Propro

[1hooper]

Pro,can you make any sense of the first on Thursday at Saratoga. Europeans? Maybe I can get the weekend off to a big start.
Hooper

[propro]

Hoop, I'll let you know after I handicap the race.

[propro]

Really tough version of the NY Turf Writers Hcp today. A few knowns and many unknowns. Euro hurdlers that ship to Saratoga are always unknowns that start with a bigger handicap than just weight. The hurdles we use in the US are different than the Euro version. Ours are close to a foot higher and you can get through the top part of it if the horse doesn't jump all the way, but it will trip you up. The Euro fences are lower and are in smaller pieces that will simply break apart and fall flat if a horse kicks them. I've seen jump races there where horses kick down 2 adjacent pieces of fence early on and simply run through that part of the fence on subsequent laps. The US jumpers tend to sail over our fences, since they've been trained on them. The euros have to put more effort to go airborne and I feel they're at a disadvantage there. Add in the generally faster pace at a racetrack like Saratoga and it's a double whammy.

If they handle it, Optimus Prime and Clarcam should be tough...but I'd say the same for everyone except Overwhelming, The Game Changer and All The Way Jose....and even those could clunk for third or fourth.

If I were betting, I'd bet small on Personal Start. I think Iranistan is going to change it's rating tactics and go to the lead, giving Personal Start someone to rate off of. Personal Start's last race was a big disappointment based on what he ran on the spring circuit, but they clearly thought going to the front hard would help them. It didn't.

Good luck today!