I could see him not going to the PA Derby right from the start. It looked like the field was going to come up very strong (and it did). A very good case can be made that several of those horses have moved past Medina Spirit and a couple others are eligible to break out. So unless he was expecting a breakout performance from MS, there wasn't much upside to shipping, getting his head handed to him, and then having to deal with the "see I told you he was drugged with PEDs in the Derby" chatter. He could stay in CA, look for a softer spot, try to protect the horse's value, and find out whether the horse is developing enough to be considered for the BC without all that. What I don't understand is why he even bothered entering and using the post 9 excuse if he already knew he probably wasn't going to go. I guess he was hoping it wouldn't come up so tough or someone else would scratch.
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Last edited by classhandicapper; 09-22-2021 at 10:29 AM.
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