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Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind
Azeri was pretty special. Even Ashado, who ran few particularly fast races, and was exposed in competitive situations, ran many better races than Round Pond.
Phil, you are kidding about the Acorn, right? If not I guess you cashed a bet on her and never clearly thought about the race objectively ( something I find hard to believe in your case ). She sat a perfect trip behind a very fast pace set by Splendid Blended and was the greatest beneficiary of Bejarano's absolutely buffoonish ride aboard In the Gold when he sent her around the turn ( hardly a wise move at Belmont ). Round Pond ran OK in that race but was essentially a perfect trip winner. Or, do we disagree, and you think Smuggler was a TRUE champion?
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No, I agree it was a perfect trip. And yes, I cashed a bet on it
but you cannot completely discount the performance as she was running a 1 turn mile which I think has been proven is not her optimal distance. On top of that, it was the only relatively fast race any of the 2005 fillies ran.
I hated Smuggler and thought that was an awful choice for 3YO champion... but then again, outside of Round Pond (and a goo goo admiration for admittedly slow In The Gold), I'm not a fan of ANY of the 2005 3yo fillies. Sweet Symphony winning the Alabama so easily pretty much sealed the deal for me as a very weak crop.