Practical Joke

[PowerUpPaynter]

I wanted to post my notes on this horse and get some feed back as I write a derby preview for a website I contribute to. Thanks in advance.


you’ve probably heard, his pedigree suggest he can’t get the distance. Right? Well not so fast. Since the fall all we’ve all been waiting for him to fall by the waste side of the derby trail as the races keep getting longer and all he has done is continue to finish in the money. In his 6 career races he has 3 wins, 2 places, and a show. He is a gutsy horse that keeps performing better than his pedigree suggest he should. He comes into the Derby with a 2nd place finish in the Bluegrass Stakes. He proved he could get a mile and an eighth with out losing ground in the stretch but at the same time he could not pass Irap, a maiden that came home in 13 flat in his last 8th. In his first start as a 3 year old he had a second place finish in the Fountain Of Youth Stakes on March 4th run at a mile and a sixteenth. So as the races get longer he keeps running good races. He is a nimble horse and can keep himself out of traffic trouble which is a major plus for the derby. If you knew nothing about any of the horses running and could only see a picture of each horse he probably would be the favorite. He is a physically imposing muscled colt. He has had a good amount of top horses finish behind him to the likes of McCraken, Irish War Cry, Tapwrit, J Boys Echo, and Gormley, which is being overlooked. Although I don’t think it's an impossibility, I don’t think he will win but I expect him to run a good race and will use him heavy underneath on exotic tickets and if the distance concerns finally come to fruition, so be it. I don’t want to be the guy at the roulette table that keeps betting on red because black keeps coming out only to lose all my chips.

[Mr. Pick 5]

Put the content aside for a second....if you are submitting this to some kind of legitimate horse site as a piece i must say that the overall writing quality is pretty poor

[PowerUpPaynter]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pick 5

Put the content aside for a second....if you are submitting this to some kind of legitimate horse site as a piece i must say that the overall writing quality is pretty poor

obviously, not any type of final piece just some rough notes in a very rough draft off the top of my head, more so just looking on the feedback on the content and thoughts on the horse.

[Mr. Pick 5]

Originally Posted by PowerUpPaynter

obviously, not any type of final piece just some rough notes in a very rough draft off the top of my head, more so just looking on the feedback on the content and thoughts on the horse.

Gotcha...makes sense....i personally dont like him that much especially because, as you said couldnt go past irap in a slow final eighth...i also think irap was on the wrong lead for the majority of the stretch...not exactly reassuring....at the same time you bring up a good point that he does always find a way to hit the board no matter who he is facing....the extra distance is a definite question mark but thats also the case for almost every horse in the race....third or fourth maybe but i cant see him running top two....if i had to guess where practical joke would finish i would guess in the 5-8 range but hitting the board would be far from a surprise...if he got first or second id be pretty surprised

[letswastemoney]

It's not the pedigree at this point. It's just the results. He makes a looming move and doesn't finish the job, although he almost did against Irap.

Maybe Practical Joke would be a good horse to key in a backwheel, although he's a bit too popular.

[f2tornado]

Storm Cat sire line wins at 10+ panels are about as rare as rainbow colored unicorns. Further, 4 dosage points doesn't scream stamina. This horse does have Contess Wanda in tail female, the same tail as Derby winners Swaps and Iron Liege so he's perhaps not completely devoid of stamina. I believe he took advantage of a relatively paceless race and would have a much tougher time catching up with early heat going even farther.

[Andrick]

It seems like I saw this guy run last year going under the name of Whitmore.

[boys at tosconova]

1st thing- paragraphs. i didn't even want to read what you wrote bunched together.
if this is going to be online try writing something that nobody knows. not repeating the same stuff you can hear at any racing website. try not to write and such a basic/high level for grannies that has never seen any of these horses run


you’ve probably heard, his pedigree suggest he can’t get the distance. Right? Well not so fast. Since the fall all we’ve all been waiting for him to fall by the waste side of the derby trail as the races keep getting longer and all he has done is continue to finish in the money.

wordy/fluff-rephrase fewer or axe completely

In his 6 career races he has 3 wins, 2 places, and a show. He is a gutsy horse that keeps performing better than his pedigree suggest he should.-expand move something here-i like the pedigree tidbit

He comes into the Derby with a 2nd place finish in the Bluegrass Stakes.-maybe talk about horses he raced against here..not just 1 race

He proved he could get a mile and an eighth with out losing ground in the stretch but at the same time he could not pass Irap, a maiden that came home in 13 flat in his last 8th. shorten/rephrase

In his first start as a 3 year old he had a second place finish in the Fountain Of Youth Stakes on March 4th run at a mile and a sixteenth. So as the races get longer he keeps running good races. really.? i don;t even think this true imo. + every race as been good. axe

He is a nimble horse and can keep himself out of traffic trouble which is a major plus for the derby. If you knew nothing about any of the horses running and could only see a picture of each horse he probably would be the favorite. He is a physically imposing muscled colt haskin fluff/wordy/really? i see one short sentence or axe.

He has had a good amount of top horses finish behind him to the likes of McCraken, Irish War Cry, Tapwrit, J Boys Echo, and Gormley, which is being overlooked. what?? rephrase/use in another expounded point or axe

Although I don’t think it's an impossibility, rephrase I don’t think he will win but I expect him to run a good race really?/wishy washy/? he can't win but could finish itm?..take the win equation out/rephrase?,


and will use him heavy underneath on exotic tickets and if the distance concerns finally come to fruition, so be it.-rephrase/add to above thought

I don’t want to be the guy at the roulette table that keeps betting on red because black keeps coming out only to lose all my chips.
axe

[PowerUpPaynter]

Originally Posted by boys at tosconova

1st thing- paragraphs. i didn't even want to read what you wrote bunched together.
if this is going to be online try writing something that nobody knows. not repeating the same stuff you can hear at any racing website. try not to write and such a basic/high level for grannies that has never seen any of these horses run


you’ve probably heard, his pedigree suggest he can’t get the distance. Right? Well not so fast. Since the fall all we’ve all been waiting for him to fall by the waste side of the derby trail as the races keep getting longer and all he has done is continue to finish in the money.

wordy/fluff-rephrase fewer or axe completely

In his 6 career races he has 3 wins, 2 places, and a show. He is a gutsy horse that keeps performing better than his pedigree suggest he should.-expand move something here-i like the pedigree tidbit

He comes into the Derby with a 2nd place finish in the Bluegrass Stakes.-maybe talk about horses he raced against here..not just 1 race

He proved he could get a mile and an eighth with out losing ground in the stretch but at the same time he could not pass Irap, a maiden that came home in 13 flat in his last 8th. shorten/rephrase

In his first start as a 3 year old he had a second place finish in the Fountain Of Youth Stakes on March 4th run at a mile and a sixteenth. So as the races get longer he keeps running good races. really.? i don;t even think this true imo. + every race as been good. axe

He is a nimble horse and can keep himself out of traffic trouble which is a major plus for the derby. If you knew nothing about any of the horses running and could only see a picture of each horse he probably would be the favorite. He is a physically imposing muscled colt haskin fluff/wordy/really? i see one short sentence or axe.

He has had a good amount of top horses finish behind him to the likes of McCraken, Irish War Cry, Tapwrit, J Boys Echo, and Gormley, which is being overlooked. what?? rephrase/use in another expounded point or axe

Although I don’t think it's an impossibility, rephrase I don’t think he will win but I expect him to run a good race really?/wishy washy/? he can't win but could finish itm?..take the win equation out/rephrase?,


and will use him heavy underneath on exotic tickets and if the distance concerns finally come to fruition, so be it.-rephrase/add to above thought

I don’t want to be the guy at the roulette table that keeps betting on red because black keeps coming out only to lose all my chips.
axe

I was just running on thoughts off the top of my head. finish version will be much shorter and streamlined. I just wanted to throw some quick thoughts out about the horse and get a conversation started about him.

[arw629]

and will use him heavy underneath on exotic tickets and if the distance concerns finally come to fruition, so be it.-rephrase/add to above thought

Heavy underneath on exotics but not on top? So you're betting him to beat 18,17, or 16 horses but not 19? Why do you like him underneath so much?

[PowerUpPaynter]

I see him has a horse that isnt good enough to win it but at the same time he is a gutsy horse that can outrun his pedigree and consitanty finish in the money and a nimbble or agile horse that can navigate a good trip. Remind me of Musket Man from 2009.

I just think he is being dismissed on pedigree alone but I see a fighter with a ton of heart.... helps that he is built like a beast too

[Spalding No!]

Originally Posted by PowerUpPaynter

I just think he is being dismissed on pedigree alone but I see a fighter with a ton of heart.... helps that he is built like a beast too

He's mostly being dismissed, not because of pedigree, but because of presumed distance limitations. Part of the proof would indeed be pedigree--which is laden with nothing but sprinter/milers on the female side, but the most obvious evidence is his patented "rally and hang" running style.

He will be devastating at 7f. If he doesn't get hurt, you can put him down for the King's Bishop this summer.

Also, if he is heavily built that is often associated with a sprinter-type physique not particularly conducive for stamina events.

[PowerUpPaynter]

Originally Posted by Spalding No!

He's mostly being dismissed, not because of pedigree, but because of presumed distance limitations. Part of the proof would indeed be pedigree--which is laden with nothing but sprinter/milers on the female side, but the most obvious evidence is his patented "rally and hang" running style.

He will be devastating at 7f. If he doesn't get hurt, you can put him down for the King's Bishop this summer.

Also, if he is heavily built that is often associated with a sprinter-type physique not particularly conducive for stamina events.

I hear all that and im not saying im a Practical Joke superfan but dismissing him could be a mistake. He has an impressive list of colts he has put in his rear view mirror.

[Spalding No!]

Originally Posted by PowerUpPaynter

I hear all that and im not saying im a Practical Joke superfan but dismissing him could be a mistake. He has an impressive list of colts he has put in his rear view mirror.

I agree with your opinion that he is a threat at least for a minor award. He is a top class horse and has a good turn of foot and should make his presence felt at some point in the race. He basically needs a well-timed ride.

[yankeelpn]

He reminds me of "Musket Man" 3rd in the 2009 KD, always constant in races and one I wouldnt leave out of the Super.