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The finish was so impressive, I started crying. The big question for Smarty now is if he can go a mile and a quarter. I don't want to hope too hard though, because I've seen too many horses win the Derby and the Preakness only to finish out of the money at Belmont.
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That was really amazing. It's like the entire race before he pulled ahead was child's play for him. (colt's play?) I have to admit, I liked Sir Shackleton, but I tend to go for the under dog. I think his name is just cool. Usually I pick a Lukas horse to root for, but there wasn't even one in the running this race. Oh well. My first Lukas was Tobasco Cat...I loved that horse. Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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I didn't watch the race the first time through, but the replay so I already knew he won. It was amazing, reminds me of replays I have seen of Secretariat. Does anyone know when the third race is?
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The Belmont is on June 5th. That was a very impressive win. His burst at the end was unbelievable.
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I'm trying to figure out who his competition will be. I think he beat most of the "distance" horses soundly in the Preakness. Maybe there are some others that I don't know about though.
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I was looking back through the Sports Illustrated comments on previous Triple Crown winners, and I thought surely that Man O'War was a former Triple Crown-er. He was the most famous horse of all time.
But he is not listed as a Triple Crown horse -- although he did sire War Admiral, who won the triple crown in 1937.
So what gives? Did he not run all three? They said he won the Belmont by 20 lengths..
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Man O' War didn't run in the Kentucky Derby because at the time it wasn't considered a major race. I'm not certain when the Derby began to earn all of it's prestige, but certainly by the time War Admiral won, it was well-established.
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quote: In 1920, Man o' War won all 11 of his races, with Clarence Kummer aboard nine times. Big Red didn't race in the Kentucky Derby because Riddle believed that a soft-boned 3-year-old should not have to run 1¼ miles in early May. Instead, he set his sights on the Preakness (Man o' War held off an Upset charge to win) and Belmont (a 20-length victory in a two-horse field).
FG (edit: "Big Red", of course, being Man o'War's nickname..... But I don't understand why Riddle reasoning about running in early May)
quote: In 1920, Man o' War won all 11 of his races, with Clarence Kummer aboard nine times. Big Red didn't race in the Kentucky Derby because Riddle believed that a soft-boned 3-year-old should not have to run 1¼ miles in early May. Instead, he set his sights on the Preakness (Man o' War held off an Upset charge to win) and Belmont (a 20-length victory in a two-horse field).
AJ
(well so much for my research, I should have hit refresh before I posted!)
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Farmgirl, I think he felt the distance was too far for a horse with developing bone structure etc. Medically I have no idea if he was right, when you consider the short time gap between the Derby and the Preakness (though maybe the gap was longer then) but we know that 2 and 3 year olds are still practically babies in horse years. Especially considering the longevity of a horse is generally 20+ years even with all of the breeding for stronger bone structure sooner in thoroughbreds.
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Ooooh! Man o' War was the best racehorse ever! I think the question about him not running the derby has pretty much been covered; Riddle made a decision that was based on worries over how difficult the distance would be. If you do further reading on the subject, the story is quite fascinating. Man o' War shared a bloodline through his sire Fair Play with Seabiscuit, which is a GREAT book, by the way. Man o' War actually lost his only race to the aforementioned Upset, but only because he started the race backwards.
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Oh well. My first Lukas was Tobasco Cat...I loved that horse. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
