Artie Hot

[JJP]

You have to almost feel sorry for this horse, having been the victim of countless rough trips, bad rides and just bad racing luck. The horse is bred for grass on both sides and they had to endure 3 off-the grass adventures at Calder before he finally got on the lawn. After running 2nd, beaten a neck, he blows a field of turf mdns away by almost 7 lengths despite the 10 hole.. Then another off the grass debacle followed by a class hike into stakes. Against Soldiers Dancer and Fernando Po, he's beaten less than 6 despite getting bumped at the start and going wide. A move back down to NW1X types on Jan 1 saw him prompting a solid pace to take the lead in the stretch, albeit prematurely, as he got run down late. Then the 9 hole against the likes of Sedgefield and Le Dauphin, he still was competitive. February 9 saw a nightmarish trip in which he clipped heels, and still made a huge mid race move going from 8th to 1st in one call, only to flatten out. Finally, on Wedesday, he appeared primed to win. But he fell behind a dawdling pace. When Leyva finally realized he'd better do something, he gunned the horse all out on the turn, making another giant premature move. Despite the poor judgement by Leyva, he still almost lasted.

Here's a thought to the connections: try getting Edgar or Johnny V or even anybody not named Leyva or Fuentes. Nobody is going to beat this horse next time out on grass against 50K 3YOs.