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Valuist
05-03-2004, 09:51 AM
Nafzger shoots down megachalk Sightseek in the distaff stakes on Friday with Lead Story. So what does he do for an encore the next day? He sends his second stringer Mayo On the Side out and beats Azeri.

Even though the wins were on successive days, they were in different months. And being Derby weekend, the media (except for Jill Byrne) overlooked this so he will not likely be Trainer of the Month. Thats how to stay under the radar.

OTM Al
05-03-2004, 12:02 PM
I went out in that race to beat Azeri when the PPs came out with the same reasoning I used to beat Congaree earlier. I had the feeling neither was well intentioned for their races. After the field dropped to only 4 for Azeri's race, it became a no bet for me. She almost did it anyway, which shows the class of the animal, but hats off to Nafzger for that double. The Derby fever had me completely forgetting Sightseek was running friday, compounded by the fact that I couldn't get out of work to watch that card. Grrrrrrrrr....

Valuist
05-03-2004, 12:45 PM
I thought Azeri ran big in defeat. Nafzger was almost apologetic afterward for the weight advantage. He said he didn't think there should be Grade 1 handicaps. But he also said we wasn't about to give the money back, either.

Observer
05-04-2004, 06:36 PM
Originally posted by Valuist
... He said he didn't think there should be Grade 1 handicaps ...

No handicaps for Grade I races??? Well, then .. would Mr. Nafzger have run Mayo on the Side against Azeri if they were going at equal weights????

These races can be difficult enough to fill. If there are no weight-breaks for the "inferior" runners, what would be the incentive for them to run??? Simply for the chance at getting a Grade I placing??? Which can be important, in terms of breeding. But, equal weights against Azeri .. I'm sure more of those runners in that already compact field would have not been there .. and as it was, the field scratched down to just four runners.

At least with these kind of weight-breaks, there is hope that the spread will assist in leveling the playing field, especially at this time of year.