Breeders Cup this Saturday. Bernardini to destroy the field.

Zyclone · Post by **Zyclone** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 10:39 pm

Mabey the greatest horse since Spectacular Bid! Dont waste yout money trying to score on a longshot in this race! Didni wins by day light!

FROM THE NY TIMES....THE "STRIDES" PARAGRAPH IS PRETTY STUNNING....STILL SEARCHING FOR A WAY AROUND BERNARDINI

The Gift
Galloping to Greatness
Sign In to E-Mail This Print Reprints Save

By TOMMY CRAGGS
Published: October 29, 2006
This May, horse racing lost a star in the opening seconds of the Preakness Stakes; it found, in the final furlong, what might be a phenomenon: Bernardini, a 3-year-old Kentucky-bred colt that blew past three horses at the top of the stretch and won in a five-and-a-quarter-length rout. His victory, coming as it did after the catastrophic injury to Barbaro, was relegated to a footnote, but since then, Bernardini has written his own story. A victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4 would make Bernardini a near lock for the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year. “He fits the bill — he has the complete package, physically,” says John Ferguson, the bloodstock manager at Darley Stable, which owns Bernardini. “Everything, from head to toe, is in the right place and in proportion. He’s one of the very few horses in the last 50 years that ticks every box.” So what, exactly, makes Bernardini so special?

Skip to next paragraph

Gary Hershorn/Reuters
Bernardini, with jockey Ramon Dominguez, crosses the finish line to win the 131st running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Track in Baltimore on May 20, 2006.

The New York Times
Sports Magazine
Go to Complete Coverage » 1. A COMPETITOR’S MIND _ “The difference between a racehorse and a human,” Ferguson says, “is that a human athlete understands why he trains in the morning. For a horse, that has to be a natural desire.” Even at the top levels of racing, this isn’t a universal trait. Bernardini, it appears, has it. “When a horse comes up beside him,” Ferguson says, “he wants to beat him.”

2. GREAT STRIDES _ The average colt has a stride of 24.6 feet, according to Equix, a company in Lexington, Ky., that conducts biometrical analyses of thoroughbreds. Secretariat’s was 24.8. Bernardini, in the Preakness, checked in at 26.5 feet — “off the charts,” says Ginger Sanders, Equix’s president. Stride length may be the most crucial component of speed. And because a horse breathes in sync with its stride — inhaling as its front legs reach forward and exhaling as its lead leg strikes the ground — a longer gait means a deeper breath. That means more energy, which may explain why Bernardini, after finishing the Preakness, was barely winded.

3. ECONOMY OF MOTION _ The length of his stride may make Bernardini a physical specimen, but it’s the quality of overall motion that makes him a great runner. “He looks like he just floats along,” his trainer, Tom Albertrani, says. “He is so level ... like a racecar hugging the road.” His efficiency even extends to his tail. Virginia Reed, the president of the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies, has watched video of his races and notes that the tail “does not waste any up-or-down, side-to-side movement” and that this allows “for a purity of forward movement.” The result is an aesthetic marvel that anyone can appreciate. Says Jimmy Bell, the president of Darley’s United States operation: “Someone not caring about basketball will go watch Michael Jordan and say, ‘He just moved well.’ A horse that’s truly gifted resonates across all borders. You could parade [Bernardini] out there and find a lot of people saying, ‘Goodness gracious.”’

4. A PERFECT PEDIGREE _ Bernardini’s sire was A.P. Indy, the 1992 Eclipse winner; his dam, Cara Rafaela, won a Grade 1 stakes (the top race class). His family tree is a nearly unrivaled line of elite sires, gifted fillies, stakes horses and superstars. “When you get a Grade 1 [winner] on the bottom side and the top,” Bell says, “that’s the pinnacle of racing.” Cara Rafaela is also a great- granddaughter of the influential stud Mr. Prospector. The coupling of A.P. Indy with mares descended from Mr. Prospector has proved fruitful: Mineshaft won the Eclipse Award in 2003; Tempera was the top 2-year-old filly in 2001. Says Hal Oliver, a veteran bloodstock agent, “There are no holes in that pedigree.”

jtr · Post by **jtr** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 3:10 am

how much did you lose?

Zyclone · Post by **Zyclone** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 3:47 am

jtr wrote:how much did you lose?

on dini 300 as i had him to win. We claimed a horse i hit the Mile with 100 across the board so i made out ok.

Y2K · Post by **Y2K** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 3:56 am

Was downtown with a buddy and we hit the satellite at the casino. Dropped a 20 on Invasor 10 minutes before post. Took my money and dropped it in tha ATM across the street.

It's been a good day

Zyclone · Post by **Zyclone** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 4:08 am

Y2K wrote:Was downtown with a buddy and we hit the satellite at the casino. Dropped a 20 on Invasor 10 minutes before post. Took my money and dropped it in tha ATM across the street.

It's been a good day

Congrats Jack but I think my BC mile with 100 across the board payed out way more.

# Horse Jockey Weight Win Place Show
10 Miesque's Approval Castro E 126 50.60 17.20 10.40

Wasnt gonna bet him at all til my boy who was hot as lava today said he liked him then Robbie Bailes said to put him 100 across.. best 300 dollars i ever spent!

Y2K · Post by **Y2K** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 4:12 am

Thanks Zy,
Hell we were just downtown at Fagan's Irish Pub to have a couple brews and stopped in Club 1 to see what was going on. I walked in the satellite and saw the race was coming up. Figured I was just betting 1 so I picked a horse with fair odds and a decent shot. Sometimes ya just get lucky.