Chimbo!

[Laura Smith]

So my grand plans to write lots of articles and be super involved this year kinda went off the rails, but this is a cool race. I thought it was worth talking about a bit, even if I didn't have time to do any actual writing.

Last year's inaugural running drew a deeper field, maybe, sure. The top two three-year-old superstars, a Pegasus winner, a SC winner and three other G1 winners were a very intimidating bunch. This year's version might lack some of the top-to-bottom star power that we saw last season, but there are still some very good horses in here, and some good stories.

Last year we saw Red Balloon vs. Dancin Nancy, both with 100SFs under their belts, and both of whom were thought by many to be on a different level from the rest of the field. This year, Red Balloon is back, Dancin Nancy is in Japan, and there's a new shooter -- talented sophomore Thunder Horse, only beaten once in ten starts, boasting an average winning SF of 90.5.

I don't want to ignore the rest of the field, either; Movie Magic has finally come into his own this year, Scotty Too Hotty is a freak-level galloper and due for a good one, The Empire Strikes always seems to show up, and As Loki Ascends is as hard-knocking as they come. But the big question for me here is how this race will shape up and how the two big boys match up to one another.

At first glance, Thunder Horse seems like a speedy type, but I don't think he necessarily needs to be as far forward as he's been in most of his outings -- his natural speed just puts him there. He'd do well to not let Movie Magic get too far away early, though -- that one has won three of his outings this year on an uncontested lead, and it doesn't look like anyone else in here wants to get to the front in the same way. The four hole is a perfect draw for MM, and if someone was going to upset the top two here, I'd think he'd be the one to sneak away early and steal it all.

Back to the top two, though -- they didn't do so well with the post draw, with RB stuck down on the rail and TH parked way on the outside. Depaulo's colt is the luckier of the two, as the eight hole won't do him that much damage, but the inside post sure won't help Red Balloon any; at the very least, that one won't be doing most of his running until later in the game, so it's not like being pinched back early will ruin him, should that happen.

Both colts are coming in off two straight commanding wins, so confidence is no issue. Raw talent-wise, Red Balloon has the edge in both SFs and workout times, but he hasn't been as dominant in the last year or so as he was in his early career.

Any opinions? Picks? Discussion?
Good luck to all! Excited for the racecall tonight! Been awhile since I've been around for one.

[Gwayne's World]

Thunder Horse is my pick. Just jinxed ya Joe

[Danny Derby]

I'm not in this race to win, but even a 5th place finish is more money than he'd make anywhere else this week.

[Brian Leavitt]

I'm not in this race to win, but even a 5th place finish is more money than he'd make anywhere else this week.

Even just this year, we've seen things crazier than the idea of Scotty too Hotty winning the Chimbo

[Glenn Escobar]

I only need The Empire Strikes to think for about a minute or so that he’s the greatest TS who ever lived.

[Danny Derby]

I'm not in this race to win, but even a 5th place finish is more money than he'd make anywhere else this week.

Even just this year, we've seen things crazier than the idea of Scotty too Hotty winning the Chimbo

Not sure what you're linking in that.

[Brian Leavitt]

I'm not in this race to win, but even a 5th place finish is more money than he'd make anywhere else this week.

Even just this year, we've seen things crazier than the idea of Scotty too Hotty winning the Chimbo

Not sure what you're linking in that.

Albert's Song in the L'ville Bunburette

[Ronnie Dee]

I'm not in this race to win, but even a 5th place finish is more money than he'd make anywhere else this week.

I just realized that if Scotty wins, I make $450K. So I definitely have a strong rooting interest in Scotty pulling off a major upset tonight.

[Joseph Depaulo]

Thunder Horse is my pick. Just jinxed ya Joe

Good thing bay blessed me with her vodoo ways and made me immune from jinxs

[Gwayne's World]

Thunder Horse is my pick. Just jinxed ya Joe

Good thing bay blessed me with her vodoo ways and made me immune from jinxs

Real nice horse, Joe. Congrats.

[Brian Leavitt]

Thunder Horse is my pick. Just jinxed ya Joe

Good thing bay blessed me with her vodoo ways and made me immune from jinxs

Now when are you going to get that horse a headshot?!