|
Good examples, Bill. I do look upon turf performances differently than those on dirt for the most part because of the way the races play out. I saw the gain in ground while finishing front half of the field, but without seeing a replay of the previous race, I can't be so sure that this horse was truly competitive. If I base the analysis on just my personal experience with runners of this ilk, the horse is probably in a herd, never seriously making any challenge. Queuing up the replay, I see that the field that he faced was basically running in three groups: front, middle and rear pack, each strung out. Gleaming was in the middle pack, gapped out from the front half. On the pan shot, he did make a good move from the turn to the stretch, but looked like in the head-on, was moved toward the outside, found no room, and was maneuvered toward the rail. Nonetheless, the other rear horses never made any significant moves, and the horses in the front half held sway, so Gleaming's effort last out may very well be a (+). To the contrary, it could have been fool's gold.
Like you said, he really was never involved competitively and it's a shady (+).
|