Quote:
Originally Posted by Betsy
That WOW aside, and granting that it will take a big performance to beat him, my heart is still with Honor A.P....and so is my brain. I’ve been a huge fan of his since his debut, and up until the Shared Belief, he’d done nothing wrong. I thought he would win that race even at 85%, but what I feared would happen based on his works happened ..Shirreffs undertrained him and he was dull. He wasn’t as eager to run on in his works as he usually was, and I think it’s because he hadn’t been asked for any speed at all. I’ve seen him train, he’s always fighting to go faster. Anyway, he was undertrained and then got banged at the start. I actually think the figures don’t tell the story - I don’t think he ran that well despite the race coming up fast. I do think it’s encouraging that he didn’t give up....hey, you take the positive where you can find it.
|
Honor A.P. lost the Shared Belief because he was ridden poorly. Mike Smith outsmarted himself again, taking Honor A.P. out of his comfort zone and running style by making an ill-advised 5-wide sweep of the field on the first turn despite settling nicely the opening furlong. I presume he did this because he thought the pace scenario was against him. If so, kudos for recognizing that, but hey, why would you let the horse dawdle the opening furlong if you mean to prompt the pace?
And all that ignores the fact that not too many horses are able to alter their running style (and still be effective) at the whim of the rider, especially if we are talking about a scion of the plodding A.P. Indy line.
In his earlier races, Honor A.P. settled mid-pack and then launched a bid at the 3/16ths pole. This ability to accelerate on the turn is what separates him from most of A.P. Indy descendants and puts him near the top of his 3yo class. Unfortunately, Smith blunted all that by moving early AND wide, getting caught up in a battle of position w/ Cezanne down the backstretch so that Honor A.P. never settled, then trying to launch another wide sweep earlier on the far turn (3/8s pole) from where the colt normally makes his move.
To add insult to injury, Smith had the audacity to suggest that Shirreffs trained the horse poorly for the race and that if the COVID pandemic hadn't transpired he could have personally trained the colt in his workouts.
Hopefully the horse didn't bust a gut continuing with courage through the stretch despite basically being asked to make a sustained 6-furlong move.
Maybe A.P. Indy's rider Eddie D. can come out of retirement and show Smith how it is done.
Quote:
|
I think HAP will thrive at 1 1/4. I do understand anyone thinking Tiz is unbeatable, but I don’t get why all of a sudden Honor A.P. is yesterday’s news while Art Collector is all the rage.
|
Art Collector has been on a massive tear since returning at 3, has more early speed than Honor A.P., has shown versatility in running style, and has won routing and sprinting.
From a form standpoint, Honor A.P. beat Rushie by 4 at SA, while Art Collector beat the same horse by 8 at Keeneland. Honor A.P. beat Anneau d'Or by 5 at SA, while Art Collector beat the same horse by 14 at Ellis.