Pure Clan

Rossington · Both of O'Brien's horses, Rip Van Winkle and Mastercraftsman are for real. I've watched a lot of replays of races that they've either won or gave Sea The Stars all he wanted. Personally, although O'Brien doesn't seem to think so, I feel that Mastercraftsman is a bit more talented even then Rip Van Winkle. I plan to bet Mastercraftsman whether he's in the Dirt Mile or the Classic. I do, however, feel that Rip Van Winkle will be right there with the front runner's come Classic's end. If she sticks with the Classic, it would for me be difficult not to bet Zenyatta to at least hit the board. She handles the synthetics and most particularly Santa Anita race course as well as any horse in racing does. Since it seems that most good turf horses do well on the pro-ride surface, I also wouldn't rule Gio Ponti out of this race either. Beyond that, it's difficult to say. Einstein has done well here in the past having won the S.A. Handicap earlier in the year. Richard's Kid, although a longshot, has done exceedingly well on synthetics having won the Pacific Classic and finishing third in the Goodwood. Summer Bird and Quality Road are the question mark's to me in the race. Having raced exclusively on conventional dirt, no one really knows how they will fire on synthetics. If he does, I feel Quality Road may be sitting on a big race having been bogged down on off tracks his last two races. Colonel John is also proven on synthetics, although I think this particular group of horses may be a little better competition than he used to facing. All and all, this is a tough race to handicap with a lot of "what if" factors to consider. I anxiously await. · 134 days ago

medlocke · Summer Bird, too, saved me in the Belmont. I had him $10.00 ATB, and he was 11-1, which netted me almost $200. That said, his performance was excellent today. I thought Quality Road would win this race, and still have to wonder if on a dry track if Quality Road may still be able to beat Summer Bird. Because Q.R. ran at him very gamely,even after seeming to not like the mud at Saratoga in the Travers and still came close to winning. But I take nothing away from S.B. He ran like a true champion today, and I wish him all the best. I do look forward to the day that Quality Road gets to race Summer Bird and other top competitors on a dry track. That's when his speed will really show itself and on that day he may turn the tables and get at least a small measure of revenge. · 158 days ago