Donn Handicap Nominees
 

Another walkover for Quality Road?

Beresford
Dry Martini
Dubai Gold
Harlem Rocker
Helsinki
Le Grand Cru
Past the Point
Take the Points
Mambo Meister,
Delightful Kiss,
Kiss the Kid,
Duke of Mischief,
Grasshopper,
Timber Reserve,
You and I Forever.
Friesan Fire
Misremembered
and Quality Road

Am I a horrible person for not being thrilled with this list?

Who is missing out of the available runners?

I still like Freisan Fire. Don't know if he can beat Quality Road, but he will be there.

friesan fire won't be able to crawl around the track like he has at fairgrounds with quality road there. that is if friesan fire even runs.

I'd be surprised if he ran. I don't think they want any part of Quality Road at this point in time.

The participation of Past The Point and Timber Reserve and a clean break by Le Grand Cru should go a long way in determining how robust Quality Road is beyond a mile.

I have my doubts about his stamina, and while he's better than those he'll face, I think the possible pace scenario will make this a far cry from a walkover.

Assuming a strong early pace, I would look towards Delightful Kiss or possibly Helsinki to pick up the pieces if there's a meltdown.

Misremembered

I assume he'll run in the Strub at Santa Anita next weekend.

Good point. Got the noms for that?

Not yet. Nominations closed today.

Maybe they'll be up tomorrow along with the PPs.

Do you bet on racing I thought you just participated in spiritual way?

This list looks like 1 main and 1 backup....

He might run there, but Baffert has said he likes dirt a lot better, and did run him in the Clark.

True, but staying home for $300,000 against Smart Bid is probably more appealing than having Quality Road standing in front of the $500,000 pot at Gulfstream.

Not to mention beyond is the Big Cap over the same track for a much bigger purse than either of these.

Goggle the phrase "Big Cap" and you get listings for hat companies.. Isn't time for The Big Cap to accept its place as a meaningless grade 2+ event for slugs and wanna bes? The Big Cap is a joke race save the popcorn for some BS movie.. The last serious horse to win was Tiznow before that Siphon who was OK before that maybe who Lord at War.. They should rename it the Big Fraud

Alysheba was between Siphon and LaW.

Wouldn't the Big Crap be a better name than the Big Fraud in terms of mocking the race?

The invention of the Dubai World Cup has hurt the race ... but it's still one of America's great races.

I stongly agree.

On second thought... Freddy's probably right.

Interestingly, in each of the past 7 runnings at least one horse from the race has gone on to win a Grade 1 later the same year.

A large chunk of the most notable racehorses from the last 25 years have run in the race. Ferdinand, Broad Brush, Snow Chief, Alysheba, Criminal Type, Bayakoa, Quiet American, Pleasant Tap, In Excess, Best Pal, Bertrando, The Wicked North, Bien Bien, Dare And Go, Serena's Song, Afternoon Deelites, Siphon, Gentlemen, Formal Gold, Free House, Silver Charm, General Challenge, Tiznow, Congaree, Pleasantly Perfect, Southern Image, Rock Hard Ten, Saint Liam, Lava Man.

Freddy really has no understanding (or respect) of the game or its history or its tradition, so his posts are pretty much the internet equivalent of rice cakes.

Maybe, but the people who hastily put this formerly great race on recycled condoms have even less respect for the game or its history.

DWC suction + polyturd = I really just don't give a damn any more.

No. Freddy's worse. If he ran the CHRB, he wouldn't have mandated conversion to synthetics. He would have abolished the entire winter-spring Santa Anita meet, because none of the Santa "This" or La "That" or San "Whatever" stakes races have any impact on the Breeder's Cup.

But he doesn't, he's just talking.

The people who actually had such responsibility in the real world effed it up. They are worse--to whom much is given, much is to be expected.

Regardless, hopefully that will all be just a bad memory after this meet. SA can't do anything about the DWC, but correcting what it can will be welcomed. I am going to try to be more positive about it--as soon as this meet is over.

While yeah, the Big Cap ain't what it used to be, there have been some nice winners since Lord at War.

Free House, Best Pal, Stuka, Farma Way, Broad Brush and Greinton.

Free House being the most recent of those, back in 99. Tiznow as well, of course, in 01.

Huh? Whatever, dude.

Who do you like in the Donn?

While Duke of Mischief had the advantage of being outside in his last race, I think he could be ok this year. (He is entered for tomorrow though.)

How about actually having a field first?

How does anyone dope out a race without knowing what field is? I mean, just for starters, if you don't know the pace scenario of a race, you are lost, unless you are dealing with that rare super-tractable type of horse who can make the best of any pace.

Who is the horse that won the Clark and why isn't he nominated here?

Blame, he hasn't worked in the past 60 days.

i think dry martini owes andy some money..

Al Stall's taking some time with him and he won't be back until late, if at all, at Fair Grounds.

NT

My question was rhetorical. If you missed it, the point was that maybe you should stop using this thread as yet another soapbox to rale against synthetics considering the topic is about a race at Gulfstream.

And since you don't care to offer any sort of opinion on the nominees in the race, I guess this is goodbye until entry day...

So in the 8 years since Tiznow won the race you grace us with 3 or 4 non winners that went on to win a G1 later in the year.. I am pretty sure I can find the same swill from NW1 races..Whoopie 4 horses in 8 years that went on to win a G1 have a heart do you read this crap.. Scrap it nobody goes there anymore its a toasted rice cake

Whatever, Freddy. Distort what was said so you can look like and idiot. Its not 4 in the last 8, its 7 of the last 7. That's enough to validate it as a significant race. Only as far back as the 90's, the race is littered with winners of the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Hollywood Gold Cup, Pacific Classic, etc. 3 BC Classic winners in the less than 10 years.

Didn't Saint Liam run in the race during his HOY campaign?

You're an embarrassment. Have a heart.

Come on its time to let go

Uhh, you brought up the "Big Cap" in this thread, RT--remember?

http://www.derbytrail.com/forums/sho...0&postcount=15

Then others--not me--brought up how it has slipped in importance.

If you think the fact that it is now run on plastic hasn't accelerated its diminution in American racing, you are even dumber than you previously appeared--which really would be some achievement at this point.

The guy is has issues I wouldnt pay him much attention..He is harmless sort of like a 50 year old guy that lives with mom and had a ton of potential but never made it.

I'm sure more than one person on here thinks I'm dumb for merely responding to an idiot like Freddymo, but I'm sorry to say that your performance has outdone us both.

It's almost as if you have no powers of perception whatsoever.

First, you failed to realize that Freddy was merely baiting me in this entire thread. His pathetic first attempt failed when I completely ignored him, but once I slipped up and mentioned a race at Santa Anita, he came back with a vengeance.

Second, when I joked about Freddy being the head of the CHRB, you actually took it for literal and tried to correct me that he was not the head of the CHRB.

Then, having realized that we were heading for left field (and that your mind was clearly suffering from some sort of synthetic surface-induced impairment), I tried to talk you down and steer you back to the topic at hand, the Donn.

Again, failing to grasp what was between the lines, you "set" me straight a second time, giving me the high hat about not looking at a race until entries are drawn.

Now, in your last post you put words in my mouth because I refused to feed the monkey and allow another idiot to derail this thread.

You wouldn't happen to be Donny from the Big Lebowski, would you?

Doesnt mom need help in the kitchen.. Put the old Santa Anita programs down, you havent been able to pay admission in a while and just let go and leave tector alone.. It's ok free hat day is coming up soon...HELLO EBAY