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Year 36 Baltimore Crown Review
Original article written by Jack Meyer posted 10 years 0 weeks agoThe second leg of the SIM Triple Crown saw a field of 13 gear up to try and tackle the middle part of the Crown. We had 12 horses trying to spoil the dreams of Bronze Horseman by stealing away the second Jewel, and putting a hold on another Triple Crown winner for one more year. The track was labeled as fast at Baltimore Race Course, which was quite different from the conditions at Louisville Downs 1 week prior. As they headed for the gate, Bronze Horseman was favored to repeat his performance in the Derby, with Amaroq and With Kind Regards not far behind in the betting pool. Bronze Horeseman's owner forgot to send him to a farm for a little rest in-between races, so he was shipped straight from Louisville to Baltimore for the Crown, was that enough to hurt his chances, we are about to find out.
As they left the gate, Amaroq again sprinted for the lead, with Father of the Year, Derby Trifecta, and Night's Watch giving chase early. With Kind Regards and Bronze Horseman settled nicely off the pace in a stalking position, while Arrows, Imagine Dragons, and Worldsworstdad settled in the back and let the rest of the field do the work.
At around the half-way point, Amaroq seperated himself a little from the field as Father of the Year started dropping off a little, as did Night's Watch and Derby Trifecta. Bronze Horseman and With Kind Regards began to make their moves to the front picking up ground little by little. Extraordinary was sitting mid-pack at this time, while Imagine Dragons and Arrows were still biding their time in the back.
At the top of the stretch, Amaroq saw his lead dwindling rather quickly as Bronze Horseman and With Kind Regards were moving very quickly trying to run down the pace setter, while Father of the Year and Night's Watch threw in the towel. Extraordinary was geared up and closing nicely, as was Imagine Dragons and Arrows from the back of the pack, they were chewing up ground by the second on the leaders.
As they neared the finish line, Amaroq was still clinging to a 1 length lead, with Bronze Horseman hanging for second, and With Kind Regards getting leg weary in 3rd. Extraordinary saw his chances fading as he couldn't reach the top three in time, while Imagine Dragons roared home to grab 5th, with Arrows close by in 6th. Father of the Year hung on for 7th, while the rest of the field was well beaten, and farther back in the pack.
So, another year without a Triple Crown winner as Amaroq shows the rest of SIM nation that he is legit. Bronze Horseman may or may not have been affected by the lack of farm rest, but he surely showed a lot of heart out there, it just wasn't enough in the end. With Kind Regards put in another solid effort, he just couldn't place himself in the right spot to run down the top two, and just missed yet again. Extraordinary really had no excuse, he was in the right spot, he just couldn't seal the deal, while both Imagine Dragons and Arrows will surely be looking forward to the 1 1/2 mile distance that is right around the corner in the Long Island Classic. This truly was a tough race that saw the top two just switch spots, Amaroq just found the right gear this time around, will there be a round 3 for these three tough colts in 2 weeks?
Jack Meyer