Any Given Saturday

[miraja2]

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.

[Danzig]

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

[Gauchos0522]

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.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

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

[blackthroatedwind]

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.

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

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.)

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

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.

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

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

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.

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?

[Gander]

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.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by pgardn

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?

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.

[Rudeboyelvis]

Originally Posted by pgardn

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?

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

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

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.

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.

[Pedigree Ann]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

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.

I looked at the PPs AND the pedigrees and expected the second finisher to do better at a 2-turn distance than some of the other, more spoken of horses in the field.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Pedigree Ann

I looked at the PPs AND the pedigrees and expected the second finisher to move up at a two turn distance.

I mentioned that earlier in the thread.

The winner is still the better horse of the two, by about 8 lengths or more, at any distance. Trip, and all the circumstancial stuff is what brought those two horses so close together.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Pedigree Ann

I looked at the PPs AND the pedigrees and expected the second finisher to do better at a 2-turn distance than some of the other, more spoken of horses in the field.

I missed your post before the race. I would love to see it.....which thread was it in?