How about the consistency of Little Mike's performance?
Here are the gaps between the slowest and fastest six 1/4-mile sectionals run by each horse in the race:
Little Mike - 0.98
Point of Entry - 2.12
St. Nicholas Abbey - 1.98
Trailblazer - 1.46
Shareta - 2.23
Kindergarden Kid - 2.09
Cogito - 2.38
Slim Shadey - 2.08
Dullahan - 1.86
Treasure Beach - 1.62
Optimizer - 1.70
Turbo Compressor - 2.43
The gap between Little Mike's fastest and slowest quarter miles was less than a second (his second quarter was fastest and his fourth quarter was slowest). Overall, his sectionals were...
24.00
23.14
24.07
24.12
24.10
23.20
At no point during the race did any two consecutive 1/4 mile segments ever accumulate to being the fastest in the race. He got a great ride, and you can truly say Ramon rationed his speed as well as anyone possibly could. This horse has cost me at least $5, maybe $10k this year, but I have overwhelming respect for him.
|