Beyer on Mo in Classic: Bold but ill-advised

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Let's leave the surface excuses to Pletcher. He has way more experience.

Ok. And let's leave watching a race with your eyes open to a race caller.

[King Glorious]

I thought the decision was the right one. If they were looking for the most likely spot to win, maybe not. If they have plans on running next year, maybe not. But I believe that if you talk it, walk it. You can't make claims that he's the best horse in the world, an all-time great......then settle for a consolation prize. Go big or go home. Winning the 8f race would have been forgotten very shortly. Is anyone going to be reminiscing in five years about the time they saw Caleb's Posse win the Dirt Mile? The way I saw it, most people believed he was the best miler in the country already so winning that race would have proved nothing. It was a higher risk/reward race than the Classic for sure. Losing a race where you're 3/5 at your best distance is no good. Losing the Classic doesn't hurt him because everyone blames the connections because truthfully, he did not fit the race. The Classic was really everything to win, nothing to lose for the horse.

[cakes44]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

The Classic was really everything to win, nothing to lose for the horse.

I think he lost a lot.

[RockHardTen1985]

He may have lost something, I dont know. I do know he was in the right race. I agree with IC also. I never really saw a comfortable horse yesterday.

[dalakhani]

Originally Posted by RockHardTen1985

He may have lost something, I dont know. I do know he was in the right race. I agree with IC also. I never really saw a comfortable horse yesterday.

Lost something? He is 3 and he has raced about 10 times in his entire life.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by RockHardTen1985

He may have lost something, I dont know. I do know he was in the right race. I agree with IC also. I never really saw a comfortable horse yesterday.

He's the East Coast version of The Factor. Give him perfect conditions and no pressure, and he's otherworldly.

Put a little squeeze on him and he won't "handle the track" every time.

If he runs again, he will never do anything better than his Kelso.

[dalakhani]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

He's the East Coast version of The Factor. Give him perfect conditions and no pressure, and he's otherworldly.

Put a little squeeze on him and he won't "handle the track" every time.

If he runs again, he will never do anything better than his Kelso.

Give Mo a little more credit than that. I do get the comparison but Mo is certainly much more horse than The Factor who is more like Lion Heart without the Cobra Venom.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by dalakhani

Give Mo a little more credit than that. I do get the comparison but Mo is certainly much more horse than The Factor who is more like Lion Heart without the Cobra Venom.

He's better than The Factor, but the point is, he hasn't really shown he can overcome much adversity in a race. At least he's proved he isn't one dimensional.

I'll take Lion Heart over The Factor any day of the week. The Factor has won a couple of merry-go-round races and been horrendous in every definitive test he's been in. Lion Heart may have been limited, but he was far from all-or-nothing.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

He's the East Coast version of The Factor. Give him perfect conditions and no pressure, and he's otherworldly.

Put a little squeeze on him and he won't "handle the track" every time.

If he runs again, he will never do anything better than his Kelso.

Outside of his not handling the track, what conditions were not perfect for him yesterday?

He sat just off the lead with no real pressure, no real trouble, nor was he hemmed in at the rail, bumped, or anything.

What squeeze are you referring to? The kind of squeeze Jackson Bend put on him in the Kelso?

The kind of squeeze Boys at Toscanova put on him in the Juvie? The kind of squeeze the front runners put on him in the Juvie?

What is this mysterious squeeze you refer to in the Wood? He had things totally his own way!!!!

Oh yes, the squeeze was the 20 mile long length of the Wood. Which was at least 18 miles further than when he won the BC Juvie a few months before.

How about the squeeze he felt in his debut? Oh, that's right, he's just a sprinter, so the conditions were absolutely tailor made for him there.

So, just to make sure I understand, all three of his losses were due to being under some sort of squeeze, right?

From where I sit, the only adversity this horse has ever had to face (during a race that is), was the comeback race against Caleb's Posse. He was coming off a significant layoff following his imaginary illness and had a trip that wasn't 100% to his advantage.

He's won over four different tracks, and outside of yesterdays loss, I've never heard anyone use the excuse that he didn't handle the track. Well, except for me after the Wood, but as it turned out, something else was wrong, which I had no way of knowing.

It's amazing how people will put blinkers on themselves to prove themselves right instead of using their visual abilities to see what is right in front of them.

[Indian Charlie]

By the way, anyone who's been a long time reader here at Derby Trail should know the real reason Mo ran like crap.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Outside of his not handling the track, what conditions were not perfect for him yesterday?

Distance. Preparation. Pace scenario. Physical issues perhaps.

But I wasn't referring only to the BC Classic. I was also referring to the King's Bishop and the Wood Memorial.

What squeeze are you referring to? The kind of squeeze Jackson Bend put on him in the Kelso?

Hah. Yeah, you don't often see a loose on the lead horse turn back the challenge of the poor horse that has the unenviable position of having to make an early run on the frontrunner lest the latter opens up an insurmountable lead.

It was a 4-horse field. While it may be the fastest, it was also the most insignificant performance of his career.

The kind of squeeze Boys at Toscanova put on him in the Juvie? The kind of squeeze the front runners put on him in the Juvie?

I already said he showed he wasn't one dimensional.

By the way, are we referring to the same Boys of Toscanova that was coming off a 3-month layoff and making his two-turn debut, and then within 2 months went on another 7-month layoff which culminated with an impressive non-threatening 3rd in a second condition allowance race a few weeks ago?

What is this mysterious squeeze you refer to in the Wood? He had things totally his own way!!!!

Yep, set a solid pace while hounded by a 30-1 longshot, fought off a couple of challenges turning for home, edged clear of the pack, then failed to hold off two closers.

Sounds like distance once again.

Oh yes, the squeeze was the 20 mile long length of the Wood. Which was at least 18 miles further than when he won the BC Juvie a few months before.

In the BC Juvenile, he had a target to run at, and more importantly, nothing behind him.

How about the squeeze he felt in his debut? Oh, that's right, he's just a sprinter, so the conditions were absolutely tailor made for him there.

I didn't know maiden special weights were considered top class races. Anyways, from the King's Bishop, we know he can handle some pressure and still perform admirably at sprint distances.

So, just to make sure I understand, all three of his losses were due to being under some sort of squeeze, right?

Yeah, either that...or he simply didn't handle the track.

What was your excuse for his Wood Memorial again?

He's won over four different tracks, and outside of yesterdays loss, I've never heard anyone use the excuse that he didn't handle the track. Well, except for me after the Wood, but as it turned out, something else was wrong, which I had no way of knowing.

But you were sure from his action, stride, choppiness, etc. that he didn't handle the track at Aqueduct, just like you say now about his effort at Churchill Downs.

Apparently, what you've been witnessing are signs of an internal malady.

Pancreas this time?

It's amazing how people will put blinkers on themselves to prove themselves right instead of using their visual abilities to see what is right in front of them.

You could be right. It's possible that Uncle Mo is simply the unluckiest all-time great in history. I mean, despite not handling the track surface, having a ravaged liver, and getting a non-ideal setup in his three losses, he still somehow managed to run normal for the first 1/2 of each race and unleash a bid for the lead on the far turn. He's so good, he can still uncork winning efforts despite being clearly eliminated from contention before reaching the first turn (at least to the well-trained eye). Only past the 1/8 pole have we seen the hepatitis and cuppy Churchill surface rear their ugly heads to make a martyr out the horse instead of a hero.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Outside of his not handling the track, what conditions were not perfect for him yesterday?

He sat just off the lead with no real pressure, no real trouble, nor was he hemmed in at the rail, bumped, or anything.

What squeeze are you referring to? The kind of squeeze Jackson Bend put on him in the Kelso?

The kind of squeeze Boys at Toscanova put on him in the Juvie? The kind of squeeze the front runners put on him in the Juvie?

What is this mysterious squeeze you refer to in the Wood? He had things totally his own way!!!!

Oh yes, the squeeze was the 20 mile long length of the Wood. Which was at least 18 miles further than when he won the BC Juvie a few months before.

How about the squeeze he felt in his debut? Oh, that's right, he's just a sprinter, so the conditions were absolutely tailor made for him there.

So, just to make sure I understand, all three of his losses were due to being under some sort of squeeze, right?

From where I sit, the only adversity this horse has ever had to face (during a race that is), was the comeback race against Caleb's Posse. He was coming off a significant layoff following his imaginary illness and had a trip that wasn't 100% to his advantage.

He's won over four different tracks, and outside of yesterdays loss, I've never heard anyone use the excuse that he didn't handle the track. Well, except for me after the Wood, but as it turned out, something else was wrong, which I had no way of knowing.

It's amazing how people will put blinkers on themselves to prove themselves right instead of using their visual abilities to see what is right in front of them.

didn't he handle the track til the quarter pole?

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Ok. And let's leave watching a race with your eyes open to a race caller.

Yeah, you're right, I have no idea how to watch a horse race. I think that was made clear years ago.

Keep grasping at straws to explain the defeat away.