Prior to the Derby, the consensus was that Hard Spun's 57 3/5 work was too fast and that he left his race on the training track. I rejected this view in the belief that good horses work fast and that the consensus would inflate Hard Spun's odds. This resulted in a rather successful dip into the exacta pool.

For the Preakness, the consensus view is that Hard Spun's pre-Derby work was, in light of the Derby finish, not too fast at all. Ever the contrarian, I am now of the mind to accept the pre-Derby consensus that the work was indeed too ambitious. If one accepts this position, how impressive was Hard Spun's effort and how much of a monster could he be?