Minister's Bid

[kentuckyrosesinmay]

Originally Posted by miraja2

Wow, I think you might be a little tough on this horse! Did he look like he was ready to win the Travers today? Of course not. But this was only his second lifetime start. Nobody is going to confuse the 2 he beat with Slew and Affirmed, but they are both pretty good 3yo to beat your first time going 8f & after a layoff. He has the pedigree to indicate he will stretch out and improve, and although the closing time was slow, he was pulling away in the final strides. Obviously he will need to keep improving, but to me he looks like he has the potential to do it. Today was a nice win.

I agree, and I think the fact that he was going 8 furlongs for the first time, and the fact that he was coming off a substantial layoff are huge considerations in evaluating this horse's performance. He beat two very nice, experienced three year olds in only his second lifetime start and can only improve off of these circumstances. Most of you know that a horse usually doesn't win his first race back after a layoff unless it is a special animal because most of the time, they are not completely fit and mentally prepared until the second start back. This one is definitely one to watch for. Flashy Bull and Racketeer aren't bad horses, that is for sure, and MB beat them quite easily.