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Initial thoughts on Belmont day...
Having been there today (sitting on the rail) and seen the replay only once, my initial impression was that Stuart didnt realize Birdstone was coming until it was too late. I.e. there was not enuf distance left to the finish line for Smarty to either step it up or bear down and outrun him or whatever.
Lots of races have been lost like that w/ horses unable to react at the end of race. Seabiscuit, Northern Dancer, and didnt Shoemaker stand up in the saddle right before the finish line at the derby?
We say the replay on the telestrator and noticed Stuart apppeared to only hit him once and then he just shook the whip at him. So that left me kind of wondering....
Came home and watched the telecast and Stuart was like, "yeah well that's racing, he just got beat." So now Im more confused than ever, either Stuart did not see him coming or the horse had nothing left and he did not want to push him. Why not? I dont get it. Stuart says he saw Birdstone coming but I dunno.
Almost alll the races at Belmont today seemed to be quite fast, but there were a number of 7f or less sprints so maybe that had something to do with it.
I didnt realize the pace for Smartys race was that fast. The announcer on TV said it was moderately fast, and there's nother thread on this board saying the pace was feroucious.
The mood in the cheap seats was quite different than last year. I just thought this was a walkover. The crowd was not as intense as last year, maybe the 6 hour rainstorm last year had something to do with that. Not many thought he could lose, so there was less tension more relaxed mood right before the race.
Still scratching my head...
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