Quote:
Originally Posted by classhandicapper
I realize he missed the break badly and rushed up, but IMO, Golden Pal's performance yesterday was poor. It was a 5F race. He was done very early. I don't care how badly you miss the break and rush up, if you are the best horse you are supposed to last longer than he did and not finish as poorly.
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You're thinking on this is backwards.
The distance (route v. sprint) is not important in this scenario so much as the relative pace is. Golden Pal not only didn't break sharply as he is accustomed to...he didn't break at all. The horse literally reared up and landed at a near standstill when he came out of the gate. He found himself some 5 or 6 lengths beyond the leaders and was kamikazed into a brick wall by his genius pilot when he hit full throttle to make up that deficit once he found his stride.
Expecting a sprinter to display more stamina after a compromised start is counterintuitive. One ought to be surprised he was able to reach the leading group at all precisely because it was a 5 furlong race. Regardless, nothing about his King's Stand running line is important going forward. A red line should be drawn through it when he reappears.
As for those calling the 2020 Norfolk a "weak race", the field itself was irrelevant. Golden Pal, a maiden shipping in from the US, broke the race open a furlong or so out and only The Lir Jet emerged to follow, ultimately tagging him near the finish. It was 3 or 4 lengths back to the rest of the inconsequential field. The Lir Jet had a solid 2yo campaign subsequently, narrowly missing in a Group 2 before becoming Group 1 placed while finishing in front of the much ballyhooed St. Mark's Basilica (who was ultimately champion 2yo that year and the Cartier HOY the following year). After getting buried on heavy ground as a 3yo, The Lir Jet got gelded and promptly won a Grade 2 when imported to the US. Unfortunately, he required a long layoff after that win and hasn't come back sharp thus far in 2022.
