I think Denman missed the Pine Island tragedy because the field was on the backstretch. At that point, he's using his binoculars to see the horses, which I'm assuming gives him a very narrow look at the field. He had just finished calling the 14th place horse and had gone back to the front of the pack. She was about a dozen lengths back at that point. He's probably not going to see her. Obviously, many were left wondering "where's Pine Island", but when you're calling a 14-horse championship race, you don't have time to ask yourself that question. In contrast, Fleet Indian was near the front and in his frame of vision.
I think Denman is a fine caller, but I was worried he wouldn't raise his game. The fact is that the BC is not a state-bred claimer and deserves to be called as such. I think he did an okay job. Sure, he missed a few spots (Street Sense being the notable one), but I kind of expected that for his first time. Like someone else mentioned, it seemed he did pay attention to the favorites a little too much in a couple races.
I don't envy Denman's position. I was pissed that Durkin wasn't going to call this year's Cup. He's THE voice of the Cup. That's what happens when one guy calls it for 22 years. Durkin became as much of the Breeders' Cup's identity as the races. His race calls make those commercials the NTRA was airing pretty neat. It's not going to be easy to get used to the change, but Denman represented himself well for his first time. And this is coming from a guy who initially thought Denaman would be absolutely terrible for the Breeders' Cup.
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