It sounds like the rules should be reworded to say "at least 4F" and include a list of satisfactory times for each distance.
If 53 is satisfactory for 4F, then the official 5f time of 104 3/5 is CLEARY good enough because the difference between 53 and 104 3/5 is 11 3/5. He almost certainly beat 4F in 53 because I doubt this horse came home in 11 3/5. And if he did, he should be off the list anyway.
This horse was good to go and everyone knew it. Using the 51.33 that the clocker reported was no big deal and makes perfect sense given the official 5F time. Just tweak the rules so something like this won't happen again.
More important is the risk I brought up where the clockers miss a work and/or a trainer calls one in that may not have occurred.
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