7/30 G2 Jim Dandy: Saratoga

[Lemon Drop Husker]

Originally Posted by Donttellmeshowme

I never would of had Laoban in a million years. Just goes to show you pace makes the race.

A good friend of mine had the Laoban. I told him he was nuts.

Then, when they went out in :24.67 and :49.02, I was like, "Holy crap, they might let him crawl this thing home..".

An uncontested lead is an uncontested lead in any division of racing.

Congrats to the winners. Just glad I didn't wager a nickel on this race.

[ebcorde]

Originally Posted by Donttellmeshowme

I never would of had Laoban in a million years. Just goes to show you pace makes the race.

lack of balls on my part. The 2's last two races he ran well, like too well He had the best pace figs. I just thought he would wear down. I got sucked in by the Big Names too. Watching the race I thought Creator would beat me, He was within striking distance not a 1 mile back is where I expected him

[Wickel]

The problem with Mohaymen is Alvarado. Period. Horrendous ride, and second straight after his butcher job in the Derby. I believe the horse will wheel back in the Travers. Hope Shadwell and McLaughlin get a clue and replace Junior.

[delsully]

Originally Posted by ebcorde

lack of balls on my part. The 2's last two races he ran well, like too well He had the best pace figs. I just thought he would wear down. I got sucked in by the Big Names too. Watching the race I thought Creator would beat me, He was within striking distance not a 1 mile back is where I expected him

Ditto here. was obviously the only speed in the race. At least I had a small wager on him, but I'm definitely not feeling good about myself tonight.

[johnhannibalsmith]

Originally Posted by Donttellmeshowme

Every squirrel finds a nut.

Makes it a lot easier on the one looking for a nut when the rest of the squirrels think they are supposed to be hunting squash.

[classhandicapper]

The winner clearly figured to get loose. But I think this was one of those races where the contenders weren't concerned about a longshot like Laoban being loose. They figured they could get him whenever they wanted. So they allowed the pace to back up more than they would have otherwise. Then when they made their move later, they found out he was a lot sharper and fresher than they thought.

The other possible factor was that the rest of the field was thinking Travers. They may not have been fully cranked.

The winner was OK though. Even when you are loose and crawling, you still have to repulse the bids of the other horses. If they are a lot better, they will get you anyway. The fact that they couldn't means the winner was OK even if not the best horse in the race.

[ronsmac]

Did anyone else think it was a little strange when Mclaughlin said he thought Mohaymen was a little light and he wanted to put a little more weight on him? He said Mohaymen was training well but that seemed like a little bit of a red flag. You usually hear the horse is never doing better from the trainer. That's what he's saying about Frosted.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by ronsmac

Did anyone else think it was a little strange when Mclaughlin said he thought Mohaymen was a little light and he wanted to put a little more weight on him? He said Mohaymen was training well but that seemed like a little bit of a red flag. You usually hear the horse is never doing better from the trainer. That's what he's saying about Frosted.

I read that. I'm still not 100% sure what to make of him. I thought he was overbet today, but he stumbled badly or I think he would have been closer to that crawling pace. That more or less eliminated any chance he had given how the race developed. But he didn't do a lot of running either. I suspect he's good, just not as good as he looked early in his career.

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by Wickel

The problem with Mohaymen is Alvarado. Period. Horrendous ride, and second straight after his butcher job in the Derby. I believe the horse will wheel back in the Travers. Hope Shadwell and McLaughlin get a clue and replace Junior.

The problem is he is wildly overrated and just not that good. That's hardly Junior's fault.

Junior has actually been riding great at the meet so far.

[mannyberrios]

Originally Posted by cj

I guess this is a dig, can't tell, but those are 1-2-3 picks.. I think having a $56 horse right on top, a maiden in a G2 no less, is reason enough to boast a little.

I love my Timeform

[FrankieFigs]

Originally Posted by FrankieFigs

I'm leaning towards a Destin-Mohaymen box.....

Good news: Thought twice and didn't bet the exacta.

Bad news: Bet win/place on Destin

[burnsy]

Originally Posted by Wickel

The problem with Mohaymen is Alvarado. Period. Horrendous ride, and second straight after his butcher job in the Derby. I believe the horse will wheel back in the Travers. Hope Shadwell and McLaughlin get a clue and replace Junior.

Said like a true believer. The problem is this horse never developed into what people wanted........Yet, people still believe. He has not beaten a quality field since turning 3. And all of them just got beat by Loaban, who just beat better horses than Mohaymen ever beat. Not that I had the winner but Mohaymen was the dumbest favorite of meet so far. All hype, no results, but people keep betting that horse. Now., its the jocks fault, even though the guy has been on fire riding what he gets......... . This is the perfect definition of a "fan"........=fanatic. Tell me? He's gonna jog in the Travers? With a different rider? Give me a break.

I have a feeling this horse disappears again for a while. Something is not right, or he just is not that good. I would not bet on him to win with your money. Junior or no Junior.

[KingChas]

Here's some notes from my Saratoga Diary I have kept over the years.

2010- Trainer; Eric Guillot from LaD bomb in 2010- $90 Dirt 7/31
2011-Trainer; Eric Guillot from LaD bomb in 2011- $75 turf
2014-Trainer;Eric Guillot-Whitney $22

2016- Trainer;Eric Guillot wins Jim Dandy with mdn Laoban $56


Must be that Spa water...........

[NY BRED]

The Spa is not only the graveyard of favorites, but the big rollers.

exception: Eric Guillot knew this field was suspect, and
secured Jose Ortiz for the mount.

7/23 work at 46.3Breeze was fastest of 86 horses.

Odds of a maiden winning the Jim Dandy ,should have been at least
100-1 +++

I was away on Business yesterday, honestly would have tossed
this horse .

Turning the page..

[KingChas]

Guillot's pre race interview;


Trying to upset a Grade 1 in Saratoga with a speed horse is something that trainer Eric Guillot knows a thing or two about. In the 2014 Whitney, Guillot saddled the 10-1 Moreno to a front-running victory.

The loquacious Cajun will try to employ the same tactics tomorrow with maiden Laoban in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy.

"[Laobon] is almost like a Moreno, but not quite as good," Guillot said Friday morning during training hours. "If you got in front of me, you went too fast, right? Same thing I did for four years with Moreno. I'm not going to reinvent the wheel - the round wheel works best. The only reason I went into this race was because it looks like I'm the speed of the race, and he worked 46 and change last week on a day when the track was heavy.

"This is a big dance, and in Louisiana we don't dance to little music," Guillot added. "I didn't come here to run in no maiden race. Why would I? If he wins a maiden race, from here to the barn over there, it's worth nothing, but if I win the Jim Dandy, he is a stallion, or on his way to being one."

Despite being winless in seven starts, Laoban has pocketed $166,250 for owners McCormick Racing and Southern Equine Stable.