Pyro Smyro.. What A Slow Horse...

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by HaloWishingwell

"And if I may quote Bob Baffert, "Polytrack makes good horses look average, and average horses look good"."


Finishing tenth is not a race of an average horse. Even if he wasn't cranked up he surely should have been somewhere in the vicinity of the top three. Nazfger last year with STREET SENSE was believable that he wasn't cranked up and he managed a fourth place blanket finish. PYRO only blanketed the ambulance around the track.I expect more than that from a good horse.

As JJP said, if he didn't handle the surface (and don't act like that's some wild supposition), what difference does it make if he ran sixth or tenth? He wasn't asked much by Bridgmo and once he saw that he couldn't place, he left him alone. The fact that the second and third choices ran ninth and eleventh gives even more cause to laugh off the race.

[HaloWishingwell]

“I asked him for run around the turn to try and set myself up pretty good and I didn’t get the response I was hoping for,” said jockey Shaun Bridgmohan. “I realized on the turn that it just wasn’t going to be his day.”


Maybe at some point PYRO was eased on but not before trying to run his usual race. I can understand the theory that he didnt take to the track or he wasn't being pushed hard training for this race to keep him fresh for the Derby/Triple Crown. My point is he finished so far back it couldnt be good for fitness or confidence in him. Now worse to hear he finished tenth in race that mustered such a low figure is terrible. Top class horses don't run final prep clunkers like that. Funny thing is the race might set up for him but I personally think he'll flatten out and conditioning will come to question after the race. Good luck with him.

[HaloWishingwell]

Running a terrible race on any surface on your final prep to the Derby traditionally doesn't payoff. If PYRO had trained on polytrack and showed displeasure over it I'm sure Assmussen would have looked for an alternative race. PYRO had three published works at Keeneland since March 24th. He had enough time to adjust to the surroundings and track. Apparently he didnt show any negative signs for him to be shipped elsewhere. I could accept a step back to setup for the Derby but this was alot more than a step back.

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

I have a question. Say Pyro ran in a turf stake last Saturday and not the Bluegrass, and was up the track. Would people still question his conditioning, etc?

I also find it amusing someone that is touting Court Vision, is also saying Pyro is too slow to win.

This year I'm almost worried that Court Vision might be slow enough TO win.

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

He ran awful and it was definitely not the kind of final prep you'd like to see. I just think he deserves the benefit of the doubt because of the surface.

He's a closer that didn't like the surface and had no pace to run at. Who exactly was he supposed to pass at the end?

[cmorioles]

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

He's a closer that like the surface and had no pace to run at. Who exactly was he supposed to pass at the end?

The pace was above average for a Keeneland 9f race.

[HaloWishingwell]

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

He's a closer that didn't like the surface and had no pace to run at. Who exactly was he supposed to pass at the end?

Maybe he was depressed he didnt get a chance to pass BLACKBERRY ROAD again.

[Thunder Gulch]

They are all slow on figures this year, but Pyro has shown the best closing kick, which may be reason enough to bet him with the way this race always seems to be run.

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by Thunder Gulch

They are all slow on figures this year, but Pyro has shown the best closing kick, which may be reason enough to bet him with the way this race always seems to be run.

Precisely. I like Pyro more now than I did before Saturday, because I don't give any credence to the polytrack race. At 5/1 or so in the Derby, which is what he would've been MAXIMUM had he won the Blue Grass, he would've been an underlay. At around 7/1 or 8/1, I think he's fair value.

[sdjcom]

Sorry I Respectfully Disagree, The Derby Is Rarely Won By A Horse
From Off The Pace, Maybe Staking 4-5th By Raely Off The The Pace Except For Street Sense And Sea Hero In The Last 20 Years

[slotdirt]

Originally Posted by sdjcom

Sorry I Respectfully Disagree, The Derby Is Rarely Won By A Horse
From Off The Pace, Maybe Staking 4-5th By Raely Off The The Pace Except For Street Sense And Sea Hero In The Last 20 Years

With all due respect, this is wrong.

[slotdirt]

Giacomo was really close to that pace in '05, same with Monarchos in 2001 and even Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000. Those guys were all real pressers and stalkers.

[HaloWishingwell]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

Precisely. I like Pyro more now than I did before Saturday, because I don't give any credence to the polytrack race. At 5/1 or so in the Derby, which is what he would've been MAXIMUM had he won the Blue Grass, he would've been an underlay. At around 7/1 or 8/1, I think he's fair value.

Don't you really mean that you like his price more now? Nothing from that race can make you like the horse more than before.

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

Giacomo was really close to that pace in '05, same with Monarchos in 2001 and even Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000. Those guys were all real pressers and stalkers.

Grindstone, Strike the Gold, Unbridled..

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by HaloWishingwell

Don't you really mean that you like his price more now? Nothing from that race can make you like the horse more than before.

As a horse, I like him just as much as I did before the race. As a betting interest, I like him more now.

[philcski]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

Grindstone, Strike the Gold, Unbridled, Thunder Gulch..

FTFY

[alysheba4]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

Precisely. I like Pyro more now than I did before Saturday, because I don't give any credence to the polytrack race. At 5/1 or so in the Derby, which is what he would've been MAXIMUM had he won the Blue Grass, he would've been an underlay. At around 7/1 or 8/1, I think he's fair value.

........ team, you will be getting a gift at anything above 5/1. he will hit the board but big brown is a FREAK. he will win by daylight.

[brianwspencer]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

As a horse, I like him just as much as I did before the race. As a betting interest, I like him more now.

Talked about the same thing with some of the guys at OTB Saturday after the race. Pyro immediately became probably the most attractive bet in the Derby to me. I don't always draw a line through Poly races by default, but I think he's legit and the price just got a whole lot more fair.

[Thunder Gulch]

Originally Posted by brianwspencer

Talked about the same thing with some of the guys at OTB Saturday after the race. Pyro immediately became probably the most attractive bet in the Derby to me. I don't always draw a line through Poly races by default, but I think he's legit and the price just got a whole lot more fair.

Right or wrong, I agree with you guys. I just hope a lot of backers do jump ship as I suspect they will. If he goes off 10-1 and loses, no regrets because I haveto take a shot at something close to that price.

[MaTH716]

Originally Posted by Thunder Gulch

Right or wrong, I agree with you guys. I just hope a lot of backers do jump ship as I suspect they will. If he goes off 10-1 and loses, no regrets because I haveto take a shot at something close to that price.

I personally do not think that you have to worry about people backing off the horse to get that price. So many people (who do not follow racing the other 364 days of the year) will be betting the race and wil see that Pyro ran 12 in last race and will think the horse has no shot. What do they know about poly excuses. I personally think he has a big chance. I am really not in love with any horse yet, but I am thinking that there is going to be a ton of pace in the race. So he is a very logical pick.