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Originally Posted by ArlJim78
I disagree. If this were any other race I certainly think the trip would not even be discussed because it was routine for a horse with the nine hole. We all just see races differently. I just did not see a miserable trip for Hard Spun. Sure the first turn was less than ideal but I thought Pino guided him into a reasonable position without asking him for much on the first turn. From my viewpoint, the second half of the first turn Hard Spun was not more than 2-3 wide. Going up the backstretch he stayed wide but there really was not an option and beside that is not where you lose ground on the straight. Moving into the second turn he looked to be 3-4 wide and he started to gain ground on the leader until he just flattened out. If you think its because Pino wasn't trying thats up to you. I don't think its what the trainer wanted to see, namely to be passed in the stretch by Officer Rocket and Forty Grams.
Of course no one has to give up on a horse after one race, and he could come back to run a better race next time.
My only point is that according to the numbers that I use, his race in the Southwest was only slightly worse than his first route. The increase in difficulty of the trip and the higher level of competition cost him a bit. In my view the race he ran yesterday fairly accurately reflects the current level of talent for this horse.
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I couldn't agree more. In my opinion the trip in no way makes this a good effort. If the problem was that Hard Spun needs the lead then his Derby hopes are over anyway. I was curious myself to see the speed figures and suspected they wouldn't be alot lower than his last race at FG when he ran the final 1/4 in a very pedestrian time. Maybe he'll come back strong in his next and prove me wrong but I believe what we saw on Monday wasn't as far as most think from what we saw at FG.