The Travers

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Port Conway Lane

Up to and including the Haskell the ones in bold would differ from your list.

Better than Menifee and Dixie Union? You must be a huge fan of horses who consistantly beat absolutely garbage fields in time no faster than freaking Omniescent.

War Emblem never finished 2nd or 3rd - he'd stop on a dime or run a hole in the wind .. the kind of horse you always play against underneath in exotics if you don't like him .. but he'd breeze in-hand against LAL.

Menifee was just plain better than LAL. He actually faced real horses and ran several better races.

Dixie Union would beat the ever loving piss out of LAL. Dixie Union was an awesome horse who would be hailed as a super horse in this crop. He beat both Caller One and Swept Overboard twice sprinting. When he won the Haskell - the very good Captain Steve was 2nd, future two-time Santa Anita Handicap winner Milwaukee Brew was 3rd and More Than Ready was 4th. The start before the Haskell he was beaten just a neck by Tiznow and had to give Tiznow 11lbs. He had a 112 Beyer sprinting and a 111 Beyer at 9fs and he faced absolutely amazing competition.

Roman Ruler was nothing special - and I rated him a toss-up with LAL - but he was a very good 2yo sprinter and he beat an ok horse in Flower Alley in the Dwyer and was a good 2nd to the older Rock Hard Ten in the final start of his career.

Here's who finished 2nd to LAL in his Grade 1 wins. Make Music For Me (1-for-10 lifetime), Pulsion (1-for-9 lifetime - most recently 5th in an N1X) Noble's Promise (winless in his last 6 starts) First Dude (1-for-9 lifetime) and Trappe Shot (tough trip horse finally making his graded stakes debut)