CA Crown
Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2024 11:11 am
Who is pointing for it?
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I’m incredulous that Seize the Grey didn’t. I heard Baffert say specifically Muth is and I’ve heard chatter about National Treasure, too. Just a guess but that Glatt that won the San Diego and was favored in the Pacific Classic—Dr.V….. It would make sense Sadler would put that horse of his that just got late and got caught in the Pacific Classic. I haven’t heard if Doug is giving Mixto a race before the BC. You’d think there would be a shipper or two since the Santa Anita track is the same material as Del Mar. There, now you don’t really know any more than when you asked.
Nominations:
I suppose it depends how many horses go, if he would make the field, and if the owner really wants to race. Do the Avengers actually race all 3 of theirs that are nominated? Quite a few of the non-Baffert horses are nominated to about every race that weekend that they can be at SA.BaroqueAgain1 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 18, 2024 10:51 pm Ultra Power (Curlin x Unique Bella) is nominated? That's very interesting. I wonder how likely it is that he runs, considering all the other Baffert-trained horses on that list?
I’m not surprised by it really. McCarthy could ship her to Keeneland as they have a 7f prep there. Running her at Santa Anita gives them options though. I could see Sweet Azteca wiring the field in the Zenyatta. If the race doesn’t take a ton out of her they can either cut back in the F&M Sprint where she’d be live as all get out or they could roll the dice and go after the Distaff. I like 9f better for speed horses than 8.5f because the run to the first turn isn’t so crazy. There’s a reason trainers don’t call for my advice but if they go the sprint route, I’d look into the Cigar Mile next. It would be all kinds of fun seeing her go a one-turn mile.Missbeholder wrote: ↑Thu Sep 19, 2024 8:23 am I see that McCarthy has nominated my girl Sweet Azteca to the Zenyatta. That kind of surprises me because I've always thought her Breeders Cup path led straight to the F&M Sprint. I wonder why he would even consider taking that route. Her GI win came at a mile and the Zenyatta is only 1/16th further so that by itself shouldn't be a huge problem, but the 1-1/8 mile of the BC Distaff IS, not to mention taking on Adare Manor in one or both races, and potentially the likes of Thorpedo Anna in the latter!
Her latest workout was last Saturday, 9/14, with a middlin' 4f in 48.20 ranked 10/58, which is kind of slowish for her. Could McCarthy be thinking about using the GII Zenyatta as a fitness-builder for the ultimate cut-back to the 7f F&M Sprint? The other thing, too, is that with all the re-vamping of the Santa Anita BC prep schedule, I'm not sure that there's a more suitable prep for the F&M Sprint even available, assuming that Mike really wants a prep race for her.
I haven't spent the greater part of my life becoming a successful trainer of racehorses, but I'm such a huge fan of this filly, and the Zenyatta nomination kind of messed with my mind. Does anybody have any thoughts on this?
I think the real idea was to make it sound like a big deal to anchor a big day to boost attendance. Now we’ll just have the memories of all those big races Awesome Again ran at Santa Anita. As far as getting a better field, I think the purse would need to be tripled from the current purse to do anything significant in that regards. Maybe that would keep 3yo’s away from the PA Cesspool. I know he was outvoted by his thousands of owners but if you can’t get Coach to bite on a bonus, something is wrong.Flanders wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2024 2:30 am Don't think the big purse paid off the way they were hoping, they had more horses last year with a 300k purse. Part of them may not even run: https://www.drf.com/news/seven-enter-ca ... -few-fence
1 Newgate
2 Subsanador(ARG)
3 National Treasure
4 Katonah
5 Muth
6 Senor Buscador
7 Indispensable
Yeah for sure it was but if they can't get a decent field, who is going to go to watch it? The thing that makes Pegasus Day work is the big purses and big fields. Who is going to be excited about going to the track to maybe have a 7 horse field but it could also be 5? I will say they did a very good job getting good sized fields for all the turf races.Curtis wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2024 11:49 amI think the real idea was to make it sound like a big deal to anchor a big day to boost attendance. Now we’ll just have the memories of all those big races Awesome Again ran at Santa Anita. As far as getting a better field, I think the purse would need to be tripled from the current purse to do anything significant in that regards. Maybe that would keep 3yo’s away from the PA Cesspool. I know he was outvoted by his thousands of owners but if you can’t get Coach to bite on a bonus, something is wrong.Flanders wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2024 2:30 am Don't think the big purse paid off the way they were hoping, they had more horses last year with a 300k purse. Part of them may not even run: https://www.drf.com/news/seven-enter-ca ... -few-fence
1 Newgate
2 Subsanador(ARG)
3 National Treasure
4 Katonah
5 Muth
6 Senor Buscador
7 Indispensable
You’d be surprised. Many of those they’ll bring out would have trouble identifying which end bites and which one kicks. Calling it the California Crown makes it sound exotic. Some will probably think it’s named after California Chrome and that they misremembered his name. It’ll take a couple of years for people to figure out the Emperor is naked. It’s on a much smaller scale but it’s similar to the Donn Handicap becoming the Pegasus.Flanders wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2024 12:18 pmYeah for sure it was but if they can't get a decent field, who is going to go to watch it? The thing that makes Pegasus Day work is the big purses and big fields. Who is going to be excited about going to the track to maybe have a 7 horse field but it could also be 5? I will say they did a very good job getting good sized fields for all the turf races.Curtis wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2024 11:49 amI think the real idea was to make it sound like a big deal to anchor a big day to boost attendance. Now we’ll just have the memories of all those big races Awesome Again ran at Santa Anita. As far as getting a better field, I think the purse would need to be tripled from the current purse to do anything significant in that regards. Maybe that would keep 3yo’s away from the PA Cesspool. I know he was outvoted by his thousands of owners but if you can’t get Coach to bite on a bonus, something is wrong.Flanders wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2024 2:30 am Don't think the big purse paid off the way they were hoping, they had more horses last year with a 300k purse. Part of them may not even run: https://www.drf.com/news/seven-enter-ca ... -few-fence
1 Newgate
2 Subsanador(ARG)
3 National Treasure
4 Katonah
5 Muth
6 Senor Buscador
7 Indispensable
It’s a little known fact but that scene from Jerry Maguire between Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. was based on an actual conversation between Baffert and Pegram.
I sorta think had Lukas got his way and we ran in the Travers, we would have been in the Cali Crown.Curtis wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2024 11:49 amI think the real idea was to make it sound like a big deal to anchor a big day to boost attendance. Now we’ll just have the memories of all those big races Awesome Again ran at Santa Anita. As far as getting a better field, I think the purse would need to be tripled from the current purse to do anything significant in that regards. Maybe that would keep 3yo’s away from the PA Cesspool. I know he was outvoted by his thousands of owners but if you can’t get Coach to bite on a bonus, something is wrong.Flanders wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2024 2:30 am Don't think the big purse paid off the way they were hoping, they had more horses last year with a 300k purse. Part of them may not even run: https://www.drf.com/news/seven-enter-ca ... -few-fence
1 Newgate
2 Subsanador(ARG)
3 National Treasure
4 Katonah
5 Muth
6 Senor Buscador
7 Indispensable
I'm glad we went to the Pennsylvania derby. Seize the Grey won and now we have a chance at the classic or dirt mile. One more out of the money finish and he would have been next to charge it in the gainesway stallion barn by breeders cup weekCoronadosQuest wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2024 6:36 pmI sorta think had Lukas got his way and we ran in the Travers, we would have been in the Cali Crown.Curtis wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2024 11:49 amI think the real idea was to make it sound like a big deal to anchor a big day to boost attendance. Now we’ll just have the memories of all those big races Awesome Again ran at Santa Anita. As far as getting a better field, I think the purse would need to be tripled from the current purse to do anything significant in that regards. Maybe that would keep 3yo’s away from the PA Cesspool. I know he was outvoted by his thousands of owners but if you can’t get Coach to bite on a bonus, something is wrong.Flanders wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2024 2:30 am Don't think the big purse paid off the way they were hoping, they had more horses last year with a 300k purse. Part of them may not even run: https://www.drf.com/news/seven-enter-ca ... -few-fence
1 Newgate
2 Subsanador(ARG)
3 National Treasure
4 Katonah
5 Muth
6 Senor Buscador
7 Indispensable