He ought to do something if he cares about his career (or his daughter's--his assistant), cuz how much longer will it be before his other owners begin to see the big picture.

In fact, this looks bad for every trainer in CA with "good" horses that don't put out.

I thought Surf Cat's last 3 races were good, though I think he doesn't want to go further than 8.5f. He was solid in the San Diego, was in contention but didn't see out the 10f of the Pacific Classic, and made what I thought was a winning move in the Goodwood before hanging down the lane. His only poor efforts were when he was contesting the early pace (Oak Tree Mile and Californian). Certainly he hasn't been running indifferently on them the way Arson Squad was. I think he's interesting in the Dirt Mile if allowed to settle well off the pace.

I don't think he ever won a route race that had decent horses in it.

Going back to Arson Squad, and the Danzig turf discussion, I wonder if Headley wouldn't have held on to this horse if he moved him to the grass. His sire Brahms is by Danzig, and Arson Squad's only grass start was the La Jolla at Del Mar a couple of years ago. He was an even 4th, but I remember him being a little closer to the pace then usual and possibly stuck inside waiting for room on the turn. At the very least, the turf was worth another shot at some point.

Would've been nice for Meadowlands to post anything beyond the first quarter fraction, but I don't want to ask for too much.

Yeah, I thought he'd crush that day, too. I thought it was just gravy that this horse happened to be a very good sprinter (see his first couple of starts) that could also stretch out.

Of course, at the time, I thought Brahms was going to be a big time sire.

He's in Louisiana now.

How does Headley not caring for the synthetics affect how his horses run on them? If he has one that likes it, shouldn't it still be able to perform on it even if Headley hates it and vice versa?

That wasn't the point I was trying to make and it was only a minor point at that.

Bruce Headley was called out for not shipping his horses where they can run on conventional dirt. A valid question in the face of his struggle to maintain his previous rate of success, not to mention the specific stakes-calibur horses in his barn that seem to have lost their top form since the CA mandate.

I only suggested that the reason had nothing to do with his being satisfied/pleased with synthetic surfaces. He was actually one of the voices against its installation to begin with.

Ok gotcha. I agree with you too. Remember back when Surf Cat was a 3yo and there was talk about sending him to the Haskell? I remember laughing then about it knowing it was VERY unlikely and sure enough, Headley ended up keeping him home and running in the Pacific Classic. And this was when we still ran on dirt out here.

I think the only time he's shipped is for the BC, those being Bertrando, Lakota Brave, Son Of A Pistol, Kona Gold, and Kalookan Queen.

Actually, he also ran Dispersal's full brother Disposal in the Kentucky Derby with just 2 starts under his belt. It was the same year that Bertrando should have gone (but was injured), so I guess he's not even immune to Derby fever.

I think Disposal might have run once or twice more after his drubbing at Churchill.

If anyone wants to shoot someone today, I'm a volunteer victim

I'd love to see Coco Belle return to real dirt as well. She could probably win the BC sprint.

What does all this do to the Eclipse Awards, if anyone give a crap about those. Turf has seperate divisions, but are we supposed to pretend that dirt and synthetic are the same? Keeneland this weekend, in addition the The Big M Cup, tells you all you need to know about the dirt/synthetic comapison.