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We don't breed gallopers anymore. Northern Dancer changed that. We breed milers and hope they stay 1 1/4 mile. We had a galloper last year in Archangelo. Handicappers don't know what to do with a galloper these days. It makes a difference whether a miler is in the 1 or 2 path on the turn to win at the classic distance. When I predicted Archangelo would take back on the backstretch and go around the field on the turn in the Travers the reaction was that's nuts. When a horse can gallop 12's the only thing you're worried about as a rider is to not get trapped on the rail. You want him outside and free to gallop his 12's while the rest of the field are struggling to get the distance. Up until the 1990's the breed in America had the inside straight on horses bred to race on dirt because we bred gallopers. I find it funny how at the same time most of racing in the US are holding onto dirt racing when we essentially did away with gallopers, the best type of horse to race on dirt. A miler can win on grass and dirt because they have a short burst of speed that's faster than a galloper. That works on dirt to a point, but is essential to win on the grass. A talented galloper will swallow a miler up after 1 1/8 mile every time. We need blood from Japan to get ourselves back to breeding the correct horse for the derby.
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