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Originally Posted by Port Conway Lane
I agree there should be discussion.I believe MTB ran a race that many thought he couldn't, coming from behind in a race that historically has favored horses on or near the pace. He made what looked like a winning move around the far turn and couldn't sustain it.He is not Secretariat. That is my point. I don't believe Borel thought he was going to lose that race when he began his move and he had the horse to put away the field when he began that run.He could have waited patiently and let the frontrunners get the jump on him. He chose not to and because he faded in the stretch it is oh so easy to question his tactics.Maybe MTB should have moved sooner in the Preakness.I never heard anyone question Smith's tactics in that race.With good reason.
The horse wasn't good enough to win. It was Summer Bird's day.
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When you've got a one run closer, pace and jockey discussions will always come more into play. MTB did not fade late in the Derby or Preakness. He did in the Sunland Derby and Belmont Stakes. Why? I think he lost the Preakness simply because he was running against a much better horse than he faced in the Derby...no other reason. The ride was text book for the most part. Deep closers are 9 times out of 10 always going to have to go wide at some point. I thought Bailey's description stating MTB wins the Preakness if Borel's on him was ludicrous. Yesterday could very well have been a case of the horse being amped up much more than usual as Woolley stated and he didn't handle the detention barn and perhaps Borel is correct that if he waited any longer, the horse would have started to fight him. I honestly don't know. All I know is that looking at the numbers and fractions run in the race, his internal fractions fried him. Whether that was jockey aided, I honestly don't know. I am taking the position that it was.