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Originally Posted by PowerUpPaynter
Very interesting colt here. I think I like him but I question whether im being a homer considering I live 15 mins from where he was born and bred. Becoming a fan of a horse sometimes is a gamblers worst enemy. Graham Motion did said best 2 year old he ever trained. Seemed very green in his last race needing to be held back. Thoughts on this one?
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Graham Motion made much of the fact that the colt was on the engine in his second start after coming off the pace in his debut. However, it is very common for second time starting juveniles to break sharper and show more speed second time out. In that respect, the "greeness" was displayed in the debut race, whereas the second out gave us an indication of his true running style.
Irish War Cry was very rank in the first quarter mile of the second start. I think it would be a mistake for Motion to try and alter the colt's running style if that's his intention. It should be no surprise that the colt might be a free-running sort as his dam was a front-running sprinter and the broodmare sire Polish Numbers set a track record at Belmont going 6.5f on his way to a run in the BC Sprint in 1991. Curlin himself showed a world of speed in his debut as did his sire Smart Strike, a son of Mr. Prospector.
The first half-mile notwithstanding, Irish War Cry responded well in the stretch in his last start, but was stretched to the limit to save the victory. He didn't seem to have much left in a 7f race, although to be fair the runner up had a decisive edge on experience and has put together a decent but modest resume. Considering he will have to stretch out and step it up a notch versus graded stakes types in his next start, Irish War Cry needs to show a lot of improvement to validate the hype.
