[Seattle Slew]

Bernadini sitting and waiting for Saturday's matchup in the JC Gold Cup at Belmont and Invasor suddenly comes down with a "fever" and won't run. What a joke.

Why don't the trainer and owner admit you don't want to run because you likely will lose, costing yourself your perfect record in 2006. What they are trying to do is win Horse of the Year by just going to the Breeders Cup Classic and hoping Bernadini gets a bad trip in a big field and they capitalize. They don't want to face him twice.

Very bad for racing, but we see it all the time. I remember Frank Stronich and Pat Byrne doing the same thing with Awesome Again a few years ago. They ducked Skip Away all year because they were scared to lose. Then, they beat him in the BC Classic to cap a 5-for-5 year, and Skip Away was still awarded horse of the year (rightly so) because he traveled the entire country, won 6 of 8 races and ducked nobody. The Awesome Again people might have had the better horse all year.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/ho...g/15651739.htm

[bigboydan]

You know they would never admit that Slew. It's obvious that there waiting til the breeders cup.

[imgv94]

I agree 100% Slew. This shit happens all the time..

[Seattle Slew]

And likely no one will state that in Daily Racing Form or elsewhere. Same deal with Smarty Jones after he lost the Belmont and suddenly he was too hurt to run again. Baloney. The owners wanted the stud money, which I know is hard to pass up. Any trainer can make up any injury and who's going to know any better? You can always find something wrong with every horse. They are that delicate.

The Smarty Jones nonsense was crazy because the owner was 90 and the horse already had banked 7 million, plus had insurance for tons more if he got hurt. Why not run the horse and enjoy it?

Always respected Allen Paulson for running Cigar as a 6-year-old when he could have retired him after his 10-for-10 season. But there was a guy who had millions already, so he kept running the horse despite the risks. Turned out Cigar was infertile anyways.

Same with Sonny Hine running Skip Away through his 5-year-old season. He owned the horse and could have made millions after his 3-year-old season but kept running him because his wife loved the horse and the big races.

Originally Posted by bigboydan

You know they would never admit that Slew. It's obvious that there waiting til the breeders cup.

[imgv94]

These horses nowadays couldn't get within 7 lenghts of Skip Away or Cigar..

[Seattle Slew]

No argument here. Cigar is still the best horse I've ever seen run in 20 years of watching horse racing. Skip Away is in my Top 5.

I actually think Lava Man might be there, but the thing that scares me is every horse he has beaten this year has come back to do nothing in next-out races.

But he's still the horse to beat, I think, in the BC Classic and his price should be nice. Think he's running in the Goodwood this weekend at SA.

Originally Posted by imgv94

These horses nowadays couldn't get within 7 lenghts of Skip Away or Cigar..

[Seattle Slew]

Not counting turf horses, my all-time Top 5 since 1988 would be:

1. Cigar
2. Sunday Silence
3. Skip Away
4. Alysheba
5. Black Tie Affair (great horse nobody remembers from early 1990s; beat Housebuster sprinting and won the BC Classic)

Sure I'm forgetting someone.

[rustyaustin]

I like Lava Man too, but I agree, Cigar is the best horse I've ever seen. Let's hope for a good price...

[imgv94]

The horse I loved from the 90s was Formal Gold, he defeated Skip Away numerous times and one time got a beyer of 121 I believe. He had a 4-5 race streak that was very impressive. Slew do you remember him??? Now on Cigar, he was the most consistent animal I have ever seen that 16 race win streak was sick. I was at the track the day Dare and Go blew by Cigar in the stretch in the Pacific Classic and you can feel all the excitement in the air just disappear. Sad day...

I would never include Lava Man in any top 5 discussion because of the level of competition and the fact he never wins outside of California..

[imgv94]

Top 10 since 1998

1.Cigar
2.Skip Away
3.Gentleman
4.Sunday Silence
5.Easy Goer
6.Azeri (filly)
7.Holy Bull
8.Personal Ensign (filly)
9.Tiznow
10.Soul of the Matter

[tacomax]

Maybe the horse has a poorly minge?

[Seattle Slew]

Not only do I remember him, I saw him lose to Skip Away by a neck in the MassCap in 1997. I think I played Geri in that race, a Bill Mott horse. Skip Away came back and won the race again in 1998. I also saw Cigar win the MassCap in 1995. Formal Gold and Skip Away traded a few wins against each other, but he got hurt training for the BC Classic in 1998 and didn't run, when Skip Away won the BC Classic in a runaway.

[quote=imgv94]The horse I loved from the 90s was Formal Gold, he defeated Skip Away numerous times and one time got a beyer of 121 I believe. He had a 4-5 race streak that was very impressive. Slew do you remember him???

[imgv94]

Seems like everything was better in the 90s.. Horses,Music,Movies etc.. Love talking horses man wish we had more folks here that enjoy it as well..