Breeders’ Cup 2022

[Katewerk]

Anxiously awaiting an update on Domestic Spending- really hope he can make it

Nothing new on Chad Brown's twitter feed as of yet.

[Squeaky]

Just saw this update is stable and more comfortable https://twitter.com/therealchadcbr1/sta ... laADNcP6og

[Northport]

Cody's Wish will stay in training in 2023, as per Bill Mott.

[djacks211]

Just saw this update is stable and more comfortable https://twitter.com/therealchadcbr1/sta ... laADNcP6og

Thank God! I was devastated by his injuries and Epicenters. They say Epicenter will be okay after surgery but have worried all day about Domestic Spending. Thanks for the update!

[TapitsGal]

Tyler's Tribe will get a couple weeks break in Arkansas then start prepping for the Smarty Jones Stakes at oaklawn

[Miss Woodford]

Tyler's Tribe will get a couple weeks break in Arkansas then start prepping for the Smarty Jones Stakes at oaklawn

Good that the turf experiment is over.

[Squeaky]

Tyler's Tribe will get a couple weeks break in Arkansas then start prepping for the Smarty Jones Stakes at oaklawn

Good that the turf experiment is over.

He bled really badly- maybe needs more than a couple weeks break.

[Starine]

Malathaat likely done.

Clariere, Nest and Secret Oath stay in training.

https://www.drf.com/news/breeders-cup-d ... one-racing

[brunanas]

Glad they squeaked this one onto the network, because that's pretty much as good as it gets in this sport. I wonder if they try this horse at some big 9f races next year? That was a great effort.

Gunite honest as they come, like always. This was too far for him and it was a tough pace, but he ran every step of the way.

good news - Cody's Wish won't be retired!!! https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing ... ce-in-2023

[Happy Endings]

Serious question -- which greats did Arrogate/American Pharoah/Invasor/Ghostzapper - even Secretariat - defeat to be "truly tested"?

Haha - Arrogate beat California Chrome. Which some people may believe is a great. He also beat Gun Runner.

Secretariat beat Forego in the Derby - who hadn’t reached his prime. He also beat Riva Ridge, Cougar II, Key to the Mint, Kennedy Road, Sham…

Forego I'll grant you, but the others never surface in these conversations. But one could make an argument that Alydar and Affirmed were better tested.

Horses can only beat the horses that line up against them. That's why stakes records and a robust resume are so important.
Secretariat's records in the TC still stand. Much was made of Flightline's numbers in the Pacific Classic, like he was some sort of otherworldly monster. If he really was that good, why don't the raw times reflect it? Never once in 6 races? But even if one goes by those numbers, he wasn't as fast as Ghostzapper. Nor was his Beyer number on a par with what has been estimated Secretariat would have gotten in the TC if Beyer numbers had existed at the time. How does one explain that away? Ghostzapper is recognized as brilliant, but not as on a par with Secretariat or others. He also had a very light racing schedule like Flightline did. Brilliance and durability sometimes don't go together. I guarantee you that in the future that, if Flightline is mentioned at all, it will be similarly as Ghostzapper is and a long way from GOAT.

[Katewerk]

Haha - Arrogate beat California Chrome. Which some people may believe is a great. He also beat Gun Runner.

Secretariat beat Forego in the Derby - who hadn’t reached his prime. He also beat Riva Ridge, Cougar II, Key to the Mint, Kennedy Road, Sham…

Forego I'll grant you, but the others never surface in these conversations. But one could make an argument that Alydar and Affirmed were better tested.

Horses can only beat the horses that line up against them. That's why stakes records and a robust resume are so important.
Secretariat's records in the TC still stand. Much was made of Flightline's numbers in the Pacific Classic, like he was some sort of otherworldly monster. If he really was that good, why don't the raw times reflect it? Never once in 6 races? But even if one goes by those numbers, he wasn't as fast as Ghostzapper. Nor was his Beyer number on a par with what has been estimated Secretariat would have gotten in the TC if Beyer numbers had existed at the time. How does one explain that away? Ghostzapper is recognized as brilliant, but not as on a par with Secretariat or others. He also had a very light racing schedule like Flightline did. Brilliance and durability sometimes don't go together. I guarantee you that in the future that, if Flightline is mentioned at all, it will be similarly as Ghostzapper is and a long way from GOAT.

I wasn't following racing through the Ghostzapper era, but the raw time point might be valid had we ever witnessed Flightline sent belly down to the wire. But he coasted to the wire with the foot off the gas, and nearly took down the track record at Del Mar. He was geared down again yesterday.

I get the sense that Prat's directive was to bring the horse home sound and safe, even if it cost them the internet.

[Kurenai]

To be fair I think in Flightlines case it's not a matter of how good has his competition been, because his times speak for themselves. He would have to run into a horse like Arrogate/American Pharoah/Invasor/Ghostzapper etc to be truly tested. Or even Lava Man ins his prime on his fave track, the way the old man behaved in the post parade he wanted to have a go at him anyway.

Serious question -- which greats did Arrogate/American Pharoah/Invasor/Ghostzapper - even Secretariat - defeat to be "truly tested"?

That's why I said in Flightlines case it's not a matter of how good his competition is. To have competition he would have to run into a horse like the ones I named above. Happens rarely. Sometimes you get lucky with Sunday Silence / Easy Goer, Affirmed and Alydar. But ya that's not the rule.

Frankel at least had the luck to run into Canford Cliffs and on top of that Cirrus des Aigles (who was a total standout too). And he demolished both of them. Soooo long story short: with that kind of talent the competition comes secondary. I'd focus more on when he faces some adversity and longevity for Flightline to rank him among the standout horses.

What I would like to see is a race where he has to face some real troubles and show some heart to overcome them. Like Invasor when he got checked in the stretch, then clipped heels on top of that and rebroke twice to win. Or a race setup where he has to fight. I still think Slews losing JCGC was one of the best efforts ever by a horse. But it's not like everyone rides against him. He can rate, so that is out of the question that you can cook him on the lead. If Life is Good didn't manage to cook him in a sprint I guess nobody around can.

[tachyon]

Wow, what a finish! Malathaat wins it for Curlin but Blue Stripe ran the race of her life!

Blue Stripe(ARG)(Equal Stripes) will head to Japan to be a broodmare.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkpXFCCOrFs/

[KatieK101]

To be fair I think in Flightlines case it's not a matter of how good has his competition been, because his times speak for themselves. He would have to run into a horse like Arrogate/American Pharoah/Invasor/Ghostzapper etc to be truly tested. Or even Lava Man ins his prime on his fave track, the way the old man behaved in the post parade he wanted to have a go at him anyway.

Serious question -- which greats did Arrogate/American Pharoah/Invasor/Ghostzapper - even Secretariat - defeat to be "truly tested"?

What I would like to see is a race where he has to face some real troubles and show some heart to overcome them. Like Invasor when he got checked in the stretch, then clipped heels on top of that and rebroke twice to win. Or a race setup where he has to fight. I still think Slews losing JCGC was one of the best efforts ever by a horse. But it's not like everyone rides against him. He can rate, so that is out of the question that you can cook him on the lead. If Life is Good didn't manage to cook him in a sprint I guess nobody around can.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but he did have to overcome a bad start in the Met Mile, didn't he? I know it wasn't terrible but it's probably something that, say, Golden Pal wouldn't have been able to overcome.

And in Flightline's defense, he's defeated almost every other really good horse in his division at some point or another: Baby Yoda, Dr. Schivel, Stilleto Boy in the Malibu; Country Grammer, Express Train, and Royal Ship in the Pacific Classic; Speaker's Corner, Aloha West, Happy Saver in the Met; and the Classic field was short but every starter was a G1W.

Truly, who else was there this year that could have posed a threat to him? Maybe I'm forgetting somebody.

[barbaro111]

Serious question -- which greats did Arrogate/American Pharoah/Invasor/Ghostzapper - even Secretariat - defeat to be "truly tested"?

What I would like to see is a race where he has to face some real troubles and show some heart to overcome them. Like Invasor when he got checked in the stretch, then clipped heels on top of that and rebroke twice to win. Or a race setup where he has to fight. I still think Slews losing JCGC was one of the best efforts ever by a horse. But it's not like everyone rides against him. He can rate, so that is out of the question that you can cook him on the lead. If Life is Good didn't manage to cook him in a sprint I guess nobody around can.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but he did have to overcome a bad start in the Met Mile, didn't he? I know it wasn't terrible but it's probably something that, say, Golden Pal wouldn't have been able to overcome.

And in Flightline's defense, he's defeated almost every other really good horse in his division at some point or another: Baby Yoda, Dr. Schivel, Stilleto Boy in the Malibu; Country Grammer, Express Train, and Royal Ship in the Pacific Classic; Speaker's Corner, Aloha West, Happy Saver in the Met; and the Classic field was short but every starter was a G1W.

Truly, who else was there this year that could have posed a threat to him? Maybe I'm forgetting somebody.

All the best horses in our country have gone against him and he has left them in his dust.

[barbaro111]

Serious question -- which greats did Arrogate/American Pharoah/Invasor/Ghostzapper - even Secretariat - defeat to be "truly tested"?

What I would like to see is a race where he has to face some real troubles and show some heart to overcome them. Like Invasor when he got checked in the stretch, then clipped heels on top of that and rebroke twice to win. Or a race setup where he has to fight. I still think Slews losing JCGC was one of the best efforts ever by a horse. But it's not like everyone rides against him. He can rate, so that is out of the question that you can cook him on the lead. If Life is Good didn't manage to cook him in a sprint I guess nobody around can.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but he did have to overcome a bad start in the Met Mile, didn't he? I know it wasn't terrible but it's probably something that, say, Golden Pal wouldn't have been able to overcome.

And in Flightline's defense, he's defeated almost every other really good horse in his division at some point or another: Baby Yoda, Dr. Schivel, Stilleto Boy in the Malibu; Country Grammer, Express Train, and Royal Ship in the Pacific Classic; Speaker's Corner, Aloha West, Happy Saver in the Met; and the Classic field was short but every starter was a G1W.

Truly, who else was there this year that could have posed a threat to him? Maybe I'm forgetting somebody.

All the best horses in this country have run against him and he has left them in his dust. There is no horse in this country that can keep up with him. LIG gave it his all

[barbaro111]

Haven't heard a word since yesterday about Domestic Spending. Worried.

[ForTheThrill]

Haven't heard a word since yesterday about Domestic Spending. Worried.

No news is going to be good news.

[djnorth]

Haven't heard a word since yesterday about Domestic Spending. Worried.

No news is going to be good news.

This. Pelvic fractures are long-term waiting games.

[CoronadosQuest]

Malathaat likely done.

Clariere, Nest and Secret Oath stay in training.

https://www.drf.com/news/breeders-cup-d ... one-racing

Following fillies is so much better than following intact colts!