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Originally Posted by Kasept
Hard Spun was plenty impressive Saturday despite again having trouble off the turn with his lead change. This WASN'T the identical race he ran in the Southwest.. it was the identical race he ran in the LeComte, a race people seem to have forgotten, and one in which he did exactly what he did at Turfway.
As I said all week, when Steve Asmussen stated he was bringing Curlin back to Kentucky because he didn't like how his horses have been getting over the Oaklawn surface, it was independent confirmation that what Larry Jones had said after the Southwest had credibility. Personally, as a Jones fan (Hello Liberty, Wildcat Bettie B, Gasia, et al..), I loved yesterday's result as a "GFY" to the racing press that was so quick to deride Jones and scoff at the Danzig colt.
What made the effort impressive was his being used early to gain position (:22.4) and his subsequent ability to run on... :22.4, :24.3 (:47.2), :24.1 (:48.4), :25.0 (:49.1), :12.4 (:37.4), 1:49.2. What he showed today was that he is a handy colt. Demonstrating tractability, he did it entirely on his own while under steady restraint by Pino.
I don't know why anyone would doubt his viability as a classic runner moving forward.
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I notice the lead change too in the replay, had sort of a weird action in the stretch also. Really don't know what to make of him, he'll be switching to "another" different surface at Keeneland with their polytrack. Still, there's a lot of talent there and the price you'll get on him Derby day (if he gets there) will be a interesting factor.