Post by Lolly on Mar 27, 2018 4:04:35 GMT -6
BREEDER'S CUP JUVENILE SPRINT* 6F D 2yo G5+
WIN. Cataclysmic
PLACE. The Good Fight
SHOW. Sunrise Spell
Fourth. Apache Warrior
Fifth. Chocolatier
Sixth. I Bet My Life
Half of this field are closers, making for a relatively slow trip. Apache Warrior took the lead willingly, with Chocolatier pacing himself off of the grey's starting position. I really felt these two boys would have prefered more room if they were to maintain their ranks - with neither of them having enough in their record to suggest to me they had the speed to rocket well away from the field at this distance. The top two closers in the field are well practiced at closing HOTY wins at 5-6F, which told me they had the swift turn of foot to break ahead of the leading pair.
The Good Fight had found himself in a strong position in the midst of the field, he's been on a high lately and seems to be improving with every run as an almost-3yo; his last three runs have been good HOTY Wins and he wasn't prepared to break that streak today, which really had him digging deep on the home stretch and putting in an admirable battle.
Cataclysmic is a tough filly who is also coming in off a quality win. She was one I really felt had the tools to do some serious damage, and she's never run a bad race in her career. The field was just to her liking, she had her targets within reach and come the home stretch she wasn't left with too much to do. Today was her day, and a well earnt one! Woo, girl power!
Sunrise Spell is a pony I'm all too familiar with and all too fond of, he was definitely a favourite coming into this. He chose wisely to Close today and it really paid off, just the setting he needed to step up and do what he's been so successfuly campaigned to do. He's won strongly at this distance, in The Magic Millions particularly and was more than prepared for the top competition today. He perhaps wasn't at his all time high as far as confidence goes, but definitely doesn't seem the sort to be too negatively impacted by that. I think he was in his element in this race, but he just didn't jump at me quite as much as the top two did to take the win.
Chocolatier. I LOVE this horse. He's proven to be very adaptable and capable in tough fields, and certainly has the experience he needs to take on the top-dogs like this. He was a very strong contender for me, but I felt with the way the field unfolded today it didn't quite bring out the personal best he needed. He lacks a little in his consistency when compared to the rest of the field and wasn't quite as 'fresh' coming into the start today. As with Apache Warrior, I didn't feel he was as comfortably in his element today as the other top places. I know he's going to be an amazingly competitive horse (and is already), his big win is coming, and I really hope you can forgive this placing and not take it too harshly.
Apache Warrior is a seriously competitive HOTY horse who had a great shot at a strong place in this race. I think if he was a Front Runner who clearly thrived at 5/6F, he would have been able to make more distance up between himself and the closers. As it was, he didn't jump out at me as a contender who was running right where he wanted to be and was mildly out-done by horses who were thriving within their ideals. The slower pace didn't do him many favours, but he ran valiantly and comfortably in a field of such high calibre.
I Bet My Life felt more like a horse who was only just finding his feet in HOTY, racing against company who are well established at this level. His consistency is admirable and I truly think you're sitting on a rising talent Sammy. Definitely not a horse you'd say was never in the money, and I think the experience has done him good, but I didn't see him having the class he needed to hold his own here.
WIN. Cataclysmic
PLACE. The Good Fight
SHOW. Sunrise Spell
Fourth. Apache Warrior
Fifth. Chocolatier
Sixth. I Bet My Life
Half of this field are closers, making for a relatively slow trip. Apache Warrior took the lead willingly, with Chocolatier pacing himself off of the grey's starting position. I really felt these two boys would have prefered more room if they were to maintain their ranks - with neither of them having enough in their record to suggest to me they had the speed to rocket well away from the field at this distance. The top two closers in the field are well practiced at closing HOTY wins at 5-6F, which told me they had the swift turn of foot to break ahead of the leading pair.
The Good Fight had found himself in a strong position in the midst of the field, he's been on a high lately and seems to be improving with every run as an almost-3yo; his last three runs have been good HOTY Wins and he wasn't prepared to break that streak today, which really had him digging deep on the home stretch and putting in an admirable battle.
Cataclysmic is a tough filly who is also coming in off a quality win. She was one I really felt had the tools to do some serious damage, and she's never run a bad race in her career. The field was just to her liking, she had her targets within reach and come the home stretch she wasn't left with too much to do. Today was her day, and a well earnt one! Woo, girl power!
Sunrise Spell is a pony I'm all too familiar with and all too fond of, he was definitely a favourite coming into this. He chose wisely to Close today and it really paid off, just the setting he needed to step up and do what he's been so successfuly campaigned to do. He's won strongly at this distance, in The Magic Millions particularly and was more than prepared for the top competition today. He perhaps wasn't at his all time high as far as confidence goes, but definitely doesn't seem the sort to be too negatively impacted by that. I think he was in his element in this race, but he just didn't jump at me quite as much as the top two did to take the win.
Chocolatier. I LOVE this horse. He's proven to be very adaptable and capable in tough fields, and certainly has the experience he needs to take on the top-dogs like this. He was a very strong contender for me, but I felt with the way the field unfolded today it didn't quite bring out the personal best he needed. He lacks a little in his consistency when compared to the rest of the field and wasn't quite as 'fresh' coming into the start today. As with Apache Warrior, I didn't feel he was as comfortably in his element today as the other top places. I know he's going to be an amazingly competitive horse (and is already), his big win is coming, and I really hope you can forgive this placing and not take it too harshly.
Apache Warrior is a seriously competitive HOTY horse who had a great shot at a strong place in this race. I think if he was a Front Runner who clearly thrived at 5/6F, he would have been able to make more distance up between himself and the closers. As it was, he didn't jump out at me as a contender who was running right where he wanted to be and was mildly out-done by horses who were thriving within their ideals. The slower pace didn't do him many favours, but he ran valiantly and comfortably in a field of such high calibre.
I Bet My Life felt more like a horse who was only just finding his feet in HOTY, racing against company who are well established at this level. His consistency is admirable and I truly think you're sitting on a rising talent Sammy. Definitely not a horse you'd say was never in the money, and I think the experience has done him good, but I didn't see him having the class he needed to hold his own here.
