If you draw a line through Street Sense's loss in the Blue Grass Stakes - as the pace was impossibly slow and hurt the figure.....you'll see that Empire Maker and Street Sense's 3-year-old season had a lot in common speed figure wise.
Street Sense at age three (w/ Blue Grass loss Excluded)
* 6 starts
* never worse than 2nd
* 2 Grade 1 wins
* Top Beyer figure of 111
* Avg Beyer figure of 107.16
Empire Maker at age three (all races included - even Sham Stakes loss to Man Among Men)
* 6 starts
* never worse than 2nd
* 3 Grade 1 wins
* Top Beyer figure of 111
* Avg Beyer figure of 107.16
Interestingly enough - Empire Maker lost his division championship to the "gutsy gelding" .... while Street Sense is at the crossroads of his legacy going into the BC Classic. He could become a 1st ballot Hall of Famer (the Horrah!) if he wins a clearly below par running of the Classic. Or, with a Curlin victory he will lose his own division. And would also probably lose his own divison in the unlikely event that Any Given Saturday or Hard Spun are able to win the Classic in very authorative fashion.
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