Musket Man back?
 

DRF

Arson Squad, Bribon, Girolamo, and Musket Man head a list of probable starters for the Grade 1, $250,000 Cigar Mile.

Does it matter? He is a horse Joey S has been right about. I said a long long time ago he wont win a race, maybe they will find a bad Grade 3 for him. Well they have not even been able to do that.

What's your problem with him exactly? His talent level or his bridesmaid tendency?

He probably would have been competitive in the BC Dirt Mile given the pace setup. The cutback from 9-10f races should help.

This race should be worth more money.

What would be the difference if it was worth $400,000?

Semantics

I'm not sure I understand but I'm reasonably certain the field for this race would be the same if the purse was 400k.

He always runs hard. He's going to win one of these. He's always there. I'd be more worried about Friend or Foe.

Quality Road would have won the mile. W/ that pace setup Blame, Zenyatta, L@L and Fly Down would have all won it, right?
That argument sucks. Every single race this horse runs in, he is supposed to win. Why cant he just stink?

No way, jose.

Prolly not with the pace setup, but you get the point. Plus since the BC, several ppl around here not named Joey S or Jose have said that QR would have won it.

You're exaggerating. He's been favored in 3 out of 7 races this year, winning one of those. He's run well chasing the likes of Blame and Quality Road, neither of whom will start in this race.

I hope so!

He has a real good chance and the one I am betting to win. The field is suppose to be

Musket Man
Girolamo
Bribon
Arson Squad
Friend or Foe

Possible
Jersey Town
Regal Ransom
Vineyard Haven
Imperial Council
Our Dark Knight(Heard here or Clark)

I also highly doubt the field would be different if it was more cash.The bigger problem is the Clark is pretty much the same race on the same day. Its like every other bigger race,instead of tracks working together and get a monster field they try to compete with each other and we end up with 2 Ok 6 horse fields. Example would be PA and Super Derby this year

Someone mentioned something before that they should combine 2 or 3 races and offer all the purse from the 3 then the next year run it at the other place. That would be the best but it would never happen

he does not stink. hes just not as good as all the horses you just mentioned. if he runs a level lower, he could win ALOT. i think this horse has a great shot saturday. if he loses to these( at a flat mile)....i'll agree. the state bred even looks ok against this bunch. we can see the effects of the BC....this is pretty much the "has been" bunch that picks up checks where the best horses don't run.

I think he stinks. He needs a perfect trip and a bad field (relatively) to win. Then again, any fatman would beat a field of nonagenarians around the block.

Musket Man's 'defining' race is the MET Mile: perfect setup, with Warrior's Reward providing him with a once-in-a-very-fortuitous-career setup, and he hangs like a rat.

And people want to give this horse the benefit of the doubt?

But he did 'PRESS' QR in the QR in the Whitney, didn't he? :rolleyes: So that has to count for something. (Which was the trip that got at least one of the INTELLIGENCIA on to QR in the Classic. ha ha ha)

It's interesting to see how different people handle losing. Some work harder, look inside themselves, and try to figure out what they might be doing wrong, and use this to attempt to stem the tide.

And....some people crack up.

Musket Man is horrible. The fact that you touted him for weeks leading into the Classic really made me wonder. Watching the MSG/NYRA show w/ friends I said to myself, this is easily his worst pick that I can ever remember him making.

:tro:

I've been a fan of this horse for some time now but I suddenly love him even more.

...and Warrior's Reward is somehow really good?

DRF

Musket Man, assigned 117 pounds, is one of 10 horses expected for the Cigar Mile. Others expected to run include Girolamo (120 pounds), Haynesfield (120), Bribon (119), Vineyard Haven (119), Friend or Foe (115), Half Metal Jacket (115), Noble’s Promise (115), Jersey Town (114), and Soaring Empire (114).

Wonder where Arson Squad and Our Dark Knight are going then??

In same article, Ryan said Musket Man would definitely come back to run in 2011 as a 5-year-old and most likely be pointed to one-turn races such as the Carter and Met Mile.

Haynesfield has worked once since the BC. Since 2002 Breeders' Cup horses are 1-13 in the Cigar Mile with Congaree's win in the 2003 edition being the lone victory and he was an absolute monster at Aqueduct.

None of those 13 horses went off more than 10-1.

Well he did beat Musket Man, in a race where he became a Grade 1 winner.

you are right...."stinks" is relative . but its not like he loses the first at aqueduct against 7,500 claimers. he pretty much loses against the best around. if they were a little more realistic with ENTERING this horse i think he could beat this bunch he faces saturday REGULARLY. he probably would of had a good shot in that ridiculous mile a few weeks ago. but he ran where he had no shot whatsoever. of course, everything i'm saying is wrong if he gets trounced saturday. if this horse loses by anything more than length....he does suck!

By what, a nose? And then lost to Musket Man at Churchill and Belmont.

this tells me. you really don't know how to bet. musket man was ok relative to price....the worst bets were people picking looking at lucky and blind luck. when people pick overmatched horses at SHORT odds...thats the definition of a bad pick. you should really learn a thing or two before acting like an expert. but then again i love when folks like you bet.

Warrior's Reward finished well ahead of Musket Man at Churchill in the slop.

My bad. For some reason, I thought Musket Man had finished second that day (instead of third, where he did finish).

Yeah, it was certainly not a remarkable race given it was the high point of Warrior's Reward's season post-Carter and Musket Man and Atta Boy Roy combined to go 1-7 the rest of the way.

Musket Man is not a superstar, but no one has ever made him out to be one. I think he has a decent shot in the Cigar Mile and would hope that if they say they're going to keep him to one turn races next year they actually stick to that plan.

I agree that Musket Man is not a superstar, but I've always respected him a lot. As a son of Yonaguska who came through Tampa and Hawthorne, I always thought his over-achieving Triple Crown efforts last year got lost in the Mine That Bird/ Rachel hoopla.

I also agree that it would be nice to see them stick to the one-turn plan next year. (Look what that did for Big Drama this year.) Not sure what to make of Saturday's race, as I'm leery of these post-Breeders' Cup entrants. The up-and-coming three year-olds, Friend or Foe and Noble's Promise, are interesting in this spot.

Yonaguska is not a horrible stud, he can get you a real racehorse maybe not a ton of Graded winners but an earner

Not awful, but it was certainly a surprise to see a son of his competing well in races at a classic distance.

It's kind of interesting, because Yonaguska had a pedigree to be good at middle distances. As far as I remember, he only started twice in route races, getting third in the Champagne and running unplaced in the BC Juvenile. He retired after his 3yo season.

Certainly his sire, Cherokee Run, has been a good source of route horses. Seems like every year he has some sort of Derby prospect (eg Chelokee, Zanjero, War Pass, Kafwain, and now Industry Leader in CA). That's sort of surprising, too, because he made his mark as a sprinter.

But then you remember that he was a neck away from being a Preakness winner.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!

He stands in LA for 4k. He aint AP Indy.

Musket Man has been handled in a curious fashion pretty much his entire career.

Sent to TURKEY in 2010

Look up his progeny a tremendous percentage made it to the races and earned

They didnt earn much

http://www.racingpost.com/bloodstock...orse_id=534976

http://www.pedigreequery.com

Type in Yon...and see his kids they all earned..this racing post is Kaka