'sheets;

Thanks for posting the excellent Inquirer story. I know nothing about biomechanics, but that story at least tries to address why Smarty might be the freak that he is.

To me, the pedigree and distance "questions" are - right now - laughable. He seems to be an athlete incapable of stumbling (no jinx intended, Smarty). Therefore, the remaining question is the accummulated stress of his efforts.

The toll of racing very fast figures may not affect him the way it does other horses running 5 or 6 points slower. Smarty is behaving as if he is a one-in-a-million kind of horse. The Inquirer story suggests that the measurements which seem to make him some kind of "perfect racehorse", could be the reason why he doesn't seem to react the way the other 999,999 would.

This is not to say he is a mortal lock, a good bet in the Belmont or that he won't someday run an X. Don't need to tell you that a contrarian nature can be very helpful in this game. But I agree that - this time - the contrarians seem to be grasping at straws.