Shoot Lukas!!

[DeoVolente]

I think the thing with Azeri was that having her be horse of the year was too
much pressure for the chick trainer. But she did do well with her, right until the end. Something was amiss, and it was obviously misdiagnosed by de Seroux.

Remember, she was convinced that they were doing wrong by the horse when they
brought her back. Azeri proceeded to run the best race of her career. But give her high grades for keeping the schedule soft!

Lukas is completely mismanaging Azeri. He's got this stupid thing about thinkging out of the box with her - his words. Well, he's got her beat twice with that nonsense. I knew there was no way she'd win the Met. One turn races
are not for her! It's as stupid as running Xtra Heat in routes would have been. One positve note if you bet the Met, The Mare was a throw out and so was Funny Cide. The exacta wasn't hard with a little imagination.

And I am thoroughly disgusted with Lukas for taking Mike Smith off her you see how Mike has been riding the last few days! She had
never finished out of the money before the Met. I'd like to shoot D. Wayne!

[Latin Qtr]

It must be tough for a once-great trainer like Lukas to hang it up.
Yet I don't think he can still be that trainer again. Smith should
have stayed and replacing Azeri's jock right before a GR1 race is a basic no-no. It's showmanship not training. Ok, the race with
Mayo On The Side was uneven, but Azeri had to feel uneasy with
Day. I don't know why Azeri didn't finish closer. The pace seemed
easy. Lukas is more style than substance and he treated Azeri
as if she had no feelings, just like a machine, and right before
facing her biggest challenge-- and that's dumb at best.

[PaceAdvantage]

This is obviously a post designed to bait me into some sort of flame contest, what with the provocative "Shoot Lukas" title and all. I'm not going to bite much, but I will say this:

Do you read the DRF? Did you read on occasion when Mr. Paulson would publicly criticize Mike Smith's losing rides (as few as they have been with Azeri)? Maybe Paulson wanted a clean break with the whole LDS past, and Mike Smith was the last bit to go. I didn't agree with taking Smith off either, but again, I doubt it was Lukas who made the suggestion. I think we all can agree that Paulson is a very HANDS ON owner, at least when it comes to Azeri, his prize.

Let me ask all you Lukas bashers a serious question regarding Azeri. What would you LIKE LUKAS TO DO? Should he have DECLINED the offer to train Azeri in the first place? Would you have?

[so.cal.fan]

NO......it's not LUKAS......it's PAULSON.......he is a bad owner.

This is the opinion of most of us at the So. Cal. tracks, not just so.cal.fan.

[CryingForTheHorses]

I had to comment on the BAD OWNER comment....Ok here's the question...What is a good owner??..1..A guy that spends thousands of dollars just so you can bet?.I agree with Mr Paulson, Its HIS money, I myself am a very hands on owner!!.I disagree with how you are bashing Lucas,Hell all he is doing is listening to his owner.I myself dont have time for a trainer that wont work with me,A owner pays a lot of money to have his horse trained,Not to mention all the heartbreak.The biggest thing a trainer fears is telling his owner something is wrong with his horse,I will say this, You do have owners that dont have a clue.When you invest in this business,You do need to have a clue as lots of trainers will tell the owner anything just to keep the horse in his barn, If your a horseman you know if the trainer is fibbing. A owner and trainer have to have a bond,you need the vet,the blacksmith,the jockey to all be on your side.Also very important to give to people when you win, This assures your interests are always protected

[Latin Qtr]

YES a trainer of Lukas' stature should (should) have said ...
I'm Azeri's trainer not you Mr. Paulson. Yes, I'm sure that
he's a hands-on owner but look what Ego can accomplish when
its not supported with talent. But in this case Lukas may have
viewed Azeri as his new beginning. 2 Large Egos at work?

[kenwoodallpromos]

I know there is some give and take, "politics" in rfacing.
Why do I assume Lukas is best with 1 yr olds?

[Buddha]

Originally posted by DeoVolente


Lukas is completely mismanaging Azeri. He's got this stupid thing about thinkging out of the box with her - his words. Well, he's got her beat twice with that nonsense. I knew there was no way she'd win the Met. One turn races
are not for her! I

Mike Smith got her beat at CD, not Lukas. I think that the Met was the wrong race to try her against the boys. Just came up way too tough for her.

[BeatTheChalk]

He isnt exactly having the kind of year that he would like...might
be getting to him .... it is the worst I can recall ...

[vespa7]

There has never been so little done with so much talent that Lucas gets. He is kind of like the John Thompson of horse racing. Perhaps he needs to tidy up his barn maybe some new paint.

[freeneasy]

that originally brought up the idea to seriously run azari in the met is the culprit here. if lucas, then he should have new better and i think he did. if paulson then he should have new better and i think he did as well. either way, in this case, the one should have dissagreed with the other.
lukas just cant train em this year and like jack van berg and some of the other great trainers in the past, sometimes for some reason you get to some kind of point in your carrear where you just cant train anymore and most all his horses are automatic throw outs for me. lucas can hardly train this year and its basically the only handicapping factor i need to know about his horses. lukas-paulson, paulson-lukas, and the winner is, its lukas.

[delayjf]

I pointed this out on another thread, but Lukas has lost some big owners, so it's no surprize that he took on Arazi. I'm sure he has a taste for big time racing but it also put him in a spot to benefit from Paulson's deep pockets in the future.

[PaceAdvantage]

Lukas is fourth in the standings at CD, so I wouldn't worry too much about him. He's risen plenty of times in the past when people have called his career over. This recent slump is probably no different.

By the way, lets think of some of the top trainers out there today.....

Todd Pletcher - learned under Lukas as an assistant
Mark Hennig - learned under Lukas as an assistant
Kiaran McLaughlin - not quite at the top of the list as far as trainers go, but he's almost there, and is another former Lukas assistant

If Lukas is no good, how come these guys are doing so well? I guess they were learning from some other trainer while they were workin in the DWL barn.

[tcat]

When trainers start dragging the horses across the finish line, I'll start blaming the trainer.

Blaming the trainer is like blaming the coach. It is a real indication of people who do not know what they are tgalking about.

I think you should get up before the sun rise, load muck buckets and work 7 day weeks before you start criticizing about something you little knowledge, you need to walk in their shoes a few days.

[Tuffmug]

If you are going to try the boys then you should do it at your best distance. Azeri is a route horse. She is NOT a SPRINTER! Lukas and or Paulson are morons! Thank God for morons as they make my handicapping easier and give me nice overlays!

[DJofSD]

Hey, buddy, I hate to break the news to you but for the last 4 years, Allen Paulson has been the best owner any trainer could ask for - he's dead!

DJofSD

[superfecta]

Originally posted by DJofSD
Hey, buddy, I hate to break the news to you but for the last 4 years, Allen Paulson has been the best owner any trainer could ask for - he's dead!

DJofSD I wondered if anyone bashing him realized that factoid.That would be the worst owner to train for tho,he never would tell you whats on his mind,probably doesn't smell too good and you would have to wait forever on those paychecks.....

[JustRalph]

Yeah..........he is dead.........but his son took over and went through a legal battle with siblings.........and I believe that is who So.Cal was referring to

[playintheponies]

In Lukas' heydey he had Lady's Secret, did fantastic with for a couple of seasons but ended up running her into the ground. Seh became the leading money earning mare of all time, but in order to do that they had to drop her way down

[PaceAdvantage]

Yeah, Lady's Secret....way to travel back in time and constantly bring that one up.

Ever go back and look at her past performances with a totally subjective eye? I did. Give it a try. It might be interesting.

[playintheponies]

administrator wrote:
"Yeah, Lady's Secret....way to travel back in time and constantly bring that one up.

Ever go back and look at her past performances with a totally subjective eye? I did. Give it a try. It might be interesting."

> constantly bring that one up.

? I am relatively new here, this is the first time I mentioned her on these pages. She came to mind the other day when Azeri ran against the boys in the Met Mile. I seem to recall Lukas running Lady's Secret against the boys and getting clobbered.

> go back and look at her past performances

Wasn't that in the mid 1980's? Is that data online anywhere?

Best Regards, playintheponies

[delayjf]

I'm not so sure that it's Lukas so much as opposed to the natural strain of competing in the TC. Look at the TC contenders from just about any year, where are they now?

If you do believe Lukas is to blame, then you'd have to throw Baffert into that fire as well. Remember reading about how loaded Bafferts stable was last fall. Yet, none of those two year olds made it to the Derby. It will be interesting to see how he does without the Thoroughbred Corp funding his Keenland / Saratoga shopping sprees.

[freeneasy]

Originally posted by PaceAdvantage
Lukas is fourth in the standings at CD, so I wouldn't worry too much about him. He's risen plenty of times in the past when people have called his career over. This recent slump is probably no different.

By the way, lets think of some of the top trainers out there today.....

Todd Pletcher - learned under Lukas as an assistant
Mark Hennig - learned under Lukas as an assistant
Kiaran McLaughlin - not quite at the top of the list as far as trainers go, but he's almost there, and is another former Lukas assistant

If Lukas is no good, how come these guys are doing so well? I guess they were learning from some other trainer while they were workin in the DWL barn.

i said that theres been a number of good to great trainers that in the last couple of years of their carreers just seemed to have lost their touch to train. jack van berg, tho it kills me to say it but yes charlie wittingham, his son michael, and for whatever reasons, it could be any number but i threw kookcas in the mix cause he's not exempt from anything as the above happening in racing either.

[cj]

I rarely would defend DW, but this is out of hand. I didn't really think the Met was a great spot, but its not like the horse was hurt or injured just before or during the running.

How many trainers, every day in this country, send out unfit, unsound horses in your every day claiming race? Putting a horse over its head happens all the time too. Noone cares.

I have no problem criticizing a trainer for doing something bad for the horse, like when Lukas ruined Proud Citizen with his ridiculous rush to the Derby (Sa Derby, Lexington, Derby, Preakness in like a month after a long layoff), but this horse was fit and healthy, just too slow. What's the harm?