Does Accelerate now win HOY over Justify?

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by Spalding No!

My point was that Accelerate suddenly reached the upper echelon when the there was no one left in the older horse division.

Arrogate got pulled in because his "peak" period was bookended by defeats at the hands of Accelerate (and several others). Presumably that meant that Accelerate was never far behind (or not behind at all) Arrogate in terms of ability.

Got you.

Not that you care.

I prefer to look at qualitative things. I look at who's beating who, by how much, how consistently, with what trip, with what race flow, given how the track was playing. I especially like to focus on how horses did when the conditions were tough. The best ones have more in reserve and call upon it to get the job done when things are tougher. The cheaper ones wilt. I look at figures also, but I'm not very literal about them. Too many complexities, differences of opinion, and errors. Fast, average and slow for the class is good enough for me.

IMO, peak Accelerate was not close to peak peak Arrogate, but I don't think Accelerate was a bum even though the older horse division in CA was not very strong last year. On the flip side, his accomplishments probably exceeded his ability for that reason.

[Spalding No!]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

IMO, peak Accelerate was not close to peak peak Arrogate, but I don't think Accelerate was a bum even though the older horse division in CA was not very strong last year. On the flip side, his accomplishments probably exceeded his ability for that reason.

I'd agree with this for the most part. There's also something to be said for a horse racing as a 5yo and potentially maturing/progressing beyond previous levels (Gun Runner was an excellent example).

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by Spalding No!

I'd agree with this for the most part. There's also something to be said for a horse racing as a 5yo and potentially maturing/progressing beyond previous levels (Gun Runner was an excellent example).

Yeah, that's an added complexity. They are sometimes so lightly raced that even if they race at 4 they may not have peaked yet.

[castaway01]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

I love how people think snark on the Internet makes them look smart.

Andy's a smart guy, but this sort of thing makes him look less intelligent, not more.

If you actually have an argument, you say it. You don't just insult people without stating your argument. 6 year olds insult people without stating an argument-- because they DON'T have intelligent things to say.

I don't think you're stupid, but I do think you've been stomped into the ground on this argument over hundreds of posts. So while I wouldn't want to speak for Andy, the fact you're coming back for more stomping is probably why you got the "It has to be an act."

Personally I don't have anything to add to the argument because Spalding has stated it all much better than I could anyway.