Hard Spun in the Stretch
 

Did he stumble or just shift to the outside of Street Sense?

Maybe, but he was coming again at the end. Or Borel just stopped riding. Either way, his was the most impressive race....And we can put that 57 nonsense to rest. This is a good horse.

coming off poly he did ok

Do you think that "nonsense" could have compromised his chance to at least give Street Sense a battle for the lead?

Nope, Street Sense got a great ride and was best today. No excuse for Hard Spun.

Agreed, Hard Spun ran HUGE today.

In 2 weeks there will be 1/16th less of a mile, and if S.S. has even a mnior traffic issue it might be enough to get Hard Spun home 1st. The other question, is how much pace will there be in the Preakness. Maybe some if Slew's Tizzy shows up?

I thought HS was coming back at the end the when I saw it live. When the showed the overhead view (best view ever btw), it did not look like he was coming back at him... and borel started celebrating like 30 yards before the wire! street sense was like, uh buddy we still have a little bit to go!

What a great race by both horses, street sense is the head of his class though.

If Hard Spun had had a race within the last couple of weeks before the Derby, the 57+ work would have been trouble. But with a layoff of 6 weeks, he needed some serious exercise to get him fit for the Derby. I was pleased to see it, in fact, when everyone else was saying it was a negative.

I still remember when trainers gave their horses a 3f blowout the day before a race to set them up. I think Larry Jones does, too.

I think he was tiring and switched leads

Hard Spun ran his a$$ off today, I give him props.

Great run, better than I gave him prior.

Actually, SS changed back to lefty very late stretch. HS was righty the entire length of the stretch. (Assuming you're referring to the latter and not the former, of course.)

Hard Spun runs strange. I commented to my friend about this when he had a daylight lead on the back stretch. It appears that with every 3rd or 4th stride he severely dips his head for whatever reason, I actually thought he was taking bad steps or having some physical issues at one point.. Obviously thats just his style because he ran very well.

Street Sense was dead tired coming to the wire, switched back to left lead and was slowing down noticeably... He won due to a technically great ride, some luck having the rail being fast(again) and wide open(again!!). I do not think he has a chance to win either of the following TC races.

I'm not here to bang on Street Sense, I had decent money on his nose here, but I think he is a classic horse for the course...

Im talking about Hardspuns Bobble, or heavy change right when SS passed him. Its hard to see because he was tiring and getting passed to the outside.

anyone know where we can find that overhead ?

i saw him bobble a bit, at first i thought maybe street sense came over too quickly, but the overhead showed he had room.
chart says spun bobbled at the eighth. but then he was trying to come on again. good horse! lost to a good horse who got a dream trip. looking forward very much to a rematch.

Well, I hope Hard Spun came out of the race ok. He really did run better than anticipated.

I think he switched off during that bobble, it was a very akward, not a natural movement and I dont think it was caused by SS.

no, he ran like some of us anticipated!! lol

i think a lot of people who were considering him jumped off after mondays work. man, the more i think about it, the more i like how he looked. ah, if the racing gods hadn't smiled so much on street sense.....

can't take anything away from street sense tho. those two ran beautifully. it's one of those races where it's a shame someone had to lose.

right. when you see the head on, it almost looks like he got shut off, but the overhead definitely shows differently.

Maybe we'll see these horses compete against each other more instead of taking months off.

well, here's hoping tafels decide to keep street sense out and about for the rest of the year at least. but you know that phone of theirs is already ringing off the hook.

i can see the ad now. bcj winner, derby winner, the first ever blah blah blah.

hello, you want to breed one like him, go see street cry!! pffft.

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....

I don't think it was Street Sense either....I really don't think Pino saw SS coming that fast and he got surprised.....as Borel cut over in front after he passed him, Pino switched hands and I think that's what caused it....

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.

Street Sense was dead tired coming to the wire, switched back to left lead and was slowing down noticeably

Maybe what you saw as "dead tired" was Calvin easing up on him, pumping his fist not riding him at all in the last yards? Cause if he was "dead tired", I dont think he would have been on the track going a mile today. People keep saying "Oh he can only win on the rail" but what would you do if the rail opened up perfectly for you at just the right time?? Think to yourself "Oh no, I am not going over there cause the arm chair jocks/trainers will say I can only win on the rail!!" Hell NO, you gonna go to the spot that opens up for you.

i hear ya, and would it have made any difference if he went 23 and 47, who knows.....

Borel did not ease up on him until 3 strides before the wire. If you know what a tired horse looks like, he was very tired. The switching to incorrect leads tells a lot, the gallop out after the wire tells even more.

He used everything he had in the tank to win and I believe it will show up in the Preakness.

If you know what a tired horse looks like, he was very tired. The switching to incorrect leads tells a lot, the gallop out after the wire tells even more.

Yeah your right, I have never seen a racehorse in "person". Only 25 years, but heck what do I know. Guess him on the track today looking like a million bucks, doing more than most Derby winners have done in years and years is a good indicator that he was totally spent. Shows what I know I guess.

I never posted that you werent experienced, or didnt know anything about horses. But appraently you cannot recognize a spent horse when you see one.

Um, not trying to insult you or anything, but didnt SS switch leads right at the moment when Borel turned around to look at HS? Couldnt the sudden wt. shift do that?

Going from day old memory here...

Im not even sure why a tired horse would switch, seems like he would just lose interest, but this is getting away from the main idea..

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...:confused:

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.

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.