Inside the Trip: Super Saturday

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Shared Belief was floated wide by Sky Kingdom throughout the Awesome Again but that didn't keep him from winning. (Photos by Eclipse Sportswire)
What a weekend of racing in America, the first of two sensational weekends of final Breeders’ Cup prep races. Let’s take a look back at some of the compelling data to emerge from the weekend.
Did Shared Belief have a troubled trip in the Awesome Again? Did he cover extra ground? I don’t think Trakus heard anything about that last weekend.
Or not.
Two tweets from the Trakus account quenched the thirst of the voracious racing Twitterati, leading to a personal record for retweets and favorites. In case you missed it, here are the facts.
Shared Belief covered 66 feet more than Fed Biz in the Awesome Again. Converted to lengths, that distance approximates to 7 ¾ lengths, one of the larger differences in a winner and second-placer in a major, two-turn dirt race we can recall seeing.
Now, let’s not get confused. No one is suggesting that Shared Belief would’ve won the Awesome Again by nearly eight lengths if the trips were reversed. Racing doesn’t work that way. But the fact of the trip difference is clear. Shared Belief was so much the best in the race, it’s not funny. Over the course of the race, Shared Belief averaged 38.1 MPH, while Fed Biz averaged 37.7 MPH. The second-fastest horse in the race was fourth-placer Majestic Harbor, who averaged 37.8 MPH.
As has been outlined in this blog previously, if a horse is racing wide around a turn and wants to maintain position, it must run faster than horses to its inside. Essentially, Mike Smith had to keep his foot on Shared Belief’s accelerator harder than any other jockey in the race. It was a tough race, and the margin was slim, and he has to come back in 35 days and do it again, against a tougher group. Shared Belief is as game as they come, but there is no doubting he dug about as deep as a horse can dig in winning this race.
One race before the Awesome Again, Mike Smith took a tumbling fall to the grass in Rodeo Drive, making the gritty ride all the more impressive. Two races before that, Smith guided another short-odds choice to a wide-ride win. Two-time Breeders’ Cup winner Beholder got back to her winning ways with a return tally in the Zenyatta Stakes.
Off a break since a fourth in the Ogden Phipps on Belmont Stakes day, Beholder was planted wide throughout in a short field and held-off Tiz Midnight for the win. The final margin may have been only ¾-length, but the trip itself may have been blame. Beholder covered 49 feet more than Tiz Midnight, which was the largest difference in ground coverage of any two horses in the field. 49 feet equates to about 5 ¾ lengths.
American Pharoah did not disappoint his many backers with a win at 1-2 in the Frontrunner Stakes, making it two consecutive easy victories for the son of Pioneerof The Nile. There is little to say about this guy. He went to the front, cleared to the rail, set fairly soft fractions, and held everyone off quite easily. Out of this race, though, others offer interest. Second-placer Calculator was three-wide on both turns, covering 48 feet more than the winner, a distance that translates to more than 5 ½ lengths (the final margin was 3 ¼ lengths). Third home Texas Red was the only horse in the race to make any ground from off the pace. American Pharoah ran his final two furlongs in 23.95 seconds, with Texas Red next fastest in 24.06. Both horses covered the final furlong in 12.06 seconds.
The racing in New York was tremendously exciting last weekend, topped by Tonalist’s win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, his first start against elders.
TONALIST STORMED HOME IN THE JOCKEY CLUB GOLD CUP

Tonalist checked twice after Wicked Strong clipped heels with Moreno, and the Belmont Stakes winner was actually last leaving the backstretch following that incident before rallying through the pack with what might otherwise be an underrated performance. Long River came inside in the stretch, closer to Moreno, forcing Joel Rosario to shift ground on Tonalist in the final furlong. Finding clear room, Rosario guided Tonalist to the outside of Long River, and inside Zivo and drew away. The race might be over at the wire, but the horses keep going, and Tonalist might have been more than ten lengths in front of Zivo a sixteenth of a mile past the wire.
According to the individual sectional timing of the race, despite the traffic encountered, Tonalist ran the fastest final half mile of the Jockey Club Gold Cup in 49.66 seconds, going that distance 0.44 seconds faster than Zivo (50.10s), who was second-quickest home. The third-fastest final half of the race was fifth-placer Stephanoatsee, who came home in 51.20 seconds, 1.54 seconds slower than Tonalist.
In the Beldame, Belle Gallantey was not for the catching, recording an 8 ¼-length score over Stopchargingmaria. Eased at the end, her final furlong was timed by Trakus in 12.52 seconds. Fifth place finisher Fiftyshadesofhay ran the next fastest final split in 12.81 seconds.
Stephanie’s Kitten was much the best in the Flower Bowl, getting her back on track before the biggest race of the season at Santa Anita. The late run of Watsdachances was worth noting. While the early pace was incredibly slow, this lesser-regarded mare trained by Chad Brown ran the fastest final furlong of the race in 11.25 seconds, 0.12 seconds quicker than the winner.
Sunday’s action at Belmont saw the juveniles prepping for their chance on grass at the Breeders’ Cup. Lady Eli was perhaps most impressive, overall, winning the Miss Grillo over longshot Margaret Reay and fellow Chad Brown stable companions Tammy the Torpedo and Partisan Politics. There was no doubting how slow the early tempo was, but Lady Eli had no concerns about lengthening her young stride. Lady Eli ran the final quarter in 21.67 seconds and final eighth in 10.88 seconds. Partisan Politics was second-quickest home, with final fractions in 22.04 and 10.99 seconds.
LADY ELI GETS A PAT AFTER WINNING THE MISS GRILLO

Imperia got his maiden win in the Pilgrim from off the pace for Godolphin Stable and trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. The regally-bred son of Medaglia d’Oro ran the final quarter in 22.45 seconds, 0.60 seconds quicker than second-fastest Offering Plan. Imperia also covered the 28 feet more than second-placer Vision Perfect.
The action continues this coming weekend with plenty of added preps, including the return of dirt at Keeneland. As data warrants, we’ll see you then!