"No hoof, no horse"

Maybe more aggravating (and more indicative that Porter/ Servis have never taken enough time with RH) is the fact that the deep cut RH sustained in the Remsen has never healed totally.

One trainer I worked for, an old cowboy named Ronnie Warren (great horseman, low percentage trainer, the stories I could tell) was a believer in never letting a cut heal over, and his grooms were continually picking at scabs to let the wounds breathe.

Bernie Flint applied sauerkraut to open wounds with great success. This was along the line of the pitching coach of the 1969 Mets, who used pickle brine to toughen up Nolan Ryan's blister- prone fingers.

Maybe Galloping Grocer's biggest impact on the Triple Crown will be that he made RH run too hard in the Remsen.

Memo to Maktoums: This Desert to the Derby experiment isn't working. Just bite the bullet, buy Churchill and make Nick Zito your private trainer.