"Lonhro did not stretch out as normal" La Mer wrote [?]

And what is "normal" stretching out ? Normal for Lonhro is to get it all his own way without pressure and then do what he does best, a short sprint and in that department he really is a good horse.How good we will never know due to poor comp.

Lonhro's fuel tank in the Cox was empty when needed and from the best barrier and with the best Sydney Jockey in the race, there were no excuses. If it had been a 1600m does anyone believe he would have lost at MV ? It was not the track but the distance that was the problem.
Hawkes would say "unsuitable race" not unsuitable track. When Hawkey was asked last week if he thought Lonhro a champ, he avoided the question by saying "lets see if he can win the Cox". Hawkes has always doubted Lonhro's "genuine" ability beyond 1600m.
In his regular feature in the Winning Post were he rates all his Saterday starters [worth a read], there was one horse missing any mention or comment. Lonhro. Hawkes knew the game was up unless Lonhro had a huge amount of luck and privilege [Sydney style] in the race and his only excuse in loosing was that he didn't get it.
Champs need other champs to prove themselves against and Lonhro just didn't get that chance in his winning races and now never will. His group 1 wins and $$$ account for ziltch in the Championship dept.

Cheers.

[ This Message was edited by: crash on 2003-10-27 08:01 ]

[ This Message was edited by: crash on 2003-10-27 08:03 ]

[ This Message was edited by: crash on 2003-10-27 08:05 ]