1/29 (GP): Pegusus Day
 

Wonder if Rollo will even bother tuning in to watch the World Cup? Knowing how much he detests horses like Life is Good and Flightline, I'm guessing he won't watch. Too bad it couldn't be Rombauer vs Knicks Go. That's what everyone would rather see.

You're like one of those people that pays someone to beat them up:-)

I guess you're excited to see Knicks Go and Life is Good duke it out. Especially after having your appetite whetted this past weekend by that epic renewal of the Louisiana Handicap starring Mandaloun--the best horse never to actually finish first in a race of consequence--and Midnight Whatever--the gamest horse in America according to some even though the reality is he would find a way to lose a walkover. It was like a replay of all those great duels in all those Grade 3s last winter at Fair Grounds when they were 3yos. Hopefully they keep it going so we can see some real showdowns in the Cornhusker and maybe even the Lukas Classic...

But every Pegasus Faux Cup--with the exception of the 2021 Pegasus Allowance Race---has been billed as a virtual match race and it never materializes.

In 2017, fan favorite California Chrome never showed up against one of the many "best horse since Spectacular Bid" con jobs in Arrogate.

In 2018, the speedy and apparently juiced Sharp Azteca couldn't get near HOY Gun Runner.

In 2019, Accelerate--the only horse in history to beat Pavel a dozen times--got drilled by erstwhile miler City of Light.

In 2020, Reformed claimer Tax along with his unpaid groom stumbled behind New Mexico AND Oklahoma also-ran Mucho Gusto.

The only thing the 2022 edition has to offer is the potentiality that both favorites will run out...

Actually, I'd rather just see the old Donn Handicap which used to draw a strong, competitive field every year. Not sure why anyone would prefer a fake 2-horse race with a fake purse topped off with a bunch of allowance horses. But to each his own.

On the positive side, I will say that this race is loaded with interesting possibilities in the event that both the official 2021 HOY and the "real" 2021 HOY get beat.

If that happens, wouldn't it be gravy WITH a cherry on top (sounds like something Stronach would concoct) to see 2 Godolphin cast-offs (Endorsed and Commandeer) complete the exacta? They're both going to get the setups of their lives on Saturday. Endorsed was poorly managed by Mott and stretches back out where he probably should have been all along for Mike Maker. Commandeer got gelded, sold, pulled off the Arlington polytrack (where he was making odd middle moves), and has done no wrong at long odds for his new connections.

The only thing that I don't want to see, although I'd laugh if it happened, is for Stilleto Boy to win.

Wouldn't want the bloated aura around Flightline to get any bigger, especially since his connections probably have no intention of ever running him against either Knicks Go or Life is Good. Plus, they might retire him without racing him ever again if a Prairie Meadows also-ran that he demolished beats 2 of the best horses in training.

I laughed out loud at “Reformed claimer Tax along with his unpaid groom.”

I laughed out loud at "the only horse to beat Pavel a dozen times"

Special thanks to King Glorious for poking the bear

He’s a good guy and I like him and thoroughly enjoy his posts but I think he’s full of **** if he acts like he’s not extremely interested in this matchup.

For me personally I’m more interested in watching the turf race. I’m curious to see just how good Never Surprised is.

I can’t explain why but there’s nothing about Knick’s Go that excites me as a bettor and fan of the sport. Maybe because he miraculously improved leaps and bounds in a new barn. Life Is Good is a tremendous horse but his owners are kind of repulsive and I’m just not looking forward to him retiring in the next few months for a minor setback. I think we’ve all seen this play out before.

It’s the nature of the game now and maybe I’m being a curmudgeon but the 1995 Donn this is not.

If I'm interested it is only because I think both horses will be exposed; just like last year's Saudi Cup. Of course, we may see a scam like in the 2004 BC Classic.

There is really no interest in Knicks Go; he was already exposed multiple times last year and he won't start ever again after Saturday (at least not in NA). Poor man's Black Tie Affair.

Life is Good has done nothing to warrant his reputation. The only race of consequence he was in, he lost, although to be fair he had excuses (layoff, genius jockey). But either way, he's not much better than Jackie's Warrior. Ginobili came back to get massacred by a NY-bred in the Cigar Mile; Snapper Sinclair and Eight Rings have been buried in multiple starts since the BC Undercard Mile. If he ran in the Classic, he would have done no better than Uncle Mo or French Deputy. If he had a real career I doubt he would do much more than a horse like Honour and Glory. Poor man's Forestry.

I can't believe Honour and Glory caught some shrapnel.

He was a real horse at least and actually ran.

He's on a roll.

I misspoke if that read like a slight on Honour and Glory; Life is Good would be lucky to done what he did facing full fields, contested paces, older horses early in the year, and at a variety of distances.

Point was any "superhorse" hype about Honour and Glory lasted until after the BC Juvenile. After that Lukas campaigned him playing to his strengths (aside from the obligatory Kentucky Derby start and the ill-advised Arlington race against Cigar). None this "woulda won the Derby if he stayed sound", one start every 3 months, or paid workouts against creampuffs apparently having the same weight as races like the Met Mile, NYRA Mile, Vosburgh, etc. (never mind the Triple Crown races, BC Classic, Travers, Haskell)

I get all that but I also get that looking for or expecting horses to be raced like they were in the past is almost unrealistic these days. Would I prefer to have Life is Good, Flightline, Knicks Go, Mandaloun, Midnight Bourbon, and Hot Rod Charlie facing each other multiple times throughout the year? Of course. 1991 comes to mind with that handicap series and the year we had Formal Gold, Skip Away, Gentlemen, etc). But that’s just not how the game is anymore. So I try to enjoy what I can get. I’m not comparing them to the all-time greats but I’m also not just going to dismiss them as good horses because they aren’t doing what the all-time greats did. If I’m watching a basketball game, I’d rather see Michael Jordan or LeBron James play once a week instead of watching lesser players play four games a week.

Maybe running a campaign like Midnight Bourbon did would expose Life is Good. Maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe Flightline will get exposed in deeper waters. Maybe he won’t. For me, there is always more excitement in the unknown that could be special than there is in the known but average. I’ll watch this race with great anticipation because there is a chance we’ll witness something special. I watched the Louisiana race last week and while it was a good performance from two good horses, it wasn’t anything that I’d set my alarm for to make sure I don’t miss the next one.

Funny that you say Knicks Go was exposed multiple times last year (I kind of agree a little) but then the horses you say are the real horses, he kicked their asses on multiple occasions too.

Not sure what horse that was running in 2021 I would describe as "real". But in general, horses get brave when given clear, uncontested leads. In the two races he got dusted, he faced significant pace pressure.

That's why I likened him to a poor man's Black Tie Affair, who was allowed to control the BC Classic pace without any pace rival. Doubt that would have happened if In Excess (and maybe Scan and Sea Cadet) ran in the race. BTA caved in the Met Mile and Razorback earlier in the year when he failed to establish a clear lead.

But should it be held against a horse that he has more speed than most of the horses he faces and they aren’t able to be pace rivals with him?

What do you mean, "held against" him? I certainly wouldn't bet money on Knicks Go in a race where I was confident he wasn't going to make a clear lead. If I recall correctly, the horse has been in about 10 races where he was not on the lead at the first point of call and he has lost all of them and only hit the board in 2 (and was beaten open lengths even in those).

And let's not kid ourselves, it's not like he has some sort of otherworldly speed; the horses with comparable speed and quality don't show up, or they are ridden conservatively to secure at least a placing rather than a meltdown. It is highly likely that Life is Good will be ridden in just such a way considering his post, his trainer's Twitter comments about getting him to "settle", the uncertainty of his stamina, and the damage to his stallion career that will be done by an unplaced effort as compared to a second place finish.

My guess is Life is Good will be hard held in second early and hope for one of two things (or both): 1) Knicks Go is a tired horse ala California Chrome or Accelerate, or 2) the turn move he displayed in the King's Bishop will be enough to break Knicks Go's heart and hold sway in the stretch.

At any rate, we won't be seeing anything special today (how could we in a 9 furlong race anyways?). Best case scenarios: Knicks Go is going to be left alone and do his normal thing or Life is Good is going to work hard to put him away and might have just enough left to hold off an allowance horse.

This sport can’t provide you much joy or entertainment.

That's not true.

The sport provides plenty of opportunity to witness competitive athletic endeavor at a variety of levels and different conditions, to exercise one's mind (problem solving, detailed analysis, pattern recognition, memory, etc.), to test the success or failure of breeding methods, and to gamble, among other things.

The one thing that probably doesn't fit in with any of the above is using the sport to indulge in fantasy...

I love a day where favorites win 80% of the races.

Real exciting stuff at Gulfstream today.