Good post. I share your view of Hard Spun and woul...

2008-11-25T21:45:00.000-05:00

Good post. I share your view of Hard Spun and would have loved to see how he developed as a four-year-old. I agree that Street Sense's synthetic starts were not the ultimate objectives Nafzger set forth for him. But that doesn't account for the intrinsic differences in dirt vs. synthetic races.

We're talking consistent, huge margin swings and complete hierarchy reversals of what was an excellent (and consistent) three-year-old crop.

Watch how Street Sense (and the other horses) move in the Breeders Futurity and then watch the Breeders Cup Juvenile. Or do the same with the Blue Grass and then the Derby back-to-back.

The differences are considerable.

Both of Street Sense's synthetic starts as a three...

2008-11-25T19:33:00.000-05:00

Both of Street Sense's synthetic starts as a three-year-old came at nine furlongs.

The first, in the Blue Grass, was a prep for the Derby. Conventional wisdom was that Nafzger wouldn't have Street Sense cranked for that race, especially after the gritty win in the Tampa Bay Derby. Was it synthetic that beat him or could Nafzger have won the race if he wanted?

Remember, Nafzger trained Unbridled to a Derby win in 1990 after that champion finished third in the Blue Grass—then held on dirt. Now, Summer Squall is better than Dominican, but I think it's fair to include in our assessment that Street Sense may not have run his A+ race even if the Blue Grass last year had been on dirt.

As for the second start, that came against Hard Spun, who may have been the best of his generation at the middle distances, so no shame in losing there.

Comments on From the Ring to the Racetrack: Synthetic Sentiments, chapter 1

Good post. I share your view of Hard Spun and woul...

Both of Street Sense's synthetic starts as a three...