I was at MR's last race, which I'm pretty sure was the same stakes Mineshaft used to kick off his HOY campaign, & not only was there no additional rain, but my recollection is that it was bright & sunny when the race was run. There also wasn't any other speed in the small field, & I remember thinking as EA battled very gamely for the place, albeit 11 lengths back, that the horse probably thought he won the race. It also might be worth noting that both of EA's minus 3s were earned on AquI as a result of going wide.