2/26 (GP): Fountain of Youth, Hutcheson, Davona Dale (G2's)

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by Betsy

But I don't see what they'd be learning. They clearly don't think he can rate or else they wouldn't think of scratching him......and with his damsire and his speed, there's no way he's getting two turns. If they wanted to learn about this horse, they wouldn't have entered him in the Hutch in the first place. I don't think it's a good idea to point a horse for so long to one race and then just shift gears.

They might learn what Kiaran McLaughlin said he's interested in learning.. what kind of horse this might be long term. Rating has nothing really to do with this situation. If you mean 'take back', that's a different scenario. They're drawn on the rail going 7f. It's a death sentence for him to be hard used early to gain position before the gap and then gut out another 5/8's. It's a hopeless draw and situation in a race that has too much speed.

And point a horse for 'so long'? It's been 3 weeks. It's better to run here and finish 7th than wait a week and try running an extra 300 yards? It's hardly imperitive that Crossbow run in the Hutcheson. Sophs at this trime of year have lots of options and staying fluid can be a positive. He'll be half the price in the Gotham (Noms) that he'd be in this Hutch. His damsire is Forest Wildcat so he's 'definitely not' getting two turns? Another Stonerside product out of a Forest Wildcat mare that comes to mind, Texas Wildcatter (Monarchos), was beaten a nose by Visionaire in... as it happens... the Gotham. The idea with a horse like this is to find spots to get graded black type. They're far more like to hit the board with him in the Gotham than in the Hutcheson.