In Italian

[judehaz]

In Italian just ran the fastest 1 1/8 ever at Saratoga at 1:45.06. Not just the fastest nine furlongs on the Mellon Turf, but on any surface in the track's storied history. Wow!

https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbTrackRecords.cfm?trk=SAR&cy=USA

[PhantomOnTour]

9f on the Mellon Course is rarely run.
They ran only one race at 9f on the Mellon last year. The Diana was run over the Inner Turf in 2021. Wonder why they switched it this year.

I haven't looked at previous years to see how many times they ran that distance on the Mellon. I'll have to dig up the charts for 2020 and earlier.

[Tom]

2002 thru 2018 122 9f races on the main turf.
Lost my 2019 file.

Looks like go back and fourth main to inner.

https://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Stakes&stkid=1571

[pandy]

In Italian had gone to the three quarters in 1:08.4 in the one mile Just A Game in his last start but he had the pedigree to go longer and it seemed to help him relax yesterday. This was a huge performance because both Saratoga courses usually favor closers and have so far this meet.

[classhandicapper]

In Italian was moving along on the front end, but it looked like she was comfortable doing it. Ironically, I think Bleecker Street didn’t finish nearly as well because her internals were a lot faster this time than last time just trying to keep up. You can almost argue the fractions impacted Bleecker Street worse despite being well off it. Sometimes it’s not how fast you are running, it’s how comfortable you are running faster. In Italian is very fast.

[cj]

In Italian was moving along on the front end, but it looked like she was comfortable doing it. Ironically, I think Bleecker Street didn’t finish nearly as well because her internals were a lot faster this time than last time just trying to keep up. You can almost argue the fractions impacted Bleecker Street worse despite being well off it. Sometimes it’s not how fast you are running, it’s how comfortable you are running faster. In Italian is very fast.

I think this happens on turf a lot more than many people realize. Going slow just keeps the kickers in easy striking range.

[pandy]

I think this happens on turf a lot more than many people realize. Going slow just keeps the kickers in easy striking range.

Years ago I did a very long interview that ran in two parts with Hall of Fame harness driver Carmine "The Red Man" Abbatiello. One of the things we talked about was how he didn't try to slow the pace when he had the lead. And he was the best driver in the sport on the front end. Part of his explanation was exactly what you're talking about. He said that if you slow down the pace too much, you give the horses sitting close behind you a better chance of beating you. He also said that with many horses, you're much better off just letting them set the pace that they want to set rather than try and wrangle them back. He said they are actually more relaxed and get braver if you let them settle into their natural stride.

[classhandicapper]

He said they are actually more relaxed and get braver if you let them settle into their natural stride.

I think that’s the key.

“Fast” is different for every horse even when their overall ability seems similar. A naturally fast horse can cut very fast fractions and still be comfortable, relaxed, and in their natural stride. Once you are pushing a horse to get the lead or trying to keep up with a faster horse, that’s when you are screwed. Baffert calls it the horse’s “cruising speed”.