{"id":867,"date":"2005-10-10T15:01:13","date_gmt":"2005-10-10T15:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=867"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"oldbtb_2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=867","title":{"rendered":"Sunnybank Memorial Romps, Breeders\u2019 Bowl Next"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><P class=MsoNormal style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><FONT face=\"Times New Roman\">So infrequently does the story change that a change would constitute a big story, while the repetition of that story is just business as usual.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Here\u2019s the familiar script: Sunnybank Memorial is the prohibitive favorite.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The connections of several other runners split evenly down the middle, half admitting that they\u2019re running for 2<SUP>nd<\/SUP> place, and half saying that they may be able to knock off the champion.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But here\u2019s the truth of the matter: unless you train Rain God, you haven\u2019t been able to knock off the champion this calendar year.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Before that, Allied Assault, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = \"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags\" \/><st1:place w:st=\"on\">Ebro<\/st1:place>, and Alleged Fantastic were the only horses to best this brilliant son of A.P. Indy in the final 12 starts of his sophomore year.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Simply put, beating Sunnybank Memorial is something that just can\u2019t be done right now unless you train an unbelievably talented runner, and even then you\u2019re flipping coins.<\/FONT><\/P><P class=MsoNormal style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = \"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office\" \/><o:p><FONT face=\"Times New Roman\">\u00a0<\/FONT><\/o:p><\/P><P class=MsoNormal style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><FONT face=\"Times New Roman\">Dancin\u2019 In Seattle has learned that the hard way.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Twice.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Although his 2<SUP>nd<\/SUP> place finish in the Classic Turf Stakes this week represented a seven-spot improvement, and he was \u2018only\u2019 beaten 6 \u00be lengths, he must be a little bit frustrated at this point.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Twice, he\u2019s opened up a seemingly insurmountable early lead.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Twice, Sunnybank Memorial has run him down with ferocious determination, and blown right by him without seeing the whip or even seemingly taking a deep breath.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Sunnybank Memorial, for his part, is getting better at this: he won by 2 \u00bd lengths late in the summer, then 3 \u00bc in the Man Of War Stakes, and now an awesome 6 \u00be.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P><P class=MsoNormal style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><o:p><FONT face=\"Times New Roman\">\u00a0<\/FONT><\/o:p><\/P><P class=MsoNormal style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><FONT face=\"Times New Roman\">Another 8 \u00bc lengths back, the three year old filly Hail To The King turned in a solid run to finish 3<SUP>rd<\/SUP>, but wasn\u2019t ever a serious threat to the top two.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P><P class=MsoNormal style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><o:p><FONT face=\"Times New Roman\">\u00a0<\/FONT><\/o:p><\/P><P class=MsoNormal style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"><FONT face=\"Times New Roman\">Moving to the Breeders\u2019 Bowl, Sunnybank Memorial seems to have overwhelmingly solidified his position as the most likely winner, though those in the Rain God camp are sure to object, on the basis of Rain God\u2019s two defeats of the champion this term.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN>While those two are on even footing, Allied Assault still has yet to prove that he\u2019s superior to his rival, and is on the losing side of the duo\u2019s head-to-head record, including a loss to Sunnybank Memorial in last year\u2019s turf.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Meanwhile in Europe, as <st1:place w:st=\"on\"><st1:PlaceName w:st=\"on\">Horseshoe<\/st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st=\"on\">Bay<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place> was dealt his first loss in a long time last year, Bristol Rovers reemerged as a top contender for the turf, where he was expected to be a major player last year but was injured in the running of the contest.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Suffice it to say that the next one won\u2019t be so easy, but should he prevail, most would concede the title \u201cGreatest Ever\u201d to Sunnybank Memorial.<SPAN style=\"mso-spacerun: yes\">\u00a0 <\/SPAN>There will be a lot more on the line the next time Sunnybank Memorial stares through the starting gates at 12 furlongs of <st1:State w:st=\"on\"><st1:place w:st=\"on\">New York<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> turf, and only a fool would miss seeing that race.<\/FONT><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>6 3\/4 length margin leaves no doubt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":369,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/369"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}