Roman Wrote:
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> His dam ran a 9 as a 2 year old, and ran a 0 at 3,
> so a 9 point jump was in the genes. Horse won fare
> and square, great ride by Leon, terrible ride by
> 15 other jockeys.


I put the last one at 7 3/4, and he probably moved up to a 2 or 3 here, with most of the rest of the horses being compromised by the pace, ran far from optimal energy dispersion.

The Derby had a faster opening half mile than the Pat Day Mile.

People are looking for conspiracies where none exist. A plodder that was due (and ripe) for a developmental move up caught the perfect pace and trip. End of story. Again, slow the race down by 2/5ths at the half mile mark and he finishes 6th-8th, and no one cares that he moved up. Everything broke right for him.