Was pretty much a train wreck in the Holy Bull. Sweating wet in the paddock and post parade. Balked at loading. And proceeded to run dull. A short horse is one thing. A bad actor is another.
Ran fast enough at 2 and looked good most of the time doing it. But now he is 3 and like all of them needs to grow up and get better. Except for one thing he has one big problem. He doesn\'t like to train.....
You\'re not buying the hoof abcess excuse?
http://www.paulickreport.com/news/triple-crown/classic-empire-sharp-can-first-training-exercise-since-holy-bull/
Must have been there his whole career. Because as I said this horse doesn\'t like to Train.....
And yet he ran a zero at two.
Overanalyze and Upstart just saying,
This is the problem. What number does he have to put up in his next to be playable in the Derby (assuming 1 more prep)? Is he a toss if he duplicates his Holy Bull number? If he wins, say, the Florida Derby pairing his zero, is he an underlay as the favorite and a bounce candidate?
This one is an enigma to say the least!
IMHO he got absolutely nothing out of his 2017 debut and I would not touch him in Louisville off only one more prep. I feel he needs 2 more.
A 2.5 on July 2nd as a 2 yr old ain\'t too shabby at all. He had my money as he took a right turn, dropped the rider and was vaned off in the Hopeful. He comes back with a ground loaded 3.5 33 days after his Spa debacle winning as easy as could be and 30 days later moves forward to a 0 in an awesome display of a stretch run.
He no doubt had an abscess and I\'m sure it effected his non effort.
BUT: Did the abscess have anything to do with his complete wash out and bad acting in the paddock & gate? Maybe one of our vets can weigh in on that?
In addition to the abscess excuse in his last, Casse had a horrendous formulator stat of 0-16 in graded stakes runners over a mile coming back off a 50 day plus layoff.
I could never trust this horse in the Derby crowds and noise especially as a top choice.
Good luck,
Frank D.
1) Its only February.
2) How can Derby picture be intelligently discussed without knowing which Japanese runners will qualify under CD\'s fekokteh uno mundo point system?
If the foot abscess is legit, and was brewing, then it would certainly account for the bad acting AND the bad effort.
No way to know how serious the inflammation really was, but I suggest trying to run at full speed with something gnawing at your foot, and let me know how you do.
Refused to work again today! Head case, physical problems, whatever. It is going to take more than just a fast 2YO number for this one to grow up and improve.
I would seriously consider yanking him from the Derby Trail and looking down the line. Anything else might be considered \"not in the best interests of the animal\"
Like I said on a previous thread, the refusal to train had been going on for some time before the race. I doubt this abscess stuff, if even true, was the reason. Clearly time to take him off the Derby trail.
Back on the worktab today (there is a video over at Downey). They were raving about it. Didn\'t look mind-blowing to me, but at least he worked in a good time.
Arkansas for him.