Kanthari Race Recap

Kanthari exited Saturday’s allowance race in good order according to the Pletcher team. The son of Kantharos broke well from his outside post position and was able to place himself tactically while saving as much ground as he could. Jockey Luis Saez still found himself three to four wide while contesting the pace through an opening quarter of 21.40 seconds. Saez was forced to make an early move leading up to the turn in order to not get hooked wide. Turning for home, Kanthari was unable to quicken and was a bit flat late. As you may have noticed he was running with his head a bit cocked in the stretch which could explain why Saez reported he heard a noise. Given his trip, he certainly had some excuses but in the end, he did not produce an effort similar to what we have seen in his first two starts. The replay of the race can be found here. You will need to click the according date (Apr. 8) and race number (Race 3).

Following the race, Kanthari was scoped which returned clean of mucous or blood. The functionality of the throat returned the same as his previous races but given his history with the tie-back, it is something the barn will remain on top of as they have been.

Kanthari received a 74 Beyer Speed Figure for his eighth-place finish. By no surprise, this was a regression from his recent win (see updated past performances above). While the end result was a bit disappointing Saturday, there was a lot to overcome between shipping for the first time, his post position, and a different type of turf course which he never raced on.