Re: pat day and azeri (382 Views)
Posted by:
Chuckles_the_Clown2 (IP Logged)
Date: December 02, 2004 05:41PM
I didn't think Azeri had a prayer to beat the field in the Classic, but I think she forfeited her only chance to prove me wrong. She was their equal or better on pace. That was her game. She was not overmatched in that regard. If she had played her game, on that day, on that track, I think the results could have been impacted. I'm not convinced she wouldn't have had a major impact. So many horses had problems or were compromised, the race is going to be a difficult tool for future races. It was a very hard race to assign performance figures to and TGJB's acumen is gonna be difficult not to defer to, but I am very skeptical.
I don't think Roses busted a 3 point top on a negotiated "hold". And I don't think Pleasantly Perfect and Perfect Dread ran their "A" race. Pleasantly looked to be on a tail off after the Dubai race. P.P. had also rarely been so far behind in a race. (He was behind in positions not lengths.) Either I'm very much mistaken about the pace or P.P. was too far behind a slow pace or he was off for the race. The last two of which mitigate against him equaling his top figure. (Which he essentially did.) Add to that an "injury" which influenced his retirement. I understand a lot of the big figures is ground loss. Jerry's the best, but this race is grist for being overturned by future results.
I could go on and on regarding this race. I think it was an abomination.
CtC
Afterthought: P.P. did run behind the pace in his Classic win. I suppose its possible the thought was to run the same type of "closer" race. If it was planned, it was a departure from the more aggressive P.P. we'd seen since his Classic win.
Post Edited (12-02-04 18:15)