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Originally Posted by Linny
Todd said last year, right after the BCC that FA would make a late start and point for the '06 BCC. It appears to me that they had that plan. A horse with a significant injury doesn't run BSF's in the 90's as FA did in the Whitney. He's lost some speed and not replaced it with closing kick.
As for the JCGC last year, once he was fried in a pace duel with his own rabbit (why'd Todd do that again?) Johnny just eased him up. he knew that the big race was 4 (3?) weeks away. The margin could have been 4 lengths or 40, the result was the same. He was not persevered with.
I don't know what his problem is this year but I doubt he has some terrible injury. They have gone over him with a fine toothed comb and found nothing.
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First of all, it it totally untrue that horses with serious problems don't run fast. Some of the sorest and most unsound horses out there run 6 furlongs in 1:08 3/5. You'd be shocked at how may horses out there run great with significant injuries. The horses won't last for very long, but you often times don't know how many races they will last for. Some of these claiming horses that have tendons are ticking time-bombs. They keep on winning but any day will be their last day. They may have 1 race left in them or they may have five or six. That's why sometimes you will see one of these horses win a few in a row at the same class level and nobody claims him. People are afraid that the horse will never be able to run again and yet the horse may win another 4 in a row.
Speaking of horses running fast with serious injuries, look at Afleet Alex. He won the Belmont with a hairline fracture.
With regard to Flower Alley, you don't know that they've gone over him with a fine-tooth comb and found nothing. I would bet serious money that they know exactly what's wrong with him. Just because they aren't saying it publicly, it doesn't mean that there is no problem or that they don't know what the problem is.
With reagrd to Flower Alley in the JCGC last year, he was done at the 3/8 pole. If he just got a little tired from the fast pace, he would have at least fought until the 1/8th or the 1/16th pole. Borrego was 6 lengths by him before they even hit the 1/8th pole. There is no way that FA could have finished within 4 lengths of Borrego. you're just guessing that he ran fine and got a little tired and that JV wrapped on him. You should watch the replay before you assume that.