Pletcher could have won the Derby . . .

[todko]

Rags to Riches. Ran a better final time in bad track conditions. Tack on a :12 clip to her final and she ran faster than Street Sense. She was really motoring past the wire in the Oaks.

Pletcher might have had his Derby.

[Cajungator26]

I really don't think so, but we have no way of knowing.

[todko]

She couldn't have possibly done worse than his colts.

I try not to jump on the "greatest" bandwagon -- but Rags looks scary good. She might be the measure of some of the game's greatest fillies. That was a devastating performance on a bad track.

[cmorioles]

104 Beyer is very solid, not spectacular.

[ArlJim78]

Pletcher made the right call on this one, and was rewarded with a smashing victory in the Oaks. It was the right choice because it gave her the chance to fully dominate her own kind instead of chasing the derby dream.

I think she could have run a very respectable race in the derby, but I doubt if she could have won it. Rags is in an elite group of fillies. The sky is the limit for this girl.

[Hickory Hill Hoff]

Running her in the Derby would have been the worst thing to do.

She should run in the Belmont. She is better than Jazil and her sire is a Belmont winner.

[todko]

Originally Posted by cmfhb411

She ran her final 1/8th in 12.19. How was she going to run an additional furlong in 12 flat ? And her rider was looking quite busy in midstretch.

12.19 on that track was very good. She tracked solid fractions through the slop and still finished in 12.19. That track was a quagmire.

The boys had a much better track to run on. Street Sense closed with a storm. But only because he got a dream trip on the rail after sitting 19th down the backstretch. He was right around :25 for the final quarter.

Looks to me like Rags coulda won that race.

I know it's hard to think outside the box sometimes . . .

[todko]

Originally Posted by Bold Reasoning

She should run in the Belmont. She is better than Jazil and her sire is a Belmont winner.

Rags and Tiago in an exacta box. Throw Street Sense in for the tri.

[todko]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

104 Beyer is very solid, not spectacular.

Wasn't Beyer the same clown who said Curlin wouldn't finish in the top ten?

Even with the bonehead ride by Albarado Curlin was third. Might have won the damn thing with a different jockey.

Originally Posted by todko

Wasn't Beyer the same clown who said Curlin wouldn't finish in the top ten?

Even with the bonehead ride by Albarado Curlin was third. Might have won the damn thing with a different jockey.

[Danzig]

CROW, it's what's for dinner...



SM-crow_full.jpeg

[2Hot4TV]

Pletcher needed Street Sense in his barn to win yesterday.

[Danzig]

ah, then hard spun would have gotten roses after all!!

[Antitrust32]

I honestly think she would have been close given a good trip. May not have beat SS but would have been right there. IMO she's as good as any 3yo this year. Too bad Magnificence was injured.. she is a top class filly also and it would have been an outstanding year! The Oaks was the right decision though, and she was able to prove to her doubters she can beat anyone in her division. Great races Friday and Saturday!!

I wouldnt be surprised to see RTR take on the boys later on this year. Maybe she can run in the Haskell like Serena's Song!

[Danzig]

with 20 horse fields, it's a shame to see some of those colts go at it, let alone a filly. she ran in the right spot for her.

[Hickory Hill Hoff]

Originally Posted by Bold Reasoning

She should run in the Belmont. She is better than Jazil and her sire is a Belmont winner.

Keep her versus her own sex right now...maybe later in the year
but throwing her to the "wolves" right now wouldn't be right.

[AeWingnut]

Originally Posted by Hickory Hill Hoff

Keep her versus her own sex right now...maybe later in the year
but throwing her to the "wolves" right now wouldn't be right.

agreed

I think fillies have to take on the colts early while they are ahead of them. The boys are going to keep improving while the girls are already there.

I didn't see the Oaks so I can't say one way or the other.

[todko]

Hats off to Street Sense. They stuck to a strategy that worked -- mainly because of pinhead (sorry, had to throw in a Beyerism) moves by everyone else. It was clear they were going to run up the rail. They trained up the rail. Should have been obvious.

2:02 is nothing earthshaking. And the final quarter was decent but coming from 19th place nothing earthshaking either. The field pretty much imploded.

The question is now -- can he some back in 2 weeks? And then 3 weeks?

I'll hang with Curlin at Pimlico if we see a new jockey. Street Sense will be the one to beat. He handles the tight Churchill Downs turns well. And the turns at Pimlico are very similar.

Pletcher said he's only running Roxy. Should be a short field.

Would like to see Street Sense on the turf some day. He would run well on the grass.

[ELA]

JMHO, but no, she would not have beaten the colts. Isolating an 1/8th, or looking at the final time myopically, or the Beyer # for that matter doesn't say enough to say she would have beaten the boys. The Beyer, the 1/8th, or the final time -- and a great deal of other things -- does not take into consideration that she would have had to line with 19 boys, break with them, race with them and look many of them right in the eye.

It's easy to see why many would think so, but it's a hypothetical and in this case, I don't think so.

Eric