Quote:
Originally Posted by cj
Wasn't the inside pretty darn bad for the DWC too?
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That was a strange track for sure. A lot more horses made wide moves from well back than I would say are typical of the experience in the US.
The last thing in the world I want to do is knock a horse like Arrogate, but imho, that particular performance, while visually mind boggling, may not have been quite as great as it looked. I believe I tried to make that case right after the race.
1. Gun Runner may have been mildly compromised
2. As tough as that start was for Arrogate, the track probably made it less difficult to overcome than it looked.
Also, horses like Neolithic (and Shaman Ghost in the Pegasus), while nothing to sneeze at, have turned out to not be world beaters.
I have mixed feelings about Arrogate.
His Travers was mind bending. It was one of the best performances I have ever seen by a 3yo.
His win over California Chrome was also huge, but I disagree with the consensus opinion about their relative trips because of how that track was playing, their rides, and the weights. IMO those 2 were very close.
His Pacific Classic was fine. Collected ran big and was undefeated on a fast track until Gun Runner.
His Classic wasn't as bad as people think considering the rough start and spending some time on the bad rail.
I think Arrogate was brilliant for a short period of time, (especially stamina wise), but I think the hype got a little ahead of the actual performances. A horse can be great for awhile or simply great - without being an all time great.