"A FLEET" or "A FLAT"

[J-DUB]

A \"FLEET\" and say goodnight Irene. A \"FLAT\" and the door is open. The TC is a tough hustle to dance all 3. Alex and the rest, save for Giacomo, never had a chance to catch their breath in the Derby. Alex was banged around in the Preakness and put out a tremendous burst of speed in the far turn. I think that also will take it\'s toll and contributes to him being vulnerable today. Giacomo took back and had to wait on horses or he would have been much closer. Alex reacts to fast numbers and Giacomo is steady as a rock. Since October he has shown he will run solid each race.
I think Alex has some baggage today and Giacomo will run another solid number. The new shooter is Southern Africa
He\'s fast and he\'s fresh. Maybe too fast too soon. He has yet to prove he can duplicate fast numbers against quality animals. Beleiving he will have an off race today and that won\'t beat the top 2.
Even though I love the Alex\'s Lemonade stands, what a wonderful story that is, I\'m hoping we see the \"FLAT\" Alex instead of the \"FLEET\" one today.

GIACOMO
AFLEET ALEX
SOUTHERN AFRICA

Fill out the exotics with ANDROMEDA\'S HERO and PINPOINT.

Best of luck.
 

[J-DUB]

After that performance \"A FREAK\" seems more in line!!!! WOW!

[fasteddie]

Great performance! Perhaps the best 3yo not to win the Triple Crown since Damascus. We are being treated to some great racehorses right now; Ghostzapper (if Frankel is to be believed) may be the most versatile class horse since Dr. Fager, and Lost in the Fog is just fun to watch!

At the same time, the way \'Fog is being handled (perfectly) can\'t let me ignore what D. Wayne is doing to some nice horses; for all of his greatness, and he has been a great trainer, I have lost count of how many he has ruined....or worse!

[Saddlecloth]

this horse is very good, but the best since damascaus not to win the triple crown.  I dont think this horse is as good as smarty, point given, sunday silence, alysheba, and especially spectacular bid.

[spa]

Saddle, what more does he have left to prove  We got a chanch to see history made.....He\'s a wonderful horse..........

[Silver Charm]

Your point is highly refuttable and easily rebuttable.

>I dont think this horse is as good as smarty, point given, sunday silence, alysheba, and especially spectacular bid.

This horse did something yesterday that Smarty, Sunday Silence, Alysheba and the Bid couldn\'t do. He passed the \"Test of the Champion\". All four stared down that long Belmont Park stretch after having run a Mile and Quarter and caved. Alex drew-off.

Only Bid out of that bunch has a real argument regarding superiority at this stage of their respective careers. Alex has a little more push-button burst than Sunday Silence, which is saying something, and is nowhere near the head-case. Another words he is a much more professional runner. Ritchie isn\'t using anywhere near the drugs Point Givens trainer was and has sounder feet. Alysheba had a lot of talent and a lot of losses on his resume. Smarty couldn\'t relax and rate like this one can. Yesterdays results bear that out.

Alex is the best horse RUNNING right now and is the fans choice for Horse of the Year.

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

Alex has the inside track on 3YO champion now. With Bandini having surgery, that threat has become remote. If Bellamania is a true Negative 5 Bellamania its not over yet. Theres some big 3YO races left on the agenda.

Haskell
Travers
Superderby
B.C. Classic

Assuming Bellamania is the known horse with the potential to knock Alex from his pedestal, hes still very one dimensional. The layoff probably isn\'t going to change that. Alex has a very nice burst doesnt he?...lol

[J-DUB]

Chuckles,
Your assessment of Bellamy Road is right on when comparing him with Alex. The one dimentional style will be a liability when and if he comes back.
The burst of speed of Alex is remarkable. He has shown this trait beginning with the Ark Derby. The moves in the Preakness and Belmont were the same. In the Derby, with a little more patience, we may have seen the same burst. I have to believe now that he was too close to the pace and that prevented him from using that burst. If Rose had shown the patience he has in the last 2 races, he probably wins all 3. In his defense, everyone gets caught up in the pace of the Derby. It\'s just so frenetic.

[J-DUB]

Silver Charm,
Your points are well taken. Considering Alex actually \"won\" the Belmont, I believe at this stage of their respective careers you have to say Alex has accomplished more. Don\'t forget his 2 yo campaign was pretty darn good too.  

[marcus]

What an effort indeed !!! Very curious to see what kind of number Jerry give\'s out for that ! Guessing that number put\'s Afleet Alex on par w/ some of the fastest out there now or ever . + the Jock , who also has performed brilliantly , spared the horse and still won by 7 ...

[J-DUB]

fasteddie,
What really impressed me was that the jock never asked him to run until \"after\" he had caught everyone. The horse appeared to be completely in hand around the turn and was making up ground without much effort on his part. Of course, the others seemed to not want to go any farther than the head of the stretch.
The connections of FOG are to be commended for staying the course. Most would have given in to the pressures and allure of the Classics. Kind of like D. WAYNE has been doing in recent years. He has done some strange things with what appeared to be nice runners. He is a Hall of Famer but sometimes his actions are borderline senile!

[Silver Charm]

He still has more to go no question. But this horse seems to be very sound and could be a real factor in the fall.

As far as the Derby trip goes the holes he found when he did move may not have been there had he been farther back or had he waited longer to move. With a twenty horse field that is the nature of the race, if a hole is there you may have to take because if you wait there may be no where to go once you want to go.

When Bailey came from far back to win with Grindstone he negotiated a perfect trip. When asked how he did it, he said he followed Pat Day and Prince of Thieves the entire way around.

Day ran out of horse at the sixteenth pole and finished third. Sound familiar.

[twoshoes]

I disagree. I\'m not sure Alex could warm up Smarty. I\'m sure he can\'t warm up GZ. Not taking anything away form his accomplishments but lets see if any of those vanquished TC rivals turn out to be Eddington or Rock Hard Ten. My guess is he won the Belmont impressively bouncing about two or three points from the Preakness. Not much behind him...way behind him yes, but not much nonetheless.

[MO]

You will not see Bellamy Road in a race again.

[Silver Charm]

You know something?