Union Rags wins Saratoga Special

[point given]

Castellano on Union Rags;

“When I showed up and worked the horse in the morning it was unbelievable,” said Castellano. “I’ve never worked a horse like that, and I’ve been fortunate to ride horses like Ghostzapper and Bernardini…this horse is unbelievable and special.”

[cj]

These guys can't believe the crap they spew sometimes.

[FantasticDan]

Video:

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...ratoga-special

"Drifting out" in the stretch was quite the understatement - good thing there was no one there, or that could've been nasty..

[Some_One]

Somehow that race got a 95 beyer.

[dnlgfnk]

Quite believable.
Stakes race, 7 1/4 length winner, strung out field at finish, 2 or 3 different horses contributing to the pace at different stages of the race - Trinniberg and Stat in the opening qtr and the winner on the turn...

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by point given

Castellano on Union Rags;

“When I showed up and worked the horse in the morning it was unbelievable,” said Castellano. “I’ve never worked a horse like that, and I’ve been fortunate to ride horses like Ghostzapper and Bernardini…this horse is unbelievable and special.”

That quote made me laugh.

Matz doesn't typically win with FTS and the horse had a great work coming into the race. So I was expecting a sharp move forward. I was very impressed.

He has now shown very sharp speed, an ability to rate and close, and it didn't look to me like he was tiring or at his limit through the stretch as he was drawing away from the other duelers. He's also still clearly green. So he will probably continue improving.

I need to watch the replays again. I was under the impression the rail was not best path (not dead, but not the best path) after watching some of the early races. But then he and the last race winner raced on the rail. So either both ran better than it looks, or the rail was OK. The track was also clearly carrying speed well, so I doubt the early duel was too much of a factor for him.

[Some_One]

Originally Posted by dnlgfnk

Quite believable.
Stakes race, 7 1/4 length winner, strung out field at finish, 2 or 3 different horses contributing to the pace at different stages of the race - Trinniberg and Stat in the opening qtr and the winner on the turn...

And that is the problem with Beyer, usually when the field is strung out, they assign the winner up when, especially in this case, the other horses didn't like the combo of the track and speed and just shut down at the top of the lane, those horses should be assigned way down.

[cj]

Originally Posted by Some_One

And that is the problem with Beyer, usually when the field is strung out, they assign the winner up when, especially in this case, the other horses didn't like the combo of the track and speed and just shut down at the top of the lane, those horses should be assigned way down.

He won by 7+ lengths which is around 16 points at the distance. Chances are, the horses that were up close early are better than the Beyer will indicate.

[nijinski]

Happy to see this effort from Dixie Union baby , DU was euthanized last year with a debillitating neuro disease. Dam's side has good stamina and strong grass pedigree .

[dnlgfnk]

Originally Posted by cj

He won by 7+ lengths which is around 16 points at the distance. Chances are, the horses that were up close early are better than the Beyer will indicate.

Of course. Not because his fig is necessarily in error, but because the evidence suggests Trinniberg, for one, had no chance, and any trip player will look for him to have a potentially optimal trip at a good price in the near future. His fig will naturally improve, probably dramatically.

[sandpit]

I hope this colt turns into a superstar for Matz and meanwhile Lael can sit and wonder why they fired one of the truly great guys in racing. Michael was very complimentary of Union Rags' owner after the race, I think her name is Phyllis. She paid $390K for the horse earlier this year after selling him for far less at a previous auction, so you have to think she loved the way he developed.

[Fager Fan]

Visibly impressive but he got an unimpressive 11 1/2 rag.

[toussaud]

lol so good that he picked another mount over him in the fountain of youth.


it's gonna be funny when pletcher let's Johnny V ride him in the derby instead of Castellano

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by toussaud

lol so good that he picked another mount over him in the fountain of youth.


it's gonna be funny when pletcher let's Johnny V ride him in the derby instead of Castellano

Algorithms ran a pretty impressive race and may wind up being the better horse. It had to be a fairly difficult choice unless he felt strongly that Union Rags won't get 10F, but as a tie breaker I think I'd rather keep a good relationship with Pletcher.

[Citation1947]

Matz gets a ton of well bred horses every year, yet, he develops very few good ones. Plus the horses just dont last very long there. The guy is simply over-rated. I'd stick with Pletcher too and i'm not really much of a fan of his at all.