Lava Man and the Pac Classic.

[Pedigree Ann]

Last year Lava Man had a class speed horse named Surf Cat pushing him to suicidal fractions during the early part of the race. Is that likely to happen again? Can't know until we see the entries. I should point out that the Man was still right with the closers at the end, despite the fractions - he ran a great race in defeat.

Lava Man's stumbling start in the Gold Cup took him out of his game, which is usually on the lead, or lapped on the leader. Some horses would have had a panic attack (War Emblem in the Belmont), but he didn't and pulled off a win anyway, giving weight all around. That's what good horses do - win (or at least finish close up), even when everything goes wrong.