Churchill Downs

We Miss Artie gets new shoes

Jay Privman|Apr 28, 2014

Intense Holiday, We Miss Artie, Derby work, April 27

Barbara D. Livingston We Miss Artie (right), working with Intense Holiday on Sunday, will be outfitted with thin shoes on his rear feet to help him better handle the dirt at Churchill Downs.

Trainer Todd Pletcher was candid following We Miss Artie’s workout Sunday, describing it as poor for a horse who usually works well on dirt, even though his best races have been on turf and synthetic.

On Monday, upon more reflection, Pletcher said he still wasn’t happy with the way he worked but did offer a few reasons why We Miss Artie wasn’t as sharp as he had hoped.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

“He’s been shod for turf behind, so we’ll put some thins on behind for the race,” Pletcher said, referring to We Miss Artie’s rear shoes.

Pletcher also said he thought We Miss Artie suffered by comparison because he worked in tandem with Intense Holiday, whose work was exceptional. In addition, We Miss Artie was on the inside of Intense Holiday, and by and large, horses closer to the rail struggled more with the cuppy surface that existed over the weekend.

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