The Sheets give Super Derby a '1'

Last night I received the Saturday edition of Thoroughbred Times Today and part of the issue showcased a Ragozin summary of the Super Derby with some very encouraging statements. Basically they say the 29th running of the race was one the best 3-year-old races of the year. My Pal Charlie earned a 1, Macho Again earned a 3 and Forest Command scored a 1. If you click the image, you can see a graphic of all races run in the Classic division and the Super Derby's number in relation. To truly appreciate it, I've pasted a few excerpts below.

From the summary:

"My Pal Charlie, the 6.50-to-1 third choice, accelerated quickly in the stretch and won the race decisively by 4 1/4 lengths. His Ragozin Speed Figure also was outstanding as he was credited with a career-best 1 for notching his first graded stakes victory.

Directly behind him, Preakness Stakes (G1) runner-up Macho Again, the 6-to-5 favorite, ran back to his career top of 3. After that, a neck behind Macho Again, came Forest Command, the 2.10-to-1 second choice who matched the winner with a 1. Considering that the winning figures for the Travers Stakes (G1), Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1), Belmont Stakes (G1), and Preakness were a 5, 3 3/4, 6, and 3 3/4, respectively, it should be readily obvious that the Super Derby was indeed the three-year-old race of the year."

On Forest Command:

"That leaves Forest Command, who made just his fourth start in the 1 1/8-mile stakes. Any time a horse with that little seasoning can generate a figure like a 1 while contending with post ten and a wide trip, there is s a chance he could be something special. Considering that Big Brown has not run faster than a 3 3/4 in the last four months, it is quite possible this lightly raced Monarchos colt might soon emerge as the leader of this pack. Yes, better late than never."

What are the Sheets?

Here is a brief description of the numbers taken from their web site: Each figure shows how much quality the horse demonstrated on that day. Briefly, the rating includes speed, weight, allowance for unusual track condition, racing wide or saving ground, headwinds or tailwinds, peculiarities of track construction such as downhill areas, etc. The numbers generally range from zero to the forties. The lower the figure the better the race. The numbers measure how far away from a championship rating (zero) this horse was on this day.