2/26 (GP): Fountain of Youth, Hutcheson, Davona Dale (G2's)

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Betsy

Seriously, I admitted I overreacted to the race by saying that he should be pulled from the trail (but you ignored that and decided to start something this morning for no reason). Why my one comment is such a big deal is beyond me. THAS ran terribly, but if you don't think so, then go pick him for the Florida Derby......or go read Andy's comments since you presumably take him seriously. What does Mott have to do with this anyway? Did you see anyone criticizing his preparation of the horse? I didn't - and I've been posting all along that I had no problem with his race schedule for the colt. It's not on him that his horse ran badly. It's one thing to lose, as probably Mott expected, it's another to run an awful race, which is what THAS did. He didn't show anything at all.

i'm not quite sure why you think my post was a specific attack on you. my point was a general one; these reactions occur fairly often, from a sizable segment of fans. if you wish to think it was pointed at you, and only you, that's your issue, not mine. i wasn't suggesting he was my pick for anything in future, my suggestion was that one race a career/season/ campaign does not make. we've all seen horses not lift a hoof one race, and then run lights out later. witness afleet alex in arkansas with an inexplicable bad run, and then almost winning the triple crown as one example. i have no idea as yet who my fla derby pick would be; i don't start making selections ahead of time for any race.
and what does mott have to do with it? i posted his comments after the race about his horse to show he has no intention of stopping. i thought some might be interested in his comments.

[Betsy]

Originally Posted by Danzig

i'm not quite sure why you think my post was a specific attack on you. my point was a general one; these reactions occur fairly often, from a sizable segment of fans. if you wish to think it was pointed at you, and only you, that's your issue, not mine. i wasn't suggesting he was my pick for anything in future, my suggestion was that one race a career/season/ campaign does not make. we've all seen horses not lift a hoof one race, and then run lights out later. witness afleet alex in arkansas with an inexplicable bad run, and then almost winning the triple crown as one example. i have no idea as yet who my fla derby pick would be; i don't start making selections ahead of time for any race.
and what does mott have to do with it? i posted his comments after the race about his horse to show he has no intention of stopping. i thought some might be interested in his comments.

I thought you directed your post to me because I was the one who suggested (immediately after a race which was incredibly disappointing to me) that Mott pull THAS from the trail. If you weren't, I apologize. In any case, regardless of what I think of the horse, he's going to the Florida Derby. I would be surprised if he ran well because he should have run better than he did yesterday (if I recall, AA had a fever in that bad race he ran)........and now I also question how far he wants to go. He's speedy and doesn't seem all that willing to rate; he was closer to the pace than I hoped he'd be. I guess we'll have to wait and see, but that wasn't the kind of race I expected from the colt at all.

[Danzig]

i think you're basing too much on one race, especially when the goal is a race in may. should he have run better? maybe, will he end up running poorly again? that's to be seen. but plenty of horses over the years have run up the track and then gone on to bigger and better things. birdstone, thunder gulch, charismatic who ran for a tag and won 2/3's of the triple crown. the list truly is endless.
of course, there's also a list of horses a mile long who showed promise only to fade away; he could just as easily be one of those. my only point is that it's too soon to write him off. these horses are obviously still learning and developing.

i will offer one suggestion to you tho-don't get hopeful mainly due to a horses pedigree. it's all well and good to be a fan of a horse line, but don't think bloodlines alone will be enough. plenty of good horseflesh that doesn't pan out. base your picks and hopes on ability; take any biases out of the equation. horses don't run faster because you have high hopes for them.

[Betsy]

Originally Posted by Danzig

i think you're basing too much on one race, especially when the goal is a race in may. should he have run better? maybe, will he end up running poorly again? that's to be seen. but plenty of horses over the years have run up the track and then gone on to bigger and better things. birdstone, thunder gulch, charismatic who ran for a tag and won 2/3's of the triple crown. the list truly is endless.
of course, there's also a list of horses a mile long who showed promise only to fade away; he could just as easily be one of those. my only point is that it's too soon to write him off. these horses are obviously still learning and developing.

i will offer one suggestion to you tho-don't get hopeful mainly due to a horses pedigree. it's all well and good to be a fan of a horse line, but don't think bloodlines alone will be enough. plenty of good horseflesh that doesn't pan out. base your picks and hopes on ability; take any biases out of the equation. horses don't run faster because you have high hopes for them.

I remember Thunder Gulch as I was a huge fan, so I suppose that should be a lesson to me.

I liked THAS from the beginning due to his pedigree, but I didn't base whether I thought he was good on that. He ran a very good race in his debut and after that I thought he was very talented; I felt right after the race that Astrology would never beat him again (I love Indy, but IMO that horse is not that good). Perhaps I overrated him based on his maiden win, but then he ran very well in the Nashua. Admittedly, I wasn't all that impressed with his Remsen, but I also didn't think it was a bad race. My favorite horses are those with pedigrees I favor, but whether or not some people think so, I don't necessarily think they are good afterwards just based on their pedigrees. Believe me, there are horses out there who I would love to think are good.......but they aren't..

such a delicate flower. be gentle. a googly!