After the race they started talking about Uncle Mo in the classic. The connections should look at the Dirt Mile instead. I don't think he would be as effective at 1 1/4, especially when looking at the possible starters of the 2 races. He would be overbet, but not even be top 3 at the finish in the Classic compared to winning the Dirt Mile. IMO

I agree. Yesterdays card at Belmont was a complete joke. 33 betting interests in the 5 stakes races and other than the Vosburgh, they were all just public workouts on paper. If the JCGC was an invitational, why would they invite horses like Ice Box, A.U. Miner, Birdrun to participate??

Because if they didn't then people would complain on message boards about it being a 3 horse field.

I disagree. I think he is far more effective if he is relaxed in the early stages of the race, something far less likely to happen in the mile than in the classic.

And this horse will have no issues with distance. I don't really get how people can watch him race and think otherwise.

Or they could invite better horses.

From where? The past?

You kind of tipped your hand with the comments about Creative Cause but this post pretty much sealed it.

i guess you think they only invited those who showed?

there is a two-fold problem with stakes right now...too many races, not enough good horses. people can afford to pick and choose, avoid other top horses, while still making good money and getting black type.

Really? I thought the evidence has been conclusive for quite some time now.

I've been off the reservation for some time but this one was pretty easy to decipher.

I can't say I follow his posts particularly closely, but perhaps he is relatively new to the game and doesn't know about the past history of Godolphin and Coolmore?

Which could also explain his post about inviting better horses?

Which precludes him from derision? Not on DT!

I take it you are THE source for everything that is horse racing? Good to know.

I am probably not as educated in the sport as some of you guys are. Things that you think are common knowledge, will not be to me as evident by your ridicule.

Trolling?

Well, yeah, he is either trolling or is ignorant of such things due to lack of experience with the sport.

Like I said earlier, I don't follow him particularly closely, but from what I recall reading from his posts, he seems consistent with his lack of experience.

If he's trolling, he's pretty consistent with it, which is hard for most trolls to be.

I've been wrong about these things before, on the other hand.

As for derision, yeah, why not? I just give newbs more leeway (rope) than I do someone like PG, Smoothie, CSC, etc, who should know better.

It's fine to be someone who's new to the game. However, it would be best to read and learn a bit before making a silly statement like you did. When you consider how the field for a race like the Jockey Club Gold Cup is compiled you have to figure that with it being the preeminent older horse race east of the Mississippi, the invitees are going to be top notch. Then consider that there are five races with purses of 300k or more restricted to 3YOs on dirt between Labor Day and October 16, which effectively removes the majority of them from competing in the JCGC. Then factor in that even the "best" handicap horses on the west coast either skipped the Goodwood or pointed to other races. That leaves you with a very small list of potential horses who could run in the Jockey Club Gold Cup so horses like Ice Box, Birdrun, and AU Miner are invited, in the event they are needed to get the field size to 6 or 7.

As far as Super Saturday goes, the complaints about the short fields are an annual occurrence. It is a day where being a fan is much more appealing than being a bettor. It's not mine or your fault, it's not NYRA's fault, it's the fault of those who decide not to run in the races on Super Saturday.

Fair enough.

Maragah suspended for careless ride in Vosburgh

I agree with him relaxing,and him getting the distance. I just don't think he is as effective at 1 1/4. He likes to run up front/close to the pace, from what I've seen in his races, and think of the probables who like to run the same way. That's what I was meaning with my post. He won't have his normal kick when the closers come a running compared to the Dirt Mile.

Yeah, but he seems like he can rate very well. I would think that the tactics would be different for him depending on which race he went into. If he does go in the mile, I would expect him to rate off what could be a hot pace (like the King's Bishop). If he went into the classic, I would expect him to be much closer to the front, with the chance of getting away by the time they entered the stretch.

I'm not sure what you mean by normal kick, isn't all relative on how the rest of the race plays out? I know he was coming off a layoff, but he got nailed at the wire going 7 furlongs. Was that his normal kick?

I just feel like that he has a better chance of giving that dominate/special performance that everyone is waiting for in the classic, where he might be able to take control of the race. As opposed to the mile where it might look like the King's Bishop again. Where he rates for the speed to fold and tries to get the jump on the closers.

I am thinking of the probables, and that is why I like him so much more in the BCC. He'll get a much softer trip than he would in the mile.

It's total nonsense to think he can't get 10f.

Really? You may disagree but to say that is a bit silly I think.

I'm not sure Saturday's win told us anything about Uncle Mo other than that he can be as good (if not better) as a 3YO as he was at 2 and that a mile is his perfect distance. You're taking quite a leap to believe he can go 10fs given the likelihood of a strong pace in a race with other frontrunners.

It's ridiculous to say he can't when:

1. He's never been asked to do it and...

2. He runs like he should have no problems with it.

As for the pedigree, that's ludicrous. For the first seven years or so at stud, IC got nothing but dogfood quality mares. Now that he's been getting better mares sent to him, his progeny seem to be less speed oriented.

Mo is out of an Arch mare as well, which should provide stamina.

I don't care about his pedigree, not with this many races under his belt. You're saying he's never been asked to do it but it almost seems like you're ignoring that the worst race of his life was at 9fs. Now he's a cinch in the BC because he wired after setting soft fractions in a flat mile race on the slop?

I only hope the wagering public approaches it the same way you do, since you know I'll be the first to give you credit should he win, but he is a horrible bet at his likely odds in the BC.

One really can't say the distance was a problem since he was sick when he ran the Wood Memorial. I look forward to seeing what a healthy Mo can do.

Maybe some people don't believe that he was actually sick.

He had the sniffles. Better put him in the shed.

I never said he's a cinch, though obviously I think he's going to be very difficult to beat.

What I have been saying is that it's ridiculous to say he can't get 10f. There is absolutely nothing real to indicate that he cannot. At least at this point.

I think a year later, it's likely he can get an extra 1.5 furlongs over the CD surface.

His race the other day means little to me.

I don't think anyone that saw him doesn't believe there was something very wrong with him.

I thought something was pretty wrong about a quarter mile into the race.

Where would Mo have finished in last years Classic with his form today?

He would have won by 3.. Healthy Uncle Mo is a friggin serious race horse WAY faster then Zenyatta and Blame WAY..I am the first to admit I thought he was through and I was 100 percent WRONG AGAIN . Uncle Mo is really really good and has the best trainer in the US training him. IF his liver can hold out why would he not win the classic?

I don't doubt that something was wrong but the whole thing was awfully strange, even for a Pletcher-Repole episode. In the weeks leading up to the Derby everyone was raving about his appearance then all of a sudden he's 100 lbs underweight and on his death bed?

This is unrelated to your post but as good as Uncle Mo is, what they're asking him to do is a tall order. I'd be willing to bet Uncle Mo doesn't even finish the best of the 3YOs in the BCC.

Even with that pace last year?

would be between musket man and first dude

He ran a faster Ragozin figure last year -- in the BC Juvenile -- than anyone in the BC Classic field ran.

If I was looking to bet against him -- I'd much rather play against him in the Dirt Mile than the Classic.

To think Mo will win the Classic is to not only think he's the best horse in the country but that he is by far the best. Handicapping what looks like the probables for the race and obviously assuming a fast track with trouble free trips for all, Mo would have to break a lot of rules to win. Not that he can't do it but to say it's gonna be a tall order is an understatement. I spent several hours today watching the Kelso, Wood, Whitney, Woodward, JCGC, Delaware Cap, Beldame, and Goodwood and the more I watch, Havre de Grace stands out to and Mo looks more and more doubtful. The way Game on Dude ran in the Goodwood and believing Baffert will give the same instruction again, it's very hard to see Mo anywhere near the pace, putting away the leaders, and holding off the closers at this distance. I think he's the best horse in the country but he's up against it.

Game On Dude would have won the Goodwood by about 6 lengths with a competent ride.

He overcame horribly stupid tactics and beat a stunningly bad field.

Yeah, no shid man. I found that odd too about all the raves pre Derby concerning Mo.

Hell, I was still uncertain he'd made a full recovery watching his every workout and then the King's Bishop. His last workout though was a thing of beauty.

Now, on to the next part of your post. What 3yo do you possibly see finishing ahead of him in the BCC? ST?

It really won't matter a whole lot where he is in regards to the pace. Obviously I'd love to see him go 47.2 loose on the lead, but if he's on his game, I don't think it will matter.