Blinkers On Blinkers Off?

[mysaladdays]

I know there is some stats on blinks in prep races.......they don't help the horse win. 

However, can anyone dig up stats for On/Off in the KY Derby itself?

[shoes]

Would like to see this as well, my vague, undocumented recollection would be that it is a small sample size, and I don't recall it happening with a winner.

[5wide]

It didn't help Palace Malice.

www.drf.com/news/blinkers-closer-look-their-impact-racehorses

[shoes]

Apr 27, 2023 9:34:34 GMT -5 5wide said:

It didn't help Palace Malice.

www.drf.com/news/blinkers-closer-look-their-impact-racehorses

Loved this quote from the above: "“Blinkers channel their vision, cut down on the scope of their sight,” Pletcher said. “Some horses see everything out there, from the bushes on the track to the grandstand and the poles. Some are distracted. Some are scared. Some are scared running next to horses. It’s all instinct. You look at a bush by the eighth pole, and to you it’s a bush by the eighth pole. To a horse, it’s a panther.”

[eye123]

Tough to gauge (a number) how fast Derma's run in the UAE Derby was. I found this interesting (to maybe correlate with US runners)


DRF:


How fast did Derma Sotogake run Saturday when he dazzled in the UAE Derby? The colt’s time was the second-fastest UAE Derby since the race moved to Meydan and lengthened to 1 3/16 miles in 2010.

But compared to the Dubai World Cup time, Derma Sotogake probably ran “faster” than UAE Derby winner Mendelssohn, who won in a record 1:55.19 over a quick Meydan surface in 2018. That year, Thunder Snow won the 1 1/4-mile Dubai World Cup in 2:01.38, fastest at Meydan.

The median final-time difference between the 9 1/2-furlong UAE Derby and 10-furlong Dubai World Cup is roughly five seconds. The difference when Mendelssohn romped was 6.19 seconds. Mendelssohn ran fast; he was assigned a 106 Beyer Speed Figure. Derma Sotogake was not assigned a figure, but his 1:55.81 time produced the most extreme difference between the UAE Derby and Dubai World Cup – 7.44 seconds. Ushba Tesoro won the Dubai World Cup in 2:03.25.


The raw times do not account for pace, wind, ground loss, or surface-speed changes during the Dubai World Cup program. All it suggests is that that Derma Sotogake ran exceptionally fast. If a figure was assigned, it probably would be comparable to the 106 given Mendelssohn.



Now that Skinner is in :

Skinner gets shadow roll

Equipment changes typically are noted in past performances, but not an important change this year to Santa Anita Derby contender Skinner. Beyond natural maturation at age 3, Skinner added a key piece of equipment that is partly responsible for his improvement – a shadow roll.

Skinner did not wear a shadow roll in three starts last year; trainer John Shirreffs added the equipment this year and Skinner produced a highly rated maiden win followed by a respectable third in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes. The trainer explained two purposes of a shadow roll, which is padding attached to a horse’s bridle that sits across their nose.

Shirreffs said the first reason “is for focus. You’re limiting a little bit of their vision [on the ground directly in front]. So, you’re getting more focus.”

A second reason is a shadow roll causes a horse to lower his head. Shirreffs said Skinner “seems to carry his head a little bit high sometimes, especially in the morning.” Wearing a shadow roll, Skinner lowers his head and lengthens his stride.

“He’s got a little bit of a short neck, so we try to do everything we can to lengthen his body, to stretch him,” Shirreffs said. “As a horse lowers its head, the length of their stride increases.”

[shoes]

great stuff eye!

[mysaladdays]

Interesting. Zarkava wore a shadow roll. One of my top 10 favorite horses of all time, probably one the greatest breedings that Aga Khan has produced, she retired undefeated. That breeding was the breeding of a superstar, so royal, it takes your breath away looking thru it. The trainer explained at the time that she tended to jump shadows and that famous photo of her, leaping, was apparently her leaping an actual shadow? Her Arc win in 2008 was glorious.


I probably shouldn't say this too early since I'm not done capping the participants, but I'm not a huge fan of Derma Sotogake. I believe the track bias changed that day it was very fast, faster than it had been in 5 years because the DWC has always been faster, and it wasn't that day. Derma Sotogake ran 1w1w, on inside part of the track. I think he may have been carried along by the track bias and post position that day.
link



I'm a Continuar fan and have been for a while, despite nobody else likes him,  because in a war of attrition he just keeps going. I like grinder/ tanks  but he's probably better suited for the Belmont.   He also has some killer good interesting pedigree influences that I will talk about later that I found simply because I was following this other horse at Royal Randwick and started tracing their lineages and female families and found some interesting commonalities. 

Basically, the question for me isn't comparing Derma Sotogake and Continuar.........I'm comparing both of them to the rest of the field, not each other.  Continuar seems very AK like to my eye.  But it seems that the Morning Show just keeps comparing them to each other instead.  That's not what I'm looking at watching Derby contenders work with "each other".   Continuar and Derma Sotogake couldn't be MORE DIFFERENT.   One is a stamina horse and the other is more fleet footed.   It's why Country House, who I had to win the Derby, went off at such high odds.   (I would have been happy with 2nd though, had Max not gotten DQed.) I had Country House in my sights for that race because I saw him at Oaklawn and he was always coming......coming........coming........and every time he just "ran out of track".   

But neither one has EVER gone backwards in their figures.   There's only 4 other horses in the Derby field you can say that about.  I counted them. 

I haven't looked at Skinner yet except to notice he has only won a maiden at 1 mile.   Otherwise, he hangs and runs 3rd.  Lower exotics maybe, I guess I'll have to put in some time watching his past races and works, etc.  I remember a lesson I learned from either Steve Crist or Andy Beyer at one time about how to evaluate horses when 3 of them pretty much "hit the wire together".    Either all 3 are top class, or, they are the opposite of that. 

[1hooper]

Dayjur needed a shadow roll once.

[merasmag]

if your horselet(tm) doesn't have a long nose
do EVERYTHING u (within good husbandry) can to get that nose in front
signed-future nhc champ lol