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Originally Posted by ArlJim78
well yes I considered Lawyer Ron a potential classic contender before Saturday. why not? he has improved in every start for Pletcher and its up for grabs. The race Saturday showed another dimension entirely.
I think Street Sense has a lot more to worry about than Lawyer Ron though. I don't know who is going to the Travers but I don't think its a gimme for him.
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Nafzger is at his best when he sets a goal for his horse and points to a specific race and trains up to it, see BC Juvenille 2006 and KY Derby 2007. He laid out pinpoint plans to get the horse there and have him ready to win. He won both.
He freely admitted he had no real plan after the Derby. No surprise that SS got nosed out. The question is, what is the long term goal of Nafzger for SS? Is it the Travers or the BC Classic. I argue that it is both. Old school guys like Nafzger view the Travers as the fourth jewel in the Triple Crown. He said leading up to the Jim Dandy, he didnt care if SS lost, he just needed to get sharper off the long lay off. It wasn't overly impressive, but the horse did what was necessary to win the race, which in the end, that was all the trainer was looking for.
Next stop will be the Travers, maybe a race vs olders in late Sept/early Oct and then train up to the BC Classic. With Nafzger's precise schedule and track record for having his horses ready for the spot that is the ultimate destination (Derby, BC Juvy) combined with the fact that SS is bound to improve off the Dandy, even more so third off the layoff (like the Derby) in a prep for the BCC or the BCC itself, along with a natural maturing horse late in a three year old campaign, I'm not sure how you can be overly disappointed in SS's performance in the Dandy.
Crushing fields did nothing to help Bernardini in the BCC last year, he got a look in the eye and spit the bit. Street Sense will go into the BCC well tested and well prepared.