Lammtarra

[Dick Powell]

TGJB,
I think the horse you are thinking of from Godolphin is Lammatarra who won his lone start at 2 in the summer and then won the Epsom Derby next time out. He came back to beat older horses in the King George and then closed out his four-race career by winning the Arc.

By the way, how does anyone explain Australian racing? Last year\'s Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva was beaten by Duty Free winner Elvstoem on February 26 at nine furlongs, came back to beat him on March 12 at ten furlongs and then won again on March 19. And the prep for the Melbourne Cup (at two miles) is the Caulfield Cup the week before.

[Mall]

Hi Dick. I saw where your Dec. contest at FG is one of the ones offering the $1 million bonus if the winner also prevails at the NHC. Not sure if this answers your question, but the year I was there Kingston Rule ran in a mile & a quarter race less than a week before winning the Cup. I was lucky enough to talk to Bart Cummings that evening, & his explanation was that costs & a lack of employees due to Australia\'s liberal labor laws eliminated the possibility of training horses the way they are trained in the U.S., & forced trainers to use methods we might consider unusual.

[Dick Powell]

That\'s an interesting point since they do bunch their major races. BTW, the prep for the Melbourne Cup is the Cox Plate, not the Caulfield Cup that I wrote previously. It\'s run nine days before the Melbourne Cup which is run on a Tuesday.

Any fan of international racing should watch or tape TVG saturday night as Silent Witness goes for his 16 straight win - all turf sprints.

[jbelfior]

Not sure we can use turf racing as an example. Turf racing may as well be on another planet, that\'s how different it is from dirt racing.

We are talking about young 3yos who are being asked to travel a 1 1/4 for the first time in their life most likely with a pace profile that would be demanding for a 4 or 5yo.

Look, we all have our opinions on this. I\'ll look for the 3 race prep. If I\'m right or wrong, it does not prove anything.

What would be the more interesting discussion is whether you prefer a 2 race prep and a 3 week gap to the Derby, or a 3 race prep and a 5 week gap?


Good Luck,
Joe B.