Any Given Saturday
 

Solid performance today over a field of nobodys. He does not look like a Derby-winning type horse to me, but he should be a competitive factor in the major preps this spring.

well, that's good--just put him in my rttr a couple hours ago...

Considering he probably wasn't fully cranked I think they got exactly what they were looking for. Johnny didn't even think about even showing him the stick either.

While far from being super impressive today, he's clearly a Derby horse in my opinion.

He's probably a nice horse, and maybe he will step forward, but don't kid yourselves about today's effort as it was VERY pedestrian. Take a good look at the pps of the second finisher.....as well as the rest of the field. It was a ridiculous bunch.

One could say similar of Bluegrass Cat last year at Tampa, and he lost to a poor group....Did come back to finish second in the Derby.

I don't much about this horse or the field.

What struck me, in watching the replay, was that JV wasn't tempted to even move the whip (let alone, hit the horse with it).

Is he on some kind of 5 step plan?

(What a difference from watching him senslessly pummel BGC the length of the stretch in the Travers.)

The field of last years Sam Davis looks like the 98 Breeders Cup Classic next to this years sad group

What an unreal group that '98 Cup was. Awesome Again was definitely not in my top 3 to win that race.

Take a good look at the pps of the second finisher.....as well as the rest of the field. It was a ridiculous bunch.

Would you expect anything better from Tampa? Remember the year Kaufy Mate beat Cliffs Edge? On a really good day I could have beat some of those horses today.

Pedestrian... And what would you have expected?

This is a Derby prep in Tampa... He ran the race up front, unlike his other races, and finished going away easily, as he has done before. So you wanted a track record?

Derby preps in general are so overrated. I dont understand all the attention they get. I had as much interest in this race as a harness race.

I don't " want " anything. I do, however, like it when people get their facts straight, especially when making some foolish attack towards me. Perhaps you should look at the pps of his last race.....where he was closer to the lead than he was today.

Regardless of what you may want to think, he was unimpressive today. I don't recall it being suggested this performance was a bad sign, or a perfect indication of his ability, but merely a very unremarkable performance by a horse generating a ton of hype.

Sorry if somehow you feel a member of your family was insulted.

Just got in from TBD and have to say that at 1-9 (bought down to 1-5) expected a lot more from him... The field was sad (Last year Deputy Glitters at least showed up @ 40-1) the only horse that looked on paper to be worthy of the field was the 4 ( Monster something...) and He's never seen a mile + in his life...Local fave gets 2nd under Lezcano and puts up a great effort.

saddest moment of the day was Zito trotting out Superfly in a 19k allowance...The horse looked like it needed an ambulance to get to the finish line in the paddock...didn't stop "Tampa Faithful" from sending him off @ 6-5....Obviously never hit the board....

You know I'm not someone who gets all caught up in that sort of thing. Barbaro came into last year's Derby with a pair of wins, by pretty close margins, against claimer bound Great Point, and the unspectacular NY Bred Sharp Humor.

I do realize the 2nd place finisher is a complete and utter dog bisucit--and even a lot less of a horse than GP and SH...however, he had every circumstance known to man going in his favor, against the winner, coming into today's race.

* Before today, the 2nd place finisher had run just twice in his career around two-turns, winning moderate restricted stake races on both occasion. Being by a sire who was 0-for-9 lifetime sprinting, and a millionaire routing, and out of a dam who was a stakes winning router...the added distance and two-turns would figure to enhance his form.

* This horse had three recent races and seven workouts over the Tampa track in preperation for this. The winner hadn't raced in three months, and the 8.5 furlong trip, for a feb 3yo, at a track like Tampa, is a pretty demanding one.

* The 2nd place finisher got an uncontested early lead through VERY comfortable fractions for him. For people who are into sheet ideology, he also got 6lbs, and saved two paths of ground on both turns. He really did have a great trip.

The 3 length margin of victory is pretty decpetive....as the winner is VASTLY superior to the runner-up.

A lot of Any Given Saturday's appeal as a Derby horse, IMO, comes from the fact that he's a true grinding type, who can flash a little tactical speed if he needs to.

Ouch. A little touchy in the membership. Has somebody been attacking this poster? And then to get into family????

Why dont you watch his race and Keeneland and get back with me. You can pick any race you want as representative. I think the Keeneland race is how the horse will run.

And again I ask, what did YOU want to see if he was unimpressive?

I wasnt attacking anyone, just laughing at the quality that we've seen from Tampa preps. Its a track where horses either love or hate it. Hard to gauge a horse's talent from any race run on it. Deputy Glitters looked like a rocketship on it last year and he never amounted to much. Toy track.

Not a track record, but certainly more than the 88 beyer he's goning to get for that laughfest...

88 Beyer and he was never even shown the whip. Hand ridden... he was trotting at the end. Pretty much the kind of effort I would want for an early prep against a weak field.

My favorite kind of poster....somebody who alters other's comments and then twists their response to suit their own desperate needs.

Here is what YOU said...

" He ran the race up front, unlike his other races, and finished going away easily "

I somehow don't think pointing out that he was closer in his previous effort, especially as that was far and away his best effort, was particularly unreasonable.

Once again, however, I gave my opinion of his performance today. Just because you have some need to attack me doesn't mean I need to further my comments to suit your needs. If you don't like my opinions feel free to put me on ignore. I happen to find it curious that in spite of the fact that others said similar things to me it was me that you chose to call out.