It's tough when you handicap such a quality race. One of the pillars of solid wagering is the best bet in racing is lone speed. Hard Spun is without a doubt lone speed in the Classic. But then folks would argue that Class trumps speed, especially going long. Interesting puzzle.
I think the questions with Hard Spun are:
(1) Is Street Sense as good as he was in May? If you think he's tailed-off, while Hard Spun has largely maintained similar form, certainly the scales are tipping.
(2) Monmouth's track. Does it favor the front-end throughout the week?
(3) Lawyer Ron holds the key to Hard Spun's Classic winning move. Does he press the 3-year-old? Is he rank and intractable? How long does Johnny V. let him go for?
Tough stuff...
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