2008 Pat O'Brien. Broke the track record.

Give me a minute to figure out which Headley horse it was.

Thanks. Midnight Lute's workout time of 1:21.60 that morning - would have translated to a 101 Beyer if it came in that afternoons races.

It doesn't sound like a crazy fast figure .. but it was on synthetic and last years BC Sprint was won with only a 106.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

I believe they would get surpringly fast fractions because the run-up was a lot longer than at other route distances at that track.

Notice in this video how long it takes the field to hit the wire for the first time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM0hmZ6ONIo

The field is at top speed by the time the timer starts. I believe that was the only distance at Del Mar where the field has that much of a running start to the beam.

The opposite occurs in Gulfstream races at one-mile right now. They break right at the pole - so it's almost like a stand still start to timer beam.

That's why a horse like Quality Road set the pace with a 25.15 first quarter in the Hal's Hope. Obviously, if he had a running start to the beam, he couldn't possibly go that slow even if the Boston Strangler was his jockey.

The 23.83 and 45.55 fractions This One's For Phil set in the '09 Fountain Of Youth are about as vicious as it gets for Derby preps.

Wow, I didn't know he posted that race from Cee's Tizzy. One of the truly fastest horses I've ever seen. What a shame he got hurt so badly at 3 and then stood stud in California. Had he stood in KY, or even Fla, who knows what he might have gotten.

If only he could scrounge up the maiden victory for him.
By the way, was that video from me?

[Indian Charlie]

Oh, and in that race you linked to, CT went the mile in 133.2. I think that was at the same meet that SS worked his 133.2 mile.

He also went 107 and change for his second lifetime win at the same meet.

Does that help give you an idea of what the track was like?

Then again, he was a total monster.

[Indian Charlie]

Looking over the PPs for AQU, I see that Bickersons recently worked a 33.4g work.

Not sure that really compares though to some of the others here.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Wow, I didn't know he posted that race from Cee's Tizzy. One of the truly fastest horses I've ever seen. What a shame he got hurt so badly at 3 and then stood stud in California. Had he stood in KY, or even Fla, who knows what he might have gotten.

If only he could scrounge up the maiden victory for him.
By the way, was that video from me?

Yes.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Oh, and in that race you linked to, CT went the mile in 133.2. I think that was at the same meet that SS worked his 133.2 mile.

He also went 107 and change for his second lifetime win at the same meet.

Does that help give you an idea of what the track was like?

Then again, he was a total monster.

The Cee's Tizzy races were from 1990, the following year after Sunday Silence. In his next start Cee's Tizzy was 3rd to Home At Last and Unbridled in the Super Derby. At the time, he set the fastest 1/2 mile fraction in Super Derby history (:45+). He came out of the race with a knee fracture that ended his career.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Funny Cide's infamous 57.42 before the Belmont.

Now that I looked it up - It actually was a 57.82 work 4 days before the Belmont. There was no racing at Belmont that day ... but the following day a five furlong MSW race went in 58.60 and the winner got an 85 Beyer. Thus, if the track was the same exact speed the previous morning, Funny Cide's 5f work time would translate to a 99 Beyer.

Not exactly what you want four days before a 12 furlong race.

[goingtothewhip]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Midnight Lute also worked 1:21+ at Del Mar in advance of the 2008 Pat O'Brien. Broke the track record.

Give me a minute to figure out which Headley horse it was.

Street Boss?

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by goingtothewhip

Street Boss?

Not sure, but he's the next logical horse. I was pretty certain it was Surf Cat but maybe it was a slower work, like 1:23 or something. It was definitely when Santa Anita's surface was super fast, but not necessarily during a race meet.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Rachel Alexandra's final workout for the Ky Oaks was smoking fast. A bullet 46.40

Hal Wiggins was standing at the gap by the clockers’ stand early Tuesday morning and trainer D. Wayne Lukas rode up on his pony.

“Hey Hal, your filly got a ‘2’ on the ‘Rag’ sheet yesterday,” Lukas said, referring to the :46.40 half-mile work put in by Wiggins’ Rachel Alexandra on Monday.

“But I didn’t get a dollar for it,” Wiggins said with a laugh. “She’s got to do it in the afternoon.”

"I thought she went too fast, but Calvin swears she does that every time," trainer Hal Wiggins said. "That is what she did at Oaklawn Park before the Fantasy [Stakes (G2)]; she worked in [:47.60], but that's just the way she is. I am glad to have one that can go that fast."

Rachel Alexandra spent the morning out of the intermittent showers and walked the shedrow.

“Everything looks good,” Wiggins said of the daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, who will break from post position six. “She got a little tired and I may walk her again tomorrow.”

Churchill clockers caught Rachel Alexandra in fractions of :11.60, :23.20, :34.80 during the breeze. She galloped out five furlongs in :58.40 and six furlongs in 1:10.60.

They didn't run any races that Monday ... but they ran on Tuesday .. and a horse who won a 6f dirt race in 1:12.11 got a 74 Beyer.

Thus, assuming the track was as fast Monday morning as it was Tuesday afternoon (impossible to know) Rachel Alexandra's "gallop out" time of 1:10.60 in her final Oaks work would have been the equivlant of a 98 Beyer.

That's just sick!!