Classic Empire switching back to the wrong lead

[mjellish]

Yes he did, but it was mostly his own fault.  He broke slow but had plenty of room to rally up the rail and get back on the pace but didn\'t.  Then when he finally started to move Classic Cotton dropped over and Synder had to check.  Cotton wound up being DQ\'d for the move, which truthfully I\'ve seen much worse and I wouldn\'t have been surprised if they had left him up.  If you are referring to the Pletcher at CD factor, make of it what you will.  Synder was coming off a long layoff, may have needed the race and did have a rough trip.

Classic Cotton is colt I\'ve been following since he worked at Saratoga last summer.  That was a very fast pace he set last night and I\'m not surprised he got passed late.

[Tavasco]

Thanks for bringing the 4/28 w/o to our attention. Surely I would have misinterpreted the clock time without watching the video.

[Silver Charm]

Syne did have a terrible trip but....A layoff like this and passing on a lot of spots for 3YO Sprinters in Florida made me wonder. Also Pletcher sent out Blofeld two years ago in the same situation. He got beat. The assumption that are as good as at 2YO and then some at 3 is not a good one for Pletcher. Havana is another one for Pletcher.

I passed the race. I could ha e never had that winner. Pletcher wins a lot of races. Pletcher wrecks a lot of xars. Remember those as much as you remember the wins....

[Airnate012]

Anyone see this yet?

https://www.paulickreport.com/news/triple-crown/pletcher-hopes-calm-aggressive-always-dreaming-rider-equipment-change/

[mjellish]

Seems like reasonable steps to take and confirms what my clocker has been telling me all week.  This horse wasn\'t working out and galloping like this in Florida, and it isn\'t a positive sign.  Maybe the colt just hasn\'t settled in yet, or the onlookers get him agitated (which wouldn\'t bode well for AD on race day).  I\'m sure Pletcher doesn\'t want AD to pull a Palace Malice in the Ky Derby.

[Silver Charm]

Well said as usual. The soft managed campaign was obviously to get this one\'s head on straight. He is a Bodemiester. So he has a head strong mind. This horse had a joke of a race at Tampa then GP before a fine effort in Fla Derby. Its also a stampede to the 8frst turn of the KY Derby. If he faces some adversity chances are he falls apart. He is talented but is all of this coming a little to soon?

[bmack]

MJ,

I couldn\'t agree more with your concerns regarding AD and how he has looked in the AM since coming to Kentucky. In his workout the other day what would have impressed me was if he had responded to the rider, dropped his head and gone in 1:01-1:02. As a matter of fact Pletcher is so concerned he is changing AD\'s training regime by naming a new exercise rider (Nick Bush) and equipping AD with draw reins, which help a horse drop his head and relax during gallops. BTY, Bruno commented just before the Florida Derby that he doubted AD would rate after watching him train at PBD. These facts along with his ugly TG line, low odds and Pletcher\'s KD \"rap sheet\" make him a toss for me in the top two spots next Saturday.

Brian

[bellsbendboy]

Silver I see AD in a different light.  This $350K Keeneland yearling showed talent for a different conditioner in a pair of summer NY heats.  Since TAP,  pretty colt has not been tested.

A replay of the Fla derby shows the boy having to sit down going into the turn and this one came quickly back to the bit, before crushing his field.

Expect very slow, well off the rail gallops this week.  If he tolerates the restraint minimally, he is a major player and the biggest threat to \"Crack\".  bbb

[TempletonPeck]

Do you think of your TG posts as a tryout for a TVG guest spot?

[johnnym]

Why only the top 2 spots?

[sekrah]

I think Pletcher is making a mistake. Give him some company on his gallops, and he will calm down.

[bmack]

I think I\'ll be getting good value in the top two spots and I want to make sure I cash my TRi\'s and Supers if my primary opinion is correct. If the pace is slow to moderate he could hang on for 3rd - 4th even if he is rank during the race. How much I use him underneath will depend on how he trains this week, race shape and PP. Good luck

Brian

[TGJB]

BBB-- I can\'t figure out whether I would rather be your bookmaker or your editor.

[boardedup]

Wasn\'t it just the other week when TAP said something along the lines of AD always beating his partner in the am, weather he was working inside or outside (because apparently the inside tended to be slow in the am down there)  But the overall point was, he was talking up AD as a great worker in the morning, this is about as bad a news as you could get if you\'re looking for reasons to play this TAP on top, imho.

Changing riders and equipment the week of the biggest race of this horse\'s career? Fuel for what was already a 4 alarm fire..

[NormandyInvasion]

Larry only gallops his horses.  Either a jockey or exercise rider work the horses.  As an aside, I guess he looks larger in the photos and videos than he really is.  He was 180 at his largest, probably 170 most days.

There isn\'t a weight extreme for the horses when they work.