Derby prep pace figs & observations

[The Indomitable DrugS]

It was the first time he was taken well off the pace.

Here are the four lifetime pace #'s I have for him. Note that his first three starts were all sprints - so the pace call would be 4fs instead of 6.

Gotham: 69
3yo Alw: 94
Bel MSW win: 66
Sar debut: 79

It's rare to see a horse go from a 94 pace 93 final sprinting - to a 69 pace and 98 final routing.

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

It was the first time he was taken well off the pace.

Here are the four lifetime pace #'s I have for him. Note that his first three starts were all sprints - so the pace call would be 4fs instead of 6.

Gotham: 69
3yo Alw: 94
Bel MSW win: 66
Sar debut: 79

It's rare to see a horse go from a 94 pace 93 final sprinting - to a 69 pace and 98 final routing.

At the risk of sounding stupid, so does this mean he's a horse that won't be a casualty of pace because he is basically making his own race or do you consider his last race a complete anomaly?

[The Indomitable DrugS]

I think they simply opted not to use his speed at all last time.

The Gotham's 89 pace fig seems ok - but it's pretty slow in relation to the razor sharp final time of the race.

Had the pace call been after 4fs instead of 6fs - I'm pretty sure that the Gotham would have earned a markedly lower pace fig - because the first half mile of the race was a total crawl .. but the third quarter mile was very sharp and inflated the pace fig to an 89.

Basically, the way I look at it - the connections of Imperial Council blew there best chance to win by the tactics they used.

Saying that, no matter what tactics they used - they certainly weren't beating IWR on that speed friendly track .. and they set Imperial Council up well to stretch out to further distances.

Both his sire and dam sire won the Belmont Stakes ... and horses who have shown good raw speed sprinting - as well as the ability to run well in a slow paced route - are the kind of horses who can be tough in the Belmont.

[Sightseek]

In this article Moss says that the FL Derby was one of the slowest-paced Derby preps so far?

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/hor...ndy&id=4034588

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Sightseek

In this article Moss says that the FL Derby was one of the slowest-paced Derby preps so far?

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/hor...ndy&id=4034588

It was by far the toughest prep race to make a pace figure for because of two reasons..

#1. It was the days only two-turn dirt route

#2. You had winds blowing over 30 MPH.


Even on Randy's own pace figures ... his statement isn't accurate.

He only has four preps faster paced than he has the Fla Derby.