Quote:
Originally Posted by classhandicapper
IMO, he was clearly a lot better than the official margin over Gun Runner (who is a solid Grade 1 winner at this stage). But IMHO the impact of the slow start and wide trip are being overrated a bit.
IMO, it's way tougher to be away slowly and rushed into the pace wide than it is to be away slowly and race wide at the back of the pack. I put way more emphasis on extra energy consumption than literal ground loss or where you come from in the pack. He was ridden exactly the way a horse like him should have been ridden once he got bounced around and wound up further back than he would normally race. I would not say the track was playing to the outside, but a few other horses ran quite well despite significant ground loss and the track was certainly more friendly to deep closers than the typical dirt track.
I have no problem throwing around the word "great" for this horse after just 4 well spaced high level stakes races because of the way he's done it. But imo calling him the best since Secretariat is a bit of a stretch at his stage.
Would this horse be a mortal lock against horses that would get the jump on him like Affirmed, Seattle Slew, and Ghostzapper?
How about other greats like Spectacular Bid, Forego, and Alydar.
It's not a mortal lock he would have beaten peak Sunday Silence or Easy Goer.
We didn't get to see a fully matured American Pharoah who was faster early and still clearly moving forward quickly when he retired.
It sounds like he's going to get 3 more well spaced races. I don't see anyone that can threaten him, but we should at least see if he can sustain this level and beat back anyone else that does try before we start dissing some amazing horses between Secretariat and now.
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And that's why Smith"s ride was so damn good, if that debate is still going. (I just read the last page. I had stopped at page 5 a couple days ago. The beat down on Smith's ride was too stupid to keep my interest in the thread.)
