The blog-o-sphere is twittering again about Lentenor and this time there is a genuine sense of frustration about when the faithful are going to see him race again. Apparently he is entered as an "also eligible" in this Friday's ninth race at Gulfstream. Big questions as to whether or not he will get into the race abound as well as some regarding this status in the first place.
If you remember I believe this race was one of two I pegged a few weeks ago as a "likely" spot for Lentenor. Obviously Michael Matz did as well. I guess he was waiting to see how the horse was training, who else would enter the race, what the weather forecast was...whatever. But all things considered, what would have been the harm of entering him a little earlier than he obviously did to guarantee that the horse would have gotten into the main field?
Perhaps it is the issue of the fans--knowing that legions of fans of Barbaro hang on his every move, Matz probably didn't want to disappoint or overly excite the fan base. But still. Of course this is speculation on my part and maybe the race did fill up quickly, but still. Lentenor needs a race as we all know.
In the meantime, many rumors about Plan B (if there is one). At the moment, fingers are crossed to see if he gets in on Friday but the outlook is grim.
All of which reminds me how smoothly everything went for Barbaro. Races fell into place. Victories kept accumulating. He never missed a day of training. It was the most uneventful road to the Derby ever traversed.
And the moral of the story is that it does not happen that way very often.
My guess is that they may enter Lentenor in the first Maiden Special Weight race that comes up, dirt or turf, regardless of the distance just to get that bug off his back. Stay tuned.
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