Forget the whip. He didn't even start legitimately hand riding until the 1/8th pole.
I had a flashback to a prep race Forego once had at 7F. He was very wide all the way, Forego had the horse in front of him measured, and then he was hand ridden the last 1/8th to wear down the opposition and win. The only difference is that LIG is not Forego and this was a Grade 1 race. That's something LIP hasn't won yet that would look great on his resume in the event he doesn't win one later.
The entire thing felt like a prep race to me. It was like Pletcher said "We have bigger fish to fry later, get a good race into him, but don't kill him first race off the bench to win". I could almost live with all that even though it was a Grade 1 race. But if that's the case, don't use your horse hard enough to clear a horse like JW early and then sit until the 1/8th pole. Sit off him from the start, teach him something, and then finish. If you lose, OK.
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Last edited by classhandicapper; 08-31-2021 at 11:02 AM.
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