I loved Timmn's preview of The Toilet Scrubber.  First of all, he made note of the historic importance of the stake, a factor he felt contributed to it's new Grade I status.  Secondly, his coverage of each starter was thorough.  Nobody got short changed.  He pointed out both general factors and specific angles favoring each steed in addition to noting their shortcomings.  He went so far as to point out that I didn't know Jeepster was in the race when I entered B Minus, but Fab did know when he entered his guy, thus demonstrating confidence in his horse (he finished second).  Finally, Tim wasn't afraid to go out on a limb and flat out predict that Horse of the Year candidate Jeepster would not win.

 

 

The only thing Tim got wrong was the winner.  That's where I come in.  My horse won.  So I asked Tim's permission to do the recap.  I don't get a lot of Grade I wins.  And I wanted to brag.  My guy beat Jeepster!  That will NEVER happen again.  But it happened this week.  And I'm going to savor it.

 

 

Years ago, my colt Minesweeper knocked off Horseshoe Bay who was going for his seventh straight Grade I victory.  So slaying giants is not totally foreign to me.  But just like this race, it was more a case of the champ not bringing his "A" game as opposed to a heroic effort by my horse.  But a win's a win.  They don't ask how you won, just if you won.  And I'm not giving it back.

 

 

I won't spend much time rehashing the actual race.  Suffice to say Jeepster and a few other contenders failed to fire.  As Tim pointed out, Jeepster usually needs a race following time on the shelf.  Fab's colt, Getaloadoff, ran a huge race.  My B Minus stalked Fab's colt all the way and ran him down late.  The rest were well beaten.

 

 

If you missed Tim's preview, I suggest you read it.  Does the turf to dirt angle work for SIM horses?  Apparently it does for one, at least.