Graveyard of Favorites

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

It ain\'t Saratoga any longer.

The new Giant Killer is Tampa Bay Downs. War Pass didn\'t do himself any favors acting like he did, but Make Me Zach schooled more than War Pass and ought to have everyone looking real closely at the Monmouth number. Unless this years fillies are that fast too.

What I thought what was unreal was how light the exotics were all down the line. Lots of folks said \"Prove it to me.\"

This Derby is gonna be a dilly for a filly.

[tmon]

I wouldn\'t be surprised if War Pass got stepped on coming out of the gate.

[EJXD2]

Agree that the exotics were VERY light considering the beating War Pass took in the pick N and straight pools. The third-place finisher paid more to show than the exacta!

EdD

[xichibanx]

I doubt you\'ll ever see War Pass on a racetrack again.

[TGJB]

All other issues aside, what figure at Mth makes War Pass running last in this field make sense? You figure I have it wrong by 30 lengths?

[girly]

I hope he\'s not hurt is all.

[miff]

Chuck,

What possible relevance could WP\'s race in the slop 4 months ago have to do with todays performance?


Mike

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

No not at all. I sincerely believe your figures are tops Jerry and I\'ve rated both War Pass and Pyro on their basis.  I\'ve just a dedicated theory that a front end horse on a skipping surface results in unreliable figures. I suspected the Monmouth figure was unreliable by subsequent efforts and though Pyro has won since then he has not shown back speed. I just don\'t think the back speed is there to return to.

When someone had the strategy to hook War Pass you had to figure one of two things would happen. One thing was that War Pass would prove himself to be a superior horse. The other thing happened, and it likely happened because he was not as back fast as generally given credit for. I did not give him credit for the \"one time\".

 TGJB Wrote:
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> All other issues aside, what figure at Mth makes
> War Pass running last in this field make sense?
> You figure I have it wrong by 30 lengths?

[Flighted Iron]

CTC,

  ought to have everyone looking real closely at the Monmouth number. Unless this years fillies are that fast too.


   C\'mon man? Get real.

Your opinion would sound less unconvincing with some hard data to back it up.

[Uncle Buck]

\"I doubt you\'ll ever see War Pass on the race track again?\" I can\'t agree with that statement. You are talking about a multiple grade one winner with blazing speed. He didn\'t run well today. Maybe he was sore, sick or couldn\'t grip that track. The same thing happened to Afleet Alex in the Rebel a few years back. AA didn\'t show up in the Rebel and didn\'t run his race in the Derby either but he came back to show what a true runner he was in the Preakness and Belmont.

You have not seen the last of War Pass. He will be back with guns blazing soon enough. Most every good horse has thrown in a clunker or two.

[Josephus]

DRF reports that the owner said he had a fever this week, and yet they still ran him.  Can you believe it? They have a derby horse and take a chance like this: it\'s not as if he needed the earnings from the race.  They took their time bringing him out this year and then run him when there is a chance he may not be at his best.  As Beulah would say \" ICREDIBLA! \"

[bobphilo]

Josephus Wrote:
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> DRF reports that the owner said he had a fever
> this week, and yet they still ran him.  Can you
> believe it? They have a derby horse and take a
> chance like this: it\'s not as if he needed the
> earnings from the race.  They took their time
> bringing him out this year and then run him when
> there is a chance he may not be at his best.  As
> Beulah would say \" ICREDIBLA! \"

I\'m curious to see what the bloodwork shows. Something that should have been done when he spiked a fever. This is not the first time that Zito has run horses that should have been scratched to placate ambitious owners.
Remember Noble Causeway and Leggio at Saratoga?

Bob

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

The fever could certainly have been a factor.

I think  bigger factors were the poor break, having to run from behind and the heavy track.  He\'s obviously not a Seattle Slew and running from behind like Slew had to in the 1977 Derby is not something War Pass is gonna do easily.

Uncle Buck Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> \"I doubt you\'ll ever see War Pass on the race
> track again?\" I can\'t agree with that statement.
> You are talking about a multiple grade one winner
> with blazing speed. He didn\'t run well today.
> Maybe he was sore, sick or couldn\'t grip that
> track. The same thing happened to Afleet Alex in
> the Rebel a few years back. AA didn\'t show up in
> the Rebel and didn\'t run his race in the Derby
> either but he came back to show what a true runner
> he was in the Preakness and Belmont.
>
> You have not seen the last of War Pass. He will be
> back with guns blazing soon enough. Most every
> good horse has thrown in a clunker or two.

[Flighted Iron]

You couldn\'t be more accurate regarding horses mailing a race in now and then.


   \"He had a little fever earlier this week, but we thought he\'d be okay,\" said Robert LaPenta, the owner of War Pass. \"He\'s a great horse, but he just wasn\'t himself today.\"

Velasquez said he was squeezed from the outside on both turns and felt War Pass just didn\'t handle the track.
 
If in fact the owner has given the hard cold number on War Pass and considering
the trip and track likeability I don\'t find it odd for the horse to pack it in.

Personally I could care less if he was beaten let\'s say 56 lengths.If the betting
public allows War Pass to go postward at 7/2 or better in the Wood then I\'m all
in. Four weeks to rest off the preverbial non-effort and My gut says he\'a a New Yorker.

[marcus]

how many times have we seen young horses get knocked out by running big numbers . a 2 yo \"negative - 3 1/2 \" , the \"4 pt bounce \" next and then \"yesterdays \" (3-15) result  . there is little doubt imo - that the horses health and whatever side issues are attributed in some way to the big 2 yo number ... the question of how much more time will be needed before running back remains - my gut feeling is around BC time ...