2/24 (GP): Fountain of Youth (Gr. II)

[the_fat_man]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

He was a fraud going in and a lot worse going out.

First of all, his only race on dirt was very weak. He beat a terrible field with a perfect trip, and secondly " gallop outs " are extremely misleading and misunderstood. It's one thing with a firster who's going too short if he really gallops out strongly but for Monba in California all he was doing was running faster than others being eased up after the race was over.

I think you nailed this on the head. If a horse closes significantly in a race that doesn't come back, then you certainly make note of the effort. If a horse closes the best in a race where 5 of 11 (excluding the winner) are ALSO gaining late, why is there a need to take note? About the best you can say is that he was the BEST of the CLOSERS.