Cotillion Stakes H. (Grade I)

[weatherbird]

'Missing the 'mark' works. I genuinely hope they were kidding.

Sorry, genuine as can be. I never would have headed down this path if they were planning on running in the BC Distaff. It's no big deal, I'm not knocking the filly or the connections. They aren't taking any chances with the trophy, and have planned the rest of her campaign as such.

Running against the Eclipse wiining older mare instead of 3 year olds isn't taking chances?

Correct, it's not taking chances with the 3YO Filly Eclipse Award.

Juddmonte figured it out; from DRF: There was both delight and disappointment on the part of the connections of Close Hatches after their 3-year-old filly returned from a three-month layoff with a two-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion Stakes at Parx.

The disappointment was with the fact the Cotillion field did not include Princess of Sylmar, the leader of the division based on three Grade 1 victories earlier in the year. Princess of Sylmar, whose only loss this year came to Close Hatches in the Grade 2 Gazelle at Aqueduct, skipped the Cotillion to run in next Saturday’s Grade 1 Beldame against older fillies and mares at Belmont Park. http://www.drf.com/news/parx-cotillion- ... -old-filly


Watchmaker at DRF: The Cotillion was the second Grade 1 victory this year for Close Hatches (she was most impressive winning the Mother Goose right before her layoff), but I'm not buying into the idea that she is now a serious threat to Princess of Sylmar for the 3-year-old female championship. http://www.drf.com/blogs/pa-derby-cotil ... ther-stuff

Wow, you mean that "idea" is out there now? Right, but I bet he might have been buying it had Sylmar been defeated in the race yesterday. Of course, this has been my point all along. Losing to Close Hatches yesterday was the only way that Princess of Sylmar could have jeopardized her Eclipse. Running next weekend offered no downside in terms of the Eclipse voting.

[weatherbird]

Why would Princess of Sylmar, and her Pennsylvania connections, pass this race and, instead, take on Royal Delta for 60% of this purse? Actually, the answer is "Close Hatches". CH is the only filly that could take the 3 year-old Eclipse away from Sylmar, by beating her for a second time then adding the BC Distaff. Seems unusual to say that Princess of Sylmar is ducking a race, in order to run against Royal Delta, but that's actually the case here. Now, Close Hatches is no lock in here and certainly not at Santa Anita, but the Sylmar connections won't tempt fate.

Is there a phrase that means the exact opposite of hitting the nail on the head?

Missing the mark?

Close Hatches beat Princess of Sylmar off a layoff. How many times has POS beaten her since? With POS being the first filly since Open Mind to win the Ky Oaks, CCA Oaks and Alabama, the thought of Close Hatches coming close to winning the Eclipse is laughable. Perhaps the poster was kidding, dustino?

Seems to be some Close Hatches "Eclipse" chatter out there, if she was lucky enough to win The BC Distaff. Perhaps not so "laughable" after all. As for POS excuse in April, she was running in a Grade 2 after a 60 day layoff. The filly yesterday won a million dollar Grade 1 off a 90 day layoff.

[dustino140]

Seems to be some Close Hatches "Eclipse" chatter out there, if she was lucky enough to win The BC Distaff. Perhaps not so "laughable" after all. As for POS excuse in April, she was running in a Grade 2 after a 60 day layoff. The filly yesterday won a million dollar Grade 1 off a 90 day layoff.

She's still not winning the Eclipse unless she wins at Santa Anita, which won't happen. Royal Delta has handled far better fillies (My Miss Aurelia, Awesome Feather, Love and Pride, It's Tricky) on that stage and it just doesn't appear likely that anyone is going to supplant her. Beholder, IMO, won't likely hold the distance against Royal Delta, and Close Hatches, again IMO, looked like she was running in quicksand down the lane at Parx. Visually, that wasn't a pretty stretch drive for me. Royal Delta is simply on another level of racing than any of these 3yo fillies are. If any 3yo filly beats Royal Delta, I'll be nothing less than shocked.

As has been mentioned earlier, Princess of Sylmar's connections are using the Beldame as "their" Breeders' Cup. That's their chance to take on Royal Delta. She's not going to the Breeders' Cup. There's nothing more to it than that. You did bring up money, though, which I found interesting. You said something like it was strange that Princess of Sylmar was passing up a 1M race for a 600k race. Wouldn't you agree that there is more immediate cash value in winning the 1M race than there is in winning the Eclipse?

Also, keep in mind that what was "laughable" has nothing to do with the Eclipse and has everything to do with the notion that they skipped this race because they were afraid of Close Hatches. As to the April race, the excuse isn't the 60 day layoff, but it was that Princess of Sylmar is a closer that was taken out of her element to try to chase the lone pacesetter, Close Hatches, who did nothing short of commit murder on the front end.

With that said, I couldn't care less who wins the Eclipse Award. They're nothing more than a nice forum for owners to give bad speeches, and for horses to get their name listed on rarely-visited Wikipedia pages.