There were questions, lots of questions, but one thing that was always known is that Quality Road is one fine horse. At the bottom of this post is the video replay of The Hal's Hope from opening day at Gulfstream Park. I don't know if he's a better miler then a classic distance runner, but he's talented enough for either and this was a good start to his 4 YO campaign. A healthy and hard running Quality Road will make the older horse division very interesting.
Race 8 Gulfstream Park: The Hal's Hope Grade III; 1 Mile on Fast Dirt for 4 YO and Up.
Quality Road came out of the gate very well and struck the lead early. Spin Master and Le Grand Cru were game and went with him through 6 furlongs. At that point You and I Forever ran up the inside and at the top of the stretch Quality Road and You and I Forever were trading strides until about 1/16 to go and Quality Road just powered away. You and I Forever ran a game second and Congressional Page and Harlem Rocker came in soon after. My pre race favorite Le Grand Cru didn't have it when it needed it against the strong pace of Quality Road, even with very moderate fractions and a final time that was a ho hum 1:36:33. The Donn Handicap on February 6th should be an interesting affair anyway, and with this win I'm sure we'll see Quality Road there.
I didn't like what I saw on the tote board and I was content with a simple win bet on Le Grand Cru that didn't work out.
Have Fun, Turk Out!
