Maimonides will win the Derby
 

Just kidding. But that WAS a very electric debut.

Zayat
 

Did we see the big reason why the move to the Spa?Opened with a 22 and then ran off. Pretty impressive the 9 ran a nice 2nd in first and nosed out for a distant 3rd. Looks like a big threat with a BIG purchase price.

all the best two year olds are on the east coast!

west coast sucks

He'll win the 2008 BCC

Runners from his first crop, 2yos of 2012, will win both bc juvie races (more if the bc continues its expansion) and a different runner of his will win each of the triple crown races.

Really shouldn't we retire him, has he not done enough?

LOL!

well, it's entirely obvious he will be retired prematurely, but i expect him to at least make it onto the derby trail early next year, which would probably means he first is bred in 2009.

But why not just retire him now, i mean, lets just keep extrapolating data from his first start. It's quite obvious he will win the triple crown, BCC and remain undefeated as long as he runs. Lets just save the horse from having to exert himself and put him in the shed now. Saves time don't ya think :)

Don't get me wrong I am the biggest east coast supporter but this was part of the whole Zayat/Baffert Del Mar exodus. If Del Mar never switched to Poly he would have raced at Del Mar

you have valid points!

still, i prefer that people's hopes get stirred up and then let down.

it is what it is, train at del mar, race at saratoga

this horse was coming before the move happened.

Vindicaton was made of glass

El Correador had foot problems

Roman Ruler had foot problems

The chances this guy has any soundness is iffy at best.

I understand let them lock in those futures on him winning the derby after he sets track records at 4 diffrent tracks and distances and he comes up lame 2 weeks before the big day. I like how you think.

thanks!

but, how about doing it ap indy style, where you wake up to riots in LA (i lived there at the time) and find out that ap indy was scratched the morning of the derby because of his foot problem.

that was a HUGE letdown man. i'd like to see that happen again, with the younger generation.

duh

My bet is they when they ship him back to run in SOCAL he will get beat by a cheap claiming horse.

I haven't seen the race, but I heard that he has a nice way of going so that he's not too hard on his legs. Who knows. It seems like the ones that are extremely fast and talented are always the ones that hurt themselves the easiest.

I think if he is to run in the BC we'll know soon enough by where he runs next. He's trained on both surfaces. Poly would be easier on his feet if he does have problems. He could have an entire Derby prep run on poly, then do as today and make the BIG run on dirt. He could have come east because the west coast dirt tracks are much harder. The east coast dirt tracks are softer, and we all know how soft CD is. :cool:

i remember reading a quote from a well known old trainer about 20 years ago (when i read the quote) that went something like:

"If they are running fast enough to win, they are running fast enough to get hurt"

That quote was already decades old when I read that.

no the ones that get hurt the most are the ones who are working bullets in June of their two year old seasons.

Like those 46.2's and 58's this one was doing in June?:D

because the SoCal horses are so much stronger? :confused: :confused:

Very exciting and impressive - he'll be fun to watch!

The horse looked great running on the dirt, but if he is going to make it to the derby, with his fragile pedigree, he better find a nice polytrack to train on. I prefer dirt racing, but polytrack is much much easier on a young horse. I say 2-5 he doesn't even make the derby.

I dont understand why Maimonides' pedigree is fragile just because his sire was injured.. Horses just get hurt sometimes and it is not always the pedigree's fault!

Vindication has been outstanding with his 2yo's so far. We can not classify that he is fragile. Supposedly, Vindication is the horse that most looks like his father, Seattle Slew. He is also out of a Strawberry Road mare who was a decent race horse. I for one think he will be an excellent sire, just like he was a great racehorse in his short career.

On to Maimonides, his race was awesome today. Top juve type awesome. I wont be surprised if he has a stellar year! He is a beautiful colt also!

Not to mention Baffert standing at the rail yelling "Faster! Faster!"

didnt I already say that....is there an echo in here, or am i bouncing off to many message boards ;)

His unraced dam was kin to a pair of horses who did compile 50 or more starts in their career.

In order to bring the $4.6 million he fetched as a yearling, he also had to be very correct.

I really hope this horse does well.

It might start a trend where others who pay fortunes for horses at select yearling sales, don't keep them in mothballs as 2-year-olds.....you know, like Godolphin is doing right now.

The fact that his sire and broodmare sire COMBINED for only 6 lifetime starts is of course a cause for concern about his ability to stay healthy.
Health issues aside however, I think the thing about this horse's pedigree to keep in mind is that he is tailor-made for being a good 2yo. His sire was obviously a very fast 2yo who has already sired some nice 2yos, his broodmare sire was also a graded stakes winner at 2, and his dam has already produced a multiple-graded stakes winner at 2. Clearly he comes from a family of fast-developing horses.
That doesn't mean that he might not be a good 3yo too, but it does increase the chances that while others colts improve dramatically over the next 12 months, this one may already be close to his peak.

Baffert looked like a bum in the winners circle. He could have change his jeans, and shirt. ;)

He recieved a 89 BSF.

The fact that he was drilling fast workouts in June of his 2-year-old season, is why I want to see him do well.

Him doing well might lead to Godolphin tweaking the philosophy they have of babying their expensive yearlings.

That's what I was referring to.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...sdate=8/9/2007

Baffert colt dazzles
Maimonides wins debut by whopping 11 lengths

By TIM WILKIN, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Thursday, August 9, 2007

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Bob Baffert showed up at Saratoga for the first time this season on Wednesday and, boy, did the trainer bring a horse that can run.
The 2-year-old colt Maimonides made an eye-popping debut in the second race, winning the 5-furlong sprint by 11 lengths. Maimonides, a $4.6 million purchase at the Keeneland September yearling sales, covered the distance in 1:04.41.


"This is a very nice horse," Baffert said in the winner's circle. "I ran this horse like an old horse. You don't normally put a 2-year-old on a plane and ship him in and run him in a maiden race."

Baffert really had no choice. Owner Ahmed Zayat removed all his horses -- including Maimonides -- from the grounds at Del Mar in California after a dispute with racing management over the Polytrack surface

"I am sure some people in Del Mar were not rooting for this horse today," Baffert said. "But he overcame everything."

Ridden by Rafael Bejarano, Maimonides was never headed and probably could have won by more.

Baffert said it was the first time he has won a maiden race at the Spa.

"When you pay $4.6 million for them and they are 1-2 (odds), then it means the whole world knows about them," Baffert said. "When you pay $4.6 million and they are 10-1, well, that's pressure."

Baffert did not rule out running Maimonides, a son of Vindication, in the Hopeful here on the final weekend.