richiebee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Chuckamy Road:
>
> Give K-Mac credit, he's a smart enough horseman to
> realize that RTR, with
> her trip to New Bolton and her missed workouts
> over the summer, may have been
> vulnerable, especially carrying 7 extra pounds. He
> made the same sort of
> judgment that TAP made in entering RTR in the
> Belmont Stakes, a judgment based
> as much on the vulnerability of the competition as
> anything else.

I'll acquiesce between the Belmont Stakes and Gazelle that Rags spiked two fevers and balked in a work. However she had the epitome of the Plech Allday preparation. She came into the race cranked.

> Enough with the "faster than given credit for"
> line. You've already shouted it
> from the mountaintop. The board has already
> discussed the uncertainty built into
> a number assigned to the only 1-1/2 mile race on
> the card, the only race of the
> day when the clubhouse turn was raced over.

Maybe, but the difference is that I not only was the first one to contest that number, I predicted how her subsequent races vs her division would go and laid out the figure she would run post Belmont Stakes while continuing to hear glowing reports of Rags separation from her crop.

> In an article wrapping up the Saratoga meet titled
> "What a Difference Two
> Decades Makes", Steve Crist noted that the breed
> was far from improving. Set
> against this stark reality, you have a filly sired
> by a Belmont winner and out
> of a mare who produced a Belmont winner. Said
> filly won, in addition to the
> Belmont Stakes,3 other Grade 1 stakes against her
> own gender,dominating all 3
> races.Call it what you want-- class, quality,
> superiority-- if you love Racing
> you hope that if Racing survives and flourishes as
> something more than a
> carnival sideshow, this filly becomes a foundation
> for champions in many
> generations.

Generational foundation for champions? Thats hard to say. I really didn't think much of Jazil's Belmont either. I really believe the connection is due to a very bizarre and statistically impropable quirk of fate. Still the remote thing does happen every now and then. When it does you don't assign too much significance to it. Ok, Rags mare threw two of the weakest Belmont winners ever. There, are you happy now?


>
> Not only did her Belmont win reaffirm her
> pedigree, it also reaffirmed a lesson
> we have all learned about racing-- that when any
> animal, no matter how good, is
> pitched into a tough spot (ie, at an extended
> distance, a filly against colts,
> against classier competition) said animal may win
> the day but will have to pay
> the price in the future. I think the terminology
> on the other board is "knock
> out race". On that level, even with the time off
> RTR was given,
> Saturday's result was not shocking.

Thats the difference Richie. There are those here calling the Belmont a knock out race. I am stating vehemently that it was representative with the effort Rags just ran and representative with her earlier efforts too. Though I do have some issues with those earlier efforts.

>
> I think even Jerry Brown, Len Friedman and Barry
> Irwin could agree that RTR is
> a brilliant specimen, though Len and Jerry
> probably wouldn't agree as to how
> fast she really was. Given a consensus such as
> this, your subtle attempts to
> discredit this runner create the possibility that
> you will have credibility
> problems on the level of a certain current
> administration.

I don't follow that. I can't discredit Rags. All I did was point out her Belmont was not what it appeared and that she would not go on to great wins post Belmont. Thats not me discrediting her. Thats her discrediting herself.

> Although most of us have shamefully had to adjust
> our standards for "Greatness"
> in thoroughbreds, there should be no shame in
> acknowledging greatness when we
> encounter it. Based on her five race, six month
> campaign which culminated on
> June 9th, I have no problem recommending RTR to
> the Greatness Committee for
> consideration.

She'll need to come back and prevail against handicap mares at a minimum to get on the greatness ballot.

> Need sleep now. An early tee time Tuesday, and
> Robert Trent Jones is waiting in
> NJ to kick my tush.
>