[smartbid09]

I think a combination of factors contributed to Camelot's loss.

A.)THE TRAINER
The Trainer says he regrets not running "a pacemaker or two" and that he had thought that the pace was going to be stronger. He added, "How many times do I do it and make a hash of it (running pacemakers) and then I made a hash of it by not having any."

B.)JOCKEY ERROR - One or all of these three things may have factored into an error on the Jockey's behalf.

1.)Joesph O’Brien may have anticipated a stronger pace and was hoping that the horses would come off the rail and tire towards the finish giving Camelot a hole to run through on the rail. But without the expected pace Joesph O'Brien wound up stuck behind a wall of horses looking for a hole to run through.

2.)Perhaps Joesph got overconfident and figured even if there is a traffic jam I'll swing out and still kick away for home. He assumed Camelot could not lose and that if any problems arose Camelot could overcome them. Joesph may have thought he had more room for error than he really did.

3.)the Jockey may have been following instructions given to him by his trainer. Aidan O’Brien may have told Joesph here is what I am expecting you to do - and Joesph followed those instructions to a T. Aidan O'Brien said that Joesph "had to keep waiting for the gaps as they came. That is what he did. If he (Joseph) had come four wide in the straight I would have been going mad." Unfortunately those instructions did not help Joesph as the race unfolded differently than anticipated. Aidan commented after the race, "Joseph had to take his time down the straight and wait for the gaps to come, which you would do with Camelot anyway. When the gaps came, the winner was in probably a handier position and was gone."

C.)CAMELOT DIDN'T SHOW UP WITH HIS BEST
Perhaps Camelot did not fire his best shot today. Perhaps he could have run down the winner if he had shown up at his best. Many people believed that he did not really show up today Aidan O’Brien said after, "When Camelot got out, he just stayed on rather than quickened up. He quickened up in the Guineas and the Derby." Also Aidan said that Camelot was "Tanking with Joseph the whole way...The minute the gates opened, Josesph was where he was and he couldn’t do anything about it. That’s exactly where I would have wanted him to be – when he is a horse going this distance. Joseph had to relax him and he did, but Camelot just tanked a little bit early because the pace was steady."

D.)THE DISTANCE
The distance may have taken it's toll on him to some extent. Camelot made up a lot of ground. Watching it live I thought there is no way Camelot catches the leader and I was impressed with how he actually did close to lose by only 3/4 of a length. Aidan O'Brien said after, "we were running him a bit further than his distance. What Camelot (normally) does is quicken – he was just staying on today – we going past our distance and were stretching the elastic band."

E.)THE WINNING JOCKEY AND HORSE
Perhaps the horse that won was given a better ride. He opened up a big stretch on camelot and held on. This tactic combined with the traffic may have been the ultimate factor in the winning horse. Perhaps, also, Encke showed up and Camelot did not fire his best. Perhaps Encke was improving and was bred to go a longer distance than Camelot. Maybe Encke liked the ground or distance a little bit better than Camelot and that little bit made the difference.




I think that a combination of these factors, and maybe a few others that I am missing, cost Camelot the Triple Crown. It's a shame really. But what can you do. It would have been nice to see. I hope this does not thwart future Triple Crown attempts. Camelot could have won and probably should have won this race - that is racing.