I was doing some testing this morning and I wondered about the possibility of doing the triple crown.











The horse is Zemlya. Yes these trials are with pacemakers. No, the times at 1m and 1m6.5 are not the fastest I have run but at 1m on Newmarket they are within .5s of the fastest times I've seen and at 1m6 on Ascot and 1m4f on Epsom they are amongst the fastest. She doesn't quite get 1m6.5 on Donny though as the times are 1s off best here.

So the question is can one improve the times at 1m on Newmarket and at 1m6.5 on Donny. Probably yes. Which makes the UK Triple Crown a possible target for the league! This all depends on how fast others are going of course. I suspect at 1m6.5 improvement will be easy to come by. It's the 1m time on Newmarket that will need significant improvement IMO and will be hardest to find.

wow that would be a big ask to do the triple crown the lge is so competitive
i think it will be tougher to do than it would in real life
but if any1 can you can

yeah lack of pace in the classics may be the downfall to your triple crown bid. if u trained the horse to run handily through its races it might have a good chance.

I think it's a tall ask and one thing I'm sure off is that next season will be even more competitive. Having said that I think with a little bit of breeding I'm sure I can get Epsom and Donny round about the 2:29:1-4 and 3:06:0-4 range and that is going to be reasonably competitive to win.

At Epsom 2:29 is a barrier I've only broken as a freak race though I do think it's one that can be broken but perhaps not by a horse that is going for such a range of distances. I would hope 2:29ish to be competitive for next season.

Donny.. well we'll see how fast the time is but going by the races so far I think I have a good chance with Suleviae and I think her time will be around the 3:06:1-2 mark though she can go faster. Again 3:06ish should be good enough next season.




The lack of pace isn't that much of an issue at Epsom/Donny. Tatosi/Yima clocked 2:29:52/2:29:44 off a first 2f time of 27:2/27:0. Contrast that to the example above where Zemlya ran 2:29:30ish off a 2s faster pace. I know she can clock similar times off the slower pace and I really don't see pace/lack of pace as an issue for races in the league longer than 1m2+ At 1m2f this is dependant on the course but at 1m4+ in my testing pace (regardless of course) really doesn't figure .

It's the Guineas that will be the biggest stumbling block. Paradoxically there pace is probably my biggest worry. At fast pace I see times round about 1:37:1. Without pace and with a horse with the right instructions I might have a shot as the race will end up somewhere between 1:37:5 and 1:38. In a fast race I don't see how I can find .5s for a horse that essentially is a stayer but I'll have to see what breeding brings in the next 2 months.

At any rate it's one race which will determine it next season as the Guineas is the first of the lot. Something to aim for but I suspect it's a very long shot but I think it's possible which is testament to how Mark has tweaked the distances horses can get in SO5.

Well in theory could you not import a horse with one set of instructions say race handy for guineas and derby, and then reimport in window with different instructions such as even pace?

I don't think that's allowed under league rules besides the week 5 window would be after guineas and derby/oaks.

Whoops.. didn't read too closely.. in any case the epsom/donny part would be the easy bit as horses can definitely get both distances though a single distance horse would be more consistent. It's trying to get the stayer to run the mile that's the real challenge.