Mike,


Agree,his Risen Star was not nearly as good as the fig he earned but the formula required adj for ground and he got saved, figuratively speaking.


For one thing, s--t eating grin or not,that owner is treacherous, that's documented.Florida very very liberal and has weak testing.Almost no OOC testing,lots of horse "spas" there also with many "aides".Weather is New Orleans not as reliable as south fl for training and that ship not real bad,a factor maybe.Foot problems can be devastating(see Shared Belief) and maybe connections called in one of the specialists to deal with it.Could also be all bull and they 'helped' VIT with stuff, perhaps legal, or not.

Re the mystery of injuries, a players group that I speak for asked NY racing officials why ALL substantial health issues on racehorses are not disclosed to the public(most owners/trainers diabolically opposed to that disclosure)....no real answer to the request ever given.

Tell Pete Sr, I am writing to Esquire to nominate him for an emmy!

Mike