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Originally Posted by cj
I'm certainly willing to listen. Can you name a few?
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I'd have to spend some time doing research because I can't think of any famous ones off the top of my head. Then again, I can't think of many routers like that off the top of my head either.
Most 2YOs start out sprinting. So the true high quality sprinters are usually playing their game right from the start. The routers are disadvantaged until they start carding longer races for them later in the season. Also, even if a router doesn't come out until later in the season, many trainers start out at 6F-7F and slowly stretch them out to where they belong. That's one reason you'll see more routers get really good later on. I don't think it's just a physical development issue. But for every "experienced router" that explodes forward, I would guess there's probably one (or at least close to one) sprinter that exploded forward. Both are rare. Very good horses usually show their talent quickly if they are spotted appropriately right from the start and handled by a good horseman.
I obviously think there are a lot of potential issues in the TOFP case that contributed, but it's not impossible that part of it is that he's a very good sprinter that has been developing a bit all along, but it was hidden by 4 wasted races in routes and on the turf. He did make a huge jump up from his first two starts to his 3rd like he was going to get better, but was soon switched to routes.
