Jose Santos retired today

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by horseofcourse

Someone explain horse physiology or recovery to me in more detail. I have never understood this argument. The horse expanded energy in the Preakness regardless. So if Santos wraps up in mid stretch, that makes all the difference in the world in a race 3 weeks later?? I can't understand that. If I run a hard mile or jog an easy mile...24 hours later I feel exactly the same. I don't see how a half second slower when running that hard and fast makes one hill of beans difference in a race 3 weeks later or 5 weeks later whatever the case may be. If he were running a race 1 hour later I can see it...but to me several weeks seems to me like ample recovery time that those couple tenths of a second slower would make no difference whatsoever in his next race.

it's called selective memory.

his huge work a few days before the 12f test of champions is what cost him the tc. he was rank early in that race, and expended valuable energy that he needed in the stretch by fighting his jockey. a nice, slow work was what he needed, not one that put speed into him.

as for after, i think the lack of time away from the track and from training contributed to his up and down ways. but then again, he wasn't a picture of uniformity before the tc races. he had his good days, and his bad days. luckily for him and his connections, he linked two good days together in the span of a a couple of weeks, and came away a dual classic winner.