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[classhandicapper]

I can't see Pletcher taking back and riding for place money in that race. When Life Is Good was at his sharpest he outran Jackie's Warrior. This is a ridiculously fast horse that's great out of the gate.

The reason I didn't like the prep was his main weapon is amazing sprint speed that stretches. I don't see why you'd want to dull that at all.

Assuming LIG breaks as well as he usually does, imo he's going to clear Flightline, at least early.

What happens from there is dependent on whether Flightline starts pulling or settles well in a very close stalking position. If you are on Flightline I think you want to wait to engage until the 2nd turn when LIG may not be able resist well. If you engage too soon, that's when you put yourself in the position of winning the battle but losing the war because LIG will still have plenty of speed and energy left in the tank to resist for awhile.

What makes this speed matchup so interesting is that usually the fastest horse is also the best horse. So there's no decision. You just go. The 2nd and 3rd best speeds have to decide whether to potentially commit suicide chasing a faster better horse or to run for a piece of the purse.

In this case, at least imo, the fastest horse is not the best horse so it gets a little tricky for both of them.

IMO, if LIG takes back off Flightline, he's not going to finish 2nd. I think he has to go and hope Flighline doesn't have another day like the Pacific Classic.

I don't care how much better Flightline is than LIG, to clear him early he's going to have run very fast unless LIG is not the same horse he was or gets out badly. That's when the door would open a crack to someone catching him.