Who Will Be The Pace Setter In The Derby?

[CSC]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Right but the thing is everyone labels the CD strip on Derby day as "souped-up" yet the amount of wire-to-wire winners of the Derby is shockingly small. Thus, what I'm telling you is that to make the blanket generalization that a souped-up track is speed-favoring is incorrect.

NT

Fair enough, we will have to disagree on the souped track part. I believe other factors such as having 20 horses in a field make it very difficult for a horse to steal a race on an uncontested lead, I will agree on the part that it is difficult to wire a derby field. Historically it doesn't happen often, Go for Gin, War Emblem just a handful of horses in recent memory.

[slotdirt]

It is amazing to watch that 2001 Derby and realize how many horses stopped badly before even reaching the far turn. I know horses stop in every Derby, but that was half the field who were done running after 6f.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

It is amazing to watch that 2001 Derby and realize how many horses stopped badly before even reaching the far turn. I know horses stop in every Derby, but that was half the field who were done running after 6f.

Congaree ran an awesome race that day - and Point Given ran HUGE for a mile that day when you consider how wide he was on both turns and how relatively close to the pace he was considering his style and the easier paced races he was coming out of ... he really did fall apart in the final quarter though .. understandably so.

Invisibile Ink was a stone cold grinder who I thought had several races better than looked on his form - and as a few here will recall - I relentlessly touted him in a fashion of almost Jon White like annoyance going into that years Derby. Similar to what happened with Giacomo - I scored some - but my opinion was certainly never validated by what happened in subsequent races .. though in both cases the sexiest thing about the horse coming into the race was how well they projected trip and style wise from what absolutely had to be insanely hot paces.