The Clark

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

Add the weather into the milieu and you\'ve got the appearances of what has the potential to be a helluva race.

I was really eager to bet Aeneas on a dry track. I really don\'t think much separates him from Tenpins and I thought the pace senario would allow him to put in his best effort. I\'m not sure how the wet track will impact their head to head now.

Interestingly, Evening Attire is now 6/5 and looks to be the post time favorite. The weather moved him up.

The sloppy track looks fair to me, so I can\'t see favoring horses like \"Private Lap\". A horse I initally gave a very good chance to on the goo. I think theres gonna be plenty of pace to close into and I now tend to favor three closers. Evening Attire, Aeneas and Devil Time.

Evening Attire is too short a price. I\'m concerned about Aeneas not having a disposition for slop. Though I won\'t leave him out. My outrageous key will be Devil Time and I will work him with the other two closers. Though not with conviction.

lol

CtC

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

Oh well, that looks pretty obvious in retrospect. Its always easy to red board.

lol

[Michael D.]

if the track was dry, i would have unloaded on DT at 28-1. he couldn\'t get hold of the track early, dropped way back, then swung 10 wide, yes that\'s correct, 10 wide, and only finished 4 lengths back. i will be keeping a very close eye on this guy in the future. btw, even though i needed EA on top, i\'m glad they took him down. i can\'t even count the number of times a horse has drifted out in the stretch and bothered a potential winner in ny without coming down.

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

I did see Devil Time go wide. He definitely lost a lot of lengths but it was foreseeable the speed was gonna back up and he would probably have to go around horses. I tend to agree with you about the slop. I would have made larger bets if the race was on a dry track. Devil Time\'s record looked good on the slop but I felt he was a faster horse on a dry surface.

Quest was a horse that I expected to get caught up somewhat in the pace. He didn\'t and that to me explains why he was around at the end. (Note Seattle Fitz\'s finish. He was the only \"pace\" horse \"left\" at the end.)

Two jumps past the wire Evening Attire was 10 lengths in front. The best horse won and the best horse was taken down.

CtC

[Michael D.]

how was EA the best horse? Qu was clearly bothered by the bumping, and EA only won by a nose. there is no doubt that the bumping incident cost Qu more than a nose.....

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

I did not have the best view of the race and wasn\'t able to watch the replays. I would not state its totally accurate but to my eye I saw bumping that many times is allowed to stand at a track like Churchill. It appeared from my one viewing that though Evening Attire did bear out somewhat that the bumping was not all his doing. It was a slow drift from what I could make out.  Additionally, past the wire Evening Attire looked the more energetic horse. I don\'t think Evening Attire was gonna let Quest by that day and he didn\'t. I didn\'t have the best view. My observations pertain primarily to wire and post wire energy levels. The way Quest was all done at the wire I just wish he\'d been up earlier upon the pace. Unless I managed to mix up which horse galloped out better. It sure looked like the grey to me. Did I?

[big ant]

       I had Quest,and i\'m glad they took the top one down.I had bet Quest in the slop @ Saratoga,he got on even terms with the leader,then seemed to lose interest,and subsequently lost by a nose.When I watched the Clark, i said here we go again,luckily the stewards were on my side .

Chuckles,

I didn\'t see the race, but I think you brought up and interesting point when you referred to how much energy the horses had left at the wire.

IMHO, there are intangibles of racing ability like stamina, acceleration, gameness, brilliance, versatility, reserve racing energy.... that often separate horses of similar final speed ability.

[jbelfior]

I also had QUEST at Saratoga. He\'s talented but lacks the determination to win. His connections and backers were fortunate that EA came out. The DQ was justified, but I still think QUEST never goes by if both run a straight course. They should retire him now.


Good Luck,
Joe B.