Lava Man still looking game in the Eddie Read (Charles Pravata)

The first thing I thought when Lava Man faded in the stretch was “Was that it? Is that how his career will end?” He was so damn came in the Whittingham and while he looked the part yesterday he just didn’t show up in the stretch.

Was it his time in the Detention Protection Barn? [DRF+] He does like his routine. Was the crowd too tough for him? He held his own last out in roughly the same company.

Retirement is seriously on the table for the wildly successful former claimer and fan favorite. The owners want to give it a week to see how they feel… but what you do think?

They could take the Funny Cide route by trying to find a race with a soft field that he could win and then retire him as a stable pony. They could just try him again at the same level if they thought it was a just an off day, or they can start running him in softer company if they thought he still wanted keep running but wasn’t up for G1 company (thanks Jeff!). Or, they could just turn him out.

Here’s his game effort in the Whittingham:

And his dud in the Eddie Read:

In our last poll about Curlin’s next move, 33 of you, myself included, want him to run on the turf here in the states before deciding on the the Arc, 17 of you thought he should just stick to dirt, 12 of you though he should stay on target for the Arc and 7 of you thought he should point towards the BC Turf.

Remember, the Jess Jackson’s poll is still open… and Turf is the current front runner at 52%.

As always, thanks for participating!