tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post113355878817562251..comments2024-03-05T05:38:22.024-05:00Comments on Left at the Gate: Afleet No MoreAlan Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12570505944559196118noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-1133564027611078112005-12-02T17:53:00.000-05:002005-12-02T17:53:00.000-05:00...i had a future ticket on Alex @ 16/1 in the Der......i had a future ticket on Alex @ 16/1 in the Derby, stood to make a lot of money if he won...really hurt me to see him lose by a length, then come back and destroy the Preakness and Belmont fields...Alex is the best example i can think of for something that's blatantly obvious: The Best Horse Doesn't Always Win The Derby...to me, THAT is what's wrong with the Kentucky Derby, and all the hype that surrounds it...it's just not a good barometer of talent...first off, you throw 20 horses in the gate, and you wind up with some INSANE traffic issues...some horses lose all chance, based on circumstances beyond their control...some get hung 10 wide on the first turn, some find themselves running in a telephone booth...if that isn't bad enough, throw 100,000 screaming people into the mix and now a lot of the animals are probably spooked...i once saw a quote from McCarron saying that when you turn into the stretch, you run into a "wall of noise" that causes many animals to duck in or shy away...nothing that can be done about the crowd i guess, but i certainly think it factors into the race...further, none of these animals (with the exception of Dubai' UAE Derby participants) have ever run 1 1/4 miles before...many horses, no matter how good they are, simply aren't going to fire their best shot at 1 1/4 miles...Afternoon Deelites jumps readily to mind...to this day, he remains one of the most talented horses i've ever seen, but you know what?...he was a sprinter/miler, and found himself competing in the Derby (and later in races like the Big Cap) simply because the money and glory are far, far greater in the longer races...it's this same type of mentality that finds Lost in the Fog completely excluded from the Daily Racing Form's list of Top Ten 3yo colts, while horses like Andromeda's Hero somehow make the cut...even a supremely talented animal such as Afleet Alex, who was coming off one of the most impressive performances in modern times, was passed over by "expert" Lauren Stich in her Belmont analysis, where she chose Andromeda's Hero, based on some theory that Afleet Alex's bloodlines were insufficient to pass the "Test of Champions", while Andromeda's Hero is an obvious champion based on who his mother and father are, and who his great-great grandfather was related to on his sister's cousin's side...sorry for the rant, but i just this whole Triple Crown thing is a bunch of nonsense and does prove anything...for instance, try asking someone not associated with racing who the best horse in the world is, and they're liable to say Giacomo...you see what i'm getting at?...meanwhile, horses Kona Gold or Lit De Justice can consistently destroy their competition at non-classic distances, and they're hardly given a second thought...i wish i had a nickle for every time i've seen or heard the phrase "just a sprinter", as if they're something wrong with that...i guess it's better to be High Fly or Giacomo than is to be Lost in the Fog or Afternoon Deelites...anyway, back to Afleet Alex, it's a real shame he's been retired, as i was looking forward to seeing him compete as a bigger, stronger, faster 4yo (oh yeah, did i mention that the Triple Crown horses generally get destroyed in the Breeders Cup?), but i guess star 3yo's being retired early is par for the course these days...the all-important chase for the Triple Crown comes first, and if their as-yet-not-completely-developed bodies can't handle it, well, too bad...there's always more 3yo's coming around next year...and the year after that...and the year after that...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com