Re: Class of 2017 (805 Views)
Posted by:
Fairmount1 (IP Logged)
Date: August 14, 2018 05:36PM
Richie B,
I personally don't believe they are three of the greatest. But they accomplished things that certainly rank right up there with achievements of some historical greats whether they were on a level "playing field" or not. But when your view of Baffert's success is as cynical as mine, it is unlikely I will ever believe Pharoah, Arrogate, and Justify should be even mentioned in the same sentence or paragraph as the ones you mentioned.
Specifically, Secretariat. I know Bid was great and have watched some of his replays. I've read about Forego but just can't really say I have any thought of where he would rank. All that "bee-ing" said, no quarrel here with keeping those 3 out of the top list of Goat's.
I'm a Nicklaus over Woods guy. I'm a Ruth over Bonds guy. I'm Pele over Messi/Ronaldo/Neymar guy. I'm a Michael over Lebron guy. I'm a Bob Gibson over Roger Clemens guy (even as a Cubs fan) .....So if you see the theme, I'm certainly a Secretariat over these modern day Baffert's magic guy.
These are moving parts in the industry as I said. BB could rattle off 4 straight graded stakes at Del Mar in a moment's notice. If so, I look for other spots to try to beat heavy, heavy favorites when I can as a handicapper. I mentioned my belief that something changed the day Drefong dropped his jock near the start of the Del Mar meet in '17 to another TG guy. He thought I was crazy to think Baffert's horses weren't running well at Del Mar to the extent I did. I've been following it ever since.