Every year

[Show Me the Wire]

Every year in recent memory handicappers said the TC contenders are a weak bunch. Well I believe the chickens have come home to roost and this is the year of the weak TC field. Nothing but slow horses or horses with major soundness problems. Seems the foaling syndrome finally caught up with us.

Only if we had Smarty contending this year!!!

[cj]

Agreed, every year I argue the crop is good, at least a few very good horses. I posted in another thread somewhere I thought this crop was way below average. Maybe Consolidator can be a decent horse, he looked OK. Sun King was fairly impressive in a paid workout. But, i doubt either race is coming back strong figure wise.

[kenwoodallpromos]

I guess if you have a way of accounting for the weather adjustment and considering the top 2 Rebel entries did not run since Nov., I will agree.

[ceejay]

This year's crop does look particualrly weak. I now that historically Derby winners need a Beyer > 100, but this year could be an exception. Isn't this the 3yo year from the KY the foal mortaity problem? Likely that foals mean less fast horses.

[Observer]

To me .. it does seem like every year the crop is called weak.

So .. fine .. call this crop weak .. but at least many of them seem pretty evenly matched .. which makes it interesting.

Unlike most recent years .. I'm finding a bunch of horses to be attention-grabbing ... not necessarily for what they are doing now .. but for what might be down the line. (I don't want to start listing them .. because I'm sure I'll forget a few).

It's a shame Declan's Moon is out .. he still had more to prove .. but he seemed like a horse with so much potential .. hopefully when he gets back .. he can pick up where he left off. He's a gelding .. so no reason to think he won't be back (at some point).

[OTM Al]

That to me is the most disappointing thing about Declan's Moon having to drop out. As a gelding we would get to see him a lot more after the TC. Well, we'll get to see him, but it would be nice if he had been able to pick up some of those credentials along the way. I look for him to have a very nice 4yo year if the surgery goes well.