Quote:
Originally Posted by freddymo
What are your thoughts on SA figs given the new surface? Time will tell (is there a pun in there?)
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Freddy,
First, all the trainers are thrilled with the strip. Baffert told me it was the nicest surface he's ever seen and perhaps the best over which he's trained horses. Jocks are saying there's a great bounce off the top. It's obviously super slick, but horses are coming back off it well which is the important thing. And that speed Sunday may have been aided by how tight Tedesco was having to seal it to endure the bizarre 14" of rain they received.
In regards to the time(s), I think they probably needed to start a new set of records for this surface as they did with the synthetic oval. How can you compare a completely new track to the original dirt surface that was taken up for the original Cushion installation 3 years ago? For the figs specifically, your actual question, I think it will be most telling when the horses competing there now fan out to Fair Grounds, Sunland, Hawthorne, et al.