150TH KENTUCKY DERBY

[Izvestia]

I was only watching on the Jumbotron at SA but didn't Stronghold make a move on the turn? I remember being excited but he flattened out--still was 6th or 7th, not a bad finish. Very puzzled over Fierceness but pleased by the good Japanese run--maybe American breeders will realize that mares are worth more gold than they bring in the sales ring. (Wishful thinking.)

Stronghold loomed but didn’t go with the top finishers. He ran a good race, the horse always tries so hard. I hope to see more from him!

[CoronadosQuest]

Casey Laughter
@casey_laughter
I have never been so proud of a weekend of shooting as I have been this weekend. Thank you to EVERYONE who has made this possible.

https://twitter.com/casey_laughter/stat ... 21/photo/1

Amazing capture!! What do you shoot with?

That isn't me, that's Casey laughter on Twitter. I'm not sure what she shoots with. I just shared her tweet, which is linked below the picture

[Mylute]

I am still so overwhelmed guys I literally cried

[stark]

Mystic Dan 100 Beyer Speed Figure

[lurkey mclurker]

@DRFGrening
·
2h
Hiroshi Ando, stable manager for Forever Young, said Sunday that jockey Ryusei Sakai didn't claim foul because "both horses were fighting together. ... We wanted to win, we couldn't make history. We're really proud of of our horse." Forever Young & T O Password head home Tuesday

https://twitter.com/DRFGrening/status/1 ... 3565283710

[Northport]

@DRFGrening
·
2h
Hiroshi Ando, stable manager for Forever Young, said Sunday that jockey Ryusei Sakai didn't claim foul because "both horses were fighting together. ... We wanted to win, we couldn't make history. We're really proud of of our horse." Forever Young & T O Password head home Tuesday

https://twitter.com/DRFGrening/status/1 ... 3565283710

One of the commentators also said that Sakai may have felt intimidated by being a "visitor" and not wanting to ruffle feathers; along with the general language barrier.

[CoronadosQuest]

@DRFGrening
·
2h
Hiroshi Ando, stable manager for Forever Young, said Sunday that jockey Ryusei Sakai didn't claim foul because "both horses were fighting together. ... We wanted to win, we couldn't make history. We're really proud of of our horse." Forever Young & T O Password head home Tuesday

https://twitter.com/DRFGrening/status/1 ... 3565283710

One of the commentators also said that Sakai may have felt intimidated by being a "visitor" and not wanting to ruffle feathers; along with the general language barrier.

He also put out a tweet this morning, thanking everyone for the support I hope they come back and kick tail in the BC Classic. Though I wish they'd come back for the Travers since I love watching Forever Young race

https://twitter.com/_RYUSEI_0531/status ... 6345740427

坂井瑠星
@_RYUSEI_0531
Frustrating... That's the only word I can say right now...

Forever Young did a really good job.
I'm proud of his running.

I definitely want to win the Kentucky Derby someday.

Thank you for your support.

[Tessablue]

I am still so overwhelmed guys I literally cried

Awesome, would love to hear a full report once you are back and have some time to do so!

It really shouldn't be on the jockey to claim foul in a situation like that, especially given the huge stage and those additional pressures. Should be on the stewards, and they let that horse and his connections down. I hope it doesn't discourage Japanese connections from returning to the race

[Squeaky]

@DRFGrening
·
2h
Hiroshi Ando, stable manager for Forever Young, said Sunday that jockey Ryusei Sakai didn't claim foul because "both horses were fighting together. ... We wanted to win, we couldn't make history. We're really proud of of our horse." Forever Young & T O Password head home Tuesday

https://twitter.com/DRFGrening/status/1 ... 3565283710

One of the commentators also said that Sakai may have felt intimidated by being a "visitor" and not wanting to ruffle feathers; along with the general language barrier.

I wonder if having a translator ( Kate Hunter?) available and close by could have helped?

[lurkey mclurker]

Kate was there, but I suspect they may not have talked about this specific scenario (claiming a foul) in their prep - if so, you can bet they'll be prepared next time!

[luvsgeldings]

just curious, if it had been irad on SL yesterday, wonder if more people would be outraged. i'm thinking yes. no idea why tyler should have his hand/arm on the neck of FY. and it didn't look incidental, it looked intentional. his agent can spin the whole thing any way he wants, but the proof is on the film. i just feel really bad for FY and his people.

[Tessablue]

just curious, if it had been irad on SL yesterday, wonder if more people would be outraged. i'm thinking yes. no idea why tyler should have his hand/arm on the neck of FY. and it didn't look incidental, it looked intentional. his agent can spin the whole thing any way he wants, but the proof is on the film. i just feel really bad for FY and his people.

It wasn't intentional. He was switching the whip from his right hand to his left hand in an effort to get the horse to straighten. You can't switch hands without drawing the whip clear, and for one instant he extended his arm to pull it through. You can see it very clearly on the replay.

People would definitely be more upset if it was Irad, but that doesn't make any of the outrage rational. The jockey was doing everything he could to straighten that horse. A huge outside closer who lugs in is just always going to be a liability to himself and the horses inside of him.

[Curtis]

just curious, if it had been irad on SL yesterday, wonder if more people would be outraged. i'm thinking yes. no idea why tyler should have his hand/arm on the neck of FY. and it didn't look incidental, it looked intentional. his agent can spin the whole thing any way he wants, but the proof is on the film. i just feel really bad for FY and his people.

It probably wasn’t incidental but it probably also wasn’t nefarious.

[barbaro111]

just curious, if it had been irad on SL yesterday, wonder if more people would be outraged. i'm thinking yes. no idea why tyler should have his hand/arm on the neck of FY. and it didn't look incidental, it looked intentional. his agent can spin the whole thing any way he wants, but the proof is on the film. i just feel really bad for FY and his people.

It wasn't intentional. He was switching the whip from his right hand to his left hand in an effort to get the horse to straighten. You can't switch hands without drawing the whip clear, and for one instant he extended his arm to pull it through. You can see it very clearly on the replay.

People would definitely be more upset if it was Irad, but that doesn't make any of the outrage rational. The jockey was doing everything he could to straighten that horse. A huge outside closer who lugs in is just always going to be a liability to himself and the horses inside of him.

The lugging in- is this something that is easy or difficult to correct- because it is a real issue - If SL should win a race and do the lugging in thing, he could wind up disqualified. As it is, it is something that could certainly cause harm to himself and/or other horses. I would think Chad Brown should work on this issue (maybe he is- I don't know)

[Palace Malice]

https://x.com/failedtomenace/status/1787184036588195932

Mystic Dan really got the perfect trip

[Curtis]

just curious, if it had been irad on SL yesterday, wonder if more people would be outraged. i'm thinking yes. no idea why tyler should have his hand/arm on the neck of FY. and it didn't look incidental, it looked intentional. his agent can spin the whole thing any way he wants, but the proof is on the film. i just feel really bad for FY and his people.

It wasn't intentional. He was switching the whip from his right hand to his left hand in an effort to get the horse to straighten. You can't switch hands without drawing the whip clear, and for one instant he extended his arm to pull it through. You can see it very clearly on the replay.

People would definitely be more upset if it was Irad, but that doesn't make any of the outrage rational. The jockey was doing everything he could to straighten that horse. A huge outside closer who lugs in is just always going to be a liability to himself and the horses inside of him.

The lugging in- is this something that is easy or difficult to correct- because it is a real issue - If SL should win a race and do the lugging in thing, he could wind up disqualified. As it is, it is something that could certainly cause harm to himself and/or other horses. I would think Chad Brown should work on this issue (maybe he is- I don't know)

Sierra Leone is a “paddler”. Forgive me if you already know this but his front legs tend to move lateral to an extent, rather than move perfectly forward and back. This will cause problems with both running straight and soundness. A jock can shift their weight, rein against the lugging, etc. but there is only so much that can be done. Someone brought up whether it would have been an issue if Irad were the jock. I wonder if instead of Forever Young, it were a Baffert horse or Just A Touch if there would be similar outrage. I’m not saying that in your instance, I’m just curious.

[Happy Endings]

Race was almost 2 seconds slower than last year's. I have not been able to find the splits to see why Fierceness folded so badly.

In the chart (which didn't show up on Equibase, for me at least, until 2 hours after the race) it says Fierceness hopped at the start. He also hadn't raced at Churchill Downs before, so that might have been a factor. Some horses don't like the surface there.

Yeah, could be. I just read through some long threads on X where so many folks were saying they tossed Fierceness from the outset, saying their assessment is the horse needs everything to go his way, which doesn't typically happen in the Derby. I haven't studied him closely to have an opinion about that, but it was a lot of loud voices saying that. Maybe he just isn't a fighter, and that was definitely a slugfest coming down the lane. I keep thinking back to last year and my pick, Two Phil's, who finished 2nd to a closer after being on top of a hot pace the entire race. He ran two seconds faster, got a beyer of 105, and still didn't win. That was a hard beat.

[tachyon]

Just watched the race a few more times... man, Mystik Dan had possibly the best trip of any recent Derby contestant. It was like he had a forcefield around him... absolutely wild. He did break incredibly well and then punched through that very tight spot on the rail turning for home, had a lot of guts to do that, but trip was definitely the difference-maker here.

Fierceness hit the same wall that he hit in his previous two losses. He broke a little slow, I don't think he needed to be up that close and wide, and I think the pace was quicker than it looked, but he just didn't have anything. Johnny V pretty much wrapped him up, and hopefully he comes out of the race without any issues.

EDIT: Man I hate to say it, but Forever Young could have gotten a better ride. Watch him vs. Sierra Leone on the final turn: Sierra Leone is actually inside of him until the very top of the stretch, because Tyler prioritized saving ground until the last possible second. Forever Young might have moved a tiny bit too soon, and with the tiny final margin that could have been the difference-maker. Not criticizing the jockey! It was a good ride overall, and the horse was very brave. It's just a reminder of how difficult it is to win the Kentucky Derby.

Also, T O Password ran insanely well. He should seriously run in the Preakness, any chance of that?

I heard T O Passwords jockey lost his whip in the stretch

Kazushi Kimura (T O Password's jockey) explained more details in the morning after the Derby.

https://twitter.com/agentes305/status/1 ... 0554723693

While I've naturally been following Ryusei Sakai since a longtime ago(haha!), I hadn't known much about Kazushi Kimura until recently.
But now I'm a big fan of the latter, too!!
I wish him all the best!!!

[Spahny]

I was impressed with Mystic Dan. He got the rail trip but it wasn't all so easy. It got pretty tight in there turning for home.

Just a couple of thoughts about the winner. He's a game runner. I completely missed him. And now a fan.

[luvsgeldings]

i agree with everything you said Spahny. also, i am glad to read your comments again. i don't post all that often anymore but i have always enjoyed reading comments here. I had not seen anything from you for some time. i always enjoyed reading what you had to say in the past, so its good to see you here again Spahny!