BB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bobphilo, I'm curious as to where you got the news
> about Discreet Lover not being entered in the
> Classic. Have not seen that anywhere. Thanks.

I believe I heard that in an interview with one of his connections. I apologize if my memory is faulty, but in any case, I don't hear much about considering him as a top contender in the Classic since it's understood that his JCGC win was mainly the result of a freakish pace meltdown. That factor is not being considered to the same extent in evaluating Eskimo Kisses' Alabama win, which is her main positive factor.
There is almost universal agreement of the effect of pace in the JCGC but not merely as much in the Alabama. I think that is because the pace in that race is not being evaluated in terms of the slow final time. While on the surface the pace fraction does not look that extreme, that is because the slow track is not being considered in that evaluation. While everyone acknowledges that the final time is strongly influenced by a variant, that same knowledge is not applied to pace segments by many. Those making that mistake would be overestimating EK's performance in the Alabama.