Curlin to run in the BC according to DRF

[covelj70]

my opinion is that the work yesterday looked visually impressive and that if he takes to the track, he won\'t be beat but I can\'t bet a horse that hasn\'t run on the surface yet facing the toughest field he has ever faced.  

This will be a tough one.  

Hopefully I can be alive to him and others in the multi-race exotics because there\'s too many variables to bet the race straight up (my opinion).

[ronwar]

I thought the field he beat in last years Classic is tougher than this bunch.

[covelj70]

interesting question.  Don\'t know about that.  I think Go Between is a very very good horse on the surface they are running on.  Put them both on dirt and we know what would happen but GB is the real deal on the poly (no pun intended).

I also think Student Council is as good as anyone was heading into last year\'s BC.  He\'s won the big races out west on the poly and he ran a 112 beyer and a big sheet number in the Whitney (can\'t remember the exact sheet number).  Awesome Gem who ran 3rd last year is back again and this year\'s euros look tougher than last year\'s euros.

throw col john into the mix who is as dangerous this year as Street Sense and Hard Spun was last year and I think that even with Big Brown, this is a pretty deep Classic Field.

[Silver Charm]

This race has quick footed Euro written all over it.

[jbelfior]

ronwar Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I thought the field he beat in last years Classic
> is tougher than this bunch.


It was. Lawyer Ron, Hard Spun, Street Sense. Not sure Curlin is as good as he was last year. Yes, he\'s getting the job done. But I don\'t see the explosive turn of foot that I saw in last year\'s Preakness, JCGC, and Classic. He\'s grinding them out this year. Maybe he\'s getting smarter in his old(er) age.

That being said, the race is over Santa Anita\'s Pro-Ride, not Del Mar\'s polytrack or the synthetic crap SA had during the winter. Good Luck with any of the Euros or Go Between.


Good Luck,
Joe B.

[MonmouthGuy]

Joe.

When you say \"good luck\" with any of the Euros or Go Between, are you suggesting that you believe that they won\'t handle the surface?

As someone that generally has stayed away from the synthetic surfaces, can you provide a quick primer on the differences between the pro-ride and the other surfaces in terms of biases we expect to see.  My head tells me to only play the turf races next weekend, but the devil inside of me knows better---and I am playing catch-up in terms of understanding which type of horses will handle the surface.  Any help will be appreciated.

[miff]

Mon Guy,

There is no clear answer as to who will handle pro ride except the ones who already have.Many speculating that if a horse did well on cushion, poly,tapeta or turf, they will handle pro ride. I am not so sure.

An important thing with this surface is that all horses will wear plain shoes, no caulks, stickers, bends. I wonder how the shoe thing will affect horses that have not been wearing plain shoes(dirt horses). Also wonder if horses will be shod differently and if it really means anything.Lots of if\'s and I expect some chaos, which of course means that every chalk will whistle!


Mike

[MonmouthGuy]

Thanks for your insight.

[RICH]

FWIW
courtesy of Bris, an note only 5% w/w at 1 1/16

2008 OAK TREE TRACK BIAS MEET(09/24 - 10/12)


Distance # Race % Wire Best Style Best Posts

6.0f Pro-Ride 35 11% P Middle
6.5f Pro-Ride 16 25% P Mid/Out

1 Mile Pro-Ride 11 18% P Outside
1 1/16m Pro-Ride 22 5% P Rail/Ins

Turf Sprint 10 10% S Mid/Out
Turf Routes 23 30% E Mid/Out

[Rick B.]

Silver Charm Wrote:
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> This race has quick footed Euro written all over it.

Do they make those?

Do they have the \"Turbo\" badge on so we can pick \'em out?

\"quick footed Euro\"...sorry, that phrase just looks bizarre to me.

[HP]

You\'ve got a point Rick.  How does anyone know how the Euros are going to run on the Pro-Ride?  It\'s hard for me to imagine how anyone could possibly figure this out beyond guessing or just not liking the top U.S. entries.

[Lost Cause]

I have asked this question before ...Hopefully there is an answer..
Is there any past performance maker for Euro races that will give a detailed PP line (Position from start to finish of a race, like a US DRF line)?  Not just the finish position and time of a euro runner with a comment.

[TGJB]

Rick-- congratulations on winning the Orlrans Fall Classic last weekend. Someone told me you actually finished first and second, took down 130k. Is this true?

[Rick B.]

Yes, it\'s true.

I\'m in the process of writing a testimonial for TG, including a reference to the mind-boggling ROTW call on Sunshine for Life, which I (fortunately) had the good sense to use on both entries. Send me an e-mail addy via pm.

[Rick B.]

The following was originally posted to @Derby; also posting here per suggestion:

***
 
Howard Dennis wrote:
 
 >Please note that Rick has always had a strong game and now has moved
 >to the next level which is the Championship level.
 
 Thanks for the kind words Howard, but what I\'ve been telling people is
 that I was more or less Jay Trotter for a few \"very good\" days -- minus
 the offer from Jennifer Tilly, of course.  
 
 The actual credit for the win goes to my oldest son, David. He isn\'t
 a horseplayer, but he tagged along this time and functioned as my
 personal assistant for three days, taking on all tasks large and small
 that sapped my energy and attention in previous tournaments. Willingly,
 unflinchingly, did whatever I asked, and he always came back for more
 work, with a smile on his face and a song in his heart.  
 
 David also kept me focused on the task at hand. A key moment Saturday
 was right after we hit the $49 horse in the stake at Belmont. While I
 was strutting around like a peacock, he was scanning the TV\'s and
 comparing them to our schedule of races. \"DAD!\", he yelled, \"Get over
 here! Didn\'t you want to play this horse in the 7th at Hawthorne?
 They\'re gonna load now!\"
 
 Yeah, I had a horse there. I scrambled to fill out the contest cards,
 David got the bets in just before the gate opened...and Strait of
 Mewsina put us over the top with $41.40 for the win.
 
 Kid saved me from making a $20,000 error of omission. Thank you, my
 first born son.  
 
 Rick Belanski