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Originally Posted by Kasept
Hard Spun was plenty impressive Saturday despite again having trouble off the turn with his lead change. This WASN'T the identical race he ran in the Southwest.. it was the identical race he ran in the LeComte, a race people seem to have forgotten, and one in which he did exactly what he did at Turfway.
As I said all week, when Steve Asmussen stated he was bringing Curlin back to Kentucky because he didn't like how his horses have been getting over the Oaklawn surface, it was independent confirmation that what Larry Jones had said after the Southwest had credibility. Personally, as a Jones fan (Hello Liberty, Wildcat Bettie B, Gasia, et al..), I loved yesterday's result as a "GFY" to the racing press that was so quick to deride Jones and scoff at the Danzig colt.
What made the effort impressive was his being used early to gain position (:22.4) and his subsequent ability to run on... :22.4, :24.3 (:47.2), :24.1 (:48.4), :25.0 (:49.1), :12.4 (:37.4), 1:49.2. What he showed today was that he is a handy colt. Demonstrating tractability, he did it entirely on his own while under steady restraint by Pino.
I don't know why anyone would doubt his viability as a classic runner moving forward.
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Great post Steve...thanks
I have a question about his switching leads and looking a bit awkard at times coming out of the turn and into the stretch....but first I will eat the crow, because after the Southwest, I was very critical of the connections and what I thought at the time was a lame "excuse" for his poor performance.
Now the question....I'm not sure how many people notice it, but could the fact that Pino is very "figity" have anything to do with Hard Spun's movement? He is all over the place when he's in the saddle. He is constantly looking around, switching hands, etc....Has always been one of his little quirks I suppose.