Derby Trail Forums - 4/11 (OP): Arkansas Derby; Northern Spur; Instant Racing

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- - 4/11 (OP): Arkansas Derby; Northern Spur; Instant Racing (http://www.derbytrail.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28897)

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Glorious

Didn't he indeed handle more distance in the Arkansas Derby than he did did in the Rebel? It's not that people walked away after his last race thinking "boy, I can't wait til they stretch him out further." It was pretty evident that running a similar kind of race to the Rebel, chasing another fast pace, would not serve him well. I can't speak for others but the reason that I thought he was going to run huge in the Arkansas Derby was because with Silver City out, I projected him to be on the lead and able to control things and as often happens in racing, when you let a horse get away loose on the lead, they can often go further than what you might think is their best distance. Hard Spun, Lion Heart, and Intercontinental are examples that jump out at me. OF's problem was that he just couldn't relax but he still ran a hell of a race in defeat and resisted, even came back at, a better horse in Papa Clem than he did Win Willy at a shorter distance.

right. so if he couldn't relax in the rebel, i didn't expect him to suddenly learn a new lesson and do so in the AD. now, he almost won it anyway. but i wouldn't have bet a thin dime on him at the price he was at. and that was my main beef, that everyone threw so much money at him- and i didn't see an especially compelling reason to bet him down so hard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danzig

I was banking on the fact that he couldn't relax in the Rebel because he was chasing another horse. There are a lot of horses like that. They go after a target and have a need to be in front and they won't relax when behind a horse but can do it when they are in front. I was looking for something more like his Remsen effort where he'd get a lead and relax enough to allow himself to perform at beyond his optimal distance. He almost got it done and the fact that he nearly did it while appearing to not relax much up front gave me a newfound respect for his abilities. I think I severely underestimated his talent and would have loved to see him in a race like the Met Mile or the Dwyer or Peter Pan at one-turn.