Quote:
Originally Posted by f2tornado
What's the difference between Justify and Dunkirk (2006) at this point in their careers? About three lengths in final prep.
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Running style for one. Dunkirk settled off the pace in his first 3 starts.
Also, one could conceivably draw a line through Dunkirk's Kentucky Derby effort. In addition to the sloppy sealed track, Dunkirk stumbled badly 2 or 3 strides after the break and was pinballed around as his jock tried to gain position heading for the first turn.
The horse certainly rebounded well in the Belmont, where he adopted a new front-running style and staved off two seperate challenges at the head of the stretch before yielding late to Summer Bird. Came out of the race with a broken leg and never ran again.
If Dunkirk is an example for Justify its that: (1) an inexperienced colt is unlikely to recover from any sort of adversity in the Kentucky Derby and (2) a horse rushed to make it to the classics is probably more at-risk for injury during the campaign.