So you think Bernardini is the best too? It took me so long to get to this level of the game as far as handicapping goes. The hardest part is learning not to be biased, and I am now there. I now acknowledge horses for what they really are instead of acknowledging them for what I want them to be. Trust me when I say that this horse is the real deal. Bet against him at your own risk. Oh, by the way, I NEVER actually thought that Corinthian could beat Discreet Cat;)

What can I say, thats my girl....You couldn't have said it better..Afleet Alex had one of the best 1/2 - 3/8 of a mile kicks that I've ever seen...insane turn of foot from the far turn to the wire...His problems were chronic lung infections...he won the Belmont and Arky Derby with small lung infections and lost the Mountain Valley with a severe lung infection and lost the Derby with a significant lung infection...

Heads and shoulders better? He ran slightly quicker on the same track and the Bernardini did it at an unusual distance. Amazing how good this Bernardini is off a win in a 4 horse field and a win against tired horses that ran 10F 2 weeks earlier. I am going to put him in the Red Bullet category before I put him in the Seattle Slew category.

I didn't know that about him. Funny Cide had a similar problem in the beginning stages of his career. I knew Alex had a lung infection in the Rebel, but I didn't know that it was a chronic problem. Alex is honestly my favorite horse of all time. I loved the horse after his Mountain Valley performance, but was sold on him when he won the Ark. His Preakness was amazing! He should have fallen, but he didn't. Simply amazing! It was one of the greatest feats in horse racing that I have ever seen.

I thought Bernardini could be as good as Barbaro....I know that will not be a popular thought, but I said on ATTRAB that he was special after his Withers win and I thought that he was the horse to beat if he showed up in the Preakness and Belmont...Barbaro's Derby was so significant that he obviously was the horse to beat in the Preakness, but I sincerely thought that Bernardini would beat Barbaro...I thought he was a special animal sitting on a huge race and that if Barbaro regressed a little that Bernardini would beat him on the square.....I didn't want it to happen the way that it did though..I wish there could have been a thrilling stretch run by the two to see which colt was truly better - but we'll never know...Personally, I think Bernardini is the boss on the dirt and I always felt like Barbaro was better on the turf....just my opinion..you certainly cannot deny his Derby win...Let's just say that my opinion on Bernardini paid off hanesomely in the Preakness because I crushed all of the exotic wagers and spent a long time at the IRS window ;)

I would wager anything I owned that Bernardini crushes Invasor if the two ever hook up....the question is, would you?

By bad, I meant Rebel not Mountain Valley he had a severe lung infection....I misstated that..sorry

are you too good to be true?...Alex is definately one of my personal faves too...loved him

I will take Ministers Bid over Bernardini when they meet later this year and still think two other lightly raced colts in Corinthian and Showing Up will make life very difficult on Bernardini in the Travers. As for Invasor, he ran a slightly faster time than Bernardini at the same distance over the same track, although Beyers liked Bernardini a little more, but that was his first US race. If they hooked up next week I would take Invasor. In the fall, I would have to see how Bernardini looks after the summer.

I'll take Bernardini over Minister's Bid if the two run in the Travers....name the terms..

I am not sure Ministers Bid even makes the Travers. I like Showing Up going grass (2 races at Colonial) to dirt to win the Travers. They (MB and Bernardini) should meet up in the BC Classic though and by then Ministers Bid might just be the talk of the racing world. I suspect Ministers Bid will be around next year, hopefully Bernardini will be too.

Bernardini was as good as Barbaro talent wise...IMO. However, Barbaro was a fighter. His Florida Derby race was awesome! He literally had to wear Sharp Humor down because Sharp Humor would not go away. Had the Preakness been a fair race (without Barbaro breaking through the starting gate), it would have been close. I'm not sure which horse was actually the better horse, and I will never know. However, I do agree with you in that Barbaro was a great turf horse. He may have been the greatest turf horse the US has ever produced, but we'll never know that either. Congrats on your winning tickets on Preakness day. I actually sat the Preakness out, because I didn't make the trip up to the OTB because I had been riding horses all day. I wouldn't have cashed a ticket anyway because I would have had Barbaro on all of my tickets.

That is okay. Now we are even;)

Now, who is trying to get who? :D lol

I'm really glad to see that this is the first five star post. There really is a lot of very valuable information in this thread, and it is really deep as far as knowledge and debate goes. I hope we can have many more threads like this in the future. If so, I am definitely hooked on Derbytrail.com!

It was a very good thread. I hope Ministers Bid doesn't wind up being a bust though or I will have to erase part of the thread. ;)

Look at the timing, I think you have some bad information. The Dwyer is July 4th. The Jim Dandy is July 29th. The Haskell is August 6th and the Travers is August 26th.

Discreet Cat will be ready to run July 4th. July 29th is too long to wait.
July 29th and then August 26th will be perfect timing for Bernardini.

will be quite interesting how much Bernardini will develop and get better. Keep in mind hes an AP Indy, the time and patience will only help, scary dangerous!

Yeah, I think DC is going to the Dwyer too. It is only 8.5F and the field looks pretty soft. Bernardini is going Travers too, not the Haskell.

Exactly...hard to believe we've seen his best in just 4 starts...He has crazy upside beyond his Preakness effort...Think of how good you have to be to win an American Classic in your 4th start....Wow, it is still crazy to think about...this horse is special...