I’ve wondered the same thing before but my opinion is that Pharoah was special regardless of his trainer, just from watching him run.  Maybe not TC special though and I think Justify was pretty much a lab experiment.

I saw Pharoah last workout before the Derby.  He was good, what impressed me  the most was how quiet he ran compared to other horses

princeofdoc said...

After watching Doppelganger run mediocre in the Pat Day, I downgraded Messier and Taiba; I eliminated them from all my tickets but one

That was good handicapping on your part, oberservation is everything.   

I had left Messier on my ticket because I thought it would rain.  I would still include on a ticket in the future if a track comes up slop.  I think he will be very good on slop, its just that he does seem to get intimidated by alpha type horses so there's that. 

FWIW, I did not wager the KY Derby this year, I capped it and "gave my ticket" to participate in the social aspect and historical participation on this race with all of you wonderful people.   Paper transferring of horses doesn't sit right with me, so I was boycotting the race.