When a handicapper gets a race like the Wood bothering them, its usually for a reason. He gets to looking at nagging races and sifting through them. The average three races bet a card handicapper has that luxury. He can pick his spots and beat a race to death.

I dont like the Wood. The Wood bothers the dickens out of me. Survivalist never ran two turns prior to the Wood and clunks up for second. Galloping Grocer doesnt get near to sniffin the leaders despite the fact he'd run near the pace every race prior. He was completely unpaced. Going Wild doesnt lift a foot and comes back supposedly sound. Scrappy T is off nearly 8 weeks and doesn't fade until late but stops like a heart shot deer precisely the way a horse needing a race behaves and the distance bred but sprint raced Survivalist is life and death to pick him up.

Can anyone really doubt that Naughty New Yorker, Pavo, Galloping Grocer and Going Wild tailed off substantially? I mean HUGE?

I think this race fell apart on form and track bias and wouldn't be surprised if Scrappy and Survivalist ran 8 or 9s. Scrappy caved the last eighth.

The late spread in lengths seems to me to be a case of a fit horse pulling away from a bunch of sick ones.

Still a good time for the winner.

CtC