Showing posts with label To Honor And Serve. Show all posts
Showing posts with label To Honor And Serve. Show all posts

  • A more telling weekend

    POSTED Aug 31, 2012 By Unknown

    The Pacific Classic had a bigger say on this year's three-year-old male division than did the Travers Stakes.

    Theoretically either Alpha or Golden Ticket could sneak into the Eclipse Award discussion by pointing toward the Breeders' Cup Classic following a win between now and then (Dullahan already has two Grade 1 wins plus he placed in a classic [the Kentucky Derby]), but the Travers bunch strikes me as not ready for primetime and evoke thoughts of playing out a loser's bracket rather than racing for a championship.

    The Pennsylvania Derby will be a good, competitive, race in the same way the Travers was, but any hope the connections of a three-year-old has of dethroning I'll Have Another must include a Breeders' Cup Classic win.

    Camelot is a sort of dark horse in the discussion, as a Breeders' Cup Classic win to go with his two classic wins (and possible Triple Crown) might be enough to sway American voters in a year without any real superstars. If Frankel would win Horse of the Year with a Classic win (and he would) then why not Camelot (the assumption being that if Camelot won HotY he'd also be champion three-year-old male)?

    The benefit of not having a superstar dominate the racing landscape is that the best of what's around in each part of the country face each other with some regularity, and connections of East Coast- & Midwest-based horses will have to ship West to the Breeders' Cup World Championships if they hope to secure a championship.

    I don't think the Woodward winner (even if it's Mucho Macho Man or To Honor And Serve) can lay claim to being the East Coast's best since Fort Larned, Hymn Book, Ron The Greek, and Wise Dan are sitting this one out, but certainly a win by either of the aforementioned horses would enhance their credentials while a win by any of the other starters would further illustrate the parity among this year's group.

    The Forego is a sort of in-between race. If Shackleford wins, it's impossible to see him cutting back to six furlongs, as the Dirt Mile around two turns is certainly in his wheelhouse, but could that path lead to a championship? If Game On Dude (Classic) and Amazombie (Sprint) both win out then which division does Shackleford reign (burrito) supreme in? Game On Dude would get HotY and older male honors while Amazombie would get the sprint nod. The same goes for Jackson Bend as well. The Dirt Mile is nice given the money and Grade 1 status, but it's not where a championship is going to be decided.

  • Older male division

    POSTED Jul 6, 2012 By Unknown
    It's a big weekend for older males on the road to the Breeders' Cup Classic with the Hollywood Gold Cup and Suburban both slated for Saturday.

    The Hollywood Gold Cup features the best horse running this weekend (if not in North America) while the Suburban is a more competitive race.

    I haven't had a very good handle on this division this year. I've had Mucho Macho Man, Wise Dan, and Successful Dan all ranked in the top spot of my America's Best Racing poll, and after Successful Dan lost the Cornhusker I finally cried "UNCLE!" and put a three-year-old (Bodemeister) on top, but given that he has neither A) won at 1 1/4 miles, or B) defeated elders yet, I could see putting his stablemate (Game On Dude) in the top spot with an impressive win on Saturday, though I'm still nervous about thinking the best horse in the country right now is a horse who lost to Drosselmeyer.

    Anyway, lots more going on beyond the older males this year. The Summit of Speed at Calder has lots of great storylines, including Trinniberg against his elders, and Musical Romance back to defend her Princess Rooney crown. There's also the United Nations, and lots of discussion of the new two-year-old maiden races rules for the upcoming Saratoga meeting.

    This week's TCI touches on all those issues as well as Steve Nash and Turbulent Descent!


  • Derek Does Derby #1

    POSTED Jan 20, 2011 By Derek Simon
    As spring approaches and a young man's fancy turns to the Kentucky Derby (get it right, Tennyson), I thought now would be a good time to start looking at various potential Derby candidates and offer my opinion. And the first horse I decided to put under the microscope, thanks to a reader’s suggestion, is To Honor And Serve, the son of former Preakness winner Bernardini.






    (click on image to enlarge)

    PROS: The big maiden win in an off-the-turf affair on Oct. 2 was very impressive and stamped this William Mott trainee as a horse with promise. Note too that To Honor And Serve came off the pace in that race, which at the very least suggests that he is more than just a one-dimensional speedball.

    CONS: In his only try around two turns, To Honor And Serve recorded very average pace figures, making me very dubious that he’s going to relish 1 ¼ miles on the first Saturday in May, barring substantial improvement. Sure, he received a +1 LSR in the Nashua, but that came after a +2 early speed ration. As it stands now, To Honor And Serve’s most impressive effort remains the maiden-breaker referenced above — and that race only hinted at his talent, it didn’t confirm it.

    THE NEXT STEP: For me to have any faith in this guy, he’s going to have to do one of two things — either win on the lead with an ESR of -10 or less or come off the pace with an LSR of -8 or greater. In the meantime, I’d be looking to bet against him.

    To Honor And Serve winning the Grade II Remsen

    Early Speed Ration (ESR): A measurement of a horse’s early energy expenditure in relation to the total race requirements. The lower the figure, the greater the horse’s early exertion in that event.

    -15 = Demanding.
    -10 = Brisk.
    -5 = Moderate.
    0 = Soft.

    Late Speed Ration (LSR): A measurement of a horse’s late energy expenditure in relation to the total race requirements. The higher the figure, the greater the horse’s late exertion in that event.

    0 = Excellent.
    -5 = Good.
    -10 = Fair.
    -15 = Poor.