Tonalist won today's Jockey Club Gold Cup handily in the slop, beating Wicked Strong to the wire.
A horse whose name somehow passed the Jockey Club's censors, Effinex, came in third.
The race, from NYRA:
Showing posts with label Tonalist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tonalist. Show all posts
Steve Coburn Needs to Shut Up
We find out now that California Chrome probably wasn't 100 percent for the Belmont. Of course we don't know if his hoof problem coming out of the gate was the reason he didn't "fire" or whether it was jockey Victor Espinoza not taking charge of the pace of the race or whether California Chrome just didn't have the stamina for the mile-and-a-half.
What we can say for sure is Tonalist and his connections are NOT to blame for the defeat because he didn't run in the other Triple Crown races. In fact, Tonalist WAS pointed to the Kentucky Derby, but he suffered from a couple of ailments and couldn't compete.
California Chrome co-owner Steve Coburn has the top three-year-old in the country right now and probably an Eclipse Award winner. He should just shut up about the "fresh horse" crap being somehow cheating.
If your horse is Triple Crown material, he should be able to handle all comers.
Tonalist's connections have reacted to the Coburn outbursts with complete and total class. The winner's owner is a member of the family who owned 1981 Derby and Preakness winner Pleasant Colony, a horse who lost his bid for the Belmont when HE was beaten by a fresh horse by the name of Summing. You didn't hear any complaining by Pleasant Colony's trainer Johnny Campo (rest in peace) or by his owners.
A blast from the past, the 1981 Belmont:
What we can say for sure is Tonalist and his connections are NOT to blame for the defeat because he didn't run in the other Triple Crown races. In fact, Tonalist WAS pointed to the Kentucky Derby, but he suffered from a couple of ailments and couldn't compete.
California Chrome co-owner Steve Coburn has the top three-year-old in the country right now and probably an Eclipse Award winner. He should just shut up about the "fresh horse" crap being somehow cheating.
If your horse is Triple Crown material, he should be able to handle all comers.
Tonalist's connections have reacted to the Coburn outbursts with complete and total class. The winner's owner is a member of the family who owned 1981 Derby and Preakness winner Pleasant Colony, a horse who lost his bid for the Belmont when HE was beaten by a fresh horse by the name of Summing. You didn't hear any complaining by Pleasant Colony's trainer Johnny Campo (rest in peace) or by his owners.
A blast from the past, the 1981 Belmont:
Belmont Stakes 2014 (Updated)
Update: It looks like yet another year without a Triple Crown winner. Tonalist, a horse many, many people thought was the horse most likely to pull off an upset today, did indeed do it. It was his fifth career win. His jockey is Joel Rosario.
It was a good race, and the horses were tightly bunched. Some observers blamed jockey Victor Espinoza for not taking California Chrome to the front and controlling the pace, as the horse has been known to dislike being around other horses. However, it might simply be the case that he ran out of gas today.
He didn't embarrass himself, however. He dead-heated for fourth along with Wicked Strong. Second place was Commissioner, and third place was Medal Count.
The time was a snail's pace 2:28.52. Not that I was expecting anybody to come close to breaking Secretariat's record unless a horse and jockey leap over the backstretch fence, cut across the infield Rosie Ruiz-style, leap over the homestretch fence, and finish first.
Video of the race. At least it is properly recorded and not that iPhone point-and-record shit. Of course this means NBC-Universal will issue a takedown notice to YouTube.
A couple of weeks ago, Tonalist won the Peter Pan Stakes. This was the race that many thought gave him the credentials to be a spoiler in the Belmont:
Earlier: A great day weather-wise is expected for the Belmont Stakes. California Chrome is favored to win it and become the 12th Triple Crown winner.
His biggest problem is he is facing several "fresh horses" who were in the Kentucky Derby but skipped the Preakness.
Some "expert" picks are here.
In any case, it's been too long since a horse has won the series.
It was a good race, and the horses were tightly bunched. Some observers blamed jockey Victor Espinoza for not taking California Chrome to the front and controlling the pace, as the horse has been known to dislike being around other horses. However, it might simply be the case that he ran out of gas today.
He didn't embarrass himself, however. He dead-heated for fourth along with Wicked Strong. Second place was Commissioner, and third place was Medal Count.
The time was a snail's pace 2:28.52. Not that I was expecting anybody to come close to breaking Secretariat's record unless a horse and jockey leap over the backstretch fence, cut across the infield Rosie Ruiz-style, leap over the homestretch fence, and finish first.
Video of the race. At least it is properly recorded and not that iPhone point-and-record shit. Of course this means NBC-Universal will issue a takedown notice to YouTube.
A couple of weeks ago, Tonalist won the Peter Pan Stakes. This was the race that many thought gave him the credentials to be a spoiler in the Belmont:
Earlier: A great day weather-wise is expected for the Belmont Stakes. California Chrome is favored to win it and become the 12th Triple Crown winner.
His biggest problem is he is facing several "fresh horses" who were in the Kentucky Derby but skipped the Preakness.
Some "expert" picks are here.
In any case, it's been too long since a horse has won the series.
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