Afleet Alex

The HOY is basically given to the BC Classic winner unless a 3yr old can win the TC. Afleet Alex couldn't beat Giacomo in the big one so it is hard to give him HOY over the older horses.

He got what he deserved, the 3YO Eclipse, but personally I don't think he would have beaten Saint Liam even had he not gotten hurt. The 3yr olds were just a terrible group that year, so beating them doesn't really count for much in the HOY race.

No knock on AA, but he beat garbage in the Preakness and Belmont. Scrappy T and Giacomo were nothing special, and the Belmont was so bad a maiden ran third.

[RollerDoc]

Originally Posted by boldruler

The HOY is basically given to the BC Classic winner unless a 3yr old can win the TC. Afleet Alex couldn't beat Giacomo in the big one so it is hard to give him HOY over the older horses.

He got what he deserved, the 3YO Eclipse, but personally I don't think he would have beaten Saint Liam even had he not gotten hurt. The 3yr olds were just a terrible group that year, so beating them doesn't really count for much in the HOY race.

No knock on AA, but he beat garbage in the Preakness and Belmont. Scrappy T and Giacomo were nothing special, and the Belmont was so bad a maiden ran third.

Now this pretty much clears it up for me. Was St. Liam older than three? So I guess that's the reason he didn't run in the Triple Crown Races. The only disappointment I have from your post is it doesn't sound like Afleet Alex is ranked very high compared to past years.

Originally Posted by RollerDoc

Now this pretty much clears it up for me. Was St. Liam older than three? So I guess that's the reason he didn't run in the Triple Crown Races. The only disappointment I have from your post is it doesn't sound like Afleet Alex is ranked very high compared to past years.

AA was very very good. He might have even beaten the top older horses if he continued to progress. Moot point though.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by RollerDoc

Now this pretty much clears it up for me. Was St. Liam older than three? So I guess that's the reason he didn't run in the Triple Crown Races. The only disappointment I have from your post is it doesn't sound like Afleet Alex is ranked very high compared to past years.

The Triple Crown Races are restricted to 3 year olds. If you wanted to compare 3 year olds during the Triple Crown to humans, I would say the 3 year olds are like 18 year old humans in terms of physical maturity. They definitely have not yet fully matured or reached their full potential. So the best 3 year old in the country is usually not the best horse in the country. There are usually a few good 4 or 5 year olds that can beat the best 3 year old, but not always. Once in a while you will see a great 3 yeard old who can beat the older horses.
Afleet Alex looked like a really good horse. If he didn't get hurt, he may have had a shot against Saint Liam.

I agree with the other posters that Bernardidni looks like a really good horse. He is definitely in the top few best horses in the country and may even be the best. We will find out in a couple of months when he faces older horses. If I personally had to pick one horse to own for the rest of the year, I would definitely pick Bernardini.

[Scav]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

The Triple Crown Races are restricted to 3 year olds. If you wanted to compare 3 year olds during the Triple Crown to humans, I would say the 3 year olds are like 18 year old humans in terms of physical maturity. They definitely have not yet fully matured or reached their full potential. So the best 3 year old in the country is usually not the best horse in the country. There are usually a few good 4 or 5 year olds that can beat the best 3 year old, but not always. Once in a while you will see a great 3 yeard old who can beat the older horses.
Afleet Alex looked like a really good horse. If he didn't get hurt, he may have had a shot against Saint Liam.

I agree with the other posters that Bernardidni looks like a really good horse. He is definitely in the top few best horses in the country and may even be the best. We will find out in a couple of months when he faces older horses. If I personally had to pick one horse to own for the rest of the year, I would definitely pick Bernardini.

not Henny?...Would be an interesting selection..Both have serious upside because they haven't been squeezed dry yet....I actually would take Henny the more I think about it. Sprint division isn't that tough, 3 year old or even the older, where Bern is going to get feed to the wolves in the gold cup, I still think Flower Alley dusts this horse, we will see if he is the same Flower as he was last year, FA loves Toga and Pletcher should have him LOADED for the Whitney

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by Scav

not Henny?...Would be an interesting selection..Both have serious upside because they haven't been squeezed dry yet....I actually would take Henny the more I think about it. Sprint division isn't that tough, 3 year old or even the older, where Bern is going to get feed to the wolves in the gold cup, I still think Flower Alley dusts this horse, we will see if he is the same Flower as he was last year, FA loves Toga and Pletcher should have him LOADED for the Whitney

I like Henny but I would always take a distance horse over a sprinter. The big money is in the classic races not the sprints. Henny will be running for $2 million in the BC Sprint but Bernardidni will be running for $5 million in the Classic.

[AeWingnut]

Horses go through form cycles. Most everyone under the sun with a three yr old (stake horse) is pointing that horse to the Kentucy Derby. The Pinnacle of all the races for 3 yr olds. After he has reached the mountain top he may plateau and remain good enough to beat the same kind of horses in the Preakness or Belmont but rarely both. After that he has no where to go but down.

Afleet Alex like many triple crown horses has no insentive to keep racing. Their stock in the breeding shed can only go down if they continue and prove they cannot beat older horses.

However there are always exceptions. Funny Cide is a gelding and continues to be a decent horse but not a grade I horse.

The host of this website Steve has a million stories to tell and I think you will be glad if you stick around and read his stuff.

[miraja2]

Well it does seem like you have a lot to learn, but don't let ANYONE tell you that Afleet Alex was not a monster. If he would have kept running I think he would have beaten up on Flower Alley and St Liam last year. Jeremy Rose had finally learned how to ride the horse (use that amazing one-run ability he had). In the last 4 races of his career Rose rode him that way in the Arkansas, Preakness, and Belmont and he flat out destroyed those fields. Rose gave him a ride in the Derby that was technically okay, but did not fit the horse's running style and it got Alex beat. After that race Rose learned his lesson and if the horse hadn't been injured I believe he would have added victories in the Travers and the BCC to his already impressive accomplishments.

Also just so you know for comparison sake, the Breeders' Cup Classic has a larger purse than all three Triple Crown races COMBINED. It is pretty damn important.

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by boldruler

The HOY is basically given to the BC Classic winner unless a 3yr old can win the TC. Afleet Alex couldn't beat Giacomo in the big one so it is hard to give him HOY over the older horses.

He got what he deserved, the 3YO Eclipse, but personally I don't think he would have beaten Saint Liam even had he not gotten hurt. The 3yr olds were just a terrible group that year, so beating them doesn't really count for much in the HOY race.

No knock on AA, but he beat garbage in the Preakness and Belmont. Scrappy T and Giacomo were nothing special, and the Belmont was so bad a maiden ran third.

Nolan's Cat may have been a maiden, but he's definitely not what I would call garbage.