All horses have individual preferences and the challenge for punters is to work out, not only how good each horse is, but the circumstances that suit them best.
Form students are familiar with course and distance preferences, or a need for a type of ground, whilst some thoroughbreds display seasonal preferences and might do better in say, Summer rather than Winter.
As much as he hates the Highveld, Dave the King just loves KZN during the Winter months. He always steps up dramatically on form shown elsewhere in SA. In 2024, he earned HOTY honors based on his exploits in KZN; launched after winning the same 1500m Scottsville race he won again on Sunday.
Left alone with an uncontested lead, he drew off untroubled to win with a speed score of 104 + from pursuer, Royal Victory. Dave the King is trained by Mike de Kock and was ridden by Callan Murray. The winner is a strong galloper with a career top figure of 113 and he must again be taken very seriously in upcoming Gr 1’s at Greyville which suit his pace-pressing tactics.
In America, Journalism won the second leg of the Triple Crown, showing determination to overcome steadying on the turn and bad bumping in the straight to run down outsider, Gosger in the Preakness. Watch the replay and admire a courageous display.
Journalism ran a huge race when narrowly defeated in the Kentucky Derby, and has now paired two tremendous efforts. Whether he can repeat in the third leg, (Belmont Stakes) is debatable as pairing successive strong performances can take a lot out of a horse.
A wider debate is about changing the traditional essence of the Triple Crown for 3YO’s, held over five weeks at three different tracks in America. Is the modern thoroughbred robust enough to withstand those rigors?
The problem is Triple Crown fields have been getting weaker as trainers are reluctant to race their prize horses on short, two-week gaps. In recent times, the Derby winner might not even enter the Preakness and instead be held back after a period of recovery for the Belmont.
This relates to the initial observation of horses’ individual needs. Some require generous spacing between races, others can handle heavier campaigns.
It takes robustness and adaptability to win the Triple Crown. Three hard races under different circumstances over a short period is why the feat has only been managed 13 times in just over a century!
Traditionalists would say the daunting difficulty is what makes the achievement so valuable. New age critics argue that Triple Crown races risk losing their stature if the current trend of better horses ducking certain legs persists.