Quote:
Originally Posted by classhandicapper
Typically Baffert at least tries to keep his best horse for the SA Derby, but in this case given that the Belmont is the more important race, I'd have to think he believes Authentic is weaker than Nadal and Charlatan since he'd be skipping any shot at a Triple Crown with Authentic by passing the Belmont.
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Authentic had been pencilled in for the SA Derby right before racing was shutdown at Santa Anita. This was only 2 weeks before the SA Derby and there was even hope at that point that they could reopen on SA Derby day. Once the original race date passed, Baffert said he would back off on Authentic during the hiatus and keep the other 2 going forward for the Arkansas races. Maybe in that regard, Authentic had some physical issues to resolve, but at this stage I don't think it's a matter of Authentic being the lesser of the 3.
It wouldn't make sense to leave all that money at SA on the table with a top horse that was pointing to the race all along.
