Where's Paynter?

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

That's an assumption -- the idea that he would have been handicapped into oblivion right away.

No it isn't. Riddle had his trainer Lou Feustel ask NY racing secretary Walter Vosburgh what he'd give MOW. Direct quote: “Lou, I can’t tell you exactly what weight I’d put on him next year, but I’ll say this much: I wouldn’t start him in his first out at a pound less than 140.” He also said, per Dorothy Ours' book on MOW, that he felt at age 4 a horse should carry much higher weights because “If a horse has gone through his two – and three year old races successfully, he must at four give somebody else a chance. The principle is that he has demonstrated his superiority, and his owner has reaped a sufficient pecuniary reward, and should be content to carry the penalties or send him to the stud…”

MOW raced at 138 at 3. The idea that he wouldn't have been asked to carry more is just not true. He had a reputation that almost got a walkover until Mrs. Jeffords stepped up, and based on how hard they had to work to get decent sized fields for him at 3, to get anybody on the track at 4 in races for older horses, he'd have to give a lot. Exterminator's connections made it clear, unless it was at 1 3/4 or farther, they weren't going to take him on in that race w/Sir Barton so public pressure might be the only thing to get them to cave the next year. I suppose they could've tried to run against unofficial 3yo/HOY Grey Lag who swapped wins w/Exterminator, but really? With that tendon and a high weights? Why bother?