Albarado

[shanahan]

well, there you go...panic move, not even in the money.

[rob]

Its always the jockey isn\'t it. Excuse me, but I find no reason to point the finger at Albarado. He did the best he could with what he had under him.

[MonmouthGuy]

No way that is Albarado\'s fault.  Maybe he holds on for the show if he doesn\'t move as early, but Curlin was done much earlier. He didn\'t get into the race until after 3/4 of a mile, just like in the Haskell. He loses this race to the top 2 10 times out of 10 on this grass surface.

[Silver Charm]

It did look like he moved to early but Rob you may be right.

In his last two races he really did not punch it in when it looked like he had surged to a commanding lead.  

Kinda the same thing happened today but there was quality behind him.

[jma11473]

Unless Albarado\'s whip was a magic wand to transport Curlin to the finish line, he wasn\'t winning that race. If you were tearing up tickets at 4-5, that\'s sad, but no rider on the planet was winning that one on Curlin today.

[shanahan]

sorry boys, but I didn\'t bet Curlin so your taking it wrong...the poster from a few weeks back I was hoping to bait...I don\'t blame jocks, just decisions on naming them.  History always repeats itself.

[richiebee]

Shan--

I think Albarado takes too much abuse from the \"experts\" -- he was the leading
rider at Keeneland, no? Basically been winning at a 20% clip throughout the
year.

Curlin -- in my mind, the pokey works over the Pro-ride in the last month lead
me to believe either (a) Asmussen was overconfident or (b) the colt was not
happy over the Pro- Ride. In the end I think Asmussen would have rather not run
Curlin over this surface, but was overruled by the managing owner.

After Curlin\'s defeat, was happy to hear ESPN commentators mention, without
beating it to death, the steroid withdrawal factor.

The decision to run in the BC may have cost Curlin HOY as there will be a lot
of support for Zenyatta, who has won one dirt race in her career. Let the arguments begin.

Great performances-- Yes, Goldikova, but also Midnight Lute. A great training
job by Baffert with a runner who has his share of problems. When Fabulous Strike
did not even show speed in the Sprint, I felt quite sure that it was a good idea
to emphatically toss Curlin from the multiple race sequences.

Redboarding: My mantra was that Europe\'s second string was better than America\'s
starters. In the Turf Mile, Juvie Turf, Turf Classic and Classic, it was pretty
obvious what happens when the Euro starters come in.

Great to see the Mig win a BC race, especially since it didn\'t cost me a dime.

Enough Already? Not exactly.

P-Dub said that it was OK to discuss surface issues after the races were run.
I have said this before and I will repeat it here: If less than 1/2 of all of
the races run in the United States are run on a synthetic surface, there is no
way that the BC should be run on anything but dirt. There still has not been a
single synthetic race run in 3 of the major US racing circuits.[Sorry, I forgot
about Keeneland and Turfway].

There need to be some year end dirt championships planned for next year.

BC Contraction needed: The races need to be presented on one long glorious day.
Run the following races: Classic, Turf Classic, Turf Mile, Distaff, Juvenile
Route, Juvenile Sprint,Turf Sprint, F/M Turf and Marathon. [Sorry Again, add
Sprint]

God Bless America-- Schwarzenegger and Stronach in the BC Classic winners circle.

[jimbo66]

Good post mortem.

Sorry to be blunt, but anybody that thinks Albarado cost Curlin anything yesterday should find another hobby, as you are completely clueless.  Albarado, whom I don\'t like, gave Curlin a nice ride.  If the horse was good enough on polycrap, he would have won.  He swept the lead, with an outside move, on a track where the rail was death, but he got ran down by turf horses and Tiago, who at least had some experience running on the crap.  Curlin tried, but he didn\'t look like Curlin, just like Indian Blessing didn\'t look like Indian Blessing, Ginger Punch, Music Note, FAbulous Strike,, Hysterical Lady, etc.etc.etc.

Makes me wonder if perhaps I was too quick to call Goldikova the most impressive performance of the day.  There was exactly one superior dirt horse who ran superior on the crap and that was Midnight Lute.  Just how good is Midnight Lute?  I am sure he won\'t get the negative 7, but the figures on different surfaces don\'t relate as we have discussed here.  The horse was wide as hell and just ran down a very game and improving 3 year old in Fatal Bullet who ran a very good race IMO, and not just because I bet on him.  Put away the speed on the outside and held off the poly specialist Street Boss easily, but had no answer for the huge Midnight Lute.  I don\'t know that I have seen a bigger horse than Midnight Lute.

[shanahan]

I won\'t beat it to death or wear you out on this, but since you made it personal and referred to me as \"clueless\", here is my final take:

He moved too soon.  He should have and could have held the show money.  That\'s it.  He\'s a good rider who just has not matured to have the patience of a great rider.  Maybe it jst takes longer for him.  I\'ve seen him ride for 15 years up close.  That\'s all from here on it.