Baffert on derby dirt preps...

[joanied]

I was so happy to read this story (I also posted this at the General Discussion section)

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/13/bafferts-dirty-secret-stay-off-synthetics/

Excerpt;

But Baffert, perhaps taking a lesson from last year, is convinced that dirt is the way to go. Last year Baffert’s Pioneer of the Nile (http://topics.signonsandiego.com/topic/Pioneer_of_the_Nile) won the Robert Lewis, San Felipe and Santa Anita Derby, all at Santa Anita, and was in front with about 300 yards to go in Kentucky before finishing second, beaten 63/4 length by Mine That Bird (http://topics.signonsandiego.com/topic/Mine_That_Bird).

“I know what (Lookin At Lucky) can do here (California),” Baffert said on a teleconference earlier this week. “I want to see what he can do on dirt. ... On dirt, the fastest horse wins. On synthetic it’s the horse that likes it wins. I prefer dirt and that (Oaklawn Park) is as close a surface as you’ll get to Churchill Downs.

:)

[MickJ26]

Lookin at Lucky obviously has enough graded stakes earnings. Does Baffert just train up to the Kentucky Derby or run back in the Arkansas Derby?

[bisket]

lucky will run another race. whether its ark derby or sa derby who knows, but in the next race lucky won't be in top shape. baffert always goes soft on the prep before the derby. if lucky wins next out it'll be all class.

[horses4courses]

Good posts.

Baffert, I believe, will lean towards another dirt prep for Lucky.

The Arkansas Derby is the likely choice, but don't rule out the Wood.

If the horse were mine, he wouldn't run on synthetic again for some time.

His targets are all on dirt through the Belmont, and probably beyond that.

That was a fine comeback race yesterday. All systems go for Lucky!

[Robert Fischer]

right now Lookin At Lucky is the strongest contender. He still has room to improve, and hasn't finished a race with all-out gameness yet. He can be beat, but given a clean trip, he is going to be right there.

[Cadillakin]

“I know what (Lookin At Lucky) can do here (California),” Baffert said on a teleconference earlier this week. “I want to see what he can do on dirt. ... On dirt, the fastest horse wins. On synthetic it’s the horse that likes it wins. I prefer dirt and that (Oaklawn Park) is as close a surface as you’ll get to Churchill Downs.
That comment in bold by Baffert is more of a function of the type of horse Baffert races.. than it is a literal truth. I know how the anti-synthetic crowed likes to suggest that the slow horses win on synthetics, while only the fastest win on dirt. I take a more general view.. that the best horse often wins on both surfaces, with some exceptions..

Like Lukas, Baffert generally favors the very powerful and brilliant types. Both are ex-quarter horse trainers.. that use that particular physical model in their selection process. Many of their runners are quite brilliant.. often pulling their way to the front - not comfortable with other runners in front of them. When Lukas trained out West, I was often struck by how many of his horses went to the front.. almost all of them.. That type of horse is likely to be penalized on synthetic tracks for their breakaway speed..

Surely, Baffert does not mean that Looking at Lucky, Misremembered, Freedom Star, Conveyance and the other recent winners are not the fastest horses in their races. After all, they proved they were the fastest horses - by getting to the finish line first - on both synthetics and dirt courses. But rather, the quote is a general comment about speed.. and how too much of it is sometimes not an asset, but a hindrance, on the deeper synthetic surfaces..

So, there needs to be some context when you do your reading..