Is it Just Me
Stardom Bound & Mike Smith waltz home in the Las Virgenes (Charles Pravata)
Or are things looking up? “Jockeys, Win or Die Trying”, much to the relief of this viewer, turned out to be more substantive than the breakdown packed promotion. This year’s 3yo crop is looking deeper and more consistent than last years and, at least for the moment, there doesn’t seem to be much of anything to bitch about (I know, give it time).
Not that I’m a traffic whore (total lie) but Chantal Sutherland and Zenyatta have been the two most frequent searches to make their way to GbG post-”Jockeys”. Sutherland was already my biggest traffic driver from search results but I’m happy to see that the show not only gave Zenyatta decent coverage, but that it’s resulting in people wanting to know more. The racing camera work is downright stunning and does a lot to promote the game… it’s already exciting enough from the grandstand, but seeing like that should certainly peak some interest.
I do have a few small gripes. I thought they did a touch too much cutting back and forth during the Lady’s Secret stretch drive. The drama of the stretch drive could have stood more on it’s own with just a few cut away shots. I also didn’t like the music at all. For example, I would have preferred the Daft Punk original version of the theme song as opposed to that faux hip hop business (which is Stronger by Kanye West for all you googlers, but check out Daft Punk’s Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger too).
I’m still waiting to hear from one of my non-racing friends to find out what she thought. My mom had this to say in an email “I went past and saw someone get hurt, so I didn’t linger long.” Swifty had the same gripe about the music and, in addition to the theme song, specifically mentioned the music while Sutherland was crying (which I don’t remember). But he and I both agreed that overall the show seems likely to get people interested in racing, which is great! Maybe they’ll shoot the second season at Saratoga?
I’m not sure when Derby preps start to air but I hope media buyers for ESPN, NBC, etc. think to place some ads during the show. Seems like the perfect opportunity to generate some new fans. Perhaps the NTRA has already of thought of this and is on the case, I hope so!
Ask and you shall be given, it was a good day of racing indeed! I only handicapped the Risen Star and managed to hit the exacta. I boxed Friesan Fire, Flying Pegasus and Indygo Mountain. I wasn’t entirely sure how the pace scenario was going to play out as there was no clear speed but I thought it might have ended up a little faster.
Friesan Fire and Flying Pegasus are both on my list but I’m interested to see what Indygo Mountain will do in a faster pace scenario. He definitely improved from the Lecomte and got caught in a bit a traffic just when he had some run so I’m not discounting him just yet. Uno Mas also improved from the Lecomte and had I watched the replay a little more closely I might have caught that he was closing at the end and was probably likely to improve. And, needless to say, Giant Oak’s trip was pretty rough, again! I’ll be keeping an eye on both of them as well.
War Echo looked great in the Silverbulletday. I threw a little money away in that race combining her with Just Jenda and Southern Yankee based on the parade. War Echo was the visual stand out in the parade and I can’t wait to see her again.
On the west coast I don’t really need to wax poetic about Stardom Bound too much. Although, does this mean I’ll end up liking Iavarone and Babe this year? I thought Pioneerof the Nile’s stretch drive was pretty eye popping and can’t believe that I’m interested in California horses this year. I guess anything is possible!
Crist has a good post about the “brave new world” of synthetic racing particularly as it pertains to Beyer Speed Figures. I don’t really use BSFs because they don’t take pace into account, and as Crist points out, Stardom Bound’s low BSF doesn’t tell the whole tale. I noticed last week the top two finishers of the Holy Bull had the lowest BSFs of the field, both at 76.
One similarity to last year’s crop is that, with the exception of the Spectacular Bid, the pace has been pretty moderate in almost every race. Is Notonthesamepage the only front running speed horse in the group or am I forgetting someone? I’d love to see what Indygo Mountain, and Flying Pegasus for that matter, would do in that kind of pace scenario!
And finally, Sarah and Charles were both in action yesterday at Aqueduct and Santa Anita respectively. Apparently Charles was in a couple of shots of the second episode of Jockeys, I think Sarah’s on to something with the drinking game idea. Cheers!
Posted by dana on Feb 08 2009
Filed Under: Giant Oak, Notonthesamepage, War Echo, Friesan Fire, 2009, Stardom Bound, Flying Pegasus, Just Jenda, Jockeys TV Show, Risen Star, Iavarone, Richard Dutrow, Mike Smith, Zenyatta, Fairgrounds, TV, NTRA, Marketing, Kentucky Derby, Derby Trail, Chantal Sutherland, 3yo, Exacta, Mainstream Media, Wrap Up, Sarah K. Andrew, Charles Pravata, Santa Anita, Racing
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Wow, that’s a fabulous picture! Congrats on the Risen Star Exacta…sa-weet! Oh, and thanks for the link in your last post. :)
thx, thx & you’re welcome! I love both the angle and the lighting of this photo… it almost doesn’t look real.
Good work on the Risen Star handicap. Good writing as always GbG. I’m waiting patiently myself for Indygo Mountain to strut his stuff.
thx Turk! I think Indygo Mountain might be a really nice horse.
hate to disappoint but stardom bound is trained by bobby frankel
cheers
hi Chris T. yes, I’m aware Frankel is currently her trainer but I believe the plan is to transfer her to babe’s barn in the spring. I can’t link from my phone but I think it was in the articles from when IEAH purchased her in the fall.
although, i’ve got my fingers crossed that they keep her with Frankel. thx for stopping by!
Not to take anything away from Stardom Bound’s effort, but Sweet Catomine was (IMHO) far more impressive in her 2005 effort in the Santa Anita Oaks (Mar 15th) before the SA Derby. Pull up the replay on youtube and compare.
I think I’ve given up on Indygo Mountain as excuses are few and far between to explain his effort. By comparison Zito’s Nowhere to Hide off a maiden in Dec almost was 3rd. He’s a nifty horse that Nick had confidence in but still Indygo, if he’s ever that good, should’ve proven it.
Haynesfield hasn’t won a graded stakes yet and might be a horse for course at the Big A but I’m liking what I see. The Gotham Stakes with Mr Fantasy already looks interesting.
Terrific photo of Stardom Bound! Regarding Animal Planet’s Jockeys, I think they did a much better job than I was expecting. Even though I was prepared in advance, it was hard to get through the race calls with the jockey’s names, but if it gets more folks interested in racing, I’ll get over it. I’m looking forward to more and hope you might be right that they do a second series at Saratoga.
Glimmerglass - thx pointing Sweetcatomine’s SA Oaks, very impressive indeed! was that her 2005 debut? do you know if she was fully cranked? what I liked about Stardom Bound’s run was that she was at 80% & only had to be asked a little, but I’d like to see her look like Sweetcatomine’s effort next out fer sure!
I thought Nowhere to Hide looked interesting in PP but will go back and watch the replay. That was a decent sized field! I suspect Indygo Mountain’s time table might not match up with the Derby trail, but I still think he’s got a shot at being interesting even if it’s not during the Triple Crown.
Celeste - agreed on better than expected. I was laughing at the faked race calls thinking how disappointed people will be if they expect that at the track.
GREAT photo! This weekend, I got my first massive 2009 dose of Derby Fever.
Jockeys was better than I expected (I have realllly low standards *g*). I guess the thing I like least is how little they expect the audience to comprehend on their own. I’m thinking that it’s pretty scripted, too. I guess thrills and spills and boyfriend/girlfriend drama is what people like to see. It makes me a little sad, since there is very little of what I love about racing on this show.
Per the connections of Indygo Mountain he is off the Derby trail in need of a break and in hopes he’ll return in a more solid form after the TC.
Sweet Catomine (named for the Neil Diamond song ‘Sweet Caroline’) earned a 102 Beyer as her highest speed fig. Hard to say if she was giving 80% or 95% effort in that Oaks victory. However its well documented that Catomine had issues prior to the SA Derby that may have compromised her effort against the boys.
Just google hyberbaric oxygen chamber and her name and you’ll pull up the sorted history that spurned at least one lawsuit from a bettor, Wygod retiring her before trying the KY Derby let alone the KY Oaks and even threatening to quit racing. It’s a shame as I think she was like a locomotive closer without female peer at the time.
SKA - I definitely caught the fever this past weekend too.
Glimmerglass - glad to see Indygo Mountain’s connections do right by him.
and thx for the info on Sweet Catomine, I’ll definitely check it out!