It just sort of sounds like everyone's playing the 'avoid Street Sense until the Breeders' Cup' game. I mean everyone with SS is obviously not afraid to enter him in the races they wanted to enter him in regardless of who else is there and originally there was buzz of SS, Curlin, and Rags all going--an amazing prospect that will clearly be denied us--now even AGS has pulled back. I don't think it's that Carl's just old school and wants the Travers when nobody else does. I think the others don't wanna have to mess with SS until they have to and why bother if there's a G1 somewhere else to run in or a fat check in a stakes at another. Even if they had the horse to get the Travers over SS now, they might get knocked out so badly it messes them up for the bigger prize.
I'm sure things can change in the division as the fall approaches and horses mature but I'm not so sure Todd wouldn't be going if there were no SS or Curlin and come to think of it, I don't think he'd send AGS. He'd go with Rags if it came up that light. A Belmont/Travers double would be too much for them to resist if the right situation came up. Of course she's not ready for the likes of Street Sense now and apparently wouldn't have been back in June either according to Todd's late decision to go to the Belmont.
|