Hard Spun's Condition.......Fit Or Fatigued

[philcski]

Originally Posted by ArlJim78

I'm not so much basing my opinion on what Sedgefield did after the lanes end, although that wasn't encouraging because he had been previously much better on turf. And if I just look at the Lanes End then HS looks great, but there is still the other stuff that bothers me.

My main point with Sedgefield is that his figures jumped up so much in the Lanes End from his prior races. I am suspicious when a race brings back higher figures for everyone.

Dominican did not run the race that day that Hard Spun did, thats for sure. To his credit though it was his first start of the year after the equipment change and being off 4 months. When he came back in the BG he showed that he can kick home better than several of the top horses including Street Sense, although the way the race was run obscured any hope of finding out how fast he could have run, and the fact that it was on poly obscures what his dirt form might be like. Also the way I saw him gracefully veering out to avoid trouble without losing any momentum makes me think he has the agility to overcome obstacles in the derby.

I think Dominican might be sitting on a huge effort, and the price will be nice because of the obscured form that I mentioned, which is why I was touting him to be at least on the board. With Dominicans bad draw however i've lowered my expectations for him a bit.

I also think Dominican may be sitting on a big effort, the bad draw is obviously a concern but his style isn't as much a deterrent from out there. I like his chances to hit the board at a square price.

The "ultimate equipment change" is something more trainers/owners need to consider. It has turned this guy from a talented but unmanageable colt (see the KYJC) to a "graceful" (a very good description) runner. Unfortunately for the game, the goolies are the value in today's society...