Who is 2nd choice
 

When will Gomez make his choice? Who has the advantage ? The horse, trainer or owner. Ot the jock? How long will they wait for a commitment? I loved the way they replaced Coa on General Quartere because of his waffling on a choice. Is JR waiting in the wings for Pletcher?

i don't see why it matters right now if he decides. having a jock get to know the horse is overblown such as naming smith on stardom bound now so they can 'become aquainted'. jocks get on a horse that they've never seen before all the time. hell, bailey rode arcangues to victory in the bcc and not only didn't know the horse, but couldn't understand the trainers instructions either.
gomez has time, and so do both trainers.

let's see when QR works agains what happens , to me Garett could wind up choosing Dunkirk and JV could maybe end up on POTN if QR can't go - let's see how it plays out

I might be reading things wrong, but if Gomez liked Pioneer of the Nile over Dunkirk, wouldn't he have already said so by now. He (and his agent) are probably waiting to make sure Dunkirk is going to get into the race before committing that way.

I think the real interesting question is who gets the call on POTN (not that I particularly fancy his chances) if Gomez does take the call on Dunkirk. There aren't a lot of great choices on the West Coast, especially with ties to Baffert. While Rosario is open, might Bejarano dump Papa Clem to ride POTN? Of the Eastern jocks, it looks like Prado, Dominguez or Castellano might be available. If somehow Gomez chose POTN over Dunkirk, I'd think Pletcher would name Prado or Dominguez (who rode Bluegrass Cat to a second for Pletcher).

gales really doesn't want Quality Road to go, eh?

i agree with what you say , if garett was going to ride POTN he would already have comitted. At this point i don't see how Dunkirk doesn't get in. My guess is that Bafferet may have already spoken to Angel and might know the JV could be come availble and that's why he isn't pushing Garett to commit at this point. If Gomez rides POTN , my guess is that Prado will get to ride Dunkikr in the derby , but, at this point this is a lot of speculation

Why would he have already committed? Anything can happen to either one of these horses. The longer he keeps his options open, the more likely he is to get the best horse. So long as neither trainer is demanding a choice, why make one? What is the advantage?

Paul

well we have to see if officaly dunkirk gets in after this weekend's races 1st i beleive and my guess is that bafferet is not pushing him to committ because bob has a pretty stong plan B , let's see what happens after the weekend stakes races and where dunkirk will offically end up on the list

Gets in? He's 15th on most lists right now. He's in. Hell... Mr. Hot Stuff is pretty much in.

Ron Anderson told Haskin yesterday they will wait to see the Dunkirk workout Saturday. Pletcher has Prado lined up as back-up for Dunkirk if Gomez goes Pioneer. And if they were absolutely forced to make a decision this second, it apparently would be with Baffert.

Steve - from the looks of it they may not get 20 in anyway

who rides POTN if garett goes with Todd?

thats really wishful thinking, i can't remember the last time they didn't have a full field in the derby, minus late scratches

as far as POTN go's..........there's always that first ballot HOF that everyone on this board loves............Joel Rosario, just don't tell him he's gonna be on a low odds horse, he'll never give an honest ride the way he does those 15-1 shots


-bt-

i agree.

Supposedly Victor Espinoza.

There's been a lot of discussion about how Dunkirk looked after the Florida Derby. Do you think Anderson's current thinking is a product of (a) not sure how Dunkirk's holding up; (b) as a rider based on West Coast, he's better off sticking with Baffert; (c) POTN is the better Derby candidate; or (d) some or none of these.

No disrespect to Prado, but I'd rather have Dominguez if I was choosing a rider for Dunkirk. Then again if Stu Eliott or Jose Santos can find the winner's circle for the derby, perhaps all this Jockey stuff is overrated anyway.

a lot of it is - usually the horse makes the jockey , Stewart Ellitot rode 3 great races in the triple crown stakes , it wasn't his fault that bailey and whoever (i can't remember) rode rock hard ten went on a sucicde mission to take down smarty jones

the great jd bailey never got to ride a mark hennig horse again after that race and stewy didn't get to go down in history with some of the other triple crown winning jocks

That's been debated before, long & hard...Long story short Bailey and Hennig told everyone before the race what their intentions were, that is why Hennig blew him out in 46 and change. If I am wrong someone will correct me but I'm sure even with a memory as bad as mine, I can recall the Eddington saga.

then if bailey did what he was told why did he never ride for mark again ?

I think Pletcher should go with Jorge Chavez if Gomez opts off.;)

He has more Derbies than GG has Triple Crown victories combined and his confidence is soaring riding the hair off these maidens and claimers every day.

NT

stupid post of the day alert?

When Chavez pulls-out that whip in shotgun-like fashion he'll scared be out of his mind.

Seriously isn't Ramon a better finisher than Edgar right now?

I've been a Prado fan for some time, but Rosie Napravnik is a better finisher than him right now.

NT

Solis.

Just heard from Hammerle that the 'Espinoza on' Pioneer buzz is at a fever pitch as of this morning at Santa Anita...

Eddington did win from off the pace the next year in a g1 so he did miss out on that one

but your reason must be the reason why , henning stinks, his horses stink, and that is why after the belmont Jerry decided not to take anymore mounts offered to him!

maybe to clear things up Steve can get the owners of Eddington on the show and ask them what they thought of JD's ride in the belmont?

Peter Willmott.. Would be happy to talk to him. He's originally from up here. Glens Falls or Lake George I think.. I always liked Eddington. Think he's going to be a good sire too.

steve - what was your thought on the '04 Belmont ?

Espinoza rode War Emblem to a perfect trip 20/1 Derby win - and was 3rd aboard Congaree for Baffert as well.

He would be logical ... and though POTN isn't the greatest style fit for him - he will certainly have the fields strongest jockey and certainly the fields best value oriented jockey as well.

Or ask why he worked him fast before the Belmont and added blinkers. Obvious isn't it?

YES


everything's turning up millhouse


-bt-

I don't have any firsthand knowledge about everything that goes into the negotiations and decisions regarding derby mounts.
Clearly Gomez and his agent want to be on the best horse.

But how much of his decisions depends on loyalty to one camp or the other. Not just Pletcher, but to Coolmore and Tabor, rather than to Zayat?

Thought it was dirty pool.. cheap and tawdry. A fitting coda to Jerry Bailey's legacy as a first class prick.

that's a fair question and ask him why JD never got another mount from him again as well? did ron and JD turn down mounts from the Hennig barn after the '04 belmont or was it the other way around and none were ever offered again to JD?

In Bailey's book, he addresses the Belmont tactics. I guess everyone has to decide whether he is being disingenuous or not. Nakatani did the same thing to Cigar in the pacific classic with Dramatic Gold, stuff happens...whether we like it or not it's a part of horseracing and there is nothing written in the rules preventing it from happening again.

Does Dominguez have a mount for the Derby right now?