Mendelssohn

[Mylute]

Mr. New York thinking out loud this morning.....

Andy Serling
‏@andyserling

Was the Travers a better race than some of us, myself included, thought, or is Mendelssohn an improving horse?

https://twitter.com/andyserling

Why not both?

[Treve]

Cool video of Mendelssohn training at Ballydoyle (posted by the official Twitter account), in super slow mo. Like how he's pulling away from his workmate!
https://twitter.com/Ballydoyle/status/1 ... 0291075073

[Sparrow Castle]

Cool video of Mendelssohn training at Ballydoyle (posted by the official Twitter account), in super slow mo. Like how he's pulling away from his workmate!
https://twitter.com/Ballydoyle/status/1 ... 0291075073

Glad you posted that, Treve. I just saw it on Twitter and thought it was pretty cool too.

[Treve]

Cool video of Mendelssohn training at Ballydoyle (posted by the official Twitter account), in super slow mo. Like how he's pulling away from his workmate!
https://twitter.com/Ballydoyle/status/1 ... 0291075073

Glad you posted that, Treve. I just saw it on Twitter and thought it was pretty cool too.

one of the neat things is you can easily see how each stride he takes adds distance between him and his workmate. He also has a bigger stride than I ever noticed before heh. (Proportionally to his own size of course)

Really love this boy, I'm holding my breath I know it's a tough field but...

[BaroqueAgain1]

I like Mendy as well. He's appears to have been improving in his last two races and may be coming into the Classic in top form. He also has speed, which should place him in good position at/near the front of the field.
That could be essential on Saturday if the Churchill surface is affected by the predicted Thurs/Fri. rain. Being in front and away from the kickback will be a good thing.

[Treve]

Mendelssohn is apparently growing into a young man...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/racin ... paign=1490

Aidan O'Brien confident that 'babyish' Mendelssohn has 'toughened up' ahead of Breeders' Cup Classic

And for fun, a video of him arriving with the Ballydoyle contingent Monday night at CD.
https://twitter.com/WHR/status/1057097398772736001

And this morning, stretching their legs in the shedrow of the quarantine barn
https://twitter.com/BreedersCup/status/ ... 7995846657

[Treve]

His coat looks fantastic... and based on the videos I think he's grown and put on some weight since I saw him in person on Travers day!

https://twitter.com/theTDN/status/1057972680392171520
https://twitter.com/theTDN/status/1057971253410230275

[luvsgeldings]

would be absolutely thrilled to see Mendy win the classic - would be so happy for both the horse and AOB - wishing them truly all the best!

[Sparrow Castle]

Mendelssohn may target Cigar Mile & Pegasus

We after all may not have seen the last of Mendelssohn, the 2017 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf & 2018 UAE Derby Winner returned back to Ireland on Monday with the rest of the Balydoyle Breeders Cup Squad.

Robyn Murray, head of sales and marketing for Coolmore America, said "at present it is possible" the son of Scat Daddy trains on toward Aqueduct's December 1st Cigar Mile Gr1 and then for Gulfstream Park's January. 26th Pegasus World Cup. "After that plans are fluid and a decision will be made at a later date," Murray said.

Mendelssohn also appeared as one of six early entries For Aidan for the Hong Kong Cup Gr1 run on December 9th on the turf at Sha Tin, though that was not mentioned on Friday as an option.

http://www.aidanobrienfansite.com/latest-news.php

[stark]

Personally, and from a bettors perspective, I'm more than a little burned out on AOB racing in America. Seems like I've been reading all the hype for a decade or two, with little reward at the windows.

[Northport]

I mean, he had the most horses at the Breeders Cup, with what, 13 or 15? No wins.

I'm a big fan of his, but 2018 hasn't been a great year for Ballydoyle. The yard was effected by a virus over the summer and while some horses bounced back in the Fall, they still don't seem to have many superstars.

[Catalina]

I mean, he had the most horses at the Breeders Cup, with what, 13 or 15? No wins.

I'm a big fan of his, but 2018 hasn't been a great year for Ballydoyle. The yard was effected by a virus over the summer and while some horses bounced back in the Fall, they still don't seem to have many superstars.

Has AOB been running more of his horses on the same pattern as CoM? Namely, having lots of races over a relatively short time frame, then being off for a few months, then going back to another very busy stretch of racing. It netted CoM mostly 3rd and 4th place finishes, which doesn't sound all that desirable to me.

[Flanders]

Has AOB been running more of his horses on the same pattern as CoM? Namely, having lots of races over a relatively short time frame, then being off for a few months, then going back to another very busy stretch of racing. It netted CoM mostly 3rd and 4th place finishes, which doesn't sound all that desirable to me.

Are you talking about Cliffsofmoher? He wasn't beaten badly in most of his races, maybe a couple lengths. They have a short racing season in Europe compared to the US, the group races only run from April to late October and the Group 1 races don't start until May. Add to that there is only 1/3 of the Group Stakes in Ireland, France and Great Britain combined as the US has Graded Stakes. Thus there are less targets for horses to go for.

If his horses can handle racing a lot, he races them a lot. Look at Athena, who I believe had 12 starts from April to the Breeders Cup, Roly Poly last year who had 10 starts from April to December, or U S Navy Flag who had 10 starts as a 2yo last year. It wasn't an uncommon practice in the US that long ago to race a horse that many times in a season. I don't have a problem with it at all and wish more trainers did this instead of training them all the time instead of racing. Also I wish more trainers were willing to take a shot against top competition with their horses rather than hiding in the barn and looking for easy spots.

[Catalina]

Has AOB been running more of his horses on the same pattern as CoM? Namely, having lots of races over a relatively short time frame, then being off for a few months, then going back to another very busy stretch of racing. It netted CoM mostly 3rd and 4th place finishes, which doesn't sound all that desirable to me.

Are you talking about Cliffsofmoher? He wasn't beaten badly in most of his races, maybe a couple lengths. They have a short racing season in Europe compared to the US, the group races only run from April to late October and the Group 1 races don't start until May. Add to that there is only 1/3 of the Group Stakes in Ireland, France and Great Britain combined as the US has Graded Stakes. Thus there are less targets for horses to go for.

If his horses can handle racing a lot, he races them a lot. Look at Athena, who I believe had 12 starts from April to the Breeders Cup, Roly Poly last year who had 10 starts from April to December, or U S Navy Flag who had 10 starts as a 2yo last year. It wasn't an uncommon practice in the US that long ago to race a horse that many times in a season. I don't have a problem with it at all and wish more trainers did this instead of training them all the time instead of racing. Also I wish more trainers were willing to take a shot against top competition with their horses rather than hiding in the barn and looking for easy spots.

Yes, I was talking about CliffsofMoher. That does, sort of, explain the racing pattern, which I had not previously noticed, hence my question. Very handsome horse, pity it ended like this.

[Northport]

I find, if the Coolmore team knows that they have a Camelot, Australia, Gleneagles, Minding, etc. on their hands, they race them sparingly. If the horse takes two or three starts to break their maiden, or don't immediately have that star quality then are also filed in the "run them until they win" category, like US Navy Flag, Cougar Mountain, Washington DC, Homecoming Queen.

Some of their mares race quite a bit, but if they get black type or a G1 win, no one seems to notice if they raced 15 times between May and October.

[Catalina]

I find, if the Coolmore team knows that they have a Camelot, Australia, Gleneagles, Minding, etc. on their hands, they race them sparingly. If the horse takes two or three starts to break their maiden, or don't immediately have that star quality then are also filed in the "run them until they win" category, like US Navy Flag, Cougar Mountain, Washington DC, Homecoming Queen.

Some of their mares race quite a bit, but if they get black type or a G1 win, no one seems to notice if they raced 15 times between May and October.

And if they need several attempts to break their maiden and then have a lot of 3rd, 4th, or even lower results, they're not worthy of The Stallion Factory anyway?

[Treve]

I was expecting the Pegasus. The Cigar Mile is a surprise.
I love AOB and for the most part admire his operation. I love this horse and feel he hasn't had the best chance to shine.
I wonder what this horse might be capable of giving with some time off and a 4yo campaign, stabled in America. Wish AOB would have a US division he could send some horses to with training assistants... (But that'll never happen he is far too hands on I guess).

[sweettalk]

I was expecting the Pegasus. The Cigar Mile is a surprise.
I love AOB and for the most part admire his operation. I love this horse and feel he hasn't had the best chance to shine.
I wonder what this horse might be capable of giving with some time off and a 4yo campaign, stabled in America. Wish AOB would have a US division he could send some horses to with training assistants... (But that'll never happen he is far too hands on I guess).

i don't want to use the word mismanaged, because that sounds like he's never done well and has always been in over his head. but i think what you've said is the closest i can get. missed oppertunities, or something. hard to explain but i think he was better than he showed, and i think with a different campaign we may have seen that,

[Northport]

I find, if the Coolmore team knows that they have a Camelot, Australia, Gleneagles, Minding, etc. on their hands, they race them sparingly. If the horse takes two or three starts to break their maiden, or don't immediately have that star quality then are also filed in the "run them until they win" category, like US Navy Flag, Cougar Mountain, Washington DC, Homecoming Queen.

Some of their mares race quite a bit, but if they get black type or a G1 win, no one seems to notice if they raced 15 times between May and October.

And if they need several attempts to break their maiden and then have a lot of 3rd, 4th, or even lower results, they're not worthy of The Stallion Factory anyway?

dingdingding

[Treve]

I was expecting the Pegasus. The Cigar Mile is a surprise.
I love AOB and for the most part admire his operation. I love this horse and feel he hasn't had the best chance to shine.
I wonder what this horse might be capable of giving with some time off and a 4yo campaign, stabled in America. Wish AOB would have a US division he could send some horses to with training assistants... (But that'll never happen he is far too hands on I guess).

i don't want to use the word mismanaged, because that sounds like he's never done well and has always been in over his head. but i think what you've said is the closest i can get. missed oppertunities, or something. hard to explain but i think he was better than he showed, and i think with a different campaign we may have seen that,

My thoughts/feelings exactly.