Azeri's first foal running at SA today

[CBedo]

Azeri's first foal, Take Control (AP Indy), is running for the first time today in the third race at Santa Anita, a 1 mile route on the Pro Ride. Baffert is the trainer and Martin Garcia is riding.

My apologies if this has been posted before. I've been on a mini-horse racing vacation and haven't been following the PA board as closely as usual.

[joanied]

Thanks for posting...sure hope he runs well...he has a good name, besides his outstanding pedigree, and with Baffert...if he has the talent, he'll go far.

[skate]

yeh, thanks.


hekinda makes this a tough race @ maybe 4/1.

i might have to put him in w/#5 Ivory.

[miesque]

He looks like a promising horse and I am glad that Peagram and Baffert got him at the sale.

On a side note, I like the name change to "Take Control"

[andymays]

This is one of those deals where I have two conflicting workout reports on this colt for 12-23 @ Santa Anita. One says looks great and one says not so much. Since this one will be over bet I'll go with the "not so much" comment.

Azeri was one of the ones like Rags to Riches where you're watching one of their first couple of races and in the blink of an eye they make an extraordinary move that points them out.

Earthquake in San Diego @ 10:50 am PST.

[joanied]

This is one of those deals where I have two conflicting workout reports on this colt for 12-23 @ Santa Anita. One says looks great and one says not so much. Since this one will be over bet I'll go with the "not so much" comment.

Azeri was one of the ones like Rags to Riches where you're watching one of their first couple of races and in the blink of an eye they make an extraordinary move that points them out.

Earthquake in San Diego @ 10:50 am PST.

Today?? How bad?? My brother and his family are there visiting...jeeze!

[andymays]

Today?? How bad?? My brother and his family are there visiting...jeeze!


Not bad at all in San Diego. I think it was centered in Mexicali, Mexico. That's a ways away from San Diego.


They just reported 5.8 with a 4.9 aftershock

[andymays]

Take Control is 3rd choice in the P3's. He opened at 6-5. I'll pass.

[CBedo]

This will be a race I'll watch but more than likely won't wager on. The experienced ones don't look like world beaters, but Baffert looks to be 0 for 7 with first timers at a route. I might take a flyer on the 7 at 9/2 on the stretch out, but more than likely won't get the right price.

[andymays]

Posted as they were going in the gate.

Baffert quoted as saying he'll need a race. Came out with blinkers and a shadow roll.

Take Control 12/23/09 SA 111.8
6f gate team drill for Baffert 111.4 Bullet Work for the day best of 21 workers. Highly thought in
the barn. Worked in company with stable mate Ellafitz who went 112.3. Broke sharp looks
great. Should Fire…. Azeri's first foal bought for $1.9 million. Chestnut has definitely caught
the fancy of Baffert's eye and he looks like a serious race horse, but he also has big shoes to
fill. Big pattern with 23 furlongs in 30 days, but going a distance of ground first out. Even
great horses get beat first out.....


or

TAKE CONTROL Dec 23 SA 6 1:11.4HG M FT C+
Garcia up; zero early speed behind Ellafitz (112.3g, Baffert) and Missy Miss Joanna (100.3, Blincoe) in 24.1 (3 back), 47.2 (1 back) moving clear late while asked along in 112.1. Very one paced; may do down the line.---Grade: C+

TAKE CONTROL Dec 16 SA 6 1:13.2HG M FT C+
Second best to Clutch Player (112.3g) giving up ground late while asked for run in 24.2, 47.3, 112.3. Maybe with more work; Garcia up.---Grade: C+


Some of other notable works are:

Line of David 12/17/09 HOL 112.6
Sadler wanted to get an idea on whether this youngster could run, as they were very high on
him for debut, and worked him with Red Arrow, the stakes sprinter. Line of David was going
much easier than workmate finishing in 36.4 for the last three furlongs. Splits of 35.4, 59.3 and
112.3. Beat workmate by a couple of lengths. I guess he got his answer.

LINE OF DAVID Dec 23 HOL 6 1:12.4H M FT B
Nice late extension while working solo to the mile pole in 37.0, 100.4, 112.4. Have to like this move.---Grade: B

LINE OF DAVID Dec 17 HOL 6 1:12.3H M FT B
Tried hard while moving up on win type Red Arrow (Sadler) working well late while roused near the end in 48.3, 100.3, 113.0. Very nice; looks better than debut.---Grade: B
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow! Bruno's workouts got it right!

And how about Martin Garcia. He must be close to 40% for Baffert after two today.

[Speed Figure]

WOW!! could be a Good ONE???

[CBedo]

Pretty!

[woodtoo]

Take Control,takes control last to first,in hand 137.64
IMPRESSIVE :cool:

[andymays]

AZERI’S FIRST FOAL WINS DEBUT FOR BAFFERT, SHAH
http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/azeris-first-foal-wins-debut-for-baffert-shah/

Excerpt:

Take Control, an A.P. Indy colt who is the first foal produced from 2002 Horse of the Year Azeri, posted an impressive last to first victory while making his career debut for trainer Bob Baffert and owner Kaleem Shah in Wednesday’s third race at Santa Anita Wednesday.

The colt, purchased by Shah for a sale-topping $1.9 million at the 2009 Keeneland April auction of 2-year-olds in training, was the center of some controversy seven months earlier when he was listed as a $7.7 million buy-back at the Keeneland September yearling sale. He was bred by the Allen Paulson Living Trust, controlled by Michael Paulson, son of the late Allen Paulson, who bred and raced a number of champions, including two-time Horse of the Year Cigar. Pinhooker Eddie Woods sold the colt at the Keeneland 2-year-old sale.

[lilmegahertz]

Is this the one that used to be named Valenzaeri? I just love Azeri......Woo Hoo to her and AP Indy's son......

[Stillriledup]

Posted as they were going in the gate.

Baffert quoted as saying he'll need a race. Came out with blinkers and a shadow roll.

Take Control 12/23/09 SA 111.8
6f gate team drill for Baffert 111.4 Bullet Work for the day best of 21 workers. Highly thought in
the barn. Worked in company with stable mate Ellafitz who went 112.3. Broke sharp looks
great. Should Fire…. Azeri's first foal bought for $1.9 million. Chestnut has definitely caught
the fancy of Baffert's eye and he looks like a serious race horse, but he also has big shoes to
fill. Big pattern with 23 furlongs in 30 days, but going a distance of ground first out. Even
great horses get beat first out.....


or

TAKE CONTROL Dec 23 SA 6 1:11.4HG M FT C+
Garcia up; zero early speed behind Ellafitz (112.3g, Baffert) and Missy Miss Joanna (100.3, Blincoe) in 24.1 (3 back), 47.2 (1 back) moving clear late while asked along in 112.1. Very one paced; may do down the line.---Grade: C+

TAKE CONTROL Dec 16 SA 6 1:13.2HG M FT C+
Second best to Clutch Player (112.3g) giving up ground late while asked for run in 24.2, 47.3, 112.3. Maybe with more work; Garcia up.---Grade: C+


Some of other notable works are:

Line of David 12/17/09 HOL 112.6
Sadler wanted to get an idea on whether this youngster could run, as they were very high on
him for debut, and worked him with Red Arrow, the stakes sprinter. Line of David was going
much easier than workmate finishing in 36.4 for the last three furlongs. Splits of 35.4, 59.3 and
112.3. Beat workmate by a couple of lengths. I guess he got his answer.

LINE OF DAVID Dec 23 HOL 6 1:12.4H M FT B
Nice late extension while working solo to the mile pole in 37.0, 100.4, 112.4. Have to like this move.---Grade: B

LINE OF DAVID Dec 17 HOL 6 1:12.3H M FT B
Tried hard while moving up on win type Red Arrow (Sadler) working well late while roused near the end in 48.3, 100.3, 113.0. Very nice; looks better than debut.---Grade: B
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow! Bruno's workouts got it right!

And how about Martin Garcia. He must be close to 40% for Baffert after two today.


This horse is a monster, its very hard to win first time out going 2 turns. When a horse wins like this and the clockers say that the horse isn't really all that good, you know that they're either lying or incompetent. I'd hate to think that some of these clockers are just lying and hiding horses but what else could it be?

[cj]

This horse is a monster, its very hard to win first time out going 2 turns. When a horse wins like this and the clockers say that the horse isn't really all that good, you know that they're either lying or incompetent. I'd hate to think that some of these clockers are just lying and hiding horses but what else could it be?

I'd be careful using any conventional handicapping lore on synthetic tracks. Clockers are always looking for speed, but that is not a big asset, especially in routes, on rubber.

I'd also not get too carried away about a young horse winning from the back since it was on rubber. Isn't that the preferred position?

[Dahoss9698]

I'd also not get too carried away about a young horse winning from the back since it was on rubber. Isn't the the preferred position?

I'm glad you said this. Don't get me wrong, the horse is very well bred, so I get the hype somewhat. But he ran about an 1/8 of a mile and beat maybe 1 horse that can run a little.

I'm sure he'll improve, so there is some upside, but I wonder if the hype for this performance would be the same if he wasn't the son of 2 champs.

[WinterTriangle]

I'm glad you said this. Don't get me wrong, the horse is very well bred, so I get the hype somewhat. But he ran about an 1/8 of a mile and beat maybe 1 horse that can run a little.

I'm sure he'll improve, so there is some upside, but I wonder if the hype for this performance would be the same if he wasn't the son of 2 champs.

I posted about him on December 28 here in my Derby picks:

http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64230&page=3
Post #44

However, I didn't wager him today. I wasn't so much touting him as saying I was excited to *see* his first race.

At the last minute, I saw first race, post position 1........and actually, I thought he looked a little bit rank. I thought a different horse would win.

So---I'm impressed that he won, but like Dahoss said not sure who he beat.......but that was still a real nice race and he's still on my Derby list. :)


STILLRILEDUP, I posted in selections Line of David, who I thought would win, so I guess we both saw something in that one.

CJ, there are already youngsters winning at closer to classic distances on dirt, so every time a mdn. wins a 6F something race on AWD, I can't get too excited..........yet.

[andymays]

This horse is a monster, its very hard to win first time out going 2 turns. When a horse wins like this and the clockers say that the horse isn't really all that good, you know that they're either lying or incompetent. I'd hate to think that some of these clockers are just lying and hiding horses but what else could it be?


Sometimes the ones that work well in the morning run poorly in the afternoon. Baffert even thought this one would need a race. It was an impressive performance but like everyone says it was just a MDN race. The colt looks like it will improve with racing though so who knows where this one will go. I think Baffert said that Lucky would most likely race on dirt next and I wonder if the owners of this one will want the same dirt experience in his next couple of starts. Probably one more at Santa Anita.

[cj]

CJ, there are already youngsters winning at closer to classic distances on dirt, so every time a mdn. wins a 6F something race on AWD, I can't get too excited..........yet.

Probably just a typo, but in case you did actually miss it, today's race was a mile.

[WinterTriangle]

Probably just a typo, but in case you did actually miss it, today's race was a mile.

I knew that, just speaking in general about all these other names that keep popping up after every 6-6.5F race over synthetic or even dirt.

I give Baffert a LOT of credit to have prepared this horse so well for going a mile his first race out. All those repeated 6F works as of late.

I hope I get to see that Macho Uno colt run on mud. He seems to have good stats for that on both sire and broodmare sides. I knew synth is not a good match for him, but I kinda expected him to do better today.

[Seabiscuit@AR]

Actually sitting back at a mile on Pro-Ride is not the preferred position. That is going back over the whole time since Pro-Ride only was laid down for the Oak Tree meet in 2008

Even looking only at today's races Take Control came from 7th which was the furthest back positionally of any of the route winners today. 3 out of the 5 routes were won by horses sitting either 2nd or 3rd in the run

A superstar like Zenyatta might make winning from the back on Pro-Ride look easy but that is because she is a star and can overcome all sorts of pace and track biases. For average horses sitting back at a mile is not the best place to be in general

Take Control was a nice debut. Still has a long way to go but has talent and the right trainer

[Stillriledup]

Sometimes the ones that work well in the morning run poorly in the afternoon. Baffert even thought this one would need a race. It was an impressive performance but like everyone says it was just a MDN race. The colt looks like it will improve with racing though so who knows where this one will go. I think Baffert said that Lucky would most likely race on dirt next and I wonder if the owners of this one will want the same dirt experience in his next couple of starts. Probably one more at Santa Anita.

Yeah, but this was the opposite. This was a horse who 'allegedly' worked poorly in the morning and was a star in the afternoon. A star is a star, a good horse is a good horse and an average horse is an average horse. If a clocker says that a star/good horse is average, he's either lying or doesn't know what he's looking at. When people purchase clocker information, they expect accurate stuff, they're not buying it so the clocker can tell them that a very good horse is no good and isn't really impressive. Clocker reports should put you ON winners and not talk you off a horse you might otherwise have played.

[andymays]

Yeah, but this was the opposite. This was a horse who 'allegedly' worked poorly in the morning and was a star in the afternoon. A star is a star, a good horse is a good horse and an average horse is an average horse. If a clocker says that a star/good horse is average, he's either lying or doesn't know what he's looking at. When people purchase clocker information, they expect accurate stuff, they're not buying it so the clocker can tell them that a very good horse is no good and isn't really impressive. Clocker reports should put you ON winners and not talk you off a horse you might otherwise have played.


In this case Bruno got it right and the others didn't. In all the years I've been getting workouts it happens that they conflict more often than people think. That's just been the way it has always been. I normally only get Bruno but yesterday I decided to get both.

Take Control was impressive and so was Martin Garcia who is on fire with Baffert. Some of these guys would'nt have tried as hard as Garcia did in the last sixteenth. Especially on an expensive colt like Take Control.

[joanied]

Not bad at all in San Diego. I think it was centered in Mexicali, Mexico. That's a ways away from San Diego.


They just reported 5.8 with a 4.9 aftershock

Thanks, andy...I spoke to my bro last night...they didn't even feel anything...they were just bummed that of all times for it to rain in LA...it's when he's there:D

[joanied]

Well, I know I'll be watching Take Control...I was impressed. He ran so green it was almost funny...and it looked like he was just gonna hang there...I don't know what 'button' Garcia pushed...but the afterburners sure came on quick...that was some kinda turn of foot to get up and win...I'm thrilled Baffert has him, if this colt has 'it'...Baffert will find it:)...it's gonna be fun watching this colt...and he sure is a looker too!

[andymays]

Well, I know I'll be watching Take Control...I was impressed. He ran so green it was almost funny...and it looked like he was just gonna hang there...I don't know what 'button' Garcia pushed...but the afterburners sure came on quick...that was some kinda turn of foot to get up and win...I'm thrilled Baffert has him, if this colt has 'it'...Baffert will find it:)...it's gonna be fun watching this colt...and he sure is a looker too!


He appears to be one of those colts who doesn't get going until about 7 furlongs into the race. Will be fun to follow and see what develops.

Following Martin Garcia is great too. He's gaining confidence and riding like he's on a mission. I love to see the Jocks trying hard. In his win earlier on the card he was giving it his all as well. :ThmbUp:

[only11]

He appears to be one of those colts who doesn't get going until about 7 furlongs into the race. Will be fun to follow and see what develops.

Following Martin Garcia is great too. He's gaining confidence and riding like he's on a mission. I love to see the Jocks trying hard. In his win earlier on the card he was giving it his all as well. :ThmbUp:
His daddy ran the same way,A.P. Indy was nick name THE ANT EATER he ran with his head towards the ground

[joanied]

His daddy ran the same way,A.P. Indy was nick name THE ANT EATER he ran with his head towards the ground

I often wonder how the jockeys feel about horses that run with their head down like AP Indy did...I would imagine it's not really 'comfortable' for the rider.

[andymays]

His daddy ran the same way,A.P. Indy was nick name THE ANT EATER he ran with his head towards the ground


I had the great forutune of having a future book bet on him for the Derby. Just like this year with I Want Revenge :( .

[only11]

I often wonder how the jockeys feel about horses that run with their head down like AP Indy did...I would imagine it's not really 'comfortable' for the rider.
Only the great Eddie D could ride a horse like AP Indy

[woodtoo]

Is this the one that used to be named Valenzaeri? I just love Azeri......Woo Hoo to her and AP Indy's son......

That's the one

[joanied]

Only the great Eddie D could ride a horse like AP Indy

Ya got that right:ThmbUp::)

[toussaud]

baffert was right. he does need a race. if you saw the race you saw an extremely green horse, that was so talanted, he won in hand despite his immaturity.

he looked like he was doing the electric slide in the stretch.

I'm in the i want to see more crowd... but that was what you want to see out of a good horse. you know that's not his best but you see the talent there.

[Dahoss9698]

I'd like the people that think the horse won in hand to watch the replay again. He didn't win in hand. He was asked and ridden quite hard actually the last 1/8 or so.