eightyfiveinafifty derby??????????
rayphil
Senior Member
Eightyfiveinafifty likely for Derby Trial
Don't call it Derby fever, but the connections of Eightyfiveinafifty have a slight temperature.
Trainer Gary Contessa said Monday that he plans to run Bay Shore winner Eightyfiveinafifty in the Grade 3, $200,000 Derby Trial at Churchill Downs on April 24. Should the horse win that one-turn, one-mile race, he could very well run back one week later in the Kentucky Derby.
"If all goes well, I'm going to the Derby Trial," Contessa said Monday. "He could punch his own ticket to the Derby. I don't have to go to the Derby by any means, but if the Derby Trial is an easy race for him, he comes back a week later in the Derby and that would probably be good for him; it would take the edge off him."
Eightyfiveinafifty, wearing a one-cup blinker outside of his right eye, basically went gate to wire in the Bay Shore, though he had his head cocked to the left in the early stages and appeared to be getting out. He drifted a little bit through the lane down the stretch while winning by 2 1/2 lengths. He ran seven furlongs in 1:21.89 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 100, his second triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure of the year.
In between those two races, Eightyfiveinafifty bolted entering the first turn of the two-turn Whirlaway Stakes. He unseated his jockey and jumped two rails before being caught on the backside. Contessa said he's not convinced one way or the other about the colt's chances to get two turns.
Meanwhile, Contessa is convinced that Castaneda is a solid New York-bred sprinter. Castaneda won his third consecutive race - a second-level New York-bred allowance race - last Friday. Contessa said Castaneda could make his next start in the $100,000 Blue and Gold Stakes at Charles Town on April 17. Castaneda also is eligible for the $100,000 Mike Lee Stakes for New York-breds on June 20. Both races are at seven furlongs.
Don't call it Derby fever, but the connections of Eightyfiveinafifty have a slight temperature.
Trainer Gary Contessa said Monday that he plans to run Bay Shore winner Eightyfiveinafifty in the Grade 3, $200,000 Derby Trial at Churchill Downs on April 24. Should the horse win that one-turn, one-mile race, he could very well run back one week later in the Kentucky Derby.
"If all goes well, I'm going to the Derby Trial," Contessa said Monday. "He could punch his own ticket to the Derby. I don't have to go to the Derby by any means, but if the Derby Trial is an easy race for him, he comes back a week later in the Derby and that would probably be good for him; it would take the edge off him."
Eightyfiveinafifty, wearing a one-cup blinker outside of his right eye, basically went gate to wire in the Bay Shore, though he had his head cocked to the left in the early stages and appeared to be getting out. He drifted a little bit through the lane down the stretch while winning by 2 1/2 lengths. He ran seven furlongs in 1:21.89 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 100, his second triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure of the year.
In between those two races, Eightyfiveinafifty bolted entering the first turn of the two-turn Whirlaway Stakes. He unseated his jockey and jumped two rails before being caught on the backside. Contessa said he's not convinced one way or the other about the colt's chances to get two turns.
Meanwhile, Contessa is convinced that Castaneda is a solid New York-bred sprinter. Castaneda won his third consecutive race - a second-level New York-bred allowance race - last Friday. Contessa said Castaneda could make his next start in the $100,000 Blue and Gold Stakes at Charles Town on April 17. Castaneda also is eligible for the $100,000 Mike Lee Stakes for New York-breds on June 20. Both races are at seven furlongs.
Comments
The only two-turn start this horse has made, he literally freaked out and went through the outer rail. Now they wan to put him in THAT pressure-cooker? This may be the worst case of Derby Fever on record.
I can see this horse wiping out half the derby field on the first turn.