DRF

Wood or Illinois Derby for Mr. Fantasy
Mr. Fantasy, third in the Gotham after setting the pace, will run next in either the Wood or the $500,000 Illinois Derby at Hawthorne the same day, said Terry Finley, president of West Point Thoroughbreds, which owns the colt.
Finley said Mr. Fantasy would "have to run one-two in one of those spots to warrant taking the next step."
Both Finley and trainer Kiaran McLaughlin were slightly disappointed Mr. Fantasy didn't fare better. However, he was making just his third start and first outside of New York-bred company. He was beaten a neck for second by Imperial Council.

Gotham Fallout

If you have been reading blogs and racing press i am sure you have seen the not so good things written about Mr Fantasy after his run in the Gotham .. but i have to say i have seen some positive things written particularly by James Scully on the official Kentucky Derby website who puts him in his top 20 at # 18 and says he eligible to improve on his stakes debut .

Others have Beethoven on their lists stating although he washed out badly in the paddock for the FOY he still run a pretty good race. Didn`t Mr Fantasy just put in the same effort ? maybe it was an even bigger effort going fromm NYBred to open company for the first time and earning a 98 beyer .

Will he make it to Kentucky who knows would we like to see him there of course but at the same time have to consider what may be best for him in the long run . I have not heard where he intends to run next be it the Wood or Illinois Derby if he is still on the trail as soon i i know will update .. I just hope that he is in good health and whenever he comes out next runs a huge race and rubs in the face of those saying he should run in claimers .

As for Phosy he is still working well in Fla but having a hard time finding a race for him .

Gotham Day

What can we take from yesterday ? Did we achieve what we set out too?

We were looking for Mr Fantasy to run a good race and have a good showing with running him into the ground . Of course we want him to win but at this stage not win at all costs . We did not want to run our Big race ( did I Want Revenge just run his Big race today?) but something to improve on in his next race and again in the one after that on May 2nd .

It was a good day the Aqueduct the weather was great could not have been much worse than the beginning of the week there was some good racing with some close finishes . There were a lot of partners and friends there to watch Mr Fantasy as well as others involved in the breeding and selling of Mr Fantasy and it was great to meet Scott , Greg and Michael .

Let me give you my break down of the events . Mr Fantasy is still is young horse and is making only his 3rd career start and that is a Grade III Derby prep against horses that have run in stakes races . With his 2 outstanding wins we know he is well bred and has plenty of speed and despite what many may think is the best horse racing in NY .

Tina & I while going down to the saddling enclosure we we lucky enough to just see the horses walking down Mr Fantasy was bringing up the rear that was the first sight we had of him and how he was starting to sweat something we have not seen in him before . He looked alert in the saddling enclosure where there were a lot more people there that have been at his other races did that unsettle him ?

While in the gate he was very restless as in his allowance race he was backed out and re- loaded where Haynesfield next to him started acted up . he was out of the gate well and to the front then the race did not set up as i am sure many of us thought it would where was Haynesfield and Russell Road ? . Alan was forced to take the lead something he really did not want to do Alan said he was charging and was holding him back although the fractions were soft in the end he still run a second faster than his allowance race and being eased up towards the end ( there is no blame here for the way Alan handled him ) . This was the first time he has come eye to eye with another horse into the stretch again something new to him . He seemed to tire in the deep stretch was it due to making all the running or is the distance too much for him will he make a great miler?

In summary he was 2nd best on the day running a second faster over same distance and earning a 98 beyer coping with new experiences and hopefully he will learn from them .He cooled down well after the race and appears in good health will no more in the next few days .

http://www.drf.com/drfPDFChartRacesIndexAction.do?TRK=AQU&CTY=USA&DATE=20090307&RN=9

Gotham

THE GOTHAM
Grade III - $250,000
Purse $250,000 (Up to $37,500 NYSBFOA) One Mile And One Sixteenth (Inner Dirt)
FOR THREE YEAR OLDS.
1 Naos(L) B.c.3 116 Luzzi, M Starlight Partners Pletcher, Todd
2 Russell Road(L) Ch.g.3 116 Dunkelberger, T Russell, M Casey, James
3 Masala(L) B.c.3 116 Coa, E Peachtree Stable Pletcher, Todd
4 Axel Foley(L) Dk B/ Br.c.3 116 Migliore, R Singer, J McLaughlin, Kiaran Blk-Off
5 Mr. Fantasy(L) B.c.3 116 Garcia, A West Point Thoroughbreds McLaughlin, Kiaran
6 Haynesfield(L) Ch.c.3 120 Lopez, C Turtle Bird Stable Asmussen, Steven
7 Imperial Council(L) Dk B/ Br.c.3 116 Maragh, R Sequoia Racing McGaughey III, Claude
8 I Want Revenge(L) Dk B/ Br.c.3 116 Talamo, J Lanzman, D Mullins, Jeff
9 Giant Ryan(L) B.c.3 116 Sanchez, J Parbhoo, S Parboo, Bisnath

Updates

Phosy`s race did not go today nor did it come up as an extra tomorrow . The next allowance is Sat March 7th so will aim for that unless an extra comes up during the week at Gulfstream

Mr. Fantasy worked another sharp half-mile in preparation for the G3 $250,000 Gotham Stakes Saturday March 7th at Aqueduct Racetrack. According to Kiaran's assistant Artie Magnuson, the track had a little bit of moisture in it this morning, but Mr. Fantasy could not have been any more impressive. He went off in :12.1, meaning he covered the final three furlongs in an impressive :35.4. He galloped out five furlongs in 1:00 flat. This will be his final official workout prior to the race next Saturday.

According to Artie, "We're ready."

Updates

Phosy has had 2 good works and Dale is entering him in a 51/2 F allowance on Sat at Gulfstream not sure if going down it would be a good opportunity to see the runners in The Fountain of Youth

Below are the links for The Gotham Mr Fantasy is eating well something he excels in along with sleeping ;-) , he`s been training well and should be ready to show up on March 7th while holding something back for The Wood followed by a big showing in Kentucky

http://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbHorsemenAreaDownloadAction.cfm?sn=SN-AQU-20090307-481923


http://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbHorsemenAreaDownloadAction.cfm?sn=SNPP-AQU-20090307-481923

Mr. Fantasy Works

Mr Fantasy worked this morning at Belmont going 4F in 48:05 3/104 and galloped out in 1min and change went off 1st 1/8th in 12 dusted workmate ALL SYSTEMS GO