>I saw nothing in the Preakness that makes me think that Rock Hard Ten, or for that matter, a more "aggressive" Eddington are likely to appreciate the stretch to 12 furlongs any more than anyone else. <

You can read my thoughts about RHT in the prior post.

As to 12 furlongs of the Belmont, the race can and often is won going wire to wire or by sitting close.

However, if you look at many hundreds of top 12 furlong dirt classic horses, you won't find very many that were wiring sprints early in their career (even if they were winning them). You also won't find too many very deep closers.

Typically, horses blessed with tremendous early speed (good enough to wire sprints early in their career) are not also blessed with deep reserves of stamina. When you find one that has both, you usually have found a very rare super champion. (like Seattle Slew)

That's one thing we are going to find out about Smarty on Saturday.

I am not saying he is not a "super champion", I am saying that given his record and racing profile there is a somewhat greater probability he will not like 12 furlongs as much as he likes 1 3/16 - compared to some of the others.



Post Edited (06-02-04 14:16)