Hard Spun would have a serious look in the Breeders Cup Classic.
He's a much better horse when he's allowed to make the early lead, which he hasn't been since the Derby....because a wide variety of reasons ranging from Flying First Class and Xchanger setting crazy fractions in the Preakness, to incompetent race-riding by Gomez in the Belmont, to an early stumble while breaking from a slight outside post in the Haskell.
All the cheap speed that has denied him leads lately (horses like Xchanger, Cable Boy, etc) would certainly go in a race like the Breeders Cup Dirt Mile instead, if they'd run in a BC race at all.
Monmouth is a track that can be especially kind to controlling speed horses (see Gottcha Gold's wire-to-wire upset of Lawyer Ron at near level weight) and Hard Spun would prove a very elusive target to catch on the fairly easy lead he could possibly get.
If Hard Spun doesn't go in the Breeders Cup Classic....it could certainly setup to be a very paceless race.
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