Fabulous Strike Likes It Light

When the brilliant Fabulous Strike scratched out of yesterdays Tom Fool I thought he might have been injured. The horse is so damn fast he seems like one who could hurt himself. That was not the case, instead it looks like the trainer was sending out the message to not tack on the weight on his horse. Catering to horseman is what racing secretaries have to deal with. With so much racing out there and so many stakes spots racing offices have to market their races to horsemen. Tracks are in serious competition for stakes horses and the horsemen have the upperhand.

Todd Beattie "I have a lot of respect for Munnings and we were giving him 11 pounds today," said Beattie, who trains Fabulous Strike for Walter Downey. "With the difference in weight, drawing the one hole, and going seven furlongs, we just felt there wasn't a lot working in his favor. He ran a monstrous effort four weeks ago. I had a long discussion with Mr. Downey and he felt the same."

In the future you can expect any racing secretary to be very careful when putting weight on Fabulous Strike as not to upset the trainer and end up with an uninteresting short field with limited wagering. This is a win-win for Fabulous Strike, not only will he get more time for his next race but he will likely carry less weight the rest of the year. As Todd Beattie feared Munnings rolled and won impressively with ease. Look for this three year old to take the Amsterdam and Kings Bishop up at the spa. Fabulous Strike is likely for the six furlong Vanderbilt at Saratoga.