No idea what is specifically meant by \"This is a Thoro-Graph board\".
It appears everyone has the same challenge regarding LAL. His only dirt race was (obviously?) a prep where he was (obviously?) a short horse and (obviously?) ran into some trouble. If the THORO-GRAPH # that he earned at OP is taken directly as a reflection of his current dirt ability, then by all means he\'s a toss in the derby at low odds as the clear second choice.
However, if you consider factors such as the majority of exacta finishers in the past 5 derbys setting multiple point new tops in their THORO-GRAPH #s, and more importantly (obvious?) trainer intent and (obvious?) trainer ability, he appears, at least to me, as a very difficult and potentially costly toss at any price if you plan on either playing ESKY in the win pool (I\'m sure that\'s nobody reading this board) or keying longshots in exotics including some decent savers with the faves on top.
Clearly, with Street Sense you already knew what he was capable of running at CD, and that\'s vastly different than projecting a THORO-GRAPH # based on the THORO-GRAPH # in the OP prep but these are the cards we\'re dealt with LAL. My comparison between the two was based on their similar derby preps in their derby years and trainer intent in handling a 2 year old champ. It was the closest precedent I could come up with for LAL. If comparisons with Street Sense are more appropriate for Jackson Bend or Dublin because of their dirt tops at 2 then that\'s a different discussion; I think NOTHING is way too strong a word given a context beyond that, which I thought would be accepted here.
And yes, I confess I used the taboo \"C\" word in my original post. Please don\'t confuse me with \"C\"-Handicapper; I have not posted here in a while and I\'m rusty. Mulligan.
