Delightful Kiss

[Dunbar]

I guess I always wanted to title a thread "Delightful Kiss".

No, seriously, I liked this horse's 3rd in the TB Derby. The head-on replay showed that he ducked WAY out at the start, losing several lengths while trying to find the rest of the horses. After 1/4 mile Delightful Kiss was 9 lengths behind Any Given Saturday. At the end he was less than 6.5 lengths behind AGS. After spotting Street Sense a 6.5 length lead in that first quarter (much of it due to the start), Delightful Kiss kept pace for the rest of the race.

--Dunbar

[Cajungator26]

I guess I always wanted to title a thread "Delightful Kiss".

No, seriously, I liked this horse's 3rd in the TB Derby. The head-on replay showed that he ducked WAY out at the start, losing several lengths while trying to find the rest of the horses. After 1/4 mile Delightful Kiss was 9 lengths behind Any Given Saturday. At the end he was less than 6.5 lengths behind AGS. After spotting Street Sense a 6.5 length lead in that first quarter (much of it due to the start), Delightful Kiss kept pace for the rest of the race.

--Dunbar

I absolutely adored this horse... I'm glad someone else liked him too.

[blackthroatedwind]

Methinks he merely sucked up for third.

[Dunbar]

Methinks he merely sucked up for third.

Did you watch the head on replay of the start, BTWind? The horse looked like it had a meeting it was trying to make near the outside rail.

--Dunbar

[Dunbar]

I just watched the replay again at:

http://tampabaydowns.com/DailyReplays.aspx (choose 3/17, race 12)

It's almost comical watching Delightful Kiss zigzaggin at the start. From post 7 he gets out to post 11 before the rider cuts him back toward the inside rail. When he makes that cut, he looks like a rodeo horse chasing down an errant calf. (Only the head-on view shows how far he ducked out.)

Going 5-wide on the 2nd turn didn't help any, either.

--Dunbar

[ArlJim78]

The head on replay was comical.

While not a horse that is going to make anyones list of Derby horses, I am keeping this horse on my radar as I think he has shown noticeable improvement since adding lasix and going back to dirt. I think he is a little undervalued right now and could be the type that clunks up into the tri or super at a price.

If I can toot my own horn for a second, I keyed him third in the Tampa bay derby using Street Sense / Any Given Sat / Delightful Kiss / with three horses for fourth in the super. Not a huge payout but since my ticket was basically a $3 play it wasn't bad.

[Mortimer]

"losing several lengths while trying to find the rest of the horses."



This is a very bad sign.

[Cajungator26]

"losing several lengths while trying to find the rest of the horses."



This is a very bad sign.

LOL

I just watched it again and he did look very confused as to which way he needed to run. I wonder how he would have done had he broken normally?

[Dunbar]

LOL

I just watched it again and he did look very confused as to which way he needed to run. I wonder how he would have done had he broken normally?

Breaking "normally" for him is still sort of slow. But I think his zigzag cost him at least 3 lengths, Cajun. He was 13 lengths behind after a first quarter run in 23:50! Give him another length for taking the 2nd turn 5-wide, and that puts him within a couple of lengths of Street Sense and AGS.

I'm looking forward to his next race.

If I can toot my own horn for a second, I keyed him third in the Tampa bay derby using Street Sense / Any Given Sat / Delightful Kiss / with three horses for fourth in the super. Not a huge payout but since my ticket was basically a $3 play it wasn't bad.

"wasn't bad" is an understatement. Nice work, Jim.

--Dunbar

[easy goer]

He was actually finishing signing one last autograph when the gates opened and had to run back to the rail: "here kid, take this, I gotta go.."

[Mortimer]

LOL

I just watched it again and he did look very confused as to which way he needed to run. I wonder how he would have done had he broken normally?



Maybe that's why they had him break as they did.

[easy goer]

I am leery of looking at him as a bet back. Supposedly there was a strong head wind on the back and strong tail wind on the home stretch. This favors closers. His closing run may have been a bit wind aided, passing several tired horses in the stretch who may have been working harder against the wind on the back stretch.

I dont know about SS and Any Saturday, I assume they were working very hard vis a vis one another so this may have helped Kiss suck up...

Hard to factor, I'm just a little skeptical. Others like.

[Mortimer]

This is only a test.



No one will be vaporized.

[Dunbar]

Methinks he merely sucked up for third.

Methinks you were right and I was wrong.

--Dunbar

[jman5581]

I absolutely adored this horse... I'm glad someone else liked him too.


Got your picture, but it's on my phone. Batteries died in the camera. I think it's a decent shot of him... I can either send it to your phone or you can wait on me to figure out how to get it to my pc.