Hard Spun in the Stretch

Originally Posted by Danzig

i didn't like him letting hard spun out a notch after the half, his second quarter was a bit slower than the first, not by much, but he should have continued with the ride, rather than open up a bit.
BUT, easy to see that NOW. pino did fine. hard spun did great.

I have read this passage a couple of times now and still dont understand. He got to the 3/4 marker in 1:11 and change. This is ideal for a front running horse. He apparently slowed him down at this stage (1/2 --> 3/4) because they got the 1/2 in under 47 which a bit fast but not ridiculous. at the 3/4 mark he had the horse at the front at an ideal pace, it was fine riding, unless I am missing something...

[horseofcourse]

Originally Posted by Samarta

I agree and is it me or does anyone else think that Pino used him up on the front end...now I realize he ran 2nd and was indeed coming at the end....I hate to monday morning quarterback this one, but does anyone else think Pino could have maybe done things a little be different? Just curious....

No, he rode him perfect. I think it is easier to sometimes go faster and run by yourself than run slower with a horse right next to you breathing down your throat. He seemed to be doing it easily. I had absolutely no problem him riding him like that in that race.

[ultracapper]

i thought that street sense looked very fresh going into the winner's circle, i even commented to the people i watched the race with that he looked sharp. i don't think the derby took anything more out of him than would be expected. he looked dead fit and i would be surprised if he isn't top-end ready for the preakness. on the other hand, i fully expect hard spun to come up short in the preakness. he is a nice horse, but he ran a monster yesterday and i can only imagine him digressing. i see street sense, curlin and maybe another fresh horse catching hard spun in the preakness.