Breeders Cup

Well CoT never at the races. Broke slowly and never got a hold of the surface. (I presume they use the American shoes with the toe grabs that aren’t allowed over here).

Shame. They took a gamble but it didn’t pay off. I suspect Appleby is more likely to train the first Classic winner. He gets horses ready for these races but running them out there at least once...or seems to with many.

Terrific bit of after timing but I backed Sierra Leone as he looked so damn ballsy in the paddock!
 
I wonder how big a gamble it was sending COT? AOB surely can't claim he's the best he's trained and no USA breeder will be in a hurry to have their mares covered by a horse clearly unsuited by dirt and any that do won't be breaking any records selling the foals. On reflection maybe the Arc with possible soft ground would have been less of a risk
 
A question? How hard can it be for a trainer with AOB's facilities to set up a race at home over say 7f drop COT in behind and see how he reacts to kick back before heading to the USA...he obviously hated it...just saying
 
Problem is that dirt is not like synthetic surfaces that we have over here/Ireland. It’s very different more like the old Equitrack that they used to have at Lingfield and replaced as the kickback was bad (plus it compacted in their feet).

So any all weather gallops AOB has are likely to be synthetic not dirt. So even if you gallop a horse right in behind other, they’re not going to feel the full force of it. And it really is a shock to them the first time they feel it. I remember the late Walter Swinburn saying it was nigh on impossible for Europeans to win on dirt first time especially if they didn’t break well. When horses break from the gate, that’s when they are using maximum force as they’re accelerating into their stride and so the kickback is harder. That’s why I also mused over the shoes as it’s another thing Walter brought up although this was in the 90s so you’d have to think trainers had figured that one out by then!
 
Danny said:
More than looks 20/1 in the mile. Cracking run in the Coolmore turf from a bad position. Horrid draw in this last year beat 2 lengths having gone via the car park around the bend. Smaller field better draw and a light season campaigned with only this in mind. Carl Spackler and Porta Fortuna are the ones I think give MTL most to do and will be played in the exotics.
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Well done Danny.followed you in but only 14s.
 
Outsider said:
Well done Danny.followed you in but only 14s.
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Good mate I got a 30p rule 4 out of that 20's so not much between us. Just glad to be off the cold list I've been finding it slim pickings since I've returned to the game. Slept through my first winner for a while nodded off after a tough day at work and a few cans of Elvis juice haha.
 
Thought Notable Speech looked a little dull in his coat. Didn’t fire for me despite a tricky passage but I hope they keep him in training next year.
 
edgt said:
Question is how to justify (pardon the pun) risking putting a $50million turf horse through the rigours of getting ready for a dirt race that might double his value.
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Greed is one of the vilest of vices but I reckon 99.9% of greedy people don't know they are greedy.

In a way I'm glad COT checked out. While I always said I thought he was a 130+ horse 'waiting to happen', for me he never actually posted a rating higher than the mid 120s, which makes him ordinary rather than extraordinarily so.

I wanted him to prove but running on dirt was not the way to do it.

I wonder if they'll consider keeping him in training next season to give him a chance to prove the BC form all wrong. If not he's kind of bowing out with a whimper and that's not really Coolmore's style.
 
Maybe they should consider a dirt circuit inside the new all weather track in Tipperary.
It need only be safe for eight horses wide and could be used for barrier trials and training purposes.
As jinnyj wrote , it currently is more likely for Godolphin/Appleby to crack the BC Classic as they have a dirt track in Dubai and are not as valuation conscious as the Coolmore rivals.
Giving any multi million horse the prep he needs for a Classic bid is Kamikaze in concept yet it has to be done to get the horse used to kickback, ground conditions and early pace.
That said, the rewards would be financially huge with a successful horse doubling in value .
Making a turf horse from a dirt horse is likely easier mind, not that it will a worry of mine anytime soon.
 
Just another case of what looks good on paper, i. E the breeding, doesn't always translate to the track.

The horse came home safe and sound which is the main thing and the rest is history.
 
Racing would be very boring if everybody just did the same things all the time. In retrospect COT on dirt was injudicious, but look at the discussion it has provoked and the sense of anticipation that built on Saturday night.

Of course he could have won the Irish Champion and been placed in the Arc. And then retired as a Derby winner that won the IC and been placed in the Arc.
 
an capall said:
Racing would be very boring if everybody just did the same things all the time. In retrospect COT on dirt was injudicious, but look at the discussion it has provoked and the sense of anticipation that built on Saturday night.

Of course he could have won the Irish Champion and been placed in the Arc. And then retired as a Derby winner that won the IC and been placed in the Arc.
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Exactly what I said before the race. They deserve plaudits for trying.
 
I reckon it's a safe bet Aiden will never train the winner. He only gambled with COT because of his breeding
I doubt if he had been by Galileo he'd have sent him. Most of those he sent eg So You Think never had a hope in hell of winning in fact almost all of them were a case of throwing shit at the wall and hope some stuck
 
They might have missed a trick with Luxembourg.
From the family of Arcangues, he was a proper hard knocking 10 furlong horse that could make the running , battle with the best and come out smiling.
His straight intro to the NH sire roster shows how his value has plummeted in two short years.
 
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