Getting 10 furlongs...
 

Here's a good example of a horse "getting" a super easy 10 furlongs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuCxq...el_video_title

That son of Speightstown can't stay it with pressure.


Tizway was a flat 5th in the Dirt Mile last year while the pathetic Dakota Phone (trailing even Mine That Bird early) won the race. That was such a hard Mile for Tizway because he's not the type of horse who can take back and make one run -- like you can Dakota Phone.

I realize people here are smarter than the tard fest I read on Facebook --- but basically, a horse with a style of Uncle Mo, Tizway, Haynesfield etc. will have an easier time getting a soft 10 furlongs than they will chasing The Factor and four other horses with world class dirt speed in a no-breather 8 furlong dirt race.

I don't know why this seems to be such a difficult concept for people to grasp.

While I mostly agree with this post and the one in the other BC thread, I don't think Mo would be disgraced in the dirt mile, but I think his win chances in the BCC are significantly higher.

This dirt mile is going to be balls out, it is most certainly not the place to have Mo.

Yep.

To Beyer's column yesterday -- considering there is no next year ... Pletcher did the right thing by insisting on running UM in the Classic instead of the Dirt Mile.

If there was a next year for Uncle Mo -- the move would have been to bypass the Breeders Cup and run in the Cigar Mile at AQU with the typical Pletcher spacing off a big number.

He would have thrived there for sure. From TAP's standpoint it must be over after Saturday. Having the favorite (weak or not) is not a bad place to be in a race with ? marks all over it.

This was the same logic I used in saying Zito was making a mistake by running Commentator in top class sprints. Same reason I preferred horses like Lion Heart and Bellamy Road in the Travers rather than the King's Bishop.

Commentator and Lion Heart weren't as capable of rating and going as slow up front as UM can do.

Bellamy Road is the closest style wise of those three.

Neither horse won the Travers. In fact, both horses were undefeated in sprints. Lion Heart broke a stakes record the only time he ran 7f.

It was funny last year, because I used the same reasoning to dismiss Haynesfield's chances in the Cigar Mile. He promptly went out and lost a close photo.

Of course, his connections were duped and wasted the first half of the watching the horse get buried in the Westchester and the Met Mile. Then he went to the sidelines...

Lion Heart was a better sprinter. He was a sales topper at FT Calder as well.

I was initally convinced that both Smarty Jones and Afleet Alex were MUCH better sprinters. Both of them could rate -- and in AA's case, could take back.

Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex, and Funny Cide all seemed much less likely to prefer a route VS a sprint ... but they had the seasoning and foundation and all that.

UM has the opposite look. He looks like the type of horse who should be much more successful routing than sprinting -- but he hasn't stayed healthy.

The worst handling was that of Funny Cide. He was awesome sprinting. I loved when he made his 4yo debut at 7f and romped at GP. Thought it was a sign of things to come. Nope. Then when it was evident he wasn't a force in two turn races anymore and pressure was put on him to cut him back, Tagg tossed him in the Met Mile, perhaps the toughest race for any horse to win be it sprinter or router. When he ran an even 5th, Tagg held up the performance and said, "See, he's not a sprinter".

I guess he was vindicated when later that year, the horse traded decisions with the great Newfoundland at 10f. Tagg went so far as to take the horse to Canada and Finger Lakes to get him victories rather than just shorten him up.

I think you can't say one way or the other because, like you said, he hasn't stayed healthy. The King's Bishop suggested he can sit off a very hot sprint pace and still fire. I would guess he's equal at both, up to a certain distance. Like Twirling Candy.

Yep.

After Smarty Jones Southwest -- I was pretty sure 7 furlongs was him limit. A son of speed sprinter Elusive Quality who almost gets swallowed up late by the Smoke Glacken offspring Two Down Automatic. Smarty had that insane win going 7fs as a 2nd timer and his first two route performaces were very mediocre races.

His Beyer improved 12 points at 8fs because of how he relaxed early.

His Beyer improved like 12 or 14 points from 8fs to a two-turn 8.5f in the Juvenile last year because he didn't have to run as hard early and can relax.

Twirling Candy would get rank and do stupid stuff. I think UM is a lot more relaxed and efficent about rationing out his speed.

No kidding.

I thought his Timely Writer performance was huge.