Re: BC Classic Preview (553 Views)
Posted by:
Uncle Buck (IP Logged)
Date: September 22, 2006 11:36AM
To my eye the issue with Lava Man will be the
> pace. If the pace is too hot it will impact him as
> well. If he runs in the B.C. Classic his success
> will depend upon the early presssure but with
> Bernardini in there as well as another legitimate
> pace horse or two I'll probably be looking to beat
> them both. If you're talking a head to head
> matchup without necessarily winning, yes I favor
> Lava Man. Bernardini's big 3YO figures don't
> impress me very much.
>
I'm not at all worried about Nakatani getting caught in a suicidal pace scenario. He's ridden this horse with nothin' but confidence and he's a smart enough veteran, even in a 4 million dollar race, to remain calm and cool. I can see him taking back a length or two off a .45 or low .46 second half in the classic. The intruidging part of the Bernardini/LM matchup is they're both tactical. It just so happens in their last three respective races they've taken it to the weaker competition and played the "catch me" role