That Cyberknife loves Keeneland’s observe is a identified truth in regards to the Pegasus frontrunner, nevertheless it’s price his Breeders’ Filth Mile efficiency carefully to find out what he may do within the Pegasus’ one-and-one-eighth. His coach Brad Cox has dryly noticed of Cyberknife’s second place to Cody’s Want, ““He ran good, simply second finest. He ran nice. No excuse. Florent (Geroux) gave him an ideal journey, simply got here up a bit bit brief, backside line.”

Whereas that’s true, the interior working of that race is price research. A mile is each a brief and an extended race, nevertheless it runs like a brief one, which is to say, a horse and rider do not need that further eighth, or quarter, or sixteenth of a mile to play with within the stretch. Many horse races are received and misplaced lengthy earlier than the sector turns for dwelling, however within the case of final yr’s Filth Mile, Cyberknife was gunning for the entrance as the sector turned for dwelling, and was simply edged out by a head by Cody’s Want, who completed that by going three huge.

However earlier than we get into Proxy’s probabilities to take Cyberknife down, herewith, a refresher of the percentages.

(Submit Place, Horse, Morning Line)

1) Proxy, 9-2

2) Simplification, 15-1

3) Ridin with Biden, 20-1

4) White Abarrio, 10-1

5) Defunded, 6-1

6) Artwork Collector, 10-1

7) Skippylongstocking, 5-1

8) Get Her Quantity, 15-1

9) Final Samurai, 20-1

10) Cyberknife, 5-2

11) Stilletto Boy, 30-1

12) O’Connor, 10-1

(Date: January 27, 2023, Supply: CBS Sports activities)

Proxy is a journeyman race horse, plain and easy, and journeymen can and do meet with success. Their trick is to be there to select up the items at no matter end line. After which go on the market and be there once more at a distinct end line. It can make a profession, because it has carried out in Proxy’s case.

Proxy has had 4 wins since his profession started in 2020, however two of these wins have been juvenile, and each occurred in that yr, his first on the observe. Since January of 2021, Proxy has had ten begins and out of that, two wins, which isn’t shabby, however not nice, both.

It could be logical to suppose that the $3 million Pegasus is an enormous step up for Proxy, and that’s additionally true, however the motive he’s kind of “appeared out of nowhere” because the second favourite on this race is his final win, which was additionally his final race, the Clark, at Churchill Downs on November 25 of final yr. The recency issues, as does the decisiveness of the victory: Proxy drove it dwelling over the Clark’s mile-and-an-eighth in 1:48.89, incomes him a pace determine of 105. Which may be very useful.

Like his rival Cyberknife, Proxy is a entrance runner, if additionally significantly much less celebrated, and thus much less “believed in” by the oddsmakers. However that quotient of perception, and his final rank within the morning line on the second rung of the ladder of likelihood to win the Pegasus, is improved and that resides within the sorts of regular performances he turned in all through 2022. Working backwards from his late November triumph within the Clark at Churchill, Cyberknife laid down, in succession, a present, a spot, a present, a spot, and a win.

Put one other approach, Proxy had a rocking 2022, ending within the cash in all six of his races that yr. Now, did he run towards the perfect at Keeneland and the Honest Grounds? No. However he did beat the hell out of virtually each one among them.

In a phrase Proxy is hard. The second factor that his superb 2022 teaches us is that Proxy is tactical. He tries to make the perfect out of each race, even when he’s in there scrapping for place, he’s scrapping for place. It additionally implies that he doesn’t thoughts being in scrappy conditions the place it’s a must to battle by means of site visitors to the wire, a really useful trait within the Pegasus’ discipline of twelve.

The takeaway is that if the break is clear and the horses get away, Proxy is mentally poised to show each little bobble and burp within the race to his benefit. He’ll get there as a result of his journeyman’s profession is constructed on getting there. And, if we racegoers are very fortunate, that’s the opponent that Cyberknife and Florent Geroux will meet within the stretch.