Opinions
 

Has Bernie already maxed out ? Him being a 3yr old, normally you wpould think he has lots of upside but with his accomplishment has he got there early and thus will he digress? My feeling are we will never see his best because of his breeding value and thus no 4 or 5 yr old season.

I don't think we've seen his best. A.P. Indy's typically mature later and I honestly believe that this horse hasn't been maxed out yet. It would really be something to be able to see him run next year, but I doubt that we're going to...

I agree with the previous posters who think we have not seen Bernie's best yet. I am hoping the powers-that-be will afford us the privilege of seeing this dynamic horse run as a four-year-old. I know it is a longshot, but it certainly is possible. :)

I'd be shocked if he didn't run in the World Cup. It would be like Tiger Woods skipping the Masters.

Actually if Discreet Cat skipped the World Cup it would be the shock, not Bernardini. Bernardini doesn't already have a win over the Dubai track and Bernardini has the pedigree and no soundness issues that would make it logical that he would be retired because he has exactly what broodmare owners with the top mares are looking for. Discreet Cat might earn more on the track than he can in the breeding shed.

Is that what your brother told you?

Pillow... it's his FRIEND'S brother, not HIS brother. LMAO :D

Honestly, I think he is going to win this race by 2 lengths over Invasor, and then maybe 7-8 lengths back from there for third

pretty close to my thoughtonly I include Lava Man. The only one I feel can suprise here is Lawyer Ron, if Pletcher can have an impact on his style.

it's my opinion that those who just bough ap warrior and announced a 20k stud fee are holding their breath and crossing any and every crossable body part that bernardini wins by a country mile.


20k. they're idiots. but of course there will be bigger idiots who will pay that for him.

a fool and his money....

I think there are two ways to answer this question. The first answer is that yes, I think he's already as good as he's going to be as a racehorse. I don't think he's going to get any better. So yes, I think he's maxed out his abilities already. Now the second part is that no, I don't think we've seen all of that ability yet. Think of it this way. Michael Jordan at 35 was not going to get any better as a player. He had already reached his maximum abilities. But put him on the court in a game against high school players and u won't have to see him use those full abilities in order to get the job done. So the abilities are there but he just doesn't use all of it. Same thing with Bernardini. At least in my opinion. I watched the JCGC with interest. He ended up running a 2:01 that day and I believe that had it been necessary, he could have easily went in the 1:59 flat range. So in order for me to think he can get even better, I'd have to believe that he's going to be capable of running in the 1:58 range and there just haven't been many horses in the history of the game that can do that. So I think he can show more than what we've seen but that the ability is already there and he won't get better.

im not sure bout dini's maxed out potential..though I do know that he is better than Barbaro(unfortunatley that will never be proved) as of today.

See, I don't believe that for one minute...

I think that Barbaro was the better of the two, but we'll never know.

You all know who I think was the better of the two.

As for Bernardini's potential...I think that he is very capable of breaking 2 minutes at Churchill Downs this Saturday. This horse has been improving, and I think that he would keep improving into his four year old year based on how he has matured thus far, and the fact that he is an A.P. Indy. However, we may never know how good this horse really is because it is said that he will be retired. Although, I am still skeptical of those claims.

Derby, there wasn’t a horse on the face of the earth (including Bernardini) who could beat Barbaro that day (only that day). Preakness, Barbaro looked too ranked for my eyes anyway not to mention what Dini did to the rest. Belmont, strictly speculation, Jazil would have paid back Barbaro for Florida Derby.

Why would Jazil have paid back Barbaro for the Florida Derby? Jazil didn't even run in the Florida Derby. :confused:

sorry, was it woodmemorial ?? seems like ages ago, or may be im getting too old too fast !!

Jazil DID run in the Wood, but Bob and John was the winner of that race. LOL

And for the record, the Preakness was the race that worried me the most with Barbaro... IMO, the Belmont would have been a romp for him. He was made to go long...

I agree with you there. Jazil is a nice horse, but a mile and a half wouldn't have been a problem at all for Barbaro. That is my opinion anyway based on Barbaro's previous performances.

Okay, I stand coreected, Im going back to my DVDs !!! will come more prepared next time. told ya im getting old. lol

In any case, as we stand today, w/o Barbaro, Dini is best 3yo and definitely not HOY till he wins BCC.

Don't get me wrong... I think that Bernardini already deserves best 3yo. He's won more on the track. BUT, I think that if Barbaro had stayed healthy, things would have been different.

Barbaro vs. Bernardini...

It would have made for a nice rivalry (sighs). At least, Barbs will most likely live:) That is all that matters to me now.

agreed, alydar vs. affirmed ??

I think back to Fupeg and how he did in the classic. If you are a contrarian you may bet against Berni to even show. Something to ponder I suppose. Right now I'd say Pleasant Tap is peaking.

bernadini vs. barbaro
 

I do not think that ANY three year old, even Whoudini Bernanothing is of the same freakish caliber that Barbaro was. Turf/Dirt Superior to ANY three year old on the planet.:D

yep, we have not seen even close to his best.
hell, the horse still does not know what its like to be hit or asked.

he is Mineshaft with more natural speed and we all saw what Mineshaft did as a 4YO.


Repent

lol,
FuPeg is a great example of superior marketing and repuation before accomplishment.

a very good racehorse, but they hype was always going to be bigger than the reality.


Repent

The little bit of a question mark surround Bernardini in this race on Sat reminds me of Ghostzapper a couple of eyars ago. Why?

Ghostzapper going into the BC Classic had beaten everything he had run into pretty easily (except for St Liam R.I.P.), and people wondered if the calibur of competition had him ready for the BC Classic (remember, he was like a luke-warm 3-1 favorite in the BC Classic that year). Ghostzapper proved he was the real deal by winning that race and the Met Mile easily.

So in that sense, the last of the skeptics for Bernardini can be put to rest on Satruday if and when he wins. If he does win, he'll be reitred for sure (nothing else for him to accomplish, not really going out on a limb there).

But! If he loses, I think it would be in the connection's best interests to try and get him back on track for the Donn and then the Dubai World Cup. That way he could show his accomplishments for the next year and build his resume up some more. Show that he can beat the best the Classic divison has to offer and therefore drive up his stud fee.

Actually, if I remember correctly, the big knock on GZ was that people thought he couldn't go ten furlongs.

A 1:58? Gimme a break. He was hit and urged in the Travers. Horses don't necessarily run faster when they are hit and urged -- studies in Europe regarding use of the whip show this.

Your saying he has 10 lengths over his JCGC time? You've bought into that hype.

His times have been solid but that's against short fields. His Preakness was good but far from a record. I seriously doubt he breaks the 2:00 minute mark at CD. I have doubts he even wins.

Also, best horses since 1986 and you don't include Ghostzapper or Candy Ride? Two horses who could probably clean up Bernardini on any day.

Candy Ride, not thats a name not brought up in a long time. I love him, though I disagree he clean up Dini. GZ now theres a beast for you !!! yes he would clean up Dini !!

ATeam, you're definately right about Ghostzapper and the distance question, but I don't think he had gone head 2 head with any of the horses in the BC Classic before running that race.

I just figured the Donn would be used as a prep off a long layoff for Dubai. I agree with the Dubai part, but would you really race him on almost 6 months rest? The Donn seem like a perfect warmup.