Commentators Work
 

4 furlongs in :45 3/5ths over the PolyTrack at Keeneland. First of all that is an insane time on dirt. This is even more insane since it is over the Keeneland PolyTrack that hasnt been fast at all. I guess this was his blowout work before the Sprint.

No, that was an excersise rider getting fired

Prob so. Unless the clocker was wrong. I cant imagine Zito being happy with that work.

It does seem awfully quick. Considering he wasn't very sharp in the Forego on Sep 2, his first race in a year (?), maybe it is what he needs.

Holy s h i t, that was way too fast...

Someone most likely made a mistake...either the clocker or the rider.

I would love to see this horse make it back to his 100%. He's a tough horse when he is right.

How is it way to fast. The race is weeks away. They probably just wanted to wake him up. His last race wasn't so hot because of his bad start. Nobody is beating Henny Hughes anyway.

[quote=kentuckyrosesinmay]Holy s h i t, that was way too fast...

QUOTE]
I don't know if it matters that much two weeks from the Sprint. It is really no quicker than Funny worked (57 and change) a week before the Belmont. Commentator won't be asked to run a mile and a half. Maybe it will give him the edge he didn't have in the Forego. He is one fast horse when he is right. Maybe I am off base, but I am starting to like him.

The more that I think about it Slew, the more that I think that you may be right. Still, you rarely see a horse go THAT fast in a workout. I'm getting ready to go check out his workouts and the Forego now.

His work was from the gate also. Makes it seem even faster. He also worked a week ago in 46.2. Both works on the polytrack. Let's not forget this guy wired the Whitney last year beating HOY St. Liam in the process. Then Dutrow entered two, not one rabbit, against him in the Woodward as a set up for Liam and ran him into oblivion. Does anyone know if the Forego was his first race since last year's Woodward?.

He got left at the gate in the Forego and that took him completely out of his game. His race in the Whitney last year against St. Liam made me a believer in this horse. He was awesome that day! Finished the 1 and 1/8 in 148 and 1. The Forego wasn't his first race. I'll have to go look it up again, but he looked stunning in his return race before the Forego. He beat Gold and Roses going away by like 6-7 lenghts. I'll get back to you on which race it was in a minute. This horse is super fast when he is right. Henny Hughes has never faced a horse like this before. The question is whether or not Commentator will be at 100%. Zito is definitely pointing the horse to the sprint isn't he?

Alright, it was at Saratoga on 9/2/2006 Race 8.

Henny Hughes just beat the best sprinter Belmont has ever seen over the Belmont strip. Commentator is no Silver Train at Belmont.

The BC is at Churchill Downs. Silver Train ran fourth in the Vosburgh. I don't even see how you can make that comparison because Silver Train was definitely not himself that day at all. He is a much, much better horse than what he showed against Henny Hughes. He didn't run any in that race.

If both Commentator and Attila's Storm break well then I don't see either of them winning. Both of them need the lead and if they are both battling for it then it will leave both of them crawling home. If one of them has a poor break, however, then the other has a good shot. Tough to win the BC Sprint on the front end though. I'll probably play against Commentator in this one (like I stupidly didn't in the Forego).

Don't blame yourself for the Forego. Commentator completely missed the break. You couldn't have seen that one coming...

Good point about Attila's Storm vs. Commentator. I didn't think about that because I don't know who is exactly going to be in the race yet. The sprint is always a great race to handicap.

He didn't " miss the break " at all. He stumbled. There is a significant difference as a stumble can, and often does, jar a horse while missing the break is positional.

No, it was plain poor betting. I played him with Pomeroy, War Front, Friendly Island, and Nightmare Affair with Commentator in the top two spots in every combination. If he runs well and wins I hit a whopping $50 trifecta (maybe less). If I play against him at 9/10 in a race with Spanish Chestnut to burn on the front end I hit the $900 trifecta. It was poor betting whether or not he stumbles at the start.

Sounds exactly like what I did in the Forego. It was not bad gambling, Sniper. It was bad luck. One thing we cannot foresee in horse racing is when the gate opens that you know you have already lost because of a bad break...especially in sprints. It is just bad luck, not bad handicapping much of the time. Betting on Arazi in the Derby was bad handicapping....Guilty as charged.

Please dont talk yourself into thinking a 46 gate work is planned, or doesnt matter a "few weeks" down the line. It matters, thats called running off, not a good thing.

Give me 5/1 right now on Commentator. You can have the rest of the field if you like.