Europeans invade American turf
Oct 21, 2014 22:09:17 GMT -5
Post by Evelyn on Oct 21, 2014 22:09:17 GMT -5
Hey Bill - Can you write something informative rather than the obvious? LOL
Europeans invade American turf
Toronto massacre doesn't bode well for Americans in Breeders' Cup
By Bill Finley | Special to ESPN
How good are the North American turf horses? If what happened Saturday at Woodbine in Toronto is any indication, the answer is they're vastly inferior to their European counterparts, and that could mean the locals are going to get embarrassed in this year's Breeders' Cup turf races.
Woodbine's card featured three grass stakes worth a combined $1.8 million and all three were won by European-based horses. But that doesn't even begin to explain the dominance of the overseas runners.
In the $1 million Canadian International, English invader Brown Panther dumped his jockey prior to the start and had to be scratched, which left Hillstar as the only European starter in the field of nine. Though he came from the strong Michael Stoute barn, he was hardly a star, having won only one of six starts this year, and that was a Group 3 event. It didn't matter. He won by three-quarters of a length as the post time favorite.
The $300,000 Neartic, a six-furlong grass sprint, was next and it featured just one European entrant, Caspar Netscher. This would be the same Caspar Netscher that had not finished in the money all year in four starts, and had lost 12 straight dating back to May 28, 2012. The bettors weren't fooled, sending Caspar off at 9-2, and they were rewarded with a $11.60 win ticket.
There were four European based horses in the E.P. Taylor for fillies and mares on the grass and they nearly swept the superfecta. Just the Judge was first over Odeliz, another horse that was winless on the year at 0-for-7. The Canadian Deceptive Vision finished third in front of the English horse Wall of Sound in fourth and the French invader Eyeful in fifth.
Not that any of this should be a surprise. America's best turf horse is Main Sequence, who was nothing close to special when campaigning overseas. He came to the Graham Motion barn on an 11-race losing streak and hadn't won since a Group 3 race on a synthetic surface on May 2, 2012. In America, he's a sensation, a winner of three straight, all of them Grade 1's.
"I don't think it is a huge surprise to anyone that [Main Sequence] has done so well here because they have a much deeper group in Europe," Motion said. "Having said that, I started to look at his PP's and thought about it, he had been running against some of the best horses in Europe. I know he hadn't won in a long time, but he was second in the English Derby, which takes some doing, and even last year he was still competing with some of the better horses and not getting beaten terribly. But, certainly, the pool of horses we are running against is a lot weaker than what he was running up against in Europe."
There have been plenty of others who have come over this year with unimpressive credentials only to grab the easy money. The $1 million Woodbine Mile was won English shipper Trade Storm, who had lost 12 straight coming in.
Since the start of Saratoga Europeans have dominated North American grass races. Their wins also include the Beverly D, the Secretariat, the Noble Damsel, the Sands Point and the Northern Dancer Turf. It's not unusual for European horses to do well here, but never before have they dominated quite like this and won so many races with so many horses with mediocre credentials.
So what will happen when the Europeans bring over their good horses for the Breeders' Cup? The horses that have been winning here are no better than second or third-stringers back home. If a horse like Main Sequence can do what he did over here, what will multiple Group 1 winner Toronado do in the Mile, a Mile that will not include Wise Dan? What about Arc runner-up and Group 1 winner Flintshire, who is being pointed for the Turf? Who's going to beat him, besides, maybe another European shipper?
"Definitely, I am worried," Motion said. "I am keen myself to see how he stacks up. He hasn't done too much wrong. He is in great form and I've never had a horse win three straight Group 1's on the trot, but this is going to be a whole different level of competition."
You can't knock Main Sequence, who is now clearly the best American-based turf horse out there and will be getting John Velazquez for the Breeders' Cup. Velazquez will replace the sidelined Rajiv Maragh. But who has he beaten? For any American turf horse, you have to ask the same question.
Europeans invade American turf
Toronto massacre doesn't bode well for Americans in Breeders' Cup
By Bill Finley | Special to ESPN
How good are the North American turf horses? If what happened Saturday at Woodbine in Toronto is any indication, the answer is they're vastly inferior to their European counterparts, and that could mean the locals are going to get embarrassed in this year's Breeders' Cup turf races.
Woodbine's card featured three grass stakes worth a combined $1.8 million and all three were won by European-based horses. But that doesn't even begin to explain the dominance of the overseas runners.
In the $1 million Canadian International, English invader Brown Panther dumped his jockey prior to the start and had to be scratched, which left Hillstar as the only European starter in the field of nine. Though he came from the strong Michael Stoute barn, he was hardly a star, having won only one of six starts this year, and that was a Group 3 event. It didn't matter. He won by three-quarters of a length as the post time favorite.
The $300,000 Neartic, a six-furlong grass sprint, was next and it featured just one European entrant, Caspar Netscher. This would be the same Caspar Netscher that had not finished in the money all year in four starts, and had lost 12 straight dating back to May 28, 2012. The bettors weren't fooled, sending Caspar off at 9-2, and they were rewarded with a $11.60 win ticket.
There were four European based horses in the E.P. Taylor for fillies and mares on the grass and they nearly swept the superfecta. Just the Judge was first over Odeliz, another horse that was winless on the year at 0-for-7. The Canadian Deceptive Vision finished third in front of the English horse Wall of Sound in fourth and the French invader Eyeful in fifth.
Not that any of this should be a surprise. America's best turf horse is Main Sequence, who was nothing close to special when campaigning overseas. He came to the Graham Motion barn on an 11-race losing streak and hadn't won since a Group 3 race on a synthetic surface on May 2, 2012. In America, he's a sensation, a winner of three straight, all of them Grade 1's.
"I don't think it is a huge surprise to anyone that [Main Sequence] has done so well here because they have a much deeper group in Europe," Motion said. "Having said that, I started to look at his PP's and thought about it, he had been running against some of the best horses in Europe. I know he hadn't won in a long time, but he was second in the English Derby, which takes some doing, and even last year he was still competing with some of the better horses and not getting beaten terribly. But, certainly, the pool of horses we are running against is a lot weaker than what he was running up against in Europe."
There have been plenty of others who have come over this year with unimpressive credentials only to grab the easy money. The $1 million Woodbine Mile was won English shipper Trade Storm, who had lost 12 straight coming in.
Since the start of Saratoga Europeans have dominated North American grass races. Their wins also include the Beverly D, the Secretariat, the Noble Damsel, the Sands Point and the Northern Dancer Turf. It's not unusual for European horses to do well here, but never before have they dominated quite like this and won so many races with so many horses with mediocre credentials.
So what will happen when the Europeans bring over their good horses for the Breeders' Cup? The horses that have been winning here are no better than second or third-stringers back home. If a horse like Main Sequence can do what he did over here, what will multiple Group 1 winner Toronado do in the Mile, a Mile that will not include Wise Dan? What about Arc runner-up and Group 1 winner Flintshire, who is being pointed for the Turf? Who's going to beat him, besides, maybe another European shipper?
"Definitely, I am worried," Motion said. "I am keen myself to see how he stacks up. He hasn't done too much wrong. He is in great form and I've never had a horse win three straight Group 1's on the trot, but this is going to be a whole different level of competition."
You can't knock Main Sequence, who is now clearly the best American-based turf horse out there and will be getting John Velazquez for the Breeders' Cup. Velazquez will replace the sidelined Rajiv Maragh. But who has he beaten? For any American turf horse, you have to ask the same question.
