Well it was an interesting weekend to say the least. No offence to Travers winner Afleet Express or Personal Ensign winner Persistently, but I think both winners where flukey. In the case of Afleet Express, he just nosed out Fly Down who I personally think is the second best 3yo in the US behind the absent Lookin at Lucky. As for Persistently, she got a perfect ride after Rachel was forced to the lead. However, I doubt she wins another race as only 2 of her vanquishers have since (Songtress and Sara Louise where the only two to win another race so far, Garden District is now retired, Zardana is MIA and Unriveled Belle all of a sudden can't win). With that being said, both wins are bittersweet.
Express' sire of course is Afleet Alex who basically singlehandly made Delaware Park the place to be. Per is owned by the Phipps family who of course owned Personal Ensign who sadly passed away this year. In matter of fact, PE's granddaughter Storm Flag Flying upset Azeri in this race in 2004. The loss stings a little bit less as Per is from the same female family as a weanling filly by Hard Spun (Per's granddam is the one and only Heavenly Prize and her sister Oh What a Windfall is the dam to the weanling).
As much as I'm disapointed in Super Saver (hope he's okay, second to last is unlike him) and Rachel (she ran her freaking heart out, and got beat in the last half furlong by a bad ride by Calvin). The biggest disapointment on the weekend was Life at Ten. She had a perfect spot and faded at the end to finish third. Also Miss Singsix ran like who I though she would.
On the West Coast, Richard's Kid defended his PC title. While he has a few dirt wins, I just don't think he has what it takes to win the Classic. I hope Awesome Gem is okay, he's the one I'm worried about the most. I think he's never finished in last. Then again it was that kind of weekend with the Hungerian Bullet, Overdose losing for the first time in Germany.
As for this week's Challenge, I only got one entry so I'm discounting this week's totals and will try again this upcoming weekend. I should have a few nice posts this week, stay tuned!
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