Mayan King - - - Next Start In Iowa
 

Mayan King ... whom I projected as a 2006 HOTY contender early in 2005 ... will likely make his next start ... his fourth as a 4YO (2 wins/1 place) and first in a stakes race this year ... in the 9f Cornhusker at Prairie Meadows on July 1.

His major goal is the Whitney at Saratoga ... but Gary Contessa doesn't want to rush him by pushing him into the Suburban at Belmont ... so the Cornhusker will be his prep for the Whitney ... then ultimately the BC Classic.

In his last start ... Mayan King ran a mile at Belmont in the same time that Silver Train ran the Met Mile the following day.

Anyone in the Midwest should definitely plan to be there ... you'll see a real racehorse whose name will be on everyone's lips this Fall ... and you'll be able to bet on as dead-sure a certainty as there is in horse racing.

Now if someone will just explain to me what a cornhusk is ...

Is this Contessa's hype job? ...or am I thinking of another horse?

Hype job? His race off the layoff was very impressive, his next start less so. But his last was very very good and he displayed talent at age three before being injured in his last effort at three. This is a very nice animal.

I love the name Mayan King, very regal. Contessa appears to be masterminding his schedule this year. A very calm, and cool approach bringing this injured potential superstar back. From what you've said, if you are high on a horse, it is to be taken seriously. Do you know who else might be pointed to this race. If he will have any competition?

Yeah, he's okay...I saw the race that Rathor yanked him in....Rathor is nice but he isn't exactly Flower Alley....Mayan King has a future, but HOY???...No

Rathor has blossomed into SOME horse. I know he hasnt beaten much but he sure does it the right way and they have put proper foundation into him before his next start which is supposed to be the Suburban. Mayan King looks to be one who will win stakes this year, not grade one perhaps, but I'd sure love to own him, I think he will make a lot of money in the right spots.

Agree......

Mayan King wasn't nearly ready to do his best in the race against Rathor ... only his second start off a year layoff ... and at a distance (8f) which is too short for him.

His last start was super ... running as fast as Silver Train ... carrying five pounds more and having another 1/16 to negotiate.

Mayan King is a true 10f horse ... and there ain't many of them around any more. If he stays healthy ... he'll be dynamite in the BC Classic.

P.S. I said the same about Songster ... not being ready for Too Much Bling at Aqueduct. But with a stakes win under his belt (Hirsch Jacobs) ... Songster turned the tables on TMB in the Woody. Look for the same from Mayan King.

Funny, Roses In May won that race before taking the Whitney, Kentucky Cup, and running a BCC that would have won most other runnings in finishing 2nd to the Zapper. Very close call to being HOY and he won the Husker.

Then of Course Black Tie Affair won it in 1991 on his way to winning the BCC.

Learn something new every day

And since Black Tie Affair won it and was HOY, there is precedent for it occurring. Not that I think it will happen this year, but the race occasionally has some nice ones in it.

Many horses who have gone on to greater things have used lesser races as preps for the bigger ones.

Mayan King can either go in the Suburban ... a tough race for a first stakes off a layoff ... or race into shape against lesser company ... the smarter path chosen by Contessa.

Way back in 1975 ... Wajima used the Marylander Stakes as a prep for bigger things ... then went on to defeat Foolish Pleasure and Forego twice each ... and win the 3YO championship.

It's a pleasure to read knowledgable posts like yours. Dixie said you were good ... and as usual ... he was right.

And of course you knew I was joking about cornhusks ... a Brooklynite pretending not to know farm stuff. Only a dunce would fail to have seen that ... and that's certainly not you.

We like to talk horses here, most of us. And this is a very impressive lineup. Besides Steve, we have Rupert Pupkin, Blackthroatedwind, Joel Cunningham, and many others who actually know the game. heres hoping the trolls hit the road. We don't need them.

SC and Prudery..

Brooklynite did nothing to provoke the reaction I saw from you both in this thread. I don't appreciate the tone and the insulting manner to anyone here no matter what previous history you all had elsewhere.

Keep it on the topic around this Forum or I'll ask you find another place to talk horses.

This was a perfectly good thread, and I'm not going to allow ANYONE here to be attacked. I don't have the time or inclination to police and referee every single thread around Derby Trail, but I will respond to behavior I don't care to see or "hear" in the community that I started three years ago and have cultivated since.

EVERYONE will treat each other here with unending patience and mutual respect... Period. If you want to put certain people's posts on "Ignore", you have that option and I suggest you use it.

Steve

And... In regards to Mayan King, Contessa has been on the show with us quite a bit, and really expects big things from the colt...

Of course you are right . Lovely place you have here, no sense in being silly. Peace, and may the horse be with you.

Im sure The Von Hammels will have 1 or 2 there and Amoss usually shows there for there big ones.

Do you think Mr Contessa is thew best trainer in NY?
Why the layoff for Mayan King ? 4 Races in 6 months ?...horses should be running every 3 to 4 weeks, don't you think? So you don't think MK is dodging anyone here, by going in the Cornhusker (?) rather than the Suburban?
Interesting...

I think Rathor may be better than Flower Alley.

Maybe...I like Rathor..we'll see how good he is

Still firnly believe that the BC Classic will be Bernardini's to lose...