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General Category => Ask the Experts => Topic started by: dsipes on August 21, 2018, 08:38:43 AM

Title: Voodoo Song
Post by: dsipes on August 21, 2018, 08:38:43 AM
Would appreciate some discussion about Voodoo\'s pattern and figures.  Voodoo is a 4yo turf horse.  His best fig as a 2yo was a 16.  On July 22, 2017 (his 3yo year), he improved to a new top by 8 3/4 to a 7 1/4.  Obtained new non-drastic tops in each of his next 4 consecutive starts and finally regressed only 3 1/4 points three months later in October 2017.  Was rested  5 months and made his 4yo debut in April 2018 and progressed smoothly until reaching two consecutive new tops of 2.  Unsure of his new fig in the race he won this month, but can\'t imagine it being OFF nor X.

I\'m totally aware that turf horses usually don\'t decline more than dirt horses.  But Voodoo has progressed 14 points from his 2yo year to current.  Anybody have an opinion whether he still can improve more than 14 points (improve from a 2) or is 14 point improvement about the peak?  Not sure the kind of improvement his Sire shows for development from age 2 through age 4.
Title: Re: Voodoo Song
Post by: TGAB on August 21, 2018, 02:18:51 PM
The sire English Channel gets 5-3/4 points of improvement from his runners from two through four. Voodoo Song\'s turf best at two was 16 as you note, but it came 14 days after his initial start which came on dirt and was 4-3/4 points worse. Certainly with hindsight one can deduce that figure for the 2yo turf effort wasn\'t a top. Indeed it was a bounce off the sprint debut.

That 16 is a fake top. So we don\'t really know how much he\'s developed from his 2yo turf top since there is not a representative showing.  

Remember development is measured by set-back levels, efforts at each age. The 16 doesn\'t qualify.