Quote:
Originally Posted by POINTGIVEN1985
its hard for me to like him in here, first time turf and only a 1 1/8 they were saying earlier in the year that he needed 1 1/2, this does not make much since to me.... im guessing they just dont know where to run him
|
This race makes sense if you're thinking turf. First, there's nothing on the Keeneland lawn before the Elkhorn on turf longer than 9 furlongs. Second, if he runs well and even closes to come up a bit short you have, if not the Elkhorn, the Manhattan on the Belmont undercard and some other options, like the Bowling Green later in the meet, the Sword Dancer at the Spa, then ultimately the BC Turf. The horse's breeding looks great for turf and I think his style will suit turf. I think there's also a mis-conception right now that he can only win at 12 furlongs. There's no doubt that the best race of his career came at 12 furlongs, but that doesn't erase the fact that he came up a length short at 9 furlongs and lost earlier in his career by a whisker at 7 furlongs. I think the horse can be successful from 9 to 12 furlongs.
I also believe firmly that in time we will see that chasing a loose leader in his comeback and then a horse who ran the race of his life made for two tough assignments.