TGJB,

"CH-- you have no way of knowing what HL would have done AT THIS POINT if the drug testing issue didn't exist, or if he didn't get cut up-- all you have is an opinion with no evidence, like you did with Summerly. And you were wrong."

I doubt I'm wrong about either.

Beyer, Crist, the general public (who sent him off at over 20-1) and everyone else sensitive to the pace issue either tossed the horse out totally or said beforehand he would be in trouble if the pace was fast. The pace is fast and the race collapses. He finishes last and it was probably all due to drugs or cuts? It couldn't be that he was exposed in the BG as a horse that couldn't finish well at 9F after trying to rate behind one 3rd string rabbit - let alone battling or getting outrun by a field full of top horses at 10F in a very fast pace.

Whatever you say.

Regarding Summerly:

I'm not even sure what the correct figure for Sis City's big race actually was. No one else had that race as fast as you did.

I can't totally account for Summerly's terrible race that day assuming it wasn't a particulary fast race for Sis City. I admitted that on a competitor's board when the point was raised. All I said was she wasn't as good as she looked going into that race and she would lose because Sis City would put her away. She did. I didn't expect Sis City to win by 10 or her to lose by 19.

Her win Friday does not mean that I was wrong about her prior races with loose leads in easy paces not being as good as they looked.

I haven't seen Summerly's figure for this recent win, but I'd guess it wasn't much faster than she had run in her prior fast races (maybe even slower) My own estimate of the race is low to mid 90s on the Beyer scale - which is slower. (keep in mind that Sis City was so dreadful Summerly was even loose for 1/2 mile in this one)

She also didn't win nearly as easily or all wrapped up the way she did when she was loose and loafing on the lead earning those mid 90s figures in the past.

So IMHO, her performance Friday did nothing to dispell my opinion that her races earlier in the year where she was winning fast totally under wraps weren't as good as they looked. If she was really so good, she would have beaten this field just as easily given that Runway Model and Sis City were so dreadful. IMO, she ran OK at best and won by default. That's pretty much the way I would have expected to run the day I criticized her and expected Sis City to put her away. At this point, she's a decent filly, nothing better. Like many speed horses she can look terrific with an easy loose lead.