Harlem Rocker

[the_fat_man]

While I was impressed by the horse's first two races, especially the second, when he ran down a loose Samba Rooster, I'm not as quick as some to make him a strong Preakness contender for a number of reasons:

1) This was the 1st time he was actually behind and between horses, and he seemed to have difficulty with this; on the backstretch, early, his footwork was off, and he might've been on the wrong lead

2) He was worked over in the stretch alot more than his previous races and while he showed signs of wanting to drift in in the previous races, while nonetheless running straight in the lane, today, he drifted in badly late, having to be pulled off by Coa, and switched back lefty late, as well ---not exactly signs of a horse that wins easily

So, while the race was a new experience for him (running behind horses), he also seemed to take a step back in terms of footwork. Going two turns might present a new challenge for him.

Moreover, I don't think the runner up wants a mile and that ridiculous 1st qtr says as much negatively about the runner up as it does positively about the winner.