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Old 12-02-2018, 02:16 PM   #1
Lemon Drop Husker
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Mendelssohn Retired

Not completely shocking, but thought they might campaign as a 4YO.

One of the odder careers in recent years.

https://coolmore.com/farms/america/n...olmore-america
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Old 12-02-2018, 10:51 PM   #2
BCOURTNEY
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Not completely shocking, but thought they might campaign as a 4YO.

One of the odder careers in recent years.

https://coolmore.com/farms/america/n...olmore-america
Nothing odd about it, just watching the owners trying to smash a square peg into a circular hole. I will miss betting against.
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Old 12-03-2018, 01:15 AM   #3
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I think cj just tweeted that he sucks.
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Old 12-03-2018, 01:16 AM   #4
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Not a surprise, but we definitely didn't get to the best Mendelssohn had to offer. I figured Coolmore might race him at 4 just to get that elusive dirt G1 win, but oh well. Makes me appreciate Beholder all the more.
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Old 12-03-2018, 04:03 AM   #5
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Mendelssohn Retired


It would be more fitting if Aidan O'Brien would kindly retire from any more forays onto North American dirt with his fine charges.

He's 1-for-58 lifetime on actual North American dirt and that win was with Mendelssohn's grandsire 17 years ago.


Mendelssohn did manage to net O'Brien his only exacta finish from his last 38 starts on N.A. dirt, so give them both credit.
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Old 12-03-2018, 08:13 AM   #6
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Not a surprise, but we definitely didn't get to the best Mendelssohn had to offer. I figured Coolmore might race him at 4 just to get that elusive dirt G1 win, but oh well. Makes me appreciate Beholder all the more.
Kinda contradictory there. Think we did get his best on dirt. Would it take his maturity as a 4YO or just a weak field to get that G1?
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Old 12-03-2018, 10:14 AM   #7
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Kinda contradictory there. Think we did get his best on dirt. Would it take his maturity as a 4YO or just a weak field to get that G1?
Horses certainly improve from 3 to 4 and beyond (see Gun Runner, Accelerate) and we never saw Mendelssohn run in a 9 furlong race which is probably his ideal distance given his running style and pedigree.
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Old 12-03-2018, 07:03 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by AskinHaskin View Post
It would be more fitting if Aidan O'Brien would kindly retire from any more forays onto North American dirt with his fine charges.

He's 1-for-58 lifetime on actual North American dirt and that win was with Mendelssohn's grandsire 17 years ago.


Mendelssohn did manage to net O'Brien his only exacta finish from his last 38 starts on N.A. dirt, so give them both credit.
Wouldn't write O'Brien off. Next crop or three, he'll have a Derby/Classic contender.

O'Brien campaigned this horse, and was playing our game.
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Old 12-03-2018, 09:35 PM   #9
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Wouldn't write O'Brien off. Next crop or three, he'll have a Derby/Classic contender.

O'Brien campaigned this horse, and was playing our game.
Agree; how many Arc's, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Juddmonte International Stakes, Prince of Wales's Stakes, Champion Stakes, Irish Derby, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes has Baffert, Pletcher, or Brown won?

I bet O'Brien has won more than all combined x 10
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Old 12-04-2018, 12:48 AM   #10
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Wouldn't write O'Brien off. Next crop or three, he'll have a Derby/Classic contender.

Needless to say that, but the rest of us are talking about North America here.


You probably should have written him off long ago... but maaaaaybe he could win The Breeders' stakes with some Canadian-bred someday.
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Old 12-04-2018, 01:20 PM   #11
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Kinda contradictory there. Think we did get his best on dirt. Would it take his maturity as a 4YO or just a weak field to get that G1?
Not contradictory at all. A lot of things the connections did directly impacted Mend's ability to perform his best-- especially shipping him so damn much. The horse logged enough travel miles to get him halfway to the moon. Also, they could've put him on turf here in the US, got him a nice confidence-building win, then run him back on dirt. Or as another person suggested, tried him at 9 furlongs.
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Old 12-04-2018, 03:05 PM   #12
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Agree; how many Arc's, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Juddmonte International Stakes, Prince of Wales's Stakes, Champion Stakes, Irish Derby, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes has Baffert, Pletcher, or Brown won?

I bet O'Brien has won more than all combined x 10
I bet he hasn't.
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Old 12-04-2018, 04:41 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by Afleet View Post
Agree; how many Arc's, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Juddmonte International Stakes, Prince of Wales's Stakes, Champion Stakes, Irish Derby, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes has Baffert, Pletcher, or Brown won?

I bet O'Brien has won more than all combined x 10
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I bet he hasn't.
No sharpshooting....Afleet was using an obvious exaggeration....He made his point.
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Old 12-04-2018, 08:20 PM   #14
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I thought he didn't run as well as it looked in the UAE Derby and Travers but ran better than it looked in the JCGC and BC Classic. I'm not sure how you want to net that all out, but I thought he was an improving 3yo in what turned out to be a very poor crop of 3yos.

I'm less sure what to make of the Cigar.

The track was changing. I suspect the inside was fine by the time they ran the Cigar, but it was an odd day. So I'd have to say he didn't run his current "A" race. But with all the shipping he may just be a little over the top.
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Old 12-04-2018, 09:11 PM   #15
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The track was changing.


That's just it... the track changed, and Aidan O'Brien is clearly not the man for the job, as the decades have shown.


I mean, at least Baffert could train Quarter Horses as well.
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