Nostalgic Horse

For not being a handicapping site, we did pretty well here in the Haskell…choosing the top four finishers. Ok, that wasn’t too hard, but it is still fun when that happens. What really made it super was that along with Street Sense, Curlin and Rags to Riches, we now have to make room for Any Given Saturday.

He is definitely on the upswing, and could be the real wild card in the three year old division. I am glad that Horse of the Year isn’t going to be decided this weekend, because at this point it would be nearly impossible to choose. You have Lawyer Ron who either ran a flukey race last weekend, or has matured and finally hit his stride. Curlin is still a tough little colt and it would be unwise to leave him out. He may have regressed a little this weekend, and it is better for him to do it now, than later in the year. Any Given Saturday showed no mercy against this strong field and blew by them to win by four lengths. I liked him for the Derby, and I like him still. He had an excuse for the Derby, and has proven he can still run with the best of them on any given day. Going back to the Tampa Bay Derby, he almost beat Street Sense that day. He lost by a short nose, and is not the same horse today. Granted Street Sense wasn’t fully cranked to win that day, as Carl Naftzger was training him with his eye on the Derby, but still one has to look forward to a match up of those two colts, as soon as maybe the Travers. It will be exciting and should do a lot to clear up the three year old picture.

Perhaps my problem with the Derby champ has less to do with the horse, and more to do with the trainer. Maybe Street Sense is a superstar, but because of his overly cautious trainer we just haven’t seen it. By training him specifically for the Triple Crown, he may not have run his best in any of his other starts this year, and by having him skip the Belmont, one has to wonder if he really is a superstar. The Jim Dandy was a soft spot for him and he did what he was supposed to do. He won, but he beat an easy field.

As far as Hard Spun goes, my heart goes out to him. He is a gutsy, consistent animal, but he is always second best. While he can certainly run with the best of them, maybe a softer spot would be better for him next time out so he can gain some confidence, and it would help his bankroll. I would think unless he has major improvement, he will be left out of eclipse awards anyway, so trying him in a Grade II would not be such a terrible decision.

While on the subject of trainers, I have to wonder what the heck Jamie Sanders is doing. While I love Teuflesberg, is she trying to force a break down? Nineteen races for a three year old is unheard of these days, and although I am all for running these animals more, there are limits. These animals are not the same as the horses of yesteryear for many reasons, so maybe a little rest wouldn’t hurt. At least though she has decided to keep him in shorter distances. It has been a wise move, and I don’t know what took her so long to figure that out.

For the filly set that may be the most exciting group yet. Nashoba’s Key won again, and it will be very interesting to see her clash with racing’s new queen, Rags to Riches. Thankfully she is back in training and ready to go. Where is the question? Will it be the Alabama, the Ruffian or maybe will a gutsy Pletcher think of the Travers? A win there will certainly help her with the Horse of the year prize. Then all she would need to do on Breeders Cup Day is win the Distaff, and sit back and see who wins the Classic. Anything can happen in the Classic, as we have seen many times. There is also a two year old filly worth mentioning, Irish Smoke. It would be nice to see a two year old filly hold her form for a three year old season, but we will have to wait until next year to see if that can happen again.