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Originally Posted by DaHoss9698
This is from last Wednesday. It makes sense to go and I'll give him a long look, but I question the sudden change.
http://www.drf.com/news/article/103370.html
Hull points to Woody Stephens
Hull, who remained undefeated with his impressive four-length victory in last Saturday's Grade 3 Derby Trial, will most likely skip the Preakness Stakes and be pointed to the Grade 2, $250,000 Woody Stephens, a seven-furlong race at Belmont Park on June 6.
"The Woody Stephens would probably be the most logical spot," trainer Dale Romans said Wednesday. "He's never had a race around two turns. Coming back in three weeks against the best horses in the country, I just don't know that we want to push him that much."
Romans said the major goal for Hull is the Grade 1 King's Bishop at Saratoga on Aug. 29. Hull is owned by a partnership that includes Team Valor International, Gary Barber, and Heiligbrodt Racing.
Hull, a son of Holy Bull, improved to 3 for 3 with his victory in the Derby Trial, in which he covered 7 1/2 furlongs in 1:30.21. His three wins have come by a combined 16 lengths. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 92 for the Derby Trial. |
Gotcha -- so basically they changed their mind twice in a week, because I am pretty positive there was another article somewhere around Sunday talking about the Preakness too.
Either way, it makes me think he'll be ready to go, since I'm not quite sure what they would have done with him in those three or four days that would make him all of the sudden rushed into the Preakness. Sounds like they had a couple options on the table and have just had a tough time deciding which one they wanted. If they had decided next Wednesday that they'd like to go, I'd be a bit more concerned.
If he loses, my guess is that it will have just about everything to do with the fact that he doesn't handle two turns well or that he just isn't quite good enough, and just about nothing to do with the fact that they went Preakness-Stephens-Preakness in a matter of less than seven days.