HOw does Watchmaker think anyone but Game on dude

[toussaud]

should be the older horse of the year? this is just pure silliness


http://www.paulickreport.com/news/thoroughbred-racing/watchmaker-eclipse-divisions-muddled-but-some-things-clear/


"...what really doesn’t sit right with me regarding Game On Dude is the thing that seems to put him over the top in the minds of his Eclipse Award backers: his second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Look, Game On Dude ran a terrific race in the Classic, disputing a solid pace and holding off everyone but Drosselmeyer.



"But he lost."



"I was completely against Gio Ponti getting the older male championship in 2009 – let’s be real, Gio Ponti, who that year won four Grade 1’s on turf and never won a race of any sort on any other surface, got that title because of his second to Zenyatta in the Breeders’ Cup Classic – and I’m against Game On Dude for similar reasons. I think it is wrong to reward a horse with something as lofty as a championship on the basis of a loss."

please show me a better older horse of the year candidate than game on dude

[andtheyreoff]

please show me a better older horse of the year candidate than game on dude

Acclamation, Cape Blanco, and Flat Out all have very good cases.

[statepierback]

Frankel. And its not even close! Think about it. Others will SAYIT isn't so but there truly isn't a more deserving candidate for that honor.

[mostpost]

Frankel. And its not even close! Think about it. Others will SAYIT isn't so but there truly isn't a more deserving candidate for that honor.
He is not deserving at all, because he has not raced in America. The Eclipse Awards are for horses who have raced in the United States. European Horse of the Year? A different matter entirely.

[RJason]

Watchmaker is ridiculous, and so east coast biased it's laughable to boot - he shows himself as such almost every time he writes a word or opens his mouth.

"Dude" is a legit HOY contender in a year where every contender has some serious flaws - his only major flaw is that he didn't win enough....pretty good as flaws go, especially considering that he danced EVERY major dance and ran huge every time but at Del Mar which is a quirky track to say the least.

I'm for leaving HOY blank this year - nobody really deserves it, so let it go.

[NTamm1215]

Watchmaker is ridiculous, and so east coast biased it's laughable to boot - he shows himself as such almost every time he writes a word or opens his mouth.

"Dude" is a legit HOY contender in a year where every contender has some serious flaws - his only major flaw is that he didn't win enough....pretty good as flaws go, especially considering that he danced EVERY major dance and ran huge every time but at Del Mar which is a quirky track to say the least.

I'm for leaving HOY blank this year - nobody really deserves it, so let it go.

If you followed Watchmaker's rankings on a weekly basis you'd realize he is very much not east coast biased. In fact, for much of the year he had an incredibly large number of west coast horses wildly overrated.

I know it's easy to just put a label on someone who is from east of the Mississippi but it should not apply to Watchmaker.

Is it such a cinch that Game on Dude is a better horse than Flat Out (with whom he was 1-1 head to head) or Acclamation (with whom he was 1-1 head to head) or Drosselmeyer (with whom he was 0-1)?

Game on Dude won the SA Cap and Goodwood but was 0-5 everywhere else and lost to horses like Duke of Mischief, Awesome Gem, First Dude, and Drosselmeyer. He is not a cinch for anything.

[GatetoWire]

Hey, it worked for Zenyatta last year.
Who says you have to win to be HOY.
It's a popularity contest. Nothing more

[nearco]

He is not deserving at all, because he has not raced in America. The Eclipse Awards are for horses who have raced in the United States. European Horse of the Year? A different matter entirely.

It would be an extraordinary feat if Frankel won older HOY, not only for what you outline above, but mostly because he would be the first 3yo to do so.

[toetoe]

It would be an extraordinary feat if Frankel won older HOY, not only for what you outline above, but mostly because he would be the first 3yo to do so.



Have you seen his birth certificate ? Prove he's three. :rolleyes:

[Canarsie]

should be the older horse of the year? this is just pure silliness


http://www.paulickreport.com/news/thoroughbred-racing/watchmaker-eclipse-divisions-muddled-but-some-things-clear/




please show me a better older horse of the year candidate than game on dude

It's called he has a vote and is telling you how it's going to be exercised. He's man enough to tell anyone who chooses to read it the logic behind his decision.

[FenceBored]

should be the older horse of the year? this is just pure silliness


http://www.paulickreport.com/news/thoroughbred-racing/watchmaker-eclipse-divisions-muddled-but-some-things-clear/




please show me a better older horse of the year candidate than game on dude

Havre de Grace. With her win in the Woodward she puts herself in the mix for three Eclipse awards: HOY, Older Female, and ... Older Male.

http://www.drf.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/article_main/photos/Havre%20de%20Grace%20works.JPG

[Robert Fischer]

Kudos to Wm for even extending a tiny bit of interest in this

[affirmedny]

If you followed Watchmaker's rankings on a weekly basis you'd realize he is very much not east coast biased. In fact, for much of the year he had an incredibly large number of west coast horses wildly overrated.

I know it's easy to just put a label on someone who is from east of the Mississippi but it should not apply to Watchmaker.

Is it such a cinch that Game on Dude is a better horse than Flat Out (with whom he was 1-1 head to head) or Acclamation (with whom he was 1-1 head to head) or Drosselmeyer (with whom he was 0-1)?

Game on Dude won the SA Cap and Goodwood but was 0-5 everywhere else and lost to horses like Duke of Mischief, Awesome Gem, First Dude, and Drosselmeyer. He is not a cinch for anything.

In the beginning of the year he was calling Twirling Candy the best horse in the country, we know how that turned out......

[cj]

In the beginning of the year he was calling Twirling Candy the best horse in the country, we know how that turned out......

Laughably, he wasn't the only one.

[plainolebill]

It would be an extraordinary feat if Frankel won older HOY, not only for what you outline above, but mostly because he would be the first 3yo to do so.

I can think of a couple of 3yo that were horse of the year: Citation and Secretariat.

[FenceBored]

I can think of a couple of 3yo that were horse of the year: Citation and Secretariat.

But, we (and the Watchmaker column referred to) are not talking about HOY we're talking about Older Male. Look at how the original poster phrased it: "older horse of the year", not "horse of the year."

[classhandicapper]

Is Game on Dude going to continue racing?

I hope so.