Does this really sound like a Belmont Stakes winner in the making?
 

http://tcm.bloodhorse.com/article/45585.htm

Failing to change leads, super slow works, bobbling, being trained to run at a crawl early then finish up fast (not a style that wins the Belmont often, especially in this paceless affair)....

What am I missing here? Why is this horse being touted up and down the eastern seaboard as some sort of second-coming?

And on top of all this, he's supposed to beat Big Brown in the process? Yeah. Ok.

Sign me,

Unconvinced.

I'm using Denis the Corker as the key in my spoiler tix. I find myself resisting the Casino hype, too, and I'm not interested in a $25 Big Brown tri.

There's something not right about Casino Drive. I heard a rumor today that he didn't come out of his stall for a couple of days. The funky workout pattern is definitely not a good sign. It looks as though he'll probably run poorly, and that almost makes 2-5 on Big Brown seem like an overlay.

Pace proves it....
 

When i tried to say that Casino was 2 seconds faster than Big Brown in any "chosen' 1/4 mile, most thought I hadn't a clue. Casino can top out 2 mph faster than Big Brown. Radar guns don't lie. Nice post Pace.

A lot of people are in for a big suprise when Edgar "Evil Kneval" Prado lights Casino's rocket in the Belmont.

The may very well be a runaway in the Belmont. But it ain't Big Brown that has the power to run away.

Dr. SwineSmeller

I don't follow. Can you spell your last reply out for me Dr.? I'm extra dumb tonight.

I think he disagrees with you, whereas I absolutely agree with you.

Casino's regimen
 

Tada and team have a completely different concept in training than the Americans. As Tada has stated, they let the horse dictate to them what makes him comfortable. No hurries. Casino will still be Casino tomorrow.

These Japanese boys brought the million dollar Casino to New York for one reason only, to take the Crown Jewel. Second place is not in their option box. They wouldn't waste their time if they did not have knowledge that Casino can and should win Belmont. Casino is ready. he's an innate bad boy. Bank that.

Dr. SwineSmeller

Casino Drive doesn't match up very well with this field.

Well I made nothing so far on this Triple Crown thing



But I will now state that BB will be out of the money, No TC winner again.



I bet 3457 box ex and tri Take it to the bank, hummmm
Now let see what happens

I'm the dummy
 

I misinterpreted the information. I thought it was a five furlong workout, when it was indeed a four fulong workout. My bad. 55 and 2 suprised me when I thought it was 5 furlongs. Although, Casino can most likely turn a 57 flat 5 furlong. That wouldn't be a suprise. The believable 5 furlong 57 actually scared me for a moment there though. I was wondering why they would want to blaze him like that at five furlongs.

I still stand by the statement that a lot of people are gonna be suprised when Casino fires.

Dr. SwineSmeller

Casino Drive sure didn't like his workout today, ears pinned back, etc.

Other than the interesting nature of this horse's breeding, training practices, and media-hype, I personally have a very hard time honestly handicapping him since he has little "works" to point to.

You're right about one thing.....he sure is a bad boy, I keep seeing him as a young teenage boy going thru puberty....I'd not be surprised to see him toss his rider like Recapture did in the stall. :)

I think he will hit the board, that's all I can say at this point.

The missing link
 

[QUOTE=PaceAdvantage]http://tcm.bloodhorse.com/article/45585.htm
What am I missing here? Why is this horse being touted up and down the eastern seaboard as some sort of second-coming?

Here's why Casino Drive is touted so highly.
People love what Casino's breeding represents, namely most all the past Kings of the sport.
People love Casino's majestic beauty.
People love Casino's youthfulness and his prancy attitude.
People innately love the red horse.
People love his name. It fits him.
Most people like the fact that Casino is steroid free.
Observant people know Casino is really fast. (102 speed rating in Peter Pan at BELMONT. That's for real ya'll, no ifs or maybe).
And last but far from least, Americans love rooting the underdog.

Dr. SwineSmeller

If I make a Superfecta ticket, which besides a win bet might be the only plausible play, Casino Drive will not be on it.

[QUOTE=WinterTriangle]
You're right about one thing.....he sure is a bad boy, I keep seeing him as a young teenage boy going thru puberty....I'd not be surprised to see him toss his rider like Recapture did in the stall. :)

You said that right WinterTriangle. He almost dumped Kent when he finally decided to take off in the Peter Pan. Casino is full of youthful energy. Almost spastic.

If Casino's rocket accidentally fires when Edgar isn't ready, Edgar will be sitting in the dirt, in which case Edgar will be getting ran over by every horse in the field.

Dr. SwineSmeller

Japanese Training or Off-Form Horse?
 

I know that Kazuo Fujisawa's preference for slow works is well-known, and obviously he isn't an idiot, given the number of Japanese training titles he's won, but I'm wondering two things:

First, is there any evidence on how much of his success is because of his methodology, and how much is because he's given a lot of high-dollar horses? The guy has been a major force in Japan for 15 years now, but he certainly hasn't started some global revolution.

Second, and more critically for anyone trying to handicap the Belmont, do these workouts even have anything to do with odd training methods, or is there something wrong with the horse? After all, he did go five furlongs in 59.4 three days before the Peter Pan. Now he's struggling to go a half-mile in that amount of time.

I wrote on the day of the Peter Pan that he'd probably win the Belmont, but right now, I'm leaning toward building exotic tickets without him.