Two year olds of 2006!

[TurfRuler]

Name the best two year olds that have raced this year, that you have seen live or on a replay.

(Please follow instructions, no trainers or jockeys included)

[JustRalph]

Nobizlikeshobiz.......... when he gets it figured out...........he could be hell on wheels.

[mudnturf]

Name the best two year olds that have raced this year, that you have seen live or on a replay.

(Please follow instructions, no trainers or jockeys included)


I like a filly named Her Majesty (Biancone) who has only run twice, and who I think might be a value play in the B.C.Juvenile Fillies.

[Cesario!]

Dreaming of Anna

[Zman179]

Dreaming of Anna

Ok...but what horse do you like?

[Cesario!]

Dreaming of Anna

Ba-zing!

[RobinFromIreland]

Over here, "we gotta horse"!

Teofilo is unbeaten in 5, including winning the G1 National Stakes (7f) and G1 Dewhurst (7f), both times beating Holy Roman Emperor, himself a dual G1 winner - and running great speed figures.

He's a huge 2yo, by Galileo (who is already siring staying champions that are usually average at 2 and very good at 3) - hence the excitement around him.

His trainer, Jim Bolger, (who is also his owner = run him when he likes) has already declared him to be the "best I've ever trained" - and he's trained St. Jovite (12L winner of Irish Derby, 6L winner of King George) among other champions.

He is being aimed to be the first colt to complete the Triple Crown since Nijinsky. I can't wait.

[njcurveball]

I dont know their name, but those three kids in Africa who were staying behind and starving seemed very well behaved when they found out their friend was going to live in a Million Dollar house with Madonna and throw away more food in a day than they will see in a year! :D

[Wiley]

Over here, "we gotta horse"!

Teofilo is unbeaten in 5, including winning the G1 National Stakes (7f) and G1 Dewhurst (7f), both times beating Holy Roman Emperor, himself a dual G1 winner - and running great speed figures.
He is being aimed to be the first colt to complete the Triple Crown since Nijinsky. I can't wait.
Robin,
Any chance he comes here to run in the BC Juvenile ala Johannesburg? I looked at his pedigree and it's the lawn top and bottom but just wondering. Thanks.

[the_fat_man]

Dreaming of Anna

Now, this filly is a flat out FREAK!!! (On the turf, anyway.)

[bigmack]

Now, this filly is a flat out FREAK!!! (On the turf, anyway.)
Rene Douglas said:
"I think she's the best filly I have ever ridden in my life, I've been on nice fillies before, but this filly gives me goosebumps.

http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=20152

[RobinFromIreland]

Robin,
Any chance he comes here to run in the BC Juvenile a la Johannesburg?

Zip. He may run one more time in the Criterium International (his trainer - who is also the owner and breeder - is unafraid to run him whenever, whereever, as G1s are "sweet") in a few weeks in France.

Good ole YouTube has a video available of his National Stakes performance beating subsequent easy Gran Criterium winner Holy Roman Emperor. Teofio's in the white, HRE in the dark blue...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=CPYuXDTam2A

Just look at the size difference between the two and how HRE very much looks like a 2yo. In fact, were it not for Teofilo, HRE would be a 4-time G1 winner with a very similar career record to a certain Rock Of Gibraltar. Have no doubt, HRE is an exceptional 2yo but Teofilo just seems something quite extraordinary.

You may have heard of Nick Mordin - now some disagree with the speed figures etc., his opinions on horses are usually quite accurate. This is what he had to say about Teofilio in his last 3 runs...

August
TEOFILO LOOKS REAL VALUE FOR 2000 GUINEAS

I imagine that TEOFILO (37) is named after the remarkable Cuban boxing champion Teofilo Stevenson who as famous for never turning professional and for an amazingly long unbeaten streak. The equine version of Teofilo kept his own unbeaten record when winning the Futurity Stakes in seriously good time on his third start.

You see quite a few juveniles earn big speed ratings at five furlongs, fewer at six furlongs while very few indeed run as fast as Teofilo did here at seven furlongs. And it seems clear he could have run faster as he is one of those horses that eases himself up as soon as he hits the front.

Jim Bolger is not one to hype his horses. So when he says Teofilo is the best colt he's ever trained it's worth paying attention. It's also very interesting that he also describes Teofilo as the best looking horse he's ever trained. I say this because there is a powerful statistic concerning the physique of 2000 Guineas winners, and it just keeps on hitting the winner. The statistic is this: 16 times in the last 24 years the 2000 Guineas has gone to a horse that has earned one of the two best physical descriptions that Raceform award; 'nice colt' or 'good sort'. What is remarkable about this is that on average, only three 2000 Guineas runners per year are described this way. It looks clear that Teofilo is going to earn one of these descriptions. It's also clear that he'll be going for the 2000 Guineas from what Bolger has said. So I'd sya he looks real value for the race at Ladbroke's current odds of 20-1.

The Coolmore colt EAGLE MOUNTAIN (37) ran a big race to run Teofilo to a head. He should be able to score in Group company before the season is out.

Eagle Mountain subsequently won a G2 by 8L and is hot favourite for the G1 Racing Post Trophy (1m)....


October

EAGLE MOUNTAIN LOOKS THE ONE FOR THE RACING POST TROPHY

Aiden O'Brien has as good a bunch of two year olds as he ever has according to my speed ratings. And EAGLE MOUNTAIN (39) showed that he's one of the best of them when running away with the Beresford Stakes in remarkably fast time.

You don't often see a two year old run this quick at a mile. So I would say that Eagle Mountain is more than just a Group 1 horse, he's a major Classic candidate.

Clearly Eagle Mountain appreciated the step up in distance. And, seeing that he's a half brother to Sulk who ran second in a Group 1 over two miles, it's interesting to speculate on his prospects of staying the Derby trip.

I'd bet good money that O'Brien will be going the well tried Ballysax Stakes and Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial route with Eagle Mountain next term rather than shooting for the Guineas. So he does look rather attractive at the available 16-1 for the Blue Riband. And I'd say he's going to be a whole lot shorter after the Racing Post Trophy as he now looks much the best candidate for that race.

Form being franked...
September

TEOFILO HAS SPEED AS WELL AS STAMINA TEOFILO (33) beat the very smart HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR (32) in the National Stakes. And weirdly enough, for me, the impressive thing about his performance was the fact he ran slower than the 50-80 handicap over the same course and distance later on the card.

We already knew that Teofilo could run fast over seven furlongs. Now he's shown that he can win off a steady pace and outsprint a six furlong Group 1 winner in the process. This is remarkable for a horse that's by the sire who, as trainer Jim Bolger pointed out, has just produced the first three home in the St Leger.

The picture of Teofilo winning shows that he's a great big beast of a horse with a deep chest who already looks like he'd have no problems going a mile and a half.

I have to say Teofilo has already got me rather excited, and Bolger added to the excitement when he openly talked about the possibility of going for the Triple Crown with him next year. It's been over two decades since a horse even ran in all three legs of the Triple Crown. And I thought we'd never again see a horse attempt the feat when Nashwan sidestepped the last leg way back in 1989. But in Teofilo we seem to have a horse who, thanks to his sire Galileo, is looking very much like a 1970's flashback who could easily be as versatile as to distance as the last Triple Crown winner Nijinsky.

Nijinsky was unbeaten in five starts as a two year old. Teofilo will attempt to emulate that feat next time out when he takes in either the Dewhurst Stakes (which Nijinsky won on his last juvenile start) or the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. I wouldn't dream of opposing him in either contest and will doubtless spend a good deal of the Winter fantasizing about the possibility of him winning the Triple Crown.

Indeed he went on to the Dewhurst to face Holy Roman Emperor once again. HRE had just won the Lagadere (nee Gran Criterium) by 2L on Arc day...

October

TEOFILO DOES THE IMPOSSIBLE

TEOFILO (41) lost ground at the start of the Dewhurst Stakes and then he rallied when headed in the closing stages to score. That's basically impossible according to a test I ran using Raceform Interactive software. It turns out that there have been quite a few horses which have won maiden races against equally inexperienced rivals by rallying after losing ground at the start. There have also been a few long distance events (twelve furlongs plus) where this has occurred – and many more over jumps. But there has never been a Group race, not even a Listed race, run anywhere in Europe over the last eleven years over less than twelve furlongs where a horse has earned form book comments such as 'dwelt', 'off slow', 'slow into stride' as well as 'rallied' and won or even reached the first four. It requires that a horse makes two huge moves – one early and one late. And that's just too much to ask – except it seems for Teofilo.

And Teofilo wasn't winning just any pattern race. He won a red hot Group 1 where he was up against HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR (41), a horse that had run as fast as any two year old in the past five years according to my speed ratings.

If Teofilo was ever going to get beat it was in this race where he encountered what should have been insurmountable obstacles and was up against a brilliant rival. He really should have lost but somehow he found a way to win.

Teofilo clocked a faster time than the winner of the Challenge Stakes (3yo+ G2) over the same course and distance. Again that's pretty much impossible, but he did it, earning the biggest speed rating I've give a two year old beyond five furlongs since Xaar took this race back in 1997. Xaar of course didn't really train on. But he wasn't that big, and it's a good rule of thumb that the bigger a two year old is the more likely it is to train on. Teofilo is huge, and he's already running fast enough to win Group 1 races against three year olds, so he doesn't need to improve at all.

36 years ago, a horse called Nijinsky won all five of his two year old races, culminating with a win in the Dewhurst Stakes. Teofilo has now emulated Nijinsky at two and he's got the physique, the pedigree, and I suspect the ability to emulate him at three as well. Jim Bolger has said that if Teofilo shows him he wants to go for the Triple Crown he'll let him. So could we be about to see a horse turn back the clock to a time when the best horses didn't specialize in a narrow range of distances? I hate to tempt fate but I do rather think so.

You have to feel sorry for Holy Roman Emperor. If he hadn't twice bumped up against Teofilo he would have been winning his fourth Group 1 in a row here and be hailed as an outstanding two year old champion.

It is probably fortunate for Holy Roman Emperor that Teofilo will be stepped up in distance after the Guineas next year as that will leave the way clear for him to dominate the other mile races for three year olds. As I've mentioned before, Holy Roman Emperor shouldn't go any further than a mile on pedigree. His brother Milanova won Listed and Group 3 contests over a mile in Australia but failed to score in eleven starts over longer distances. His half brother Heart Of Oak was also a miler in Germany (he never ran beyond a mile in fact). His other high class sibling Big Viking did take a Group 3 over ten furlongs as a three year old in Japan but his biggest win came in a Group 2 over seven furlongs when he was four.

Horses like this can lift a nation.