Well, he lost. You could tell by the time theyd run a mile that he wasnt sharp today, that he didnt have that usual burst of acceleration when Espinoza asked him to run. He might have won anyway, or come considerably closer, with a smarter ride, but thats no excuse. (What was wrong with the ride? He was beaten about 2 1/2 lengths. He started on the rail, was on the rail for the first half mile or so, and then Espinoza, in order to make sure he had clear running room at the end, took him around 3 horses on the far turn to give him a straight, unimpeded shot at the wire when they turned into the homestretch. The rail was never blocked...and more to the point. every time you go one horse wide on a turn you lose a length, and since he went 3 wide...well, dope out the math.) According to The Blood-Horses hourly report, he grabbed a quarter coming out of the gate. No lasting injury. but its just the kind of thing that could discourage him for the next 2 1/2 minutes. So 7-year-old Wise Dan is still Horse of the Year until someone de-thrones him.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 01:41:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015