Shared Belief

[The Tin Man]

I figured this guy really needs his own thread ...

I just rewatched his 3 races and ... wow ... Wow ... and WOW!!!

If this guy stays healthy ... LOOK OUT!!!

I am officially sold.

I got to go back and see him at the barn the day after his Futurity win. He was eating up like a champ, so it was pretty apparent that he came out of the race quite well. He's also a very friendly guy. Very at peace with people, very inquisitive and seems extremely smart.

To answer the queries I've seen by some ... He is a fairly little horse ... very much reminds me of I'll Have Another in stature. Talentwise and for what he was able to accomplish as a smallish horse, I loved IHA ... But ... I have to admit, barring any setbacks, especially at this point, I like Shared Belief better.

Plans are also to keep SB and Tamarando apart during the lead up The Derby.

They're also very pleased with Tamarando's progression. Love Tamarando too!

One day, when I take the time to figure out how to get my pics on here, I'll post some of him. 

[Senator L]

Looking forward to the pics. He has had 3 great races now. Still want to see him transfer his synthetic form to dirt though.

[The Tin Man]

COREY NAKATANI, SHARED BELIEF, Winner: "Wow! My horse has a pretty high cruising speed and when (Candy Boy) made that early move, I couldn't go at that time. I'm just very thankful to Jerry Hollendorfer and his team, (assistant trainer) Dan Ward and, obviously, (part-owner) Alex Solis II for finding this horse and buying him. He did all the work and I was just a quiet passenger on him. Wow!"

JERRY HOLLENDORFER, SHARED BELIEF (Winner) and TAMARANDO (Third): "Going in, I never expected him to do it like that. He's doing very well right now. I didn't really anticipate the horse being (near the lead). I thought others would send their horse, but it didn't turn out that way. (Shared Belief) took (Nakatani) there and I thought he was very comfortable. When he was ready he asked him and (Shared Belief) gave it to him. He was really on his toes today and that surprised me. He's never gotten on his toes like he did today. He's always really comfortable around the barn, really laid back. When you have these 2-year-olds that are getting good, they all go under the microscope. I know the drill. I'm very pleased with his race—how can you not be? I don't like to compare my horses, but I'd have to put him near the top. I don't like to put them on the (Kentucky) Derby trail, but we'll see what happens. If you're going to go to the Derby the horse takes you there, you don't take him there. Tamarando ran a great third. I'm very proud of that horse as well."

JIM ROME, CO-OWNER, SHARED BELIEF, Winner: "I said after Mizdirection won her first Breeders' Cup (Turf Sprint), no matter what happened after that, I was fine. The second one was amazing and today was obviously a really incredible day. I just went with (Solis II) when he said to get in. Alex is an extremely disciplined buyer. He says no to most things. Visually, that race he won at Golden Gate (Fields Oct. 19) was so spectacular. I haven't owned horses very long and I don't have the background that a lot of people have, but I've only seen two other horses break their maiden like he did up north—Mizdirection, who I bought in right after, and Turbulent Descent, who I had a chance to buy into and didn't and regretted that forever. Winning around two turns was the first main hurdle."

[Dave in TJ Mex]

So far, so good with Shared Belief.  Actually, VERY good.

Next task is to race, win and be impressive doing it on dirt. 

Until that happens, he is just a synth monster.

[peeptoad]

He has been impressive thus far, and his career as a 2yo is almost identical to that if Lion Heart (another flashy 2yo that ran well in the Derby).
Hopefully Shared Belief can excel at 9F when he tries. That should be a better indicator of whether or not 10F will be up his alley...

[curtis]

So far, so good with Shared Belief.  Actually, VERY good.

Next task is to race, win and be impressive doing it on dirt. 

Until that happens, he is just a synth monster.

I remember when the Cushion Track was installed at Hollywood Park, track officials went with that brand because it had the lowest ratio of synthetic material to dirt than any of the competitors while still staying within the parameters set by the CHRB.  In other words its the dirtiest synthetic track out there.  It is much different to both Del Mar (Poly Track) and Golden Gate (Tapeta).  I think you can get a better idea of a horse's ability to run on dirt when they transition from the Hollywood Park surface.  Santa Anita, however, is a paved highway.  I hope they give Shared Belief a race over the track before the San Felipe, to see whether he likes the track well enough in the afternoon.  If not, Team Dorf can ship him east where he can run on a kinder surface--like, I don't know--Interstate 10.

A Christmas wish would be for the Hollywood Park track surface to replace the Del Mar surface.  My fear is that to get the Breeder's Cup, Del Mar will go back to dirt, something that was problematic there, especially just before the switch.

[Dave in TJ Mex]

I remember when the Cushion Track was installed at Hollywood Park, track officials went with that brand because it had the lowest ratio of synthetic material to dirt than any of the competitors while still staying within the parameters set by the CHRB.  In other words its the dirtiest synthetic track out there.  It is much different to both Del Mar (Poly Track) and Golden Gate (Tapeta).  I think you can get a better idea of a horse's ability to run on dirt when they transition from the Hollywood Park surface.  Santa Anita, however, is a paved highway.  I hope they give Shared Belief a race over the track before the San Felipe, to see whether he likes the track well enough in the afternoon.  If not, Team Dorf can ship him east where he can run on a kinder surface--like, I don't know--Interstate 10.

A Christmas wish would be for the Hollywood Park track surface to replace the Del Mar surface.  My fear is that to get the Breeder's Cup, Del Mar will go back to dirt, something that was problematic there, especially just before the switch.

Thanks for this post, Curtis, with lots of interesting info.

While with Zenyatta at HP on Saturday, I remarked that when HP shuts down, they should collect all the artificial "dirt" and store it somewhere, to sell it to somebody who wants an artificial surface. 

I agree that HP's Cushion Track has been the best Socal artificial surface, although Del Mar may now be giving it a run for its money. 

I think last summer's artificial surface at Del Mar only had one fatal breakdown during live racing, and only one fatal breakdown during training.  An all-time low.

And remember that the purpose of installing these artificial surfaces was to reduce the super-high breakdown rates at the SoCal tracks when they were all dirt.

By the way, I think Churchill Downs also had only fatal breakdown on dirt during their spring meet in 2013.

[curtis]

Thanks for this post, Curtis, with lots of interesting info.

While with Zenyatta at HP on Saturday, I remarked that when HP shuts down, they should collect all the artificial "dirt" and store it somewhere, to sell it to somebody who wants an artificial surface. 

I agree that HP's Cushion Track has been the best Socal artificial surface, although Del Mar may now be giving it a run for its money. 

I think last summer's artificial surface at Del Mar only had one fatal breakdown during live racing, and only one fatal breakdown during training.  An all-time low.

And remember that the purpose of installing these artificial surfaces was to reduce the super-high breakdown rates at the SoCal tracks when they were all dirt.

By the way, I think Churchill Downs also had only fatal breakdown on dirt during their spring meet in 2013.

I do think that Del Mar is figuring out their Poly Track surface and it's lightyears from the first year it was installed, when it took until the last week of the meeting before a horse broke 1:40 for a mile.  And while the fatal breakdowns have--thankfully--been curtailed, how many young horses are missing time, if not having their careers cut short prematurely, because of soft tissue injuries caused by either Poly Track or Tapeta?  So now you have young TB's in need of rehoming and retraining.  I call it California racing's non-dirty or synthetic little secret.  I don't think it is dirt per se that is the problem--as you alluded with your mention of Churchill Downs.  I think it is how it is installed and how it is maintained.  I think major shortcuts were taken when Santa Anita switched back to dirt.  Del Mar's problem with dirt, I always thought, had a lot to do with the fact that the track is pretty much laid down two weeks before each meet begins, due to the Fair, and couldn't properly settle.  People think it is a racetrack within a fair when in reality the racetrack is the Fair.  Once upon a time they ran auto and motorcycle races there.  Could you imagine that now?

As for Shared Belief, I'm more concerned about him peaking early than not being able to perform on dirt.  When a horse ships out to run on dirt from CA, I always look to see how they fared at Hollywood Park.  I'd say he did okay.

[Dave in TJ Mex]

I agree with at least one major point you make, Curtis.

I've always been unhappy that at Del Mar, every year they only have 10-14 days --- from July 4, the Del Mar Fair's closing day --- until about July 16th to get the synth track and turf course in racing shape. 

That's a joke.