Quote:
Originally Posted by MJC922
I guess it comes down to what they want to prioritize, short term or long term. If they really care about BC at age 4, they might want to bail right now and rest up for the Pegasus. 3yos that run through the triple crown series and then target the Classic at age 3 are usually all but done by Q4 of their 4yo year.
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This year is arguably not as arduous as far as Triple Crown's go: later on the calendar, Belmont reduced from 12f to 9f, diluted fields (mostly due to injury of several top 3yos) and much greater spacing between races.
Regardless, it shouldn't be an issue for a truly elite horse. While some top horses were spent by the end of the 4yo year as you said (e.g., Easy Goer, Sunday Silence, Seeking The Gold) a large proportion were simply retired to stud early (Forty Niner, A.P. Indy, American Pharoah, etc.).
Alysheba, Unbridled, Medaglia D'Oro, Curlin, California Chrome, and Mucho Macho Man all ran well in the BC Classic as 3yos and all came back well as older horses. Even "lesser" types like Cryptoclearance, Concern, Perfect Drift, Tiago, and Cat Thief were solid enough during their 4yo (and older) campaigns to make a deserved appearance in another BC Classic(s).
