OTM Al
03-07-2005, 09:35 AM
Lots of good action this past weekend, so thought I'd start a thread to share my thoughts and give a chance for others to do same in the same place...
Lost In the Fog.
One word. Stunning. A very nice ride by R. Baze also I might add. Got the clean break and then settled behind the jack rabbit until it was time to put him away. I always like to see what the horse's head looks like as he comes down the stretch to see how much gas he has. Normally a horse has his ears pinned straight back and is going all for bear or worse, the head comes up and is bobbing all over the place from exhaustion. Fog had his head a bit up, but his ears were still pricked straight up and it looked like he was on his morning jog. I am really looking forward to seeing this guy try two turns now. If he has any stamina, I'm wondering if this guy could also be an absolute monster on the green. Huge upgrade in my book. Won't class him with my top tiers yet, but will create a new wildcard category for him pending a 2 turn try.
High Fly/Bandini.
High Fly did what he was supposed to and Bandini put on a better show than I expected, but my feeling after this race is to somewhat downgrade the Florida contingent even further than before. I think they are a bit weak down there this year. High Fly remains on my second tier of candidates and Bandini gets to the top edge of the hype pile, but remains there. I know many will say look how he was closing and more distance, he would have got there, but the fact is he got a pretty clean trip and still did not get the job done. The post was a problem, but High Fly was out there too. Note to Defer fans, if you are still out there....forget it.
Declan's Moon/Going Wild.
Looked better that the figures showed. I was going to upgrade Going Wild a bit as he seemed pretty game against one of my top tier horses, but he should have been fit where Declan's Moon was coming off the layoff. Declan's Moon's fig is consistant with what I expected off the layoff, so he gets no downgrade, and he did make a nice, though not spectacular move. Going Wild did okay, but did not advance his stature. Will remain second tier. Sorry for you troubles Snack. Should you chose to keep running up there, you'll win every race and if not, there's sure to be some nice green fields and plenty of pretty fillies.
Afleet Alex.
Real nice payday for your workout. Nice ride by Rose by the way. Maybe a bit bittersweet as it will be his last on him, at least for a while. Looking very strong and very fit after the extended break. Looking forward to him and Rocky getting it on in 2 weeks. That one will show Rocky's place in the world I think. Top contender. Was and is still. Must comment on the run by Razor though. This guy has some talent I think. Should be picking up some decent checks in the future in listed and low graded stakes. Going to keep my eye out for him.
Did not see TP race as I wasn't paying attention at the time. Was glad to see Pavo did well as I had backed him a couple times in NY. Perhaps someone else can give their thoughts on that one.
So my rankings right now are
Top Tier
1. Alex, 2. Declan's Moon, 3. Rocky
Second Tier
1. Going Wild, 2. Sun King, 3. High Fly, 4. Galloping Grocer
Wild Card
Lost In The Fog
Decent but still hype until prove otherwise
1. Spanish Chestnut, 2. Bandini, 3. Naughty New Yorker, 4. KC Boy
Lost In the Fog.
One word. Stunning. A very nice ride by R. Baze also I might add. Got the clean break and then settled behind the jack rabbit until it was time to put him away. I always like to see what the horse's head looks like as he comes down the stretch to see how much gas he has. Normally a horse has his ears pinned straight back and is going all for bear or worse, the head comes up and is bobbing all over the place from exhaustion. Fog had his head a bit up, but his ears were still pricked straight up and it looked like he was on his morning jog. I am really looking forward to seeing this guy try two turns now. If he has any stamina, I'm wondering if this guy could also be an absolute monster on the green. Huge upgrade in my book. Won't class him with my top tiers yet, but will create a new wildcard category for him pending a 2 turn try.
High Fly/Bandini.
High Fly did what he was supposed to and Bandini put on a better show than I expected, but my feeling after this race is to somewhat downgrade the Florida contingent even further than before. I think they are a bit weak down there this year. High Fly remains on my second tier of candidates and Bandini gets to the top edge of the hype pile, but remains there. I know many will say look how he was closing and more distance, he would have got there, but the fact is he got a pretty clean trip and still did not get the job done. The post was a problem, but High Fly was out there too. Note to Defer fans, if you are still out there....forget it.
Declan's Moon/Going Wild.
Looked better that the figures showed. I was going to upgrade Going Wild a bit as he seemed pretty game against one of my top tier horses, but he should have been fit where Declan's Moon was coming off the layoff. Declan's Moon's fig is consistant with what I expected off the layoff, so he gets no downgrade, and he did make a nice, though not spectacular move. Going Wild did okay, but did not advance his stature. Will remain second tier. Sorry for you troubles Snack. Should you chose to keep running up there, you'll win every race and if not, there's sure to be some nice green fields and plenty of pretty fillies.
Afleet Alex.
Real nice payday for your workout. Nice ride by Rose by the way. Maybe a bit bittersweet as it will be his last on him, at least for a while. Looking very strong and very fit after the extended break. Looking forward to him and Rocky getting it on in 2 weeks. That one will show Rocky's place in the world I think. Top contender. Was and is still. Must comment on the run by Razor though. This guy has some talent I think. Should be picking up some decent checks in the future in listed and low graded stakes. Going to keep my eye out for him.
Did not see TP race as I wasn't paying attention at the time. Was glad to see Pavo did well as I had backed him a couple times in NY. Perhaps someone else can give their thoughts on that one.
So my rankings right now are
Top Tier
1. Alex, 2. Declan's Moon, 3. Rocky
Second Tier
1. Going Wild, 2. Sun King, 3. High Fly, 4. Galloping Grocer
Wild Card
Lost In The Fog
Decent but still hype until prove otherwise
1. Spanish Chestnut, 2. Bandini, 3. Naughty New Yorker, 4. KC Boy