The 'villain' here is not Dutrow but DIRT. If I were Dutrow and I knew that a horse like Commentator would have an UNFAIR advantage, I test him early and make him earn the win. In fact, if I were training, I'd test all the need-the-lead-and-have-the-track-carry-them types early and see if they had guts or wilted under pressure. Time to start using races as WORKOUTS.
The problem is the generally accepted notion that DIRT plays fair. We love our front runners here.
|