Mr. Z. - Has to be a hurt horse

[Track Phantom]

Mr. Z. was lugging for almost all of the stretch in the Los Al Futurity. Today, he was 4-5 in the Smarty Jones. He was all lathered up going into the gate. He took the lead turning for home and looked gone. He then drifted out VERY BADLY throughout the stretch.

There has to be something wrong with this horse, right? I hope it gets looked into.

[Stillriledup]

Yes, it will get looked into and Coach will deem the horse fit and ready, is there another stakes race in 2 weeks at a track 3,000 miles away from oaklawn that's offering free dining accommodations to anyone who enters?

[letswastemoney]

It doesn't have to mean he's hurt. It could just be a bad habit. Purple Egg runs like that in the stretch too.

[Track Phantom]

Originally Posted by letswastemoney

It doesn't have to mean he's hurt. It could just be a bad habit. Purple Egg runs like that in the stretch too.

That is true. Doesn't mean he is hurt but it is a legitimate possibility. Along with his lathering up before the race, doesn't look good.

[Ruffian1]

Originally Posted by Valento

Mr. Z. was lugging for almost all of the stretch in the Los Al Futurity. Today, he was 4-5 in the Smarty Jones. He was all lathered up going into the gate. He took the lead turning for home and looked gone. He then drifted out VERY BADLY throughout the stretch.

There has to be something wrong with this horse, right? I hope it gets looked into.

Probably the best way to figure this out is to get a picture of his face , (the horses LOL) if possible when he was lugging in and when he was lugging out in those 2 races. Also the blinker . If you can find and post that, it will tell me quite a bit about what is going on.

Could just be that he is a bit of a goof off. If he was sore, the lugging in or out would not change. The horse would continue to stay away from the sore area not run into it. So it's probably something else.

Hope that helps.

[FrankieFigs]

Originally Posted by Valento

Mr. Z. was lugging for almost all of the stretch in the Los Al Futurity. Today, he was 4-5 in the Smarty Jones. He was all lathered up going into the gate. He took the lead turning for home and looked gone. He then drifted out VERY BADLY throughout the stretch.

There has to be something wrong with this horse, right? I hope it gets looked into.

It didn't look like he drifted. It looked like he veered when Court hit him left-handed.

I'm no expert, but after watching the replay of today's race and the Jackpot, it looks like he is just a head case.

[Ocala Mike]

Originally Posted by FrankieFigs

It didn't look like he drifted. It looked like he veered when Court hit him left-handed.

Totally agree; horse broke outward as soon as Court hit him.

[zico20]

I don't know what happened to him. I turned the tv off as soon as they went across the wire. Mr. Z not running 1st or 2nd cost me the super 10 times. Oh well, these things happen. Looking forward to Feb 7th in the Robert Lewis stakes. Dortmund against Firing Line. God I hope they can get 6 horses for the race.

[horses4courses]

While watching the race live, I thought Mr. Z would be pulled up.
On the replay it didn't look quite as bad.

I still think this horse is damaged goods, though.
Hopefully, he will come right again.

[Stillriledup]

Originally Posted by Ocala Mike

Totally agree; horse broke outward as soon as Court hit him.

Should Court have known about this horse's quirks? Why hit the horse at all, he seemed like he was on his way to a win, or at least a 2nd place finish, you get a weak jock and he panics and that's what happens. He probably wins easy with smith.

[Tall One]

Originally Posted by Ocala Mike

Totally agree; horse broke outward as soon as Court hit him.

This colt stays straight, and he would've probably been right there. His stable mate, TCB, hates the stick. Sulks when she gets more than two taps. Could Mr. Z developed a similar trait? We'll see what Lukas says, but I hope he comes back ok.

[letswastemoney]

I wrote a new article analyzing the results.

Mr. Z would have won if the jockey never hit him left-handed, but I don't think I'd want to choose a crazy horse like that going forward. He's too unprofessional. Hopefully Lukas works out the kinks.

[menifee]

Mr. Z keeps running the same race over and over again. He is what he is. Race came back fairly weak. Not really impressed with any of these horses. I thought the Le Comte was a stronger race and may produce a future winner for the derby preps. International Star showed a nice turn of foot after being stopped on the rail.

[Some_One]

Originally Posted by menifee

Mr. Z keeps running the same race over and over again. He is what he is. Race came back fairly weak. Not really impressed with any of these horses. I thought the Le Comte was a stronger race and may produce a future winner for the derby preps. International Star showed a nice turn of foot after being stopped on the rail.

The winner had a pretty good check in the turn but still rerallied and drove through a tight gap on the rail (how many young horses wouldn't want to go through that type of gap?). A lot of good signs showed today.

[Donttellmeshowme]

the horse is shying away from something-Could be the whip, could be a shadow, could be something in the infield. They better figure out what it is before the horse causes an accident.