Been away....back now, trying to live up to my \'name\' I suppose.
Lots of questions about the KD preps until now.
Did Essential regress in the Blue Grass, winning anyhow? Was he not cranked? If either is true, he could step up and dominate going forward.
Rock Your World beat Medina pretty much the same way Life is Good beat him. Is there significance here? I would guess he is the main unknown factor from here on out.
Did Greatest Honour regress in the Fla Derby as badly as I had guessed he would? If he now moves forward to a new high, is he to be feared?
How much did Known Agenda move forward? Is more progress expected or a possible regression?
I normally diss the Louisiana Derby, but Hot Rod\'s run was more than respectable. Winning at nearly 10 furlongs he could be an important factor at Churchill.
The Wood was the Wood. How sad.
No?
IMHO
McCarthy\'s colt BomBauer was sitting on a forward move. He ran 3rd behind the top two in the Bluegrass. Trainer ships from GG & Artificial back to KEE where he ran well in the BC Juvey. Was a confident move rather than an Easter Visit.
Essential Quality and the place horse, Highly Motivated, ran true to form. The stretched-out field suggests it was a fast race. I didn\'t look to see the clock which can mislead anyway.
So not so confused today. The KD contenders; LaD Winner, BG 1-2, SA Derby winner, ARK Derby winner, FL winner and a surprise or two on race day.
Yes, the Wood exacta seemed light to me. The pool had $812K. My math is not good enough to estimate the impact of a random $20 ticket. $450 with a 15/1 in 2nd suggests to a simple mind the payoff should have been double what it was. ie. 72# 6.5 = 450 + or -. 72 * 15 = $1,000 plus.
Essential Quality veered in at the start, poor action late. Just enough hay and oats on a track he loves.
You can have him in 26 days at 3-1.
Good Luck,
Joe B