Is Haskin joking?
 

I like his picks...at this point. This years race will be different, much different.

Well then good luck, sir.

No.

Wow, I am not even considering using 7 out of his top ten. Colonel John, Tale of Ekati, and Visionaire are the ones I am considering using....

he wins, and I leave Churchill with car keys and half my wallet

I'm not completely anti-Z Fortune.

i love his comments on COURT VISION.... exactly what i have been saying all along....

his thoughts from ATR first hour last night, help make sense of his article.

Monba #1 is pretty funny.

I have to think he just got his dates mixed up and the ratings he came up with were meant as an April fools joke.

Funny, but Monba reminds me of another Pletcher/Starlight runner; Purge. I liked him after his Cash Call Futurity effort and was my #1 three year old in January, glad he found the winner's circle in the Bluegrass and will use him in gimmicks.....but hard press seeing him winning. But, unlike others...I see him getting better as the year goes on. He should be 20-1 or more and will probably be around a lot longer than Big Brown, War Pass or Pyro.

Saw Mr. Haskin was just online...no reply...dang, I was hoping he would.

Monba isn't nearly as hopeless as some of you are making him out to be. Now Court Vision...that horse is hopeless.

Mr. Byk e-mailed and suggested I chime in and have fun with this thread. Why not? In a year like this, you gotta lighten up. 90% of us are gonna look like dummies after the race anyway, so might as well go down solo and not with the crowd with Colonel John and Big Brown. As far as whether I'm serious or not...a little bit. As far as whether I bet (the Derby)...a little bit. Do I really like anyone this year? No. For a price I'll look at Smooth Air and Adriano, and maybe Court Vision to hit the board. After that, take your pick. I just figured if I liked Monba enough in January to put him #2 in my first Derby Dozen, why not have some fun and put him #1 after winning the Blue Grass. Any other year I wouldn't even consider it.

I forgot to add Z Fortune as a potential live longshot; just not sure about his pedigree, but his Arkansas Derby reminded me a lot of Grindstone's and Lil E. Tee's. All opinions can, and likely will, change dramatically after I see the horses train and in the flesh. That's where you find most of your Derby winners, not in the past performances.

Z Fortune is one of the few horses in the race that actually makes a little sense.

Truer words have never been written about handicapping the Derby.

You sunk Pyro right off of the top 10 - because of a non-effort in a race where the 9th, 10th, and 11 place finishers were last out winners of the Fountain of Youth, La Derby, and Tampa Derby.

Nevermind the fact that the top four finishers had last out dirt Beyers of 33, 58, 76, and 86. - the career top on dirt among the top four was a 93 earned by Kentucky Bear - who was 50/1 on the morning line in the race.

It's not like everyone didn't know that the Blue Grass was going to be pure chaos going into the race - and I think it's a folly to take the result of the race at face value - let alone make such decisive Derby decisions on the basis of the result.

I just don't know where Monba's good race is on dirt. He's run three pretty good races over synthetic - his dirt win came with just an 86 Beyer and a perfect trip (unarguably the fields best trip) - his non-effort in the Fountain Of Youth should be held against him no more than Pyro's non effort in the Blue Grass.

If you can overlook the way Pyro exploded past him in the lane in the Risen Star - and his next out non-effort in the Rebel.