The reason TAP's early lack of success in the Derby never bothered me was my feeling that he believed that he had a clientele that wanted results in important races. So he cranked the young horses far too much and got the success he wanted. But this meant that the young horses peaked early, not only in Derby preps. He was a solid 'bet against' in Louisville for years.
I think he moderated this approach in recent years and maybe even found some owner/investors who approached the business differently, wanting longer term results. If this is the case, KA maybe shouldn't be looked at through the same historical prism you might used for TAP Derby candidates in the past.
The blinkers moved this horse up a lot. Enough to win? I don't know, but his late run in Florida was the strongest (from my point of view) of any of these. He may have shied from the whipping he got, but he was motoring. Ignore him at your peril.
