Lane's End A Polytrack Showcase?

With a field as wide-open as this weekend's Lane's End, it's hard to feel quite as engaged as usual; it seems to be becoming less of a Derby prep and more of a showcase for Polytrack specialists. Halo Najib seems a deserving favorite, given his success on synthetics, but that makes a wager less attractive. The Graham Motion-trained Adriano might provide a little value, but he is likely to head back to the turf after this weekend. I see the race as perhaps providing one or two Derby berths, but it does seem to be lacking the Triple Crown impact of previous years. But hey, at least it's on ESPN and I can get my Randy Moss fix. War Pass was back galloping after his much-discussed Tampa Bay Derby failure; despite an impressive battery of tests, there was still no explanation for it. The DRF interviewed Tim Ritchey about War Pass, comparing his effort to that of Afleet Alex in the Rebel (as discussed here earlier). Of course, there is one major difference between the two cases -- Afleet Alex was obviously sick, while War Pass has no apparent malady. I'd be willing to draw a line through the effort if I weren't otherwise concerned about how far he really wants to run and what happens when he's not on the lead. I remain bandwagonless; perhaps the Florida Derby will provide me with a seat. Just to the side of the Derby trail, there's an article checking in with Ken Ramsey; while it touches on his homebred Cannonball's chances in the Lane's End, the real focus is wife Sarah Ramsey's ongoing struggles after a stroke. Here's hoping their luck turns around.