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Originally Posted by NTamm1215
How could we forget? It was only 10 years ago.
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Not sure if that was sarcasm, but I remember it for the following reasons:
1) The horse cut ridiculous fractions and while he did fade Monarchos was just 2 ticks off of the fastest Derby
2) The horse would go on as a 4yo to win the Man O war at 11 fur and then at 5 the United Nations. Two races that are key races for stayers
3) The horse was bred to be sprinter being by Glitterman and the damsire Devil's Bag was known for precocious types that most did not see 4 except maybe Devil His Due.
All bashing of Todd Pletcher aside that IMHO was a pretty stout job of training.
The other thing that I will say for Todd are that his clientele as with a great many owners on the Triple Crown today are already deeply invested in these horses as babies and the pressure to perform as a 3yo are squarely on his shoulders. It is a market pressure. Win a big race, make a stallion resume, send them into syndication. Owners are making money on selling seasons and shares. This is a market pressure. Would things be different if the owners did not have to pay 5 figures in insurance every time a 3yo with a proven stallion resume runs to make the crowd happy? The assumed risk of paying 300k for a young horse puts pressure on the trainer to perform. What about all those trainers that we see that they have a nice 2yo and by the time the 3yo races roll around they have 15 starts with no break and breakdown due to greed. See those types too, i.e. Barry Roses horse in the FOY last Saturday.
