Lentenor A Game Second

I think it was a good race--Lentenor's that is and I think it's time to try him on the dirt. I'm not usually so definitive but I feel pretty strongly that this was an impressive show of character and Lentenor, assuming he came out of the race well, learned an awful lot.

In my humble opinion, I think it's time to try him on the dirt. At this point, even if he is not a Derby horse, what have they got to lose? If he wins, well that opens up a world of possibilities. If he doesn't, well then he's a turf horse and now we know.

As for the Preakness or the Belmont, well he's never run that far, not that he can't. Regardless, he has got to race on the dirt before we can even look or think that far ahead.

In the meantime, Lentenor is an awfully nice horse--maybe not a Derby horse but he has NEVER been out of the money in his four starts. That in itself is an impressive feat--granted not as impressive as Barbaro's Triple Crown campaign, but honorable and significant just the same.

Yes, the pace was slow. Yes, I believe the turf course was deep and yes, there was an awful lot of bumping going on. If I was the owner of St. Eligius, I would actually be pretty angry. Doubles Partner really cut off that horse and Lentenor just got the residual effect of the impact.

If you look at the replay head one, you can see a very important thing as the horses turn for home--especially in the head on shot. Lentenor is the only horse who is properly positioned at the top of the stretch--exactly where he is supposed to be which means he made the turn perfectly. Doubles Partner is all over the place, which is probably why he bumped coming through on the rail.

The point of this observation is that Lentenor has learned a lot--no more looking around going down the stretch. He is focused on the finish line and to me, that means its time to try the dirt and see just where he stands.

The Florida Derby was a significant race for Barbaro. I think it could be for his brother and I'd love to see him run.