Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Fischer
Authentic looked hopeless for the Kentucky Derby last year, after he hung so badly late in the (earlier than KD last year) Haskell Stakes, life-and-death to barely beat NY Traffic after opening a 2-3 length lead.
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Authentic both on BSF and Timeform was improving with each and every start last year. He also improved visually with each and every start. In his first 3-4 starts the horse would break poorly, grab the bit and runoff with the jock the first 1/4, and then duck-and-dive or drift through the stretch.
The SA Derby, where distance concerns were first raised, was his first defeat but it was a failed rating experiment with the colt breaking poorly, floating 5 wide around the first turn, and being hard held in 3rd down the backstretch. Instead of breaking the race open at the 3/8s or 1/4 pole, Honor AP was allowed to remain in contact and get the jump on Authentic.
In the Haskell, Authentic returned to his front-running ways. He broke beautifully, went straight to the front in a controlled manner and dominated the race to the 1/8 pole cutting the corner to secure 1-2 lengths on Ny Traffic who had been hounding him the whole race. Authentic never wavered late, staying on the bit with his jock urging him along, only drawing the stick when miraculously Ny Traffic "rebroke" in deep stretch. Relatively speaking, Ny Traffic's Haskell performance was more "magical" than anything Authentic ever did.
Nevertheless, on paper based on his 9f running lines (and pedigree really), Authentic was suspect at a classic distance. However, he was the only true frontrunner in the KY Derby and was allowed to amble along unhurried on the lead after breaking from the extreme outside post, completely untouched down the backstretch. Furthermore the field was horrendous, with--in retrospect--Tiz the Law on the decline (over trained, sore out of the Derby, missed the Preakness, drowned in the BC, injured in December, retired).
Authentic inexplicably was gifted a similar trip in the BC Classic. And just when he was about to look like Seattle Slew, he retired...
