[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by miraja2

Yes but they did win those TC races! That is pretty important. Are you suggesting that Point Given or Afleet Alex would have had better overall careers if they had skipped the remainder of the TC races after not winning their respective Kentucky Derbies? Both of those colts came back to win the Preakness and the Belmont which were the biggest wins of their career.
Also, in the case of horses like Empire Maker, Jazil and Red Bullet, as I see it the fact that they didn't go on to win a graded stakes race in the fall actually makes MY point more than it makes yours. Those horses were not pressed into Derby-Preakness doubles. Red Bullet only ran in one TC race, and Empire Maker & Jazil skipped the Preakness like you want them to do with Curlin. They both won the Belmont, but skipping the Preakness did not ensure a successful fall campaign for Empire Maker or Jazil, so why would it do that for Curlin?
If they feel like their horse is healthy and ready now.....I just think they should run him now. The Preakness is an important race, and choosing not to run him doesn't ensure any sort of success in races like the Jim Dandy or Travers anyway.

I don't mean to single out the Preakness. I'd be even more opposed to running in the Belmont than the Preakness. Of Empire Maker, Jazil and Red Bullet, the first two did run in another TC race after losing the Derby, which is what I'm saying doesn't need to be done.

I'm not saying that either Point Given or Alex would have better careers or longer careers had they skipped the later TC races. Whether running in those races had anything to do with their future fate is something that can never be known. But as it stands, they are part of a long list of those that, for whatever reasons, haven't had the greatest of luck when it comes to going on.

The one point in which I'll agree with u is when u say that skipping them doesn't ensure future success. There used to be a time when I strongly advocated striking while the iron was hot. In fact, I still have that same opinion of the BC Juvenile. It really bothers me when trainers skip it with the reasoning being that they don't want to do too much because they want to have a horse ready for the Derby. Today is just a different game played by different rules though. Following recent trends, we are more likely to see Curlin done before September if he runs in the Preakness (especially if he wins it) than we are if he doesn't.