Wicked Strong

[alydar61]

What\'s not to like?

He\'s bred top and bottom for this. He\'s improving by leaps and bounds and probably just ran fast enough to be right there, if not win. He\'ll have 4 weeks coming in. His style fits this race with anticipated early speed. He\'ll most likely be overlooked in the pools, or at the very least, a fair price. With all of the CC hype he could be 8/10-1. Connections are solid.

Am I missing anything?

[bellsbendboy]

Two colts lay all over this bunch; you got one, I got one.  bbb

[Tavasco]

Excellent Question (IMHO) Now you\'ve opened a door.

In another form; If I was missing something, what would (wood) it be?

A) Give at least two causes for his Florida efforts?

B) The Wood (was visually impressive no?) were there any anomalies or a meaningful bias or other factor (tomato cans) that contributed to the outcome.

C) It is unreasonable that so many folks who make a living setting odds would be so generous if the horse were actually one of only two real contenders. Multiple legit sources @ 10/1?  What do you make his fair odds to be? Let\'s see how he trains and if he starts, I think few will be pleased with his post time price.

D) The derby always gets a big crowd and with crowds comes traffic. This one surely will.

E) Then there is that tricky bounce read off a big effort on limited rest prior to a difficult test. So TGJB\'s seminar should help on that consideration.

[pres711]

he is my second choice now, let\'s see how he looks derby week on the track.  I ave CC at 31-1 in a major way so I am biased his way.  good luck

[big18741]

Two knocks on Wicked Strong assuming his last # makes him competitive:

He looked like a staggering drunk in the stretch of the Wood(watch the head on replay)Not sure what to make of it but I\'m hesitant to play a horse back that is all over the place in the lane like he was.A little drifting I\'m okay with.Maybe somebody with some insight can comment.

He takes a while to get going.No trouble in the Wood always being in the clear but in a twenty horse field where you might have to stop and start,beat another horse to a spot,or find a seam he could be in trouble.

[Michael D.]

big18741 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Two knocks on Wicked Strong assuming his last #
> makes him competitive:
>
> He looked like a staggering drunk in the stretch
> of the Wood(watch the head on replay)Not sure what
> to make of it but I\'m hesitant to play a horse
> back that is all over the place in the lane like
> he was.A little drifting I\'m okay with.Maybe
> somebody with some insight can comment.
>
> He takes a while to get going.No trouble in the
> Wood always being in the clear but in a twenty
> horse field where you might have to stop and
> start,beat another horse to a spot,or find a seam
> he could be in trouble.


but WS\'s stretch run was pretty fast. 6.11 and 6.14 bursts after changing leads, and a 6.37 final 1/16. not a bad final 3/16 for a 9f race over that surface.

[miff]

If you put a line through his last race, great trip/dynamics in front of him,he\'s impossible, where his Wood effort came from, a mystery.Efforts on foot rattling GP surface may be forgiven but his lack of tactical speed will be his death knell should he draw poorly for the derby.

His best two performances came on the AQU main track.Should be in the top 3-4 choices and like most in this equally matched group,has not displayed enough talent to overcome any adversity.

Punchers chance at best.

[bellsbendboy]

Fair enough Mike and agree many of these are evenly matched
yet very few want any part of ten panels and Wicked Strong
should relish the trip in general and the pace in particular.

The 375K Hard Spun from a very solid family broke his maiden with enough turn of foot for JJ to try the Remsen and WS ran his last five eights in some 59 flat while very green beaten a nose and a half length.

Holy Bull a logical next step and WS suffered a serious gash requiring stitches and never lifted a hoof.  Two soft works later he drew poorly, broke poorly and the combination of a very speed favoring surface and some talented sophomores on that conveyor belt compromised his chances.

A half mile breeze, a solid six pole move, a seven eights spin before the training track blowout and a nice set up in the Wood brings WS to Louisville as one of a few; at least on paper.

bbb

[pizzalove]

Not too worried about his tactical speed.  all things considered his wood rally may be the second most impressive race this derby prep season.  Will be comin late and who will be faster?  Should be second choice.

[miff]

Pizza,

One service has the Wood as the fastest prep,by far.

Good Luck,

Mike

[johnnyseychelles]

Wood Result explanation in three words:  This Hard Land

[alydar61]

He ran pretty much the same in the Remsen. Can we just chalk that up to being a youngster and running greenly? That\'s what it looked like to me. As far as GP goes, he wouldn\'t be the first not to care for that highway.

He appears to be coming into his own right now. A similar or a step up effort on the 3rd will put him in great position.

Back to the Remsen. The more I watch it, the more I like him.

I\'m not going to make excuses though. Let\'s see what he looks like over the surface in the next couple of weeks.

[TMW]

With the Boston Marathon next Monday and the KY Derby the following week, there will be a lot of Boston money placed on Wicked Strong. Handicapping aside a nice story if he pulls it off.

[Tavasco]

Agreed,

I saw where race participant entries were up by 9,000 this year. Nine thousand -  new marathoners yikers that is some kind of spirit!

Heinous tragedy yet so many resulting positive stories & responses. I\'m a fan.