Afleet Alex

[irishtrekker]

Originally Posted by Flaxen Mane

Here is what bothers me about Alex.... Whenever he would unleash his stunning move he made the horses near him look like they were standing still. The reason is they pretty much WERE! He passed horses that didn't want any part of 1 1/4 miles let alone 1 1/2 in the Belmont. Every time I watched him run the race fell apart around him.
I don't mean to knock Alex because I did like him, however I don't htink he is the super horse that so many were trying to turn him into...

And honestly, if I were you I wouldn't put that much stock into the near knockdown. It looked very dramatic, however he lost NO momentum off of that stumble.

I have to disagree on the last part. It's not the momentum that's impressive -- it's the recovery. That near knockdown would have been the end of many horses who aren't fortunate enough to be so agile. The fact that he still came back to run in the Belmont after that is what amazes me -- there's no way that fall shouldn't have torqued his back, and if it didn't, then that little colt has one hell of a body.