Pedigree Query

The leading freshman sire is Posse. He had a graded stakes winner 7-07-07 at Churchill (Kodiak Kowboy in the Gr. 3 Bashford Manor Stakes). He has had 19 starters and nine winners.

Steve Asmussen has trained 8 of the 9 winners including both stakes winners. The rest of the world is 1 for 11 with Posse. If you looked at the rest and not Asmussen, then 1 for 11 would not be very exciting.

Can anyone explain this and please do not insinuate that Steve knows his way around a pharmacy?

hpkingjr wrote:Can anyone explain this and please do not insinuate that Steve knows his way around a pharmacy?

Didn't he train Posse? How many different owners are there to those winners? Same connections as Posse's?

Asmussen has always been an ace with young horses. The problem is that they have a way of disappearing.

Vinery had made it a point to try to buy the better, more precocious foals of their stallions. They feel they can outmanage the young critters racing career and are more willing to "push" these young critters than other owners. This is all done with the cross purpose of promotion. Vinery may care for the critter, but their interest lies primarily in the early success of its young stallions.

Vinery does a fantastic job of supporting their stallions in this way... and to some degree, in the sales ring. Unfortunately, it does not appear they are overly concerned with longevity.

Apply these thoughts and couple them with Steve A.'s attributes (including his understanding of his owner's desires) and you have a very good recipe for early success. Without looking, I would bet that of those, Steve A. trained Posse critters, Vinery owns or has a piece of most, if not all, (or they have a huge influence). I cannot remember if he trained Posse or not... if so, then he has another advantage from sales ring to race track... he should know what a good one should look like (and he might have a share or two to further the cause).

It will be interesting to see what those Posses are doing at the end of the year.

Agree totally with those that point out that this didn't just happen but was very much orchestrated by Vinery. I wonder if they will be as proactive for the second crop or will their money and attention move onto The Cliff's Edge.

Steve knows his way around a pharmacy.

Oliver could not agree more. Hard to imagine that a trainer who spent six months on paid vacation has gone back to oats and water. Funny how he is being praised for great work in the press. A Hancock has it right, this part of the game has to be cleaned up.

oliverstoned wrote:Steve knows his way around a pharmacy.

yupper...and has the days this past year to prove it if i remember right

sad but true................HE WHO HAS THE BEST CHEMIST OR VET WINS........most of the time.....i really wish this was not the truth but it is...........if you have your own private training facility.....and a good vet...you can hop and block your way to the winners circle.

I wonder how happy Vinery can be with the first round of sales results for their leading freshman sire.

excuse my ignorance, but aren't most Posse offspring TX breds?

I would think anything that can run under a minute 5F gate drill would go to SA in texas, that's probalby why he gets so many.

Mark Hennig's Posse (Law Enforcement) that won at Belmont today looked better than any other Posse that's run so far. Let's start giving Posse a little credit and not dwell on Asmussen's syringe.

I mean...is Smart Strike going to get a boost next year because of the needle stuck in Curlin? I don't hear much talk about that...do you?

saw it.. that 1:02 and 3 final time is darn fast.. espically for a 2YO