FWIW, here is the lead-in, and conclusion, from Kerry Thomas\'s Derby analysis on the General:
\"With four victories and three seconds in seven lifetime starts, General a Rod is a very good equine athlete. But almost every year we
bestow at least one of the Derby horses with the dreaded “buddy up” label. General a Rod is one of those horses...
...In the stretch of the Besilu Florida Derby (G1), there was a point where Wildcat Red broke his focus from General a Rod and
transferred it to the looming challenge on the rail from Constitution. Those two colts hooked up in a fierce space battle. General a Rod
had an opportunity there to advance on a pair of horses locked in battle. Instead of going forward, General a Rod drifted laterally. This
is not a natural leader.
General a Rod’s energy burn is low, and that helps him distance-wise, but in order to win the Derby he will need to develop a killer
instinct that he has not yet shown. There will be plenty of high-dynamic horses for him to attach to in this field. We think he is going to
be looking for a buddy in the Derby, and that is rarely the path to the winner’s circle.\"
Maybe credible, maybe not. Lots of good horses run up the track in the TC, for seemingly inexplicable reasons. I considered this a negative despite the horse\'s competitive figures (earned by running along, not up to, competitive horses) - he checked all the boxes pre-Derby, no? Reasonable play for underneath in these races given the expected trips (taken off the pace), but not for the win.
