barbaro

did commentator win a sprint after the whitney?

How many get the chance though? When I see horses like Nobiz and Showing Up do it, I know there are others that are more talented that could. They may not be able to be top five in the country on both surfaces but could be more than capable of competing in graded races. Lava Man and Candy Ride just came to my mind. Asi Siempre. Barbaro. Giant's Causeway, Sakhee, Jolypha, Ibn Bey, Arcangues, Sheikh Albadou, Dayjur, Johannesburg, Arazi. I'm convinced it could be done more often than most people think.

Happens all the time in South America. They do dirt to grass alot.

Jones felt that Hard Spun would have been a world class grass miler.

I think of all the horses who retired early last year...Hard Spun is the one I am most disappointed in not seeing develop further.

That Beldame was one of the most disappointing races ive ever seen...

They do dirt to grass there. In the rest of the world, they do females against males all the time. They do 3yo's against older all the time. I've even seen a couple of 2yo's facing older horses in some of their sprint stakes. It makes me glad that horses like Ouija Board and Miesque and Ridgewood Pearl were campaigned over there instead of over here because they weren't limited to our silly traditions.

We had a stretch here from 1982 to 1996 where the Met Mile was won by Conquistador Cielo, Gulch, Dixie Brass, Holy Bull, and Honour and Glory. Housebuster ran second. All 3yo's. But for some reason, running a good 3yo in the race has fallen out of favor and I don't understand why. A 3yo gets something like a 13 pound allowance from older horses on the scale. That's huge. If I had a horse like War Pass and he lost the Derby, I'd be headed right for the Met. Back in 2004, I very nearly went to my knees to beg this guy to run Lion Heart in the Met after he lost the Derby but they insisted on the Preakness. Damn traditions.

Dark Mirage...anyone have her PP's?

There are fewer options for fillies in Europe against their own gender. Similarly, once the classics are run the 3yo's dont have tons of places to go against just each other.
They don't really have the equivalent of the Travers or Swaps or King's Bishop to run for. I love seeing 3yo's in the Met. Invariable the 3yo Met winner gets toasted in races like the Wood or the Blue Grass when they should be reading to go an all out blast for a mile at the end of May.

Honey Rider never raced against males.

That would be incorrect.

sorry i meant honey rYder. I was contradicting what he said but sarcasm doesnt go well with typing. maybe i should have used one of these :rolleyes:

I assume you are talking about the Todd Pletcher horse.....and she raced twice against the boys last year.

didnt she run more than twice with the boys?

You are right....at least three. I forgot about Florida when she was second to Jambalaya. She also ran in Dubai and the UN at Monmouth.

I don't get the need for the sarcasm. I didn't say that it NEVER happens. I said that I think more females could be successful if given the opportunities.

Jersey Girl did it in 1998... she won the Mother Goose then shortened up and won the Test..

Go for Wand had that same double.

Hard Spun would of been a monster going a mile on the turf.
too bad the "sporting" sheiks didn't race him this year. I think they could have really increased his value as a stallion tenfold.

Or you could blame the people that sold him. But that isn't as popular a position to have.