Mach Ride

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

OK if that's how u see it. I never use the track as an excuse because all of the horses have to run over the same one.

That totally contradicts the point you were just making about how much of an advantage it is to train and race at CRC regularly.

Originally Posted by King Glorious

If u are saying that the track is the excuse, then I don't think u can say they were OFF form today because we don't know what their form would normally be like at Calder. Maybe today was how they would normally run there.

Huh? What difference does it make what their form would normally be like at Calder? Are they going to run there again any time soon?

Originally Posted by King Glorious

If I was going to say they just didn't handle the track well, I would cite that as a reason for Smokey not running well but not for Strike. That pace scenario had more to do with his race than the track, IMO.

That's fair, but I still say it's a throwout for both horses.

[ArlJim78]

I believe that the truth is somewhere in the middle. Its true that Calder is not an easy place to ship into and win sprinting. Sure its the track but I also think that it has to do with things like temperature. Its an advantage to train on the actual racing surface and in the same climate.

however I don't think you can totally dismiss the performances either. The two favorites are not as bad as they appeared to be today, but they're probably not head and shoulders better than everyone else either, as their odds today would imply.