Harvard Avenue

[spa]

Anybody looking at HA on Sunday in the San Diego......In the post parade before his last race, he didn\'t cover his tracks. His stride behind was very short and stabbing. During the race he couldn\'t find his best stride and never really got on the bit.

The Triple Bend was a very deep high quality race. I think both Harvard Avenue and Bear in the Woods are very live in the San Diego.  

[Michael D.]

preachinatthebar - 4 for 8 at 1 1/16m, 0 for 7 other distances. \"3\" top last year, then he tailed off as baffert pointed him towards the triple crown. first two sprints this year were decent. matched his top at today\'s distance in may, then jumped to a \"1\" last. looks like baffert has been pointing towards this one, and i\'m expecting a run in the \"0\" range. if smith can tuck in around the first turn, i think this guy will be there at the end. my choice at ml of 5-1.

[jimbo66]

Michael,

Everything sounds good until you get to the part where you say \"if Smith can tuck in around the first turn\".

Smith has never met a wide path he didn\'t like.

Forget about 5-1 on the horse, it might be 4-1 on Smith tucking in around the first turn...

Can\'t figure out why Keep on punching completely stopped running in the last race, but two of his prevous 3 were about \"0\".  Now, he gets PVal and is inside the other speed in the race.  Should be in the 1 path, on the lead.  If the price is square (4-1), I think the horse is value.

[Michael D.]

jim
your reservations about smith saving ground are well founded, and if that animal goes off at less than 5-1, i\'m out the door. i make KOP the fastest, but a brutal race a short while ago makes me look elsewhere. my play is a timimg play, baffert wants this one for pegram, and he wants it bad. i\'ll take 5-1 on this poor animal that baffet has probably wound up like a quarter horse for this.

[Michael D.]

well, mikey saved the ground, but he had to take the horse out of his game to do it. preachin just isn\'t quick enough to win a 3/8m sprint, which is what this race became. that, and the trouble in the stretch, cost him second. no way CN was losing this one though. that was an impressive rally into a very quick final 3/8th.

Speaking of slow early and quick late, how ridiculous was the Salvatore at MTH.  That was a major league theft.  

[Michael D.]

while gryder is not one of my favorite jocks, he did pull that off perfectly. pretty much ran :24 quarters all the way around. i wouldn\'t hold that race against gyg. coa gets the bonehead ride of the day award. the horse had been running halves in the :45 range in his previous 1m races. why rate him well off a :48.6 half?

Michael,

I\'m not sure what was going on in his head. It looked like he was afraid to get hung wide on the 1st turn, so he backed off the slow pace.  It\'s hard to hold that one against the horse. Maybe he could have finished a little better, but it was a tough task after those early fractions.  

I don\'t know what everyone else did, but I played Harvard Ave at that price. He made a big run for a not so well beaten last.

[spa]

Did Harvard Avenue cover his tracks in the post parade??

[Michael D.]

class,
not a bad stab on HA at 7-1, but the horse is a back running sprinter. he ran ok in the ark derby, but the slop carried him along that day. he won\'t beat the good ones going long. preachin beat him by four lengths when they faced off at 1 1/16m last year. o\'neill will have him sprinting next, and you might see a decent price.

michael,

I was a little worried about the distance being a factor, but at the price I wasn\'t convinced enough to keep me away from the windows. Oh well.