Random post-Derby thoughts

[Pedigree Ann]

Comparing Colonel John to Pioneerof the Nile is inappropriate because the pair ran on surfaces that were not the same.

Are your memories so short? Don't you remember what a mess the Santa Anita Cushion Track was last year? The asphalt base that didn't drain? The lost racing days? The days when maiden claimers ran in 1:08 and change? Only to be followed after the triage work by days when the track was slow by anybody's standard?

That track was dug up including the base, and an entirely new track laid down, a different formulation called Pro-Ride on top. This track has been used only since last Oak Tree meeting. No 3yos have come into the Derby after having prepped on Pro-Ride before.

Pro-Ride is not Poly is not Tapeta is not Cushion, just like Churchill is not Gulfstream (which is not the previous Gulfstream) is not Belmont is not Aqueduct inner track. Synth tracks can vary from one another as much as dirt tracks do.