Quote:
Originally posted by Kentucky Bred
Maybe it is me. If so, please forgive. But I cannot remember ever seeing two graded stakes races carded for the same day at virtually the same time for just 3 year olds ONLY at the exact same distance! And both races are being run roughly in the same part of the country.
|
I don't think it was such a bad thing .. it certainly builds hype for the Travers .. which should be the premier event for 3yos in the summer .. as it is known as the Mid-Summer Derby. I think the main thing is that at least both horses were out there on the same day .. which I'm sure added to the drama.
A couple of things to keep in mind about the two races .. the Haskell is an Invitational .. which means no entry fees for the connections .. in addition, it carries a $1,000,000 purse. Also, Monmouth pays out a $25,000 "bonus" (appearance fee) to the owner and to the trainer for each Triple Crown event won .. so in the case of Funny Cide, his owners received a $50,000 bonus ($25k for Derby win + $25k for Preakness win) and Barclay Tagg received a $50,000 bonus.
The Jim Dandy is not an Invitational, it carries a purse of $500,000, and there are no bonuses paid out. It is also the lead-in race at the Saratoga meet to the Travers, which does carry a $1 million purse .. still not an Invitational, though .. and no bonuses there either.
I believe I heard somewhere that Frankel wanted to keep Empire Maker home (Saratoga) rather than ship. The connections of Funny Cide, seemed to like the $1-million purse on the Haskell .. heck, who wouldn't?? Add to that, no nomination fees .. that's a nice savings for them as well.
As for the actual races .. thought Bailey underestimated Strong Hope .. this is a wonderful horse with good speed, and the ability to carry it right down to the wire .. and, for those who thought he was caving in .. who cares?? He still reached the wire first, and that's what counts. He spurted at the top of the lane when it appeared Bailey may have been thinking the horse was going to come back to him. I was surprised that instead of Empire Maker moving up steadily down the backstretch, he was allowed to make one big run on the turn, then appeared to level off turning into the lane before rolling again late .. too late. I think the connections of Empire Maker need to stop underestimating their competition.
As for the Haskell .. I have been and still am a fan of Peace Rules. Say all you want about track biases .. he has proven to be a nice horse .. the Preakness was an off day .. throw that out, and he's had a nice season.
I was disappointed with Funny Cide's race .. but not shocked. He did not get the best of trips .. getting in trouble pretty much right out of the gate and never really reaching contention.
But that's just one gal's opinions.
