BARRELHORSE USA - 2018-05-26 3:20 PM
Prior to the Preakness, Justify had a heel bruise on his left rear and
and Curtis Burns a well known farrier was flown in to see what needed
to be done.
They had used a Z Bar shoe to protect the heel and Burns did his thing
with inner wall support with dental adhesive and a 3/4 shoe and frontal nails
and then ran Justify with a full standard shoe in the race.
Justify has slow galloped his first 1 1/2 mile to test the track with a
let's go attitude. This is great news considering the wear and tear
of the previous two races and the small amount of time for a horse
to recover from the stress.
I'm sure you remember BIG BROWN that won the first two races and
had an even worse case of bruised heel than Justify.
In this video watch the bump when BB is moved to the outside as he
completed the first turn and got stepped on. He did not have the
'want to' to regain his stride and no desire to increase his speed
and at the straightaway his jockey pulled him to the outside and
loped home with an outrider in close to assist if needed ….
watch him cross the finish line well behind the pack …
https://youtu.be/fO0HhNTyIM8
Watch the interview with Desormeaux after the race and what they
found while reviewing the race …
https://youtu.be/0SrWb7jnVxU
The tiring factor on the Belmont track is simple .. it is more of a giant
oval with almost no straightaways compared to other tracks. This
is not good since the horse really gets a hard workout running on
his left lead for the big part of the race !!
On a normal oblong track a horse leaves the gates in the left lead
and after the 1st turn is switched to the right lead and at the far
turn to his left lead and then running home to the right lead which
gives each side a chance to rest and have a "fresh" right lead
to finish the race.
You will see horses lose a lot of races when the jockey fails to switch
to the right lead going home... SMARTY JONES is a prime example.
His jockey felt secure with the win and then got challenged and
the jockey desperately tried to switch to the right but the other
horse already had his momentum going and won the race.
Expect the usual to happen in the Belmont. Fresh horses will be
added that never ran in the Preakness or Derby and a couple
that ran the Derby but not the Preakness so they come in
well rested to run their best against the horse running the
3rd lap of the Triple Crown.
WATCH Victor Espinoza the jockey of AMERICAN PHAROAH easing
out of the gates and setting a slow pace while working to keep him on
his left and right lead changes with a good final burst of speed after
switching to his right lead on the run home !!!
This was a beautiful run keeping the pack in control at a slower
pace and saving your horse with proper lead changes during the race.
Baffert was also his trainer ..
https://youtu.be/w0I4Z8priHQ
It will be interesting to see how Mike Smith handles the pack and if
Justify is kept off of his left lead to help protect his left rear hoof on this
big oval. I THINK THEY WILL WIN!!
Folks on-line