I hate to say this but Im leaning towards J Be K. Just the fact he is the lone speed of this race and there are some deep closers. Was originally on Tale of Ekati but i think he needs this race. Tale Of Ekati has shown some great workouts the last month and looks like he is ready run but the 7/2 price is scaring me. Still uncertain. GL
100% Agree. I spit out my water when I saw Tale of Ekati as the 7/2 second choice. I've been waiting months for his return and was expecting the layoff would lead me to some value. I've been going back and forth all week after this write-up, DC's post on Yankee Bravo, and more on other forums. I'm in between J Be K, Tale of Ekati, and Yankee Bravo...I have about 36hrs to figure this one out.
Jessica Steinbrenner was chatting up her 3-year-old colt Majestic Warrior, and she wanted it known that her father is caught up in more than just spring training.
He is absolutely ecstatic he could have another shot at the Kentucky Derby, said Jessica, the younger of George Steinbrenners two daughters, the other day by phone from Florida. He had a great chance a few years ago with Bellamy, Road but that didnt work out. Hes excited all over again.
While the 77-year-old Steinbrenner recently turned over the day-to-day running of the New York Yankees to sons Hal and Hank, Jessica has been managing dads Kinsman Stable the past few years.
On Saturday, the Steinbrenners will find out whether Majestic Warrior moves forward on the road to the May 3 Derby when he runs in the $600,000 Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds. It will be the colts first race since finishing sixth in the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 6, when he most likely developed an ankle injury that set back his training.
If you love horses, these are the most exciting months of the year, Jessica Steinbrenner said. I can hardly think of anything else.
It seems dad is loving it, too. Jessica says she gave her father a picture of Majestic Warrior, and its hanging above the mantel in his bedroom. And, she added, the blanket from winning the Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga last Sept. 3 hangs over the Boss office chair.
Hes always said his dream is to win the Kentucky Derby, and that hasnt changed, Jessica said.
Steinbrenner has been in the Thoroughbred business since the 1970s. Kinsman Stable currently has about 25-30 horses in training as well as about 40 broodmares, many of them in Kentucky. The 750-acre farm in Ocala, Fla., has a private home for each of Steinbrenners four children.
Two-time Derby winner Nick Zito trained Bellamy Road, but this time fellow Hall of Famer Bill Mott was chosen to handle the Steinbrenners top colt. Mott is best known as the trainer of two-time Horse of the Year Cigar in the mid-1990s, and he has excelled with older horses, especially fillies and mares. Both have been training for the Steinbrenners for years.
We chose Bill because it has been a constant that he gets our fillies and the colts were going elsewhere and he deserved a shot with our best colt, Jessica Steinbrenner said. He takes great care of horses. He wont run them too soon, and he wont run them if he doesnt believe its a safe choice. ...I really look up to him. He is a great trainer.
Mott trained one of Steinbrenners Derby horses Blue Burner, who finished 11th in 2002. While Zito is Derby driven with 19 starters since 1990, Mott has sent out four since his first one in 1984.
They have given me a lot of support for a long time, and recently Jessica has given me a big chance with a couple of colts, Mott said, adding that Majestic Warrior has trained well at Payson Park in Miami in the weeks leading up to the race.
Mott has Derby hopefuls for other owners as well. Among them are Court Vision and Z Humor, who ran third and fourth in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream on Feb. 24.
Were glad to be able to have some potential horses for all these prep races, and we hope we come out of it in good order and have something to run on the big day, Mott said. Thats what were shooting for.
Majestic Warrior could put Mott and the Steinbrenners a step closer to Churchill Downs with a big effort in New Orleans. Risen Star winner Pyro is the morning-line favorite in a nine-horse field.
Ive been to Louisiana, but never for the races, Jessica Steinbrenner said. This is an exciting time.
NEW ORLEANS -- David Carroll endured the most difficult span in his training career when one of his horses came down with equine herpes virus right before Churchill Downs' fall meet.
But less than four months later, Carroll not only is back on his feet, he has two serious contenders for the May 3 Kentucky Derby.
Blackberry Road could give the 48-year-old horseman his biggest training triumph to date in Saturday's $600,000, Grade II Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds. The other, 3-for-3 Denis of Cork, awaits next week's Grade II Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn, where he won the Southwest.
Not bad for a barn of only 22 horses having two horses ranked among the top 12 in The Courier-Journal's Kentucky Derby poll.
But there certainly wasn't any luck of the Irish this fall. Off a traffic-troubled third in the Kentucky Cup Juvenile, Blackberry Road would have been one of the favorites in Churchill Downs' opening-day Iroquois. Instead, Carroll was forced to scratch all four horses he had entered that day at his adopted hometown track.
With the ailing horse -- who was never identified -- quickly sent to a clinic, Carroll's remaining horses spent half the meet in quarantine, including Blackberry Road and Denis of Cork. None was allowed to train for nine of the first 14 days, with only limited training the other five days in late afternoon following the races, he said.
Other than one horse stabled at Trackside training center, Carroll could not run a horse until Nov. 15 during the Oct. 28-Nov. 24 meet -- a devastating blow financially.
But on closing day, Blackberry Road was a fast-closing second in the $200,000, Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club, and Denis of Cork won a maiden race -- Carroll's only win of the meet.
"It wasn't the ideal preparation going into the Kentucky Jockey Club without running in the Iroquois," Carroll said.
"But closing day made up for everything," Carroll said. "It was a tremendous boost for the whole stable and the owners."
Carroll wasn't the only trainer affected in the equine herpes lockdown. Al Stall Jr.'s horses on the other side of a firewall in the barn were in quarantine, though for a shorter time. Among Stall's horses were My Pal Charlie, who also runs in the Louisiana Derby after winning his last two races.
Stall, who finished second in last year's Louisiana Derby with Ketchikan, said My Pal Charlie was supposed to make his racing debut on Churchill's opening day but had to scratch.
"It's unusual, you've got two horses in quarantine in the Louisiana Derby," Stall said, quipping, "Maybe we're training too hard, and we need breaks."
Besides the support of his family and staff, Carroll said what helped immensely was the understanding of his owners, including Cot Campbell, president of the Dogwood Stable that owns Blackberry Road.
Campbell, in turn, praises Carroll for being straight-up about the affected horse and acting quickly and responsibly. Contagious diseases are a sensitive thing at Churchill, ever since an outbreak of "strangles" -- a highly contagious bacterial upper respiratory infection -- several years ago threatened to get out of control.
But this time, no other horse was infected, and Carroll said the horse who was has made a full recovery.
"It was very disappointing, but gosh you couldn't do anything because it wasn't his fault," Campbell said of Carroll. "He was doing the best he could. He did every conceivable thing he could to keep training horses.
" He's an earnest fellow who doesn't have a crooked bone in his body. He did the only thing he could do, and we did the only thing we could do: Stick by him and dig in there."
Carroll has never had a Kentucky Derby horse, but he's been around them. While working for trainer Shug McGaughey, he was the exercise rider for Easy Goer, the 1989 Derby and Preakness runner-up who captured the Belmont Stakes, and for Seeking the Gold.
Carroll, who did an internship at the Irish National Stud and worked for the highly regarded John Oxx in his native Ireland, spent two years as an assistant to trainer Pete Vestal before opening his own Louisville stable in 1992. The $250,000 Southwest was his biggest victory to date in terms of purse, but he also won Belmont's Grade II Riva Ridge with Fire Slam in 2004 and Saratoga's Forego with American Chance in 1994.
"It's very humbling, really," he said of his potential Derby duo. "But something I feel very comfortable with. I've always had the privilege of working around nice horses. I'm really enjoying it, just enjoying the whole ride."
NEW ORLEANS -- If horses were basketball players, Louisiana Derby favorite Pyro would be the teenage talent who never got serious about his jump shot until he started playing pickup games with LeBron James.
After working Pyro several times with Horse of the Year Curlin, Steve Asmussen, the trainer of both, said the 3-year-old colt -- the favorite for tomorrow's $600,000 Louisiana Derby after his explosive triumph in the Risen Star -- became noticeably more earnest in his training.
The 11/16-mile Kentucky Derby prep at the Fair Grounds has the best assembly of 3-year-olds this year. It features four of the top 12 horses in The Courier-Journal's Kentucky Derby poll, including top-rated Pyro and stakes winners from both coasts.
But none of Pyro's eight competitors approaches what he faced when working alongside Curlin. Not that works always translate into race performance, but at least we know Pyro won't be intimidated.
"I really like how much Pyro seemed to pay attention in his training after his works with Curlin," said Asmussen, who also has Saratoga record-holder J Be K in the Louisiana Derby. "He wasn't so mischievous and playful. He paid a lot better attention going to the track and starting off."
Pyro went from a 2-year-old who was troublesome in the gate and 0 for 2 in stakes races to a 3-year-old who is a stakes winner and no problem in the gate. Maybe the workouts with Curlin did wonders.
"I think they can acknowledge their company's ability," Asmussen said about horses. "They didn't outwork each other; they went together. For me an ideal work is when they go around there covering ground and both the riders come back saying about the other, 'I had him whenever I wanted.' "
Pyro finished second to unbeaten champion War Pass in his two stakes last year: New York's Grade I Champagne and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Those marked three straight losses to War Pass -- Pyro also finished third in a stakes-quality allowance race at Saratoga.
But he tipped his hand to what kind of horse he is when he came from well off the pace to win a six-furlong maiden race at Churchill Downs on July 7. With his pedigree (by Pulpit out of a Wild Again mare) and running style, winning his first time out sprinting was a bonus.
Asmussen said Pyro has been "aimed at the Derby ever since."
"It was kind of like the sky's the limit," said David Fiske, racing and bloodstock manager for Joan and Ron Winchell, the mother-son team who bred and own Pyro. "I thought it would take him a couple of starts to be completely fit and to the point where he was truly competitive. So when he ended up winning first time out, it was like, 'Holy cow. If he could do that, he's got a chance to be something special.' "
Pyro turned on the wow factor again in his 3-year-old debut, coming from last at the top of the stretch to blow past stablemate Z Fortune, who appeared to be the Risen Star winner within the eighth pole.
Through the stretch, Fiske said the range of emotions started with, " 'We couldn't have been this wrong. Is he hurt?'
"Everything starts racing through your mind because you're watching something that doesn't make sense. After the sixteenth pole he sorted it out for me."
The view is that Pyro already has earned his way into the Kentucky Derby. The Risen Star, this race and next month's Toyota Blue Grass at Keeneland are about getting him to Churchill Downs in the best shape possible, mentally and physically.
Jockey Shaun Bridgmohan called the Risen Star performance "unbelievable."
"It's not like they went fast early and backed up late, where you say, 'Well, the race set up well for him,' " he said. "They went slow, and I don't think they slowed down. He accelerated so much that it was that visually impressive -- and it felt impressive."
Pyro is the latest standout tracing to Winchell Thoroughbreds' broodmare Carols Christmas, whom the late Verne Winchell, the donut mogul, claimed one day in 1981 for $25,000.
"He claimed her sight unseen," Ron Winchell recalled. "He was looking through the Racing Form and saw she had a lot of speed, which was something we always looked for in broodmares. Then when he saw her, she had a big swayback. It was like 'Uh-oh.' But she produced some of the best-looking horses on our farm."
Carols Christmas produced Arkansas Derby winner Olympio and major winner Call Now. Another daughter, Carol's Wonder, had Grade II winner Wild Wonder and Wild Vision, Pyro's dam. Another daughter produced the sprint star Cuvee.
"I couldn't tell you what I'd give to have him here today to be part of this," Ron Winchell said of his father, who died in 2002. "We worked so long in breeding all these horses, getting this line going. The decisions you make today, you don't see the outcome for 3-5 years. You always have that long-term mind-set going.
Just a little info to pass along to you all Hey Byrne is probably going to be sold for a high figure and be transfered to a big name trainer, the owners might do it before the Fla. Derby or right after. I would say it's about a 70-80% its a done deal but still working out some finer things to seal the deal.
She is going to Oaklanw route to the Oaks and also an update on Indian Blessing as of yesterday she is not going to the Oaks, Baffert isn't going to run her in the ground for $500,000 he told me yesterday. She will get a little time off after yesterday's race.
Durability a question mark for latest phenom, Big Brown
By Randy Moss
Special to ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: March 8, 2008, 11:21 PM ET
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Insiders are abuzz -- for good reason -- about the Wednesday performance by 3-year-old Big Brown at Gulfstream Park.
In his second lifetime start, Big Brown took a one-mile allowance race by 12 3/4 lengths with a Beyer Speed Figure of 104. He also looked to be coasting through the lane under no encouragement from Kent Desormeaux (although we have seen a thousand times that good horses are good because they try hard whether the little guys on their backs are wailing away or posing for the crowd.)
Looking at video of that race, the sky appears to be the limit for the Rick Dutrow-trained colt, who won his only other start by 11 1/4 lengths on grass last summer at Saratoga.
But Big Brown's big shortcoming -- other than inexperience -- shows in his pedigree.
His sire, Boundary, did not race until April of his 3-year-old season. He was brilliant in his first two starts, then went back on the shelf the rest of the year. When Boundary made it back in January 2004, he reeled off three more wins in succession. Boundary ran six times in all as a 4-year-old, outrunning ultimate Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Cherokee Run in the A Phenomenon Stakes at Saratoga in August before the injury bug surfaced again and sent him to the stud barn.
Boundary came by his infirmaries honestly. Boundary is by the late Danzig, who managed only three starts and three runaway victories in 1979 and 1980 before he broke down and was retired. He is out of the mare Edge, who was fast enough to win the El Encino but made only a grand total of 10 starts at ages 2, 3 and 4 two decades ago when horses ran more frequently than they do today.
And don't look to the female side of Big Brown's pedigree for physical inspiration.
Big Brown's dam, Mien, finally raced in September of her 3-year-old season. After two races and a maiden win at Pimlico, she was done for good. Mien was a daughter of the great sire Nureyev, who had to be retired after just three starts on the track.
See a pattern here?
Big Brown is the latest in a long line of horses bred for extreme talent with scarce attention paid to durability. The emphasis -- especially for horses designed to be sold at public auction -- apparently is to breed/purchase racehorses with genetic capabilities to win the Kentucky Derby even if soundness has to be sacrificed. After all, in today's stallion market, even an unsound championship-caliber 3-year-old can be worth tens of millions of dollars -- if their careers are managed judiciously with well-spaced races and use of all permitted medications, and, of course, with a healthy dose of sheer luck.
Therefore, the conundrum for equine capitalists on both sides of the fence has become: why breed or buy yearlings bred more for durability than brilliance, if their pedigrees suggest they may only be talented enough to reach the Grade 2 or Grade 3 level? Owning racehorses is an expensive proposition and a gamble in every sense of the word, so why approach it with a buying strategy that reduces the possibility of a life-changing grand-slam home run, such as Rick Porter hit last year with Hard Spun? In a sense, this philosophy comes into play in other sports as well. NFL teams clearly are more likely to draft a college player with all-world talent but a strong lack of character than a straight-laced overachiever who doesn't stand as tall, run as fast or jump as high.
Admittedly, this is a generalization of a complex issue. In a perfect world, breeders and buyers would always prefer both extreme talent and soundness.
But in my opinion, the basic premise holds true. Nowadays, potential talent is king, while potential durability is nothing but a lowly servant.
In this instance, Dutrow says Big Brown has already battled two quarter cracks in his brief career, and it can be surmised that he started on grass last summer because that surface would be easier on his brittle feet. Clearly, Big Brown is a phenomenally talented colt, but he may have too much in common with Badge of Silver, another shooting star on the Derby radar screen several years back with colossal talent but whose legs were too fragile to get him to the promised land.
If not for some luck, Big Brown might still be on turf
By Bill Finley
Special to ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: March 8, 2008, 8:00 PM ET
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The smartest thing to do, Richard Dutrow Jr. figured, was to find a grass allowance race for his horse named Big Brown. After all, the colt had raced only on the turf and had a grass pedigree.
So Dutrow found a March 5 turf allowance at Gulfstream Park, which might just have been a springboard to stakes races you've probably never heard of, like the Palm Beach Stakes or the Hill Prince. And then it rained.
The March 5 race was taken off the grass, which might turn out to be the luckiest break Dutrow and his owners have ever had. Once a promising grass horse, Big Brown is suddenly, and from out of nowhere, a hot Kentucky Derby candidate.
In his second career start, he won the off-the-turf Gulfstream allowance by 12 3/4 lengths, completing the one mile in 1:35 3/5. His Beyer number was a 104, second best this year among all 3-year-olds and the best of any in a route race. He'll run next in the March 29 Florida Derby, where, you have to think, he has a big chance.
Last summer, no one could have figured that Big Brown would ever come close to the Kentucky Derby. His pedigree said all grass. He is by Boundary out of a Nureyev mare named Mien, who was eased the one time she tried dirt.
Then-trainer Pat Reynolds debuted Big Brown in a Sept. 3 maiden race on the grass at Saratoga and the colt who is, I assume, big and brown, won by 11 1/4 lengths. That race caught the eye of the team at IEAH, a racing partnership group, and it reached in and bought a piece of the horse and turned him over to Dutrow.
Dutrow was pointing Big Brown toward the Breeders' Cup's new 2-year-old grass race last fall but the colt developed foot problems. Since then, quarter cracks have been a recurring problem for Big Brown and the reason his 3-year-old debut was put off until early March. Leading up to the March 5 race, Dutrow was only able to give the colt a pair of short, easy works. For that reason, he wasn't expecting a big effort.
"That race took me by surprise because I felt I was rushing him into that race," Dutrow said. "I was in a zone when I knew he was in because I was afraid that he just might not be fit enough. We've been having troubles with these quarter cracks; we've been having to wait on them."
Now, with his horse having gotten through the dirt race, Dutrow is understandably excited about the Florida Derby. In fact, he has cancelled his plans to travel to Dubai to saddle two starters -- Benny the Bull and Diamond Stripes -- in the Dubai World Cup races. He can't bear to miss the Florida Derby.
"He only had three easy breezes and you saw what he did," the trainer said. "He needed that last race. Now, as long as he cooperates, I get to really train him up to a big race, which is something I haven't gotten to do."
Quarter cracks might not be his only problem. Big Brown will go into the Florida Derby having had only two career races. That makes him a lightly raced, inexperienced horse, exactly the type of horse that traditionally struggles in the Kentucky Derby. Dutrow isn't worried.
"I always think that talent is much more important than experience," he said. "I'd much rather have the talent than the experience. The other day, he was in between two other horses down the backside and (Kent) Desormeaux said he was perfectly comfortable with that. I'd much rather have a horse with a world of talent as opposed to a seasoned veteran who goes over the knocking hard all the time."
Should he run well in the Florida Derby, Big Brown will be on his way to the Kentucky Derby. In that case, his getting there will be a matter of talent and some remarkable good fortune.
"He didn't show any signs that he wouldn't run on the dirt," Dutrow said. "He showed us that he liked it. So when they took the race off the grass it wasn't really a big deal to us. I'm glad that they did because now we have Derby dreams. If they had kept it on the grass it might have been a different story. I have to say that we got very lucky."
Newmarket win earns Hussler 'world's best' tribute
Email Printer friendly version Normal font Large font John Schell at Flemington
March 9, 2008
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THOROUGHBRED excitement machine Weekend Hussler is set to hit Sydney with a world-class rating and the Doncaster Handicap appears ripe for the taking.
Racing Victoria chief handicapper Greg Carpenter yesterday declared Weekend Hussler "the best three-year-old sprinter in the world".
The gelding again toyed with older rivals to win under handicap conditions, carrying 56 kilograms to become just the second three-year-old to win the Newmarket Handicap since Baguette in 1971 with such an impost. The great Ajax in 1938 won the race as a three-year-old with the equivalent of 57kg.
"I'd say he's challenging [Hong Kong horse] Sacred Kingdom as the best sprinter in the world," said Carpenter, who is in charge of weighting the internationally acclaimed Melbourne Cup, of Weekend Hussler.
"He's got gate speed, he can relax and he has a turn of foot."
Carpenter said the next round of international ratings were due in March, with the Ross McDonald-trained Weekend Hussler expected to be allotted 120.
McDonald said Weekend Hussler would head north along with jockey Brad Rawiller, with his main mission the Doncaster at Randwick on April 26.
"I think he is a superstar," McDonald said after Weekend Hussler's fourth group 1 win added to his Caulfield Guineas, Coolmore Stakes and Oakleigh Plate victories.
"The Doncaster will be the go now and then, in the spring, the Cox Plate will be an ideal race for him. I've also won a couple of Caulfield cups, it would be nice to win another one. And I've never won a Melbourne Cup."
Rawiller was in raptures over Weekend Hussler and said he rode the gelding like "a good thing".
"I didn't want to get stuck behind Dance Hero when he was in front so I gave myself plenty of room to get him wound up," he said. "Everything went to plan. He could be anything."
Weekend Hussler scored by three-quarters of a length over the Peter Moody trained Magnus ($16), which he also beat into second in the Oakleigh Plate.
"I've run into another freak," Moody said. "Tell me he's not running in The Galaxy. They won't bet 20/1 in The Galaxy about my horse, will they?"
This is what makes Thoroughbred racing such a great sport. On Saturday, in one corner of the country, the mighty Pyro, whose name and powerful stretch kick conjure up images of fires and explosions, once again crushed his foes, winning the Louisiana Derby (gr. II) in grand style.
On the same day, in the opposite corner of the country, a humbly-bred colt who sold for meager $1,000 as a yearling in Northern California and was given the unusual, but well-intentioned name of Autism Awareness, mowed down his field to win the El Camino Real Derby (gr. III) at Bay Meadows.
Pyro was given his name to signify an unstoppable force of power. Autism Awareness was given his name to raise awareness for the disorder that the owners 8-year-old son was born with. Pyro is trained by super trainer Steve Asmussen, who commands a 300-horse stable and who won 488 races last year for a .21 win percentage. Autism Awareness is trained by Genaro Vallejo, who won 13 races last year for a .07 win percentage. Pyro went off as the 4-5 favorite in the Louisiana Derby. Autism Awareness went of as the longest price in the El Camino Real Derby at odds of 62-1.
Pyro was sired by the top-class stallion Pulpit, who stands at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky for a fee of $80,000. Autism Awareness was sired by the obscure Tannersmyman, who stands at Woodbridge Farm in Oakdale, Cal. for a fee of $2,500. Pyros breeding rights have been sold to Darley. No such offer has been made by Darley for Autism Awareness breeding rights.
Six days before Pyro broke his maiden at Churchill Downs in his career debut last July, Autism Awareness finished eighth in his career debut at the Pleasanton fair. Pyro went on to finish second to 2-year-old champion War Pass in the grade I Champagne Stakes and Bessemer Trust Breeders Cup Juvenile. Autism Awareness went on to be beaten at the Santa Rosa, Bay Meadows, and Fresno fairs, while racing twice for a claiming tag. Two weeks before Pyro inhaled his opponents in the Risen Star (gr. III) with one of the most spectacular stretch runs ever witnessed on the Derby trail, Autism Awareness was breaking his maiden at Golden Gate in his 13th career start.
But now, here they are together on the road to Churchill Downs, destined perhaps to cross paths on the first Saturday in May. If that happens, get the golden coach and glass slippers out of storage. Wipe the dust off the old slingshot.
Yep, this is what makes racing special Cinderella getting another chance to dance with the prince; David getting another crack at Goliath. Will it happen with Autism Awareness and Pyro? Who knows? But its something that can happen, and thats what separates racing from other sports.
OK, back to reality. Pyro showed in the Louisiana Derby that he is now the one to beat on May 3. One sensational performance raises the eyebrows, but two seals the deal, especially in a year when no one has stepped up to claim the role of Kentucky Derby favorite. Pyro did just that on Saturday. Instead of lagging back in the rear of the field off sloth-like fractions, as he did in the Risen Star, he showed a new dimension by sitting in fourth, some four lengths off another dawdling pace. Again trapped behind a wall of horses turning for home, Pyro and Shaun Bridgmohan this time sat chilly and bided their time, waiting for the inevitable hole to open. No more meandering all over the track looking for an opening. Bridgmohan knew that he could afford to wait, because once one did open, hed be gone in the proverbial blink of an eye.
Well, one did open and Pyro was indeed gone, as the colt calmly shot through there as if he hadnt a care in the world. He burst clear of the field in a flash and strolled home to win by three lengths. Once again, his closing fractions were strong, with a quarter in :23 4/5 and final sixteenth in :06 2/5.
If there is anything that Pyros future opponents can use to diminish his victory, it is the performances of the other top contenders. The horse that finished second, My Pal Charlie, was 60-1 and didnt look like he was in the same class as Pyro. The main threats Tale of Ekati, Majestic Warrior, and Blackberry Road all came up empty in the stretch, despite the slow pace, while the consistent Unbridled Vicar never ran a step, indicating something might have happened to him early in the race. Tale of Ekati, who broke slowly and lost his position, and Majestic Warrior were on course to have only two Derby preps and neither could afford to throw in this kind of performance. Blackberry Road was closer to the pace than usual, and had a clean trip this time, so no apparent excuse. But he still should improve going longer; 1 1/16 miles is not his game. Yankee Bravo, making his dirt debut, ran well enough late to get third, which will keep him firmly entrenched on the Derby trail. Still lightly raced with only four starts, and with a big closing kick, he is not one to be taken lightly.
The smartest guy on Saturday was Team Valor International president Barry Irwin, who packed up Visionaire after his third-place finish in the Risen Star and fled town, getting as far away from Pyro as possible. He headed up north to New York, where Visionaire captured the Gotham Stakes (gr. III) with a powerful stretch run of his own, charging through a thick blanket of fog to just get up by a nose.
Irwin had no desire to pick a fight with Pyro again, and for good reason. That horse is from a different planet, he said shortly after the Risen Star. Hes also a physical monster with a forearm like Sonny Liston. For all those too young to remember the former heavyweight champion, just think of George Foreman and add a mean streak to him. Liston was the terror of the ring until one Cassius Clay got in his head and drove him nuts.
Dont expect that to happen with Pyro, whose mental state has actually improved since last year, and he is now the consummate pro on the racetrack.
All that is left for him is to bide his time and wait for his white whale, also known as War Pass, to breach on May 3. Many people feel, at a mile and a quarter, Pyro will have better luck with his nemesis than Ahab had with his.
It must be noted that if Pyro should emerge victorious on the first Saturday in May he will be the fifth straight homebred to win the Kentucky Derby, following Smarty Jones, Giacomo, Barbaro, and Street Sense, which bodes well for the good old days when homebreds were the backbone of the sport. Be aware, however, that in both his victories this year, the 3-year-old fillies -- Indian Blessing in the Silverbulletday (gr. III) and Proud Spell in the Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. II) -- ran faster. Those are top-class fillies, but that's a pattern you don't want to see repeated too often.
Getting back to Autism Awareness, he looked like a totally different horse from the one that opened a big lead and ran his field into the ground back on Jan. 21. Since then, hes had two bullet works at Golden Gate, and in the El Camino Real, he took back to fourth and then got himself boxed in badly on the far turn. Waiting patiently, just as Pyro did, he finally found an opening after turning for home and took off, charging by the battling leaders, Nikkisgoldensteed and Tres Borrachos, to win going away by 1 1/2 lengths in the respectable time of 1:43 for the 1 1/16 miles.
Fairy tales aside, Autism Awareness most likely has had his big moment on the Derby trail. But even if thats true, its still a story that will be told numerous times in the weeks ahead. And if he should make it to Churchill Downs, following a $6,000 late nomination fee, you can bet the story of Autism Awareness and his cause will spread across the country in much the same manner as Afleet Alex and Alexs Lemonade Stand in 2005. In that respect, $6,000 is pretty cheap.
Credit must be given to Nikkisgoldensteed, who was under pressure every step of the way from Tres Borrachos, but kept on battling to the wire along the rail, never seeing the winner until he was well past him. He finally got the better of Tres Borrachos and pulled 1 1/2 lengths clear to finish second. This is a tough colt, who is both game and brilliant.
A vision in the fog
Well, a Visionaire to be more precise. As the horses in the Gotham emerged from the thick shroud that had enveloped the track, all one could see was the ghostly figure of the gray colt, Texas Wildcatter, well ahead of the others. Someone, somewhere was second, but no one had a clue who it was.
Then came a sole figure, still on his left lead, his tail tied because of the sealed sloppy track. One could faintly see the familiar green silks of Visionaires co-owner Team Valor International. The son of Grand Slam was well ahead of everyone else, but looked to have no chance of catching Texas Wildcatter. As the two horses became more visible, one could now clearly see Visionaire chopping into Texas Wildcatters lead with every stride, but the finish line was approaching fast. Texas Wildcatter began shortening stride, and Visionaire, under a hand ride by Jose Lezcano, nailed him right on the wire, winning by a nose.
Team Valor president Barry Irwin, who bought 51% of Visionaire following the colts impressive allowance victory at Gulfstream Jan. 4, was standing on the rail and had no idea if the rallying horse was his or not until he saw the 10 on the saddle towel.
Between the time I figured out it was us and they crossed the wire couldnt have been three seconds, Irwin said. Ill tell you one thing, thats the way to watch a race. Theres no sweating, no nerves; you just sit there like everyone else and you wait. And then here they are and either you did it or you didnt.
Visionaire had drawn post 10, which is not where you want to break from on the inner track at Aqueduct. Irwin knew his only chance was for Lezcano to drop back to last, tuck in, and let the colt return to the running style that enabled him to score back-to-back explosive victories. In the Risen Star, the pace was agonizingly slow, and breaking from the inside, Visionaire was forced to race closer to the pace than he liked, while stuck behind horses. Irwins only concern in the Gotham was that horses all day were winning from close up and well off the rail.
If you werent up there on the lead or just off it, and rallying wide, you got nothing, Irwin said. So, for him to do what he did was pretty impressive. And he ran a98 Beyer number, so I think were in a good spot. Now we can just kick back and point him for the (Toyota) Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I). We have enough earnings to get in the Derby, so I want to run him where its going to help him the most for the Derby. By running him on Polytrack in the Blue Grass, he might not win it, but I think itll set him up for the race the best way. I believe Polytrack helps your horse get what he needs from a cardiovascular standpoint without having to take the pounding.
If there is one question mark surrounding Visionaire, it is his pedigree, which is kind of iffy for 1 1/4 miles, with sire Grand Slam and broodmare sire French Deputy. But there are several hard-knocking, two-turn Maryland stakes horses in his female family, and he does have the right running style to keep stretching out. Lets call his pedigree borderline, so it may just come down to ability, of which he has plenty.
Second wave brings heavy ammo
Each year about this time, we wait for the second wave to hit the Derby trail, hoping to find a Monarchos or a Grindstone or a War Emblem late developers who emerge on the scene, seemingly out of nowhere, to become leading Derby contenders.
Just when many fans were becoming disillusioned with the run of mostly mundane Derby preps, in came the second wave second, bringing two colts who rocked the Derby trail with performances so spectacular their names quickly were on everyones lips, despite neither having ever run in a stakes. Just like that, Big Brown and Hey Byrn were hot commodities. Three days after Hey Byrns stroll in the park, Big Brown, who hadnt run since demolishing his foes by 11 1/4 lengths in a maiden turf race at Saratoga last summer, returned in a one-mile allowance race at Gulfstream that was taken off the turf and turned in a performance so awe-inspiring he quickly made Hey Byrn yesterdays news.
By crushing his opponents by 12 3/4 lengths, winning with ridiculous ease, Big Brown earned a 104 Beyer figure and an impressive 3 1/2 on the Ragozin Sheets. What amazed everyone was the way he cruised along under a motionless Kent Desormeaux after six furlongs in 1:09 4/5, this following a second quarter in :22 2/5. He merely cantered home his final quarter to win eased up with his ears pricked in 1:35 3/5. Although Hey Byrn had won his race just as easily, his time for the 1 1/8 miles over a slow track was 1:52 3/5.
A majority interest in Big Brown had been purchased by IEAH Stables from original owner Paul Pompa following the colts debut for a price believed to be around $2 million. He was then turned over to Rick Dutrow, who had to battle through a couple of quarter cracks with Big Brown before being able to get him back to the races.
What amazed Dutrow most about Big Browns performance was that the colt had had only two breezes this year a half in :48 on Feb. 24 and five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 on March 1. On the day of the race, Dutrow admitted to being scared, and kept thinking, I gotta be out of my mind to do that to this horse. His final work, in which he galloped out strong and came bouncing back on his toes, had convinced him he was ready, but now he was wondering if he was doing the right thing.
In a little over a minute and 35 seconds, everything changed. Believe me, I wasnt thinking about the Derby before the race, Dutrow said. Now, how can I stop it? Hes absolutely unstoppable right now.
Dutrow did say, however, that the only thing that could prevent Big Brown from making the Derby is his feet, so hes going to keep him at Gulfstream and run in the Florida Derby (gr. I) and keep everything basic. That would give Big Brown only three career starts before the Derby, an obstacle even Curlin couldnt clear last year, nor could anyone else in the past 93 years. With Big Brown having debuted on grass, then sidelined for six months before resurfacing in another scheduled grass race, one has to wonder just how troublesome his feet are. As talented as he is, hes still bucking the odds, having to overcome both soundness and experience issues.
So impressive were the victories by Big Brown and Hey Byrn, it is conceivable they will vie for favoritism, along with Elysium Fields, in the Florida Derby despite their lack of stakes experience.
What is unusual about both colts, other than their jaw-dropping victories, is the fact that both are by sprinting sires. Hey Byrns sire, Put it Back, a son of the speed-oriented Honour and Glory (sire of sprinters Battle Won and Keyed Entry) is best known for his sons Smokey Stover and In Summation both confirmed sprinters. Big Browns sire, Boundary, who was a stakes-winning sprinter, has sired mostly sprinters and milers. So, whats happening here? Is the breed so random nowadays that we have absolutely no idea any longer who the real Derby contenders are based on pedigree?
That means its time to pay much more attention on the dam. Hey Byrns maternal grandsires are Skip Trial and Storm Bird, so that is apparently where his stamina is coming from. Big Brown is inbred to Damascus and Round Table, as well as Northern Dancer, so theres your stamina. Damascus has been known to inject speed into many of his sons, but his inbreeding in Big Browns case is through his daughters, which brings out his stamina.
The bottom line is that these two exciting colts do have question marks that wont be erased until they face each other and a number of proven stakes horses in the Florida Derby.
In an interesting sidelight of these allowance races, Todd Pletcher decided to run his seven-furlong maiden winner Sleuse in a second level allowance race on March 2 instead of a first level allowance the day before and ran smack into Hey Byrn. Then, he entered his runaway maiden winner Crimson Comic in a one-mile allowance race on turf March 5, but listed him as main track only. As a precaution, he also entered him in a first level allowance race on dirt at the same distance the following day. The grass race came off the turf and Pletcher decided to go with Crimson Cosmic in that spot and ran smack into Big Brown. It just goes to show you that on the Derby trail you never know behind which door the monsters are lurking.
In other Derby news:
In the Beyer beware department, when Gulfstream Park announced that Cool Coal Mans final time in the Fountain of Youth (gr. II) was 1:49 2/5, he was given a 98 Beyer figure. That time was changed soon after to 1:50, yet on the latest past performances, his Beyer is still 98. So, is Beyer using the old time, the new time, or Randy Moss private clocking? Whichever one he is using, there is no reason for the colt to earn the same figure based on two different times, three-fifths apart.
If there is a horse who may be able to give War Pass a tussle in the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. III), it is Dogwood Stable's Atoned, who indicated his readiness by working five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 at Palm Beach Downs and galloping out a strong seven panels in 1:26 4/5 and pulling up a mile in 1:40. Judging from his works, he is ready to come back running and he already has an excellent foundation.
Delta Jackpot (gr. III) dead-heat winner Turf War, who turned in a dismal effort in the Southwest Stakes (gr. III) Feb. 18, returned to the work tab last week, breezing five furlongs in a bullet 1:00 at the Ocala Training Center.
Speaking of the Southwest, if youre looking for a magabomb future book horse whos running in Saturdays San Felipe, keep an eye on a colt named Southwest, who was forced seven-wide going into the first turn and was five-wide turning for home in a Santa Anita allowance race, yet still closed well off a dreadfully slow pace to finish third behind On the Virg. Trained by Gary Mandella, Southwest is by Cozzene, out of a Quiet American mare, so he should only get better the farther he goes.
Readys Image, winner of the Sanford Stakes (gr. II), had his first work of the year after being sidelined with an injury last fall, breezing three furlongs in :39 2/5.
She is going to Oaklanw route to the Oaks and also an update on Indian Blessing as of yesterday she is not going to the Oaks, Baffert isn't going to run her in the ground for $500,000 he told me yesterday. She will get a little time off after yesterday's race.
FB
It's official as it's on the DRF home page tonight. He is going to freshner her up.
Minor injury knocks Barrier Reef from Tampa Bay Derby
BARRIER REEF
Brandon Benson/NYRA photo
by Jeff Lowe
Whirlaway Stakes winner Barrier Reef will not participate Saturdays Tampa Bay Derby (G3) after missing a few days of training at Payson Park due to a minor injury.
He grabbed himself behind coming off the track the other day in the mud, said Rick Mettee, the United States assistant to Godolphin Racing trainer Saeed bin Suroor. Its nothing serioushes going back to the track [on Wednesday]but he missed his scheduled workout the other day. I spoke with Saeed, and he said Lets just pass this race.
Mettee said no decision has been made on an alternative race for Barrier Reef, who was transferred to Godolphin after his victory in the Whirlaway on February 2 at Aqueduct for owner Darley Stable.
Barrier Reef was not among the early nominees for the Triple Crown. The late nomination deadline is March 29.
The defection leaves Atoned and Big Truck as perhaps the leading rivals for champion War Pass in the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby. Atoned has not raced since his second-place finish in the Remsen Stakes (G2) on November 24. Big Truck finished second in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay on February 16.
Stakes coordinator Duane Christo said local horses Dynamic Wayne, Gentleman James, and Song of Greatness are likely for the Tampa Bay Derby. Cigar Man, Golden Spikes, and Stormin Yank also could join the field.
PYRO (Pulpit) didn't disappoint his many supporters in Saturday's Louisiana Derby (G2), recording a three-length victory as the 4-5 favorite, and the Steve Asmussen-trained colt was bet down to 4-1 favoritism in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager over the weekend. Pyro is a leading Kentucky Derby (G1) contender by virtue of two convincing wins this season, but there are still holes in his resume.
At some point, Pyro will have to deal with a legitimate pace. After winning the Risen Star (G3) behind snaillike fractions, Pyro was expected to receive a truer test on Saturday, and Asmussen even assured us of a realistic set-up from Pyro's stablemate, J BE K (Silver Deputy), who would be going right to the front in an attempt to lead wire to wire. Jockey Kent Desormeaux apparently had different plans, taking a hold of J Be K after the gates opened, and Desormeaux allowed 60-1 MY PAL CHARLIE (Indian Charlie) to crawl along unopposed on the front end during the early stages. The pacesetter reached the three-quarters mark in 1:13 4/5.
Pyro's final times in the Louisiana Derby and Risen Star are also subject to criticism. He finished the Louisiana Derby in 1:44 2/5. One race earlier in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), Proud Spell (Proud Citizen) turned the same distance in 1:44. And the early fractions in the Oaks (:24 2/5, :48 and 1:12 4/5) weren't significantly faster than the Louisiana Derby. On February 9, Pyro completed the 8 1/2 furlongs of the Risen Star in 1:44 3/5. One race earlier that afternoon, Indian Blessing (Indian Charlie) ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:43 3/5. Three-year-old fillies are running faster than him on the same program.
Speed ratings are another concern. After earning a 96 in the Risen Star, Pyro hit the century-mark in the Louisiana Derby, registering a 100 BRIS Speed figure, but his 2008 Speed numbers are still lower that he was earning at the end of his juvenile season.
Despite these knocks, Pyro must be given his due. He dominated the three-year-old ranks in Louisiana this winter. After capturing only one-of-four starts at two, Pyro is winning this year, and winning convincingly. He's much-improved from that perspective. A confirmed closer, Pyro needed to pass 10 horses after racing in last for most of the Risen Star, but he displayed more tactical speed in the Louisiana Derby, racing closer to the pace in fourth during the early stages. As a result, his BRIS Early Pace numbers increased by about 20 points from his seasonal bow.
Pyro is also showing the ability to overcome adversity. He had to wait and change course in the stretch run of the Risen Star, and his momentum was stopped during the Louisiana Derby. The colt advanced into contention approaching the far turn on Saturday, but jockey Shaun Bridgmohan had no place to go and threw the brakes on. Pyro patiently waited until splitting rivals around the eighth pole, and he accelerated away with a dynamic turn of foot once clear. His stop-and-go versatility figures to serve him well in a 20-horse field at Churchill Downs.
The top challengers entering the Louisiana Derby failed to perform well, with TALE OF EKATI (Tale of the Cat) and MAJESTIC WARRIOR (A.P. Indy) checking in sixth and seventh, respectively, but the competition isn't important to Steve Asmussen. He's laying the groundwork for the first Saturday in May. The outstanding conditioner played catch-up with a lightly raced Curlin (Smart Strike) in 2007, but he had the opportunity to plot a long-range course this year in pursuit of his first Kentucky Derby win. And his colt appears to have the tools to get it done. Critics may want to dismiss Pyro's two efforts so far this year as fake, but don't be surprised to see the colt keep improving over the next six weeks. He will receive his final Kentucky Derby prep in the April 12 Blue Grass S. (G1) at Keeneland.
My Pal Charlie captured a $50,000 maiden claiming event two starts earlier and entered the Louisiana Derby off an entry-level allowance win at Fair Grounds. He's headed in the right direction for trainer Al Stall, but Desormeaux should get a present from his connections for allowing My Pal Charlie an easy lead on a slow pace. Circumstances will be different next time. YANKEE BRAVO (Yankee Gentlemen) turned in a commendable effort in his dirt debut. Last after six furlongs, he launched a big rally to reach contention at the top of the stretch and might have cost himself second when ducking in around the eighth pole. The Paddy Gallagher charge suffered his first setback on Saturday, but he proved something to doubters who thought he was strictly a synthetic track/turf horse. Yankee Bravo will make his next appearance in the April 5 Santa Anita Derby (G1).
Tale of Ekati proved to be a mighty disappointment on Saturday, racing at the back of the pack the entire way after breaking a step slow. The Grade 2 winner had been working in South Florida since mid-January, but Barclay Tagg waited until almost mid-March to run him, opting for only two Derby prep races. That strategy looks terrible now. Majestic Warrior, who was also returning from a lengthy layoff, finished a spot behind Tale of Ekati, but the lightly raced colt at least showed signs of life in a race he desperately needed, offering a move from the back of the pack to reach contention before flattening out in the stretch. It's tough to envision him being ready for the Derby off such a light campaign, but Majestic Warrior still owns some promise.
In Saturday's Gotham S. (G3), VISIONAIRE (Grand Slam) notched his first stakes win with a stirring late rally through the fog at Aqueduct. After breaking a step slow from his outside post, the chestnut colt dropped far back in the nine-horse field. He began picking up rivals on the far turn, but Visionaire didn't appear to have any chance of catching TEXAS WILDCATTER (Monarchos) entering the stretch drive. That rival swooped to the lead on the far turn and turned for home with a clear lead and a head full of steam.
Visionaire gamely wore down his rival late, catching Texas Wildcatter in the final jump for a nose decision, and the Michael Matz-trained colt recorded his first triple-digit Speed rating (100) in the process. He's a promising colt indeed. After easily breaking his maiden over Elysium Fields (El Prado [Ire]) at Laurel Park last November, Visionaire opened his sophomore campaign with a 5 1/2-length romp in a one-mile, entry-level allowance at Gulfstream. He made his stakes and two-turn debut in the Risen Star and raced close to the pace before finishing third, beaten 2 3/4 lengths by Pyro. Visionaire benefited from that experience, displaying a ton of heart in the slop at Aqueduct, and he's eligible to keep moving forward for his Derby-winning conditioner. We don't know how far he'll run, but Visionaire impressed in the 1 1/16-mile Gotham. The Blue Grass is next.
Texas Wildcatter is an improving sort for Todd Pletcher. He entered the Gotham in solid form, recording BRIS Late Pace ratings of 111 and 108 in his two previous outings, and he closed a lot of ground into a slow pace when finishing third in the Whirlaway S. last time out. The gray colt came up a little short in the Gotham, but he finished 7 3/4 lengths clear of third and owns a favorable pedigree for a classic route of ground. It will be interesting to see whether Texas Wildcatter can carry his form forward in the Wood Memorial (G1) on April 5.
Saturday's El Camino Real Derby (G3) at Bay Meadows probably won't have any impact upon the Kentucky Derby (G1). AUTISM AWARENESS (Tannersmyman), the longest shot on the board at 62-1, exited his shocking 1 1/2-length upset with an injury and will miss the Run for the Roses. Turf Paradise Derby winner NIKKI'SGOLDENSTEED (Formal Gold) offered a decent showing for second after jumping shadows earlier in the race, battling back in deep stretch after being passed by the winner, but the California-bred will step up much to face much tougher company in his next outing. With only $30,000 in graded earnings, Nikki'sgoldensteed will likely have a difficult time making the Kentucky Derby field, but that could be a blessing in disguise.
Upcoming
Unbeaten juvenile champion WAR PASS (Cherokee Run) will command the spotlight in Saturday's Tampa Bay Derby (G3), and a small group of rivals are expected to challenge him in the 1 1/16-mile race. He should roll on the front end.
The Rebel S. (G3) and San Felipe S. (G2) figure to be more competitive events on Saturday. The 1 1/16-mile Rebel lost a top contender when DENIS OF CORK's (Harlan's Holiday) connections decided to skip the race in favor of the Wood or Illinois Derby (G2), and that will leave the unseasoned runner with only one start in the 75 days prior to the Kentucky Derby. If the thrice-raced colt had more foundation, I could understand the move. But late-blooming sophomores (Denis of Cork made his second career start on January 19) aren't ready to win the Derby off only one prep race in 75 days.
His defection leaves Lecomte (G3) winner and Risen Star runner-up Z FORTUNE (Siphon [Brz]) as the one to beat in the Rebel. ANAK NAKAL (Victory Gallop), SIERRA SUNSET (Bertrando) and SACRED JOURNEY (Unbridled's Song) are also expected.
The San Felipe will be a distance test for the three top contenders -- GEORGIE BOY (Tribal Rule), GAYEGO (Gilded Time) and BOB BLACK JACK (Stormy Jack). They've all been very impressive in one-turn events this winter at Santa Anita.
Top 10
1) PYRO -- Sets his sights on Blue Grass following dominant Louisiana Derby win
2) COLONEL JOHN -- Sham (G3) winner is headed to the Santa Anita Derby
3) WAR PASS -- Expect a strong showing in Tampa Bay Derby
4) COURT VISION -- Eligible to improve significantly upon late-running third in Fountain of Youth (G2)
5) EL GATO MALO -- Sham runner-up turned in an excellent effort in defeat
6) VISIONAIRE -- Gotham winner gives Matz hope for second Derby trophy in three years
7) Z FORTUNE -- Asmussen runner is the horse to beat in the Rebel
8) COOL COAL MAN -- Fountain of Youth winner will make his final prep in Blue Grass
9) MAJESTIC WARRIOR -- Deep closer needed the Louisiana Derby off a 154-day layoff
10) DENIS OF CORK -- Unbeaten and lightly raced colt will have only one more start to build upon
PYROMANIA IN LOUISIANA
This Saturday will put us seven weeks away from the 2008 Kentucky Derby. A lot certainly can happen in those eight weeks. But, at this point, it appears to me Pyro will be awfully tough to beat in the Run for the Roses following his victory last Saturday in the Grade II Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds.
Four days before the Louisiana Derby, trainer Steve Asmussen talked about his goal of creating a more consistent rhythm in Pyros running style i.e., make him more efficient all the way from Point A to Point B. That was a primary reason Asmussen had worked Pyro twice in company with 4-year-old Curlin, the 2007 Horse of the Year, prior to the Risen Star.
Bob Fortus, racing writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, told me that Pyro had been extremely impressive in those two works with Curlin.
In the Louisiana Derby, one could plainly see that Pyro is indeed getting better at staying focused from start to finish. In the Risen Star, a 1 1/16-mile race, he was last in a field of 11, nearly nine lengths off the pace with five-sixteenths of a mile to go. In the Louisiana Derby, also at 1 1/16 miles, he was fourth, a little more than a length off the lead. Thats a huge difference.
Pyro had to await room turning into the stretch and early in the stretch run in the Louisiana Derby. When a hole materialized with a little less than a furlong to go, he charged to the front and quickly pulled away to prevail by three lengths for Asmussen and owner-breeder Winchell Thoroughbreds.
We put him in the race more, and he showed he could make more than one move, Asmussen was quoted as saying by Daily Racing Forms Jay Privman. I feel very good that he did what we asked him to do.
Shaun Bridgmohan has ridden Pyro in all six of his career races.
I was not panicking with my position at all, Bridgmohan said with regard to having to await racing room for a period of time in the Louisiana Derby. I knew what I had, and he gave it to me.
Pyro earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure in the Louisiana Derby, up from his 90 in the Risen Star. He recorded a pair of triple-digit Beyers last year, a 100 when second to War Pass in the Grade I Champagne Stakes and a 105 when second to that same rival in the Grade I Breeders Cup Juvenile.
AVOIDING STRIKES
As regular readers of this column know, I have come up with 10 key Kentucky Derby factors. These factors help point out 3-year-olds who have a good chance to win the Derby from a tactical and historical perspective. When a horse doesnt qualify in one of the 10 categories, the horse gets a strike.
Since coming up with the concept of key factors in 1999, six of the nine Kentucky Derby winners have had either zero strikes or one strike. No winner has had more than three.
Three Kentucky Derby winners (Monarchos at 10-1 in 2001, War Emblem at 20-1 in 2002 and Smarty Jones at 4-1 in 2004) and a runner-up (Closing Argument at 71-1 in 2005) had zero strikes.
Kentucky Derby winners Charismatic in 1999, Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000, Barbaro in 2006 and Street Sense in 2007 had only one strike each.
Charismatics strike was for not having finished at least third in a 1 1/8-mile race before the Kentucky Derby.
Fusaichi Pegasus strike was for not having had at least six lifetime starts before the Kentucky Derby.
Barbaros strike likewise for not having had at least six lifetime starts prior to the Kentucky Derby.
Street Senses strike was for not having made at least three starts at 3 before the Kentucky Derby.
Kentucky Derby winners Funny Cide in 2003 and Giacomo in 2005 had two strikes each. Funny Cide received strikes for not having won a graded stakes race and for being a gelding. Giacomo received strikes for not having won a graded stakes race and for not having finished at least third in a 1 1/8-mile race.
I consider it quite significant regarding the Kentucky Derby that Pyro was second with an eighth of a mile to run in the Louisiana Derby. This will probably prevent him from getting a strike in what I feel is one of the more important key Kentucky Derby categories, The Eighth Pole Factor. In order to avoid a strike in this category, a horse must have been either first or second with an eighth of a mile to go in either of his or her last two starts before the Kentucky Derby. This points out those who were running strongly at the eighth pole, usually in races at 1 1/16 miles (such as the Louisiana Derby) or 1 1/8 miles.
By running strongly at the same point in the Kentucky Derby, it can put a horse first or second with a furlong to run. And thats extremely important since 43 of the last 45 Kentucky Derby winners have been first or second with a furlong to go in that race.
Decidedly won the 1962 Kentucky Derby after being third with a furlong to run. Grindstone won the 1996 Derby after being fourth with a furlong remaining. Giacomo took the 2005 Derby after being sixth with a furlong left.
Although Street Sense rallied from 19th to win the Derby last year, he was first or second with a furlong to go. With a furlong to run, he led by a length.
Pyro is scheduled to start once more before this years Kentucky Derby. Next on his agenda is the Grade I Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 12.
PYRO REMAINS NO. 1
After his explosive triumph in the Grade III Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds on Feb. 9, Pyro moved into the No. 1 position on my weekly Kentucky Derby Top 10 list. He solidified his spot at the top with his win in the Louisiana Derby.
Here is this weeks list:
1. Pyro
2. Denis of Cork
3. War Pass
4. Cool Coal Man
5. Elysium Fields
6. Colonel John
7. El Gato Malo
8. Big Brown
9. Z Fortune
10. Visionaire
There are those who still have reservations about Pyro vis-à-vis the first Saturday in May. I am not one of them at this time. In my opinion, there are fewer questions about him than any other Kentucky Derby candidates.
Lets look at some of the questions the other horses on the Top 10 list still have to answer:
Dennis of Cork is light on experience (three career starts) and unproven at the Grade I or Grade II levels.
War Pass is very talented, to be sure, but remains a question mark to me in terms of being able to win at 1 1/4 miles under 126 pounds.
Cool Coal Man already has won twice going 1 1/8 miles. Thats a big plus. However, he has yet to earn a Beyer Speed Figure higher than 98.
Elysium Fields is improving, as evidenced by his fine performance when the runner-up in the Grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes off a maiden victory. But keep in mind that hes still eligible to run in a race for non-winners of two. He also had blinkers added to his equipment as a 3-year-old. Since Daily Racing Form began including blinkers in its past performances in 1987, no horse has added blinkers at 3 before winning the Derby.
Big Brown obviously has a ton of natural ability. But hes extremely light on experience (two career starts and only one start this year).
Colonel John and El Gato Malo have yet to race on the dirt, with both having competed solely on synthetic surfaces in California.
Z Fortune, like Visionaire, has to prove he can beat Pyro. The only time they met, Z Fortune finished two lengths behind Pyro.
Visionaire has to prove he can beat Pyro. The only time they met, Visionaire finished 2 3/4 lengths behind Pyro.
Pyro already has proven a lot to me. Hes shown he can run fast (two Beyer Speed Figures of 100 or higher as a 2-year-old). Hes shown that after being one of the leaders of his class at 2, he is likewise at 3. Hes shown that he can win on the dirt. Hes shown that he can win at Churchill Downs. Hes shown more than once that he can win without a perfect trip. Hes shown that he can go toe-to-toe with mighty Curlin in the morning.
To me, the only question Pyro has yet to answer is whether he can beat War Pass. Pyro is three for three when not running against War Pass. When running against War Pass, Pyro is zero for three.
But there are pros and cons regarding War Pass. I thought Dick Jerardi of the Philadelphia Daily News articulated them well after the Breeders Cup when he wrote: Is it possible War Pass just caught a sloppy track he loved and wont come back to the 113 [Beyer Speed Figure in the Juvenile]? Possible. Is it also possible he is a need-the-lead horse that wont be as effective under early pressure? Also possible. Is it also possible that this is a really, really fast horse with unlimited potential? Also possible.
Maybe War Pass is a superstar. The Washington Posts Andrew Beyer has gone so far as to compare him to 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. Until War Pass loses, whos to say Beyer is wrong?
But I have to call it the way I see it. And, at this point, the way I see it is Pyro looks much more like a horse capable of winning at 1 1/4 miles under 126 pounds on the first Saturday in May than War Pass.
A BIG DIRT DEBUT
How good is Big Brown? Many people are pondering that question after the Kentucky-bred son of Boundary won a one-mile off-the-turf allowance affair by 12 3/4 lengths in Swaps-like fashion at Gulfstream Park on March 5.
In the Jan. 9 edition of this column, I discussed 32 sophomores on my radar screen, lurking below my Kentucky Derby Top 10 list. Big Brown was one of the 32.
This is what I wrote of Big Brown on Jan. 9:
I find the son of Boundary an intriguing Kentucky Derby dark horse. It looks like there is an awful lot of talent there. Big Brown romped to an 11 1/4-length debut win at Saratoga on the turf last Sept. 3. Maybe hes strictly a turf horse. Or maybe he also might do well on the dirt, a la Barbaro, who started off in turf races before making the successful transition to the dirt.
Big Brown, now trained by Rick Dutrow after being conditioned by Patrick Reynolds at 2, is to make his next start in the Grade I Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 29. He debuts on my Kentucky Derby Top 10 list this week at No. 8.
Also debuting on the Top 10 list this week at No. 10 is Visionaire, who closed strongly from out of the fog to win Aqueducts Grade III Gotham Stakes by a nose at one mile last Saturday while earning a 98 Beyer Speed Figure. The Kentucky-bred Grand Slam colt, conditioned by Michael Matz, who won the 2006 Kentucky Derby with Barbaro, had finished third behind the Asumssen-trained duo of Pyro and Z Fortune in the Risen Star.
Visionaires Gotham triumph makes Pyro look even better.
OLDSMAR - Twenty feet from the hoopla in the Tampa Bay Downs winner's circle stood Nick Zito, right hand in his pocket, glazed look on his face, trying to find out what happened.
It was a look that perfectly summed up Saturday's Grade III Tampa Bay Derby, a race that will be remembered more for who finished last - Zito's previously unbeaten 2-year-old champion War Pass, a 1-20 betting favorite - than the winner, Big Truck.
As War Pass faltered, eased by jockey Cornelio Velasquez at the top of the stretch, the Barclay Tagg trainee and Sam F. Davis Stakes runner-up, ridden by Eibar Coa, held off Todd Pletcher's Atoned by a neck in 1 minute, 44.25 seconds. Dynamic Wayne, a local horse trained by Dale Bennett, was third.
Much of the Tampa Bay Downs record crowd of 12,746 was still stunned by the outcome, and so were Tagg and Coa, who weren't looking to make history. They just wanted to finish second, with one caveat.
"I told Coa if something happens to War Pass, if you ride for second he'll win the race," Tagg said. "He felt the same way, and it kind of worked out that way. I mean, you just never know. Theoretically, you're not going to beat War Pass going a mile-and-a-16th here."
Big Truck owner Eric Fein and his sizeable group pranced into the winner's circle, high-fiving and hugging each other, already making plans for the Kentucky Derby after the $180,000 win. Meanwhile, War Pass's somber connections - Zito, Velasquez and owner Robert LaPenta - searched for answers as the colt was being sponged down, clearly gassed.
The awe-inspiring speed War Pass had shown in winning his first five races never arrived Saturday. Breaking from the No. 3 post, he bumped Make Me Zach on the right and brushed off Gentleman James on the left, squeezed back sharply. It was probably the worst thing, short of injury, that could have happened to the front-runner.
Zito wanted Velasquez to take him to the front for the first turn, but traffic problems forced him to settle for fifth early. He moved up to third on the backstretch, but still was unable to find any running room. Velasquez used the whip only once, at the top of the stretch, but gave up soon after.
"He got moving and I thought was in a good position going down the back, but when Velasquez asked him nothing happened," Zito said. "I don't know what happened, I just don't know."
"He's a nice horse, he try all the time," Velasquez said, "but today, he didn't try."
LaPenta said War Pass "wasn't himself" and earlier in the week had a fever, a revelation that was not released to the public before the race. LaPenta didn't immediately know if War Pass suffered an injury. He added that plans to run in next month's Wood Memorial at Aqueduct would need to be evaluated.
Tagg also is unsure of where Big Truck will race next.
The result sent many home angry. The show pool was the most heavily bet part of the race, with 93.6 percent ($717,212.39) wagered on War Pass. The result was huge show payouts for the three horses in the money, $25.20 for Big Truck, $27.80 for Atoned and $76.40 for Dynamic Wayne.
"Unbelievable. Unbelievable," Fein said. "You hope for this, you root for it. I've had a lot of them that haven't panned out, but this is absolutely amazing."
Georgie Boy Comes Out Well. George Schwary's Georgie Boy was in a good shape yesterday following his three-quarter length victory in the San Felipe Stakes. Trainer Kathy Walsh said she has no definite next-start plans, but the Grade I Santa Anita Derby on April 5 and the Grade II Arkansas Derby the following Saturday have been discussed as possible next starts en route to the Kentucky Derby on May 3.
He came out of the race fine, but were not going to do anything for a day or two, Walsh said. Mr. Schwary was enjoying the day with his family, and we didnt talk at all much."
Walsh wouldn't say whether Michael Baze would retain the mount. Rafael Bejarano could be back should he recover from vertebra fractures suffered Thursday, but Walsh was noncommital. Bejarano rode the son of Tribal Rule to victory in the Grade II San Vicente Stakes on Feb. 10.
Stutts Ecstatic with Smooth Air. Trainer Bennie Stutts Jr. couldnt contain his enthusiasm after watching Mount Joy Stables Smooth Air work seven furlongs yesterday at Gulfstream Park. After the colt went in 1:23.60 (1/1), handily, Stutts had more than the Florida Derby in mind.
I keep saying it. This is the best horse Ive ever trained, said Stutts. Ive never had a horse work like that. He does things so easily. Im excited.
Stutts is pointing Smooth Air to the Grade I Florida Derby on March 29 and shipped the colt from his Calder base to Gulfstream for the work. He set the goal after Smooth Air finished third in the $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes on Feb. 16.
Smooth Air won the Grade II Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream on Jan. 5, defeating horses that have subsequently won major stakes, including Grade III Tampa Bay Derby winner Big Truck and OBS Championship victor Halo Najib.
We had to get him tired. He hasnt run in a month, and hes tired, but he worked fast. What more can you ask? Hell get an easy five-eighths next week. Thats all he really needs, Stutts said.
Theres no doubt this horse has the talent to ship all over and win a lot of money, said Stutts. Were of course looking to do well in the Florida Derby, and if he can win that, you know where were going next.
War Pass Will Go Forward. An Associated Press story released just before this post says that War Pass is still being pointed to the Kentucky Derby.
According to the story, trainer Nick Zito said that War Pass sustained "a few cuts on his leg" at the break from the gate in the Grade III Tampa Bay Derby, and that the Grade I Wood Memorial on April 5 is still in the stable's plan for War Pass.
The story doesn't address a statement made by owner Robert LaPenta after yesterday's race that War Pass had a fever during the week.
Massive Drama Readied for Dubai. Trainer Dale Romans said Zayat Stables Massive Drama has flourished since arriving in South Florida from California last month.
The colt had a workout yesterday at Gulfstream Park ahead of a trek to Dubai for the Group 2 U.A.E. Derby on March 29, breezing six furlongs in 1:15.60 (3/5).
He finished strong and did just what we wanted him to do, said Romans, who took over training of Massive Drama from Bob Baffert. We wanted to get him one good tightener before we ship.
Romans successfully shipped to Nad al Sheba to win the 2005 Dubai World Cup with Ken and Sarah Ramseys Roses in May. He said he's following a similar methods with Massive Drama. I can tell you were not doing anything different, said Romans. All the advice we got going over there with Roses in May was get all your training done before you get over there. Thats what todays work was all about.
The horses for the 28th Tampa Bay Derby were filing into the paddock, one by one. With arms outstretched and fingers wrapped around digital cameras, the assembled among a record crowd of 12,746 waited for the star to arrive. And the champion is always the last one to enter the ring.
Atoned, glistening with health as he walked by, and the businesslike Big Truck, were already taking their turns around the saddling enclosure. Shortly thereafter, there began a stirring in the crowd, which turned into a buzz, which turned almost immediately hoots and howls.
Whats all the noise about? asked stakes coordinator Duane Dube, his question directed facetiously toward Barclay Tagg. Tagg laughed, Dube smiled, but he never broke stride as he worked his way down the line, one stall at a time.
War Pass entered the ring looking like a champion. He stopped just before stepping into the paddock area, pricked his ears and turned his head, surveying the crowd. All this took a couple of seconds, before he continued his walk toward stall number 3.
Before Nick Zito and longtime assistant Tim Poole moved in for the girth-tightening procedure, War Pass took a circumference or two of the enclosure, Zito, game face on, shared a few moments with owner Robert LaPenta until his cell phone interrupted their visit.
Horsey paparazzi, some credentialed, some not, were everywhere, shooting anything that moved. A small group of people, either the connections of one of the horses or visiting dignitaries, got as close as they could get to stall number three. When the moment was right, they began clicking or buzzing away. Some apparently had flash capability, a big no-no when pent-up racehorses are the subject.
Moments later, a young, well-dressed man with a lovely child perched atop his shoulders, approached the group and said in a nice way to no one in particular: I love all you people to death, but please dont flash pictures of the horse. It just sucks all the energy right out of them.
A racetracker for more than four decades, that was news to me. Maybe its because I dont know the difference between a view-finder and the backside of a horse. Just then my cell phone began to vibrate. I flipped the lid open to see whether I should take the call immediately or call back when, staring me in the face, I noted the moment in time: Sat, Mar. 15, 5:38 pm.
The Ides of March. Hmm.
The horses left their enclosures for one final tour of the ring. War Pass didnt turn a hair, as the racetrackers say, a real professional racehorse. Either that, or he could be a little flat. It happens without rhyme or reason sometimes. Not knowing the individual well, I cant say.
Atoned was the last horse to leave the ring. Later, he would lead the Derby pack into the stretch, absolutely running his eyeballs out. It would take a big truck to run over the top of this guy.
The horsemen followed their charges out of the paddock. As the trainer of the favorite walked by, I was tempted to say what I always say: Run good and come back good. But luck almost always has nothing to do with it. So instead, I said: Have a safe trip, Nick.
You said it right, Zito replied. Thats the only thing that really matters.
Luck, both good and bad, did have something to do with it: Bad because of the start, the brilliant speedster breaking two lengths slow away from the barrier; good in that nothing untoward happened to the colt. But War Pass and Cornelio Velasquez were buffeted about soon after the start, and were in uncomfortably close quarters on the first turn, Velasquez forced to steady as the leaders straightened away into the backstretch.
Meanwhile, Johnny Velazquez, as if reprising his winning ride on the filly in last years Belmont Stakes, had Atoned comfortably out in the middle of the Tampa Bay straight, way out, in fact, moving into the four path on the final turn as Velazquez attempted to pull the rug out from beneath his rivals hooves, surging to a clear advantage into the stretch.
At this juncture War Pass also was outside in the clear but obviously struggling over the surface and going nowhere. The early favorite for the Kentucky Derby was no longer going to be an undefeated champion, and his performance will be sure to open the flood-gates of Derby possibilities in coming days even wider.
As Atoned began to open his lead, Big Truck, appearing a bit heavy-headed, was being pushed on by Eibar Coa as they began their run for second. Leaving the quarter pole, as the horses came into view, Tagg ran toward the outside paddock railing and jumped up on a fence post, straining to see Big Trucks outside rally that reached even terms with Atoned before finally pulling away with 40 yards to go--all while trying to maintain his balance.
When they left the three-sixteenths, I was standing on the fence screaming and trying not to fall off, said a smiling, reflective Tagg in the winners circle amidst a media semi-circle. You just never know. Youre not supposed to beat War Pass going a mile and a sixteenth. But when I looked up and didnt see him, I thought he had on the wrong colors.
Tagg and owner Eric Feins concerns about graded earnings should not weigh on them too heavily, Big Trucks $180,000 share of the purse should be enough. Knowing in earnest that they belong, Tagg and Fein have a serious interest in staying on the Derby trail with their Tampa Derby winner. A phone call to Zito had yet to be returned as this is posted.
If you believe in omens and legends, it appears the Ides of March have claimed another victim. Either that, or the reason why its called gambling.
Tomcito Comes to Gulfstream for Florida Derby Drill
Jet Set Racings Peruvian champion Tomcito slipped into Gulfstream Park Monday morning to turn in a bullet workout that solidified his status as a starter in the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) on Sat., Mar. 29.
Trainer Dante Zanelli Jr. had planned on working the 3-year-old son of Street Cry at his Palm Meadows Training Center headquarters, but called an audible Monday and put the colt into his personal trailer and drove to Gulfstream.
Tomcito responded with a quick five-furlong drill in 58 4/5 under jockey Christian Pilares. It was the fastest of 24 workers going five-eighths that morning.
I was looking for something just under a minute and figured it would be quicker because he was at Gulfstream, said Zanelli. I wasnt expecting 58, but he did exactly what we wanted with the way he finished, the way he came back to the barn, and with the way hes cooling out.
The Kentucky-bred winner of Perus 12-furlong, Group 1 Derby Nacional
( YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.) dominated in all but one of his five starts in South America, including two Group 1 wins against horses with considerably more development under their belts as older Southern Hemisphere-breds. His only loss was a troubled trip when second in the Peruvian 2,000 Guineas (G1).
Big Truck May Roll Into Holy Bull after Tampa Triumph
Assistant trainer Robin Smullen reported Eric Feins 3-year-old Big Truck returned to Barclay Taggs Gulfstream Park stable feeling fine early Sunday morning hours after the colts triumph in the $300,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G3) Saturday.
The connections are mulling a start in the $150,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) here on Apr. 12 in its inaugural running at 1 3/16 miles. Tagg trained Elizabeth Valandos Nobiz Like Shobiz to victory in the Holy Bull last year when it was run in early February at one mile.
Hes (Big Truck) been going and going since last fall, but hes none the worse for wear, said Smullen Monday morning. If he makes another start before the Kentucky Derby (G1), it would only be in the Holy Bull. Barclay could also train him up to it. Both plans are possible right now.
Big Truck, a New York-bred son of Hook and Ladder, slugged out a neck victory over Dogwood Stables Atoned with 2007 2-year-old Eclipse champion War Pass fading to last in the first loss of that colts career in Saturdays race.
It was the biggest payday of Big Trucks career after a runner-up effort in the $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa on Feb. 16 and a fifth-place finish in the $150,000 Hutcheson Stakes (G2) here over a very sloppy track on Jan. 5.
Big Truck has been racing once a month since last August except for a short break in December when he shipped from New York to South Florida.
Fortunately, it looks like his last race was more of a progression, said Smullen. Its not like his speed figure jumped by a whole lot, so were not as worried about a bounce. He hasnt gotten a break, but hes gotten bigger after each start. The Holy Bull means he wouldnt have to ship and he trains well over this track. Barclay will just see how he does and make a decision.
Smullen sent Partingglass Stable and Three Colleens Stables Dave for a five-furlong workout at Gulfstream Sunday morning that might propel the 7-year-old son of Ends Well into the $150,000 Pan American Handicap (G3) on Sat. Apr. 5. He was clocked in 1:00 4/5, second-fastest of 18 workers at five-eighths of a mile.
The workout was supposed to be in company with Thomas Farone Jr.s New York-bred stakes winner Factual Contender, but that 7-year-old mare wasnt in the mood for playing with her fellow turf-running stablemate. She was credited with five furlongs in 1:01 4/5.
I sent her out with Dave because she needed a good strong workout, said Smullen. He was just feeling so good and wanted to work today. Plus, he hates being inside, so she went on the rail and he went outside her, and he just ran away from her. They both got what they needed out of it. If we worked the two of them with him inside, she would have run off from him.
Jockey Garrett Gomez will ride Grade 2 winner Court Vision
(Gulch) in the Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) at Aqueduct on April
5, according to Gomezs agent, Ron Anderson.
Gomez was aboard Court Vision for the
first time in the three-year-old colts previous
start, a third-place finish in the Fountain
of Youth Stakes (G2) on February 24
at Gulfstream Park.
Last season, Court Vision won the Remsen
(G2) and Iroquois (G3) Stakes for
trainer Bill Mott.
Jockey Julio Garcia will soon rejoin the Santa Anita Park jockey
colony, according to his agent, Bob Meldahl.
Hes been riding all over, Florida, Puerto Rico, and Mexico City,
but he wants to stay here, Meldahl said of the 45-year-old native of
Puerto Rico. Hes a very good rider and has had a lot of success here
off and on. Hopefully, well make a good team.
Garcia has been working horses for trainer Neil Drysdale at Hollywood
Park.
Turfway Park
Grade 3 winner Turf War (Dixie Union) and graded stakes-placed
stakes winners Cannonball(Catienus) and Halo Najib(Halos Image)
headline a list of ten horses probable for Saturdays $500,000 Lanes
End Stakes (G2), a 11⁄8-mile race for three-year-olds.
Other likely contenders are Grade 2-placed winner Racecar Rhapsody
(Tale of the Cat), Grade 3-placed winner Chitoz (Forest Wildcat),
Adriano (A. P. Indy), Duke of de Buqe (Dixie Union), Macho Again
(Macho Uno), Medjool (Monarchos), and El Aleman (Point Given).
Turf War (outside), who disappointed as the favorite in the Southwest, could try to regroup in the Lane's End (Jeff Coady Photo)
On St. Patrick's Day, 10 three-year-olds were considered probable for Saturday's $500,000 Lane's End S. (G2) at Turfway Park. Entries for the 37th running of the Lane's End, which has evolved into an important stepping stone to the Kentucky Derby (G1), will be taken on Wednesday.
According to Turfway Park Stakes Coordinator Randy Wehrman, the current list (in alphabetical order) consists of ADRIANO (A.P. Indy), CANNONBALL (Catienus), CHITOZ (Forest Wildcat), DUKE OF DE BUQE (Dixie Union), EL ALEMAN (Point Given), HALO NAJIB (Halo's Image), MACHO AGAIN (Macho Uno), MEDJOOL (Monarchos), RACECAR RHAPSODY (Tale of the Cat), and TURF WAR (Dixie Union).
In addition, trainer Grant Hofmans is considering HALO'S KING (Halo's Image) for the Lane's End, but may send him to the $100,000 Rushaway S. instead. The 1 1/16-mile Rushaway is one of four other stakes races on the undercard.
Chitoz and Duke of de Buqe likely will represent Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher, who won the Lane's End in 2001 with Balto Star and in 2005 with Flower Alley. Both Chitoz and Duke of de Buqe have strong ties to Turfway, either in past performances or bloodlines.
Chitoz was second, beaten only a neck, in last year's Kentucky Cup Juvenile S. (G3) at Turfway. In his seasonal debut, the bay colt finished fourth as the favorite in a second-level allowance race on the turf at Gulfstream Park.
"Chitoz obviously ran well last year at Turfway over the Polytrack," Pletcher said. "With a race under his belt this year, we're hoping to see an improved effort on Saturday."
Pletcher's other Lane's End charge, Duke of de Buqe, has never raced anywhere but Aqueduct. He has two wins from four starts, all in dirt races restricted to New York-breds. The bay gelding, however, is out of the Devil's Bag mare Miss Livi, which makes him a half-brother to Balto Star.
"Duke of de Buqe is a horse we always thought would like the turf, and since he's a half to Balto Star, who could run on both dirt and turf, we think Duke of de Buqe will handle the Turfway Polytrack well," Pletcher said. "The Lane's End is a good option for him."
Trainer Dale Romans reports that his Lane's End contender, Halo Najib, is all set for the 1 1/8-mile race following a bullet five-furlong workout in :58 4/5 on Sunday at Turfway Park. Halo Najib left his Florida base for Kentucky a week ago.
Romans said the deciding factor in bringing the chestnut to the Lane's End was his undefeated record on synthetic surfaces. He broke his maiden at first asking last October over Keeneland's Polytrack and two starts ago won the O.B.S. Championship S. over the Ocala Training Center's synthetic surface.
Adriano's ninth-place finish from post 12 in the Fountain of Youth S. (G2) on February 24 at Gulfstream Park was not exactly what Graham Motion was expecting, but the British-born trainer will give Adriano another chance in the Lane's End.
After a 6 3/4-length grass score in one of the most visually impressive performances of the current Gulfstream meeting, Adriano moved from allowance ranks to the Fountain of Youth for his first try on dirt. His bad luck started at the post position draw, where he drew the outside stall, and got worse from there, with first-turn trouble contributing to the lackluster finish behind Cool Coal Man (Mineshaft).
"He had a tough post, and I'm not sure he handled dirt as well as he handled grass," Motion said. "We were kind of experimenting with him. But I think he should handle the Polytrack and deserves one more shot at the big time."
Adriano's lone Polytrack effort resulted in a solid fourth-place finish in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) last October at Keeneland. "He ran respectably that day," Motion said. "It was a big step up for him, after just breaking his maiden at Delaware."
Motion is also eager to give Adriano another try at the Lane's End distance. "I think that as the distances get longer it will only help him," he said.
Racecar Rhapsody is owned in partnership by Jerry Carroll, who owned Turfway Park from 1986 to 1999. After breaking his maiden over Keeneland's Polytrack last October, Racecar Rhapsody finished a close third in the Kentucky Jockey Club S. (G2) at Churchill Downs and concluded his juvenile season with a fourth-place effort in the Delta Jackpot S. (G3) at Delta Downs. The Kenny McPeek charge has been training forwardly at Gulfstream for his return to action.
The Lane's End will be the last of 12 races on Saturday. Gates open at 10 a.m. (EDT). First post is 1:10 p.m.
LaPenta: War Pass was Perfect for Race
Email Print RSS by Steve Haskin
Date Posted: March 18, 2008
Last Updated: March 18, 2008
War Pass was 100% healthy going into the Tampa Bay Derby.
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Photo: Coglianese Photos
Bob LaPenta and Nick Zito have always taken pride in their honesty, and with the nightmare of War Pass shocking performance in the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. II) still causing them sleepless nights, LaPenta feels the need to address his comment after the race that the colt had a fever earlier in the week.
It was a comment LaPenta regrets making, mainly using a harsh word like fever, but he admits to being in a state of shock after seeing War Pass stagger home in last place. At the time, he wasnt even aware of all the travails the colt had to endure, getting slammed into from both sides by two longshots, then being bumped hard again shortly after, and getting squeezed between horses going into the first turn. After that, the champ, who was bet down to 1-20 in the race, had little to offer after being swung to the outside by Cornelio Velasquez.
What caused the horse to run the way he did after all his troubles, whether it was physical or mental, no one knows. But if there is one thing LaPenta is sure of, its that War Pass was 100% healthy going into the race. And as a person who believes in integrity, in business and as a Thoroughbred owner, he now fears any repercussions that might question that integrity.
I cant believe I could have a catastrophe like I had on Saturday, he said. If there is one thing everyone who knows me will tell you, Im an honest person. I put money into the game, I bring my family into the game, and were having fun and having some success. Its a great thing. How that could go up in flames overnight is amazing to me. Believe me, if theres one thing in my life I take pride in, its that I never go home and lose sleep at night because I didnt tell somebody the truth. I may make a mistake, but I never, ever lie.
War Pass is a hot-blooded horse and his normal temperature is a little higher than most horses 100.3. On the Sunday before the race it was 100.6, yet he was eating and kicking the barn down. He was fine. Its not like he had a 102 temperature and was sick. He wasnt even given antibiotics.
Does anyone think Nick or I would bring a horse like this to a $350,000 race and jeopardize his health and do something terrible to his reputation? Wed have to be out of our minds to send this poor horse out sick. Nick sleeps with this horse; hes calling the barn all day and all night. Hell wake up at two oclock in the morning and call the barn. I have 24-hour guard service. Do you know how many times I spoke to the doctor last week and the doctor said hes fine; his blood count is fine? I just dont want to see Nick get dragged through the mud. I cant tell you how many conversations Ive had with him in the last three months in which he said, Bob, were not going to do anything with this horse unless hes absolutely perfect.
Although the debate about disclosure still exists, especially with a 1-20 shot who is one of the top two favorites for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), LaPenta emphasizes the fact that there was never any hesitation about running the horse, who was given a clean bill of health and who was acting perfectly normal.
I had 25 family members there and everyone was having a great time, LaPenta said. When the horse walked past the stands he looked like Adonis; he was gorgeous. Weve got babies on our shoulders and the people are cheering, and then everything went wrong.
I didnt see what everyone saw on the head-on shots. And when this horse came around the turn and into the stretch the world came to an end. I almost fell down; I was standing there in shock. I had no idea what happened; no clue. We still have no idea. I mean, were going to the Kentucky Derby with the favorite. We get letters from Japan and from all over the world. To have that explode like that, do you think I was in my right mind five minutes after that race?
Hes been checked over completely and we havent found a thing wrong with him. The whole day was a calamity of errors. I still havent been able to watch the replay, because Ill throw up. But there is one thing I can guarantee you going into the race, there was nothing wrong with that horse.
So, for now, LaPenta and Zito will draw a line through the race and continue with their plan to run in the Wood Memorial (gr. I) and hope War Pass rebounds in much the same manner Afleet Alex and Holy Bull did after their uncharacteristic bad efforts on the Derby trail.
LOS ANGELES, March 18, 2008--The short list of prominent West Coast hopefuls for the Kentucky Derby includes a gelding, a California-bred and, in what amounts to a double whammy, a Cal-bred gelding. There are few throw-outs when the Derby is more than three fortnights away, but backers of El Gato Malo, Sierra Sunset and Georgie Boy should know what they're up against. Every blue moon, a gelding or a Cal-bred wins the Derby, and a Cal-bred gelding has never won the Derby.
Should these horses actually reach Churchill Downs on May 3, their trainers will eventually be broached about their built-in albatrosses, and the stock answer will be, "The horse doesn't know." But the historians do.
Funny Cide, a gelding, won the Derby in 2003, and even more ridiculous he was a New York-bred, the first of its kind to win the race. Thus the Derby was exorcised of the Clyde Van Dusen Curse. Clyde Van Dusen, named after his trainer, won the 1929 Derby from the No. 20 post, and then 76 more geldings finished up the track at Churchill before Funny Cide broke through. Between the 2003 Derby and the Preakness, when I was ratcheting enough gumption to ask Barclay Tagg, Funny Cide's crotchety trainer, about the celestial nexus his horse had with Clyde Van Dusen, he threw me out of his Belmont Park barn, while ranting nonsensically about how my hanging around was driving up his workers' comp costs.
It's been 46 years, or eight years after Jeff Bonde was born, since a California-bred has won the Derby. The last Cal-bred to prevail, in 1962, was Decidedly, who was the first since Swaps, seven years before. The only other Cal-bred to win the Derby was Morvich in 1922. Al Jolson tried to buy Morvich as a 2-year-old, for $75,000.
Bonde, who's based at Golden Gate Fields, is one race away from his first Derby after the Cal-bred colt Sierra Sunset won the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Brother Derek is the only Cal-bred to run in the Derby in the last five years. He was given a good chance, but drew the No. 18 post and didn't deal with the far outside nearly as well as Clyde Van Dusen. Brother Derek was next to last when the race was half over, and after a cross-country route to the wire, he finished in a dead heat for fourth, well behind Barbaro.
Sierra Sunset's owners bought him for $40,000 at the California Thoroughbred Breeders Assn.'s Northern California yearling sale in Pleasanton. Autism Awareness, recent winner of the El Camino Real Derby at Bay Meadows but now on the injured list, was a $1,000 bargain at the same sale. For directions to Pleasanton, see Jeff Bonde. The son of a horseshoer, he was born there.
I talked to Phil Lebherz, one of Sierra Sunset's owners, shortly after he won the California Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita in November. Lebherz told me about the "Bonde Scores," a mathematical evaluation that the trainer uses to help him buy horses. The way I understand it, Bonde X-rays a horse, measures the size of its heart and lungs, and then closely examines the feet and its way of going. Those combined assessments produce a number from 1 to 10. Bonde has never seen a 10, but Spain, who ran for him as a 2-year-old before Wayne Lukas saddled her to win the 2000 Breeders' Cup Distaff, came close.
Sierra Sunset, a son of Bertrando and Toot Sweet, who won only two races, came in at "almost a nine" on the Bonde scale. "He had a tremendous heart, and a great set of lungs," Lebherz said.
Sierra Sunset couldn't keep up with El Gato Malo and Colonel John on the synthetic tracks in California, but at Oaklawn, on dirt, he's put together two solid races. In the Southwest Stakes, he was second to Denis of Cork, who inexplicably skipped the Rebel. Bonde is expected to keep his colt at Oaklawn, for the Arkansas Derby on April 12. Forty-three Cal-breds have run for naught in the Derby since Decidedly won it.
There is speculation that Georgie Boy, the Cal-bred gelding who's won the Del Mar Futurity and most recently the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita, might also turn up in the Arkansas Derby. Racing over nothing but synthetic tracks, Georgie Boy has been awfully consistent, never worse than third in seven tries, and the San Felipe was his first test around two turns. He's trained by Kathy Walsh, whose only previous Derby trip, with the gelding Hanuman Highway in 1998, was preceded by a prep in Arkansas, where her horse, at 27-1, finished second, a head behind Victory Gallop, while outfinishing the previously undefeated Favorite Trick. Hanuman Highway finished seventh in the Derby.
Should Georgie Boy get to Louisville, the 68-year-old Walsh will become the first woman trainer to saddle a horse in the Derby twice. The Derby has had 11 female trainers, their best finish when Shelley Riley's Casual Lies finished second behind Lil E. Tee in 1992.
At Churchill, the media will treat Walsh as rara avis, but she is not likely to hum the second chorus. She was largely puzzled by the extra attention the first time around, as someone who's been chummy with horses for 60 years might be expected to react. She's been a head trainer since 1970, when her father died and she took over the family stable. Well, there were five years away from training when Walsh was married. "I found out I couldn't cook or sew," she said.
On the twentieth anniversary of one of the most upset-ridden, early-season Triple Crown trails comes last week's ultimate trail-trembler, War Pass' stunning last-place finish at 1-to-20 odds in the G3 Tampa Bay Derby. Whether you blame a since-reported (but later retracted) fever, a bumpy beginning, a lack of versatility or a herky-quirky Tampa Bay Downs racing surface, it's hard to wrap your arms around a good excuse for a once-though freight train being grinded to a halt by cellophane.
War Pass finished seventh and last, beaten by 23-1/4 lengths -- as seemingly measured through binoculars -- last Saturday in a race he had no business losing, much less conceding outright. The Nick Zito trainee, who had won all five previous starts, including last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, is not the first big-name pony to have his reputation rattled en route to Louisville. But close inspection of the past two decades' Derby runners doesn't find anything nearly this startling.
Skip Away was "eased in distress" from his 1996 Gulfstream Park allowance comeback race, finishing last at 2-to-5 odds, probably the closest comparison in terms of shock value to War Pass' Tampa Bay Derby debacle. For War Pass' sake, he can take some solace in that Skip Away would rebound later that spring to win the Blue Grass Stakes and go on to one of the most stellar careers in Thoroughbred racing history.
Another disastrous pre-Derby attempt that turned out fine in the long-run was Holy Bull's 1994 Fountain of Youth, where he was beaten by 24-1/4 lengths (1 more than even War Pass) while finishing sixth as the 6-to-5 favorite. It proved to be Holy Bull's only bump in the pre-Derby road as he arrived in Louisville with a 7-for-8 lifetime mark. Like Skip Away, he flopped badly in the Kentucky Derby, but future racing endeavors turned out quite rosy, as he still earned '94 Horse of the Year honors after a summer/fall blitz.
Three springs ago, Afleet Alex was bombed by 12 lengths when sixth in the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn, finishing sixth as the 3-to-5 chalk. Later diagnosed with a lung infection, he erased his Rebel disaster with one of the most impressive Arkansas Derby victories in the event's steep history. Third in the Kentucky Derby, he registered the Preakness, Belmont and 3-year-old championship as the poster boy for what the War Pass camp hopes is possible.
Horses like Skip Away, Holy Bull and Afleet Alex prove that great runners get beat, and beat badly, sometimes. Most often, physical issues are behind the wheel. But sometimes the public simply gets it wrong, buying into a reputation built at age two, but not substantiated in the maturity process, or as the distances elongate for a Thoroughbred marching toward the Kentucky Derby.
One of the biggest springtime upsets of a Derby player came in the 1998 Arkansas Derby, when unbeaten 2-year-old champion Favorite Trick was drilled to 2-to-5 favoritism. With nine consecutive victories on his resume, the public dove in on a horse whose pedigree and running style leaned against success at nine, much less 10, furlongs. In a gallant effort, Favorite Trick was reeled in late by eventual Belmont Stakes winner Victory Gallop in Arkansas, tipping his hand to a tiring, eighth-place finish in Louisville.
Houston also fit that same bill as a hotshot speedball with a perfect record heading into the 1989 Santa Anita Derby, where his front-running wins had the fans ga-ga to the tune of 4-to-5 favoritism over the likes of Sunday Silence. He managed to beat only one runner when fifth by 16-3/4 lengths. Houston returned three weeks later to win the Derby Trial by daylight at one mile, but was overmatched at the big dance going a classic distance.
With distance questions in his pedigree, will War Pass follow along the lines of Favorite Trick and Houston, and simply not be up to the endurance challenge? It's probably too early to tell on that, given all the hub-bub that could have played into his Tampa Bay demise. But the Wood Memorial next month should un-categorically tell racing observers where War Pass stands on this all-important campaign issue.
Nick Zito, himself, has not been immune to this springtime bug. Just four years ago, his Birdstone ran an inexplicably poor fifth-place finish in the G2 Lane's End Stakes at Turfway Park, pummeled at the windows to 3-to-5 favoritism. Wallowing over a wet track some 10-3/4 lengths behind a one-hit wonder named Sinister G., Birdstone's impressive resume and 2-year-old form had been rendered meaningless in less than two minutes. Zito went back to the drawing board, trained the colt up to the Kentucky Derby without another prep race and ran into a traffic disaster and subsequent wet track in Smarty Jones' Derby score. But history always will remember his performance five weeks later when scoring the Belmont Stakes in a well-versed lesson in rebound and Zito-stable perseverance.
While most of these examples of great horses gone awry turned out with feel-good endings as their careers ensued, none were mentioned as being able to rebound and win the Kentucky Derby. If War Pass is to rebound for the roses, he can take a tiny slice of hope from the heavily favored, poor, single-spring efforts of Derby champions like Thunder Gulch and Unbridled. The former finished fourth in the 1995 Blue Grass at 6-to-5 in his final Derby tune-up and the latter fifth in the 1990 Tropical Park Derby at 6-to-5 odds to open his sophomore season.
And, who knows, maybe this spring will turn out as similar to the one that unfolded 20 years ago? In '88, upsets abounded early, but form came back to hold amongst the divisional leaders by the time the Triple Crown closed its curtain. Two decades ago, a bumpy road to Louisville possessed not one, but a quartet, of legitimate head-scratchers.
That was the season when Winning Colors lost the Las Virgenes at 3-to-5 in her only pre-Derby loss in six tries; Risen Star was upended in the Lecomte at 2-to-5, also his only pre-Derby defeat in a half-dozen starts; Seeking the Gold missed the mark in the Gotham at 3-to-5 to snap his unbeaten record; and Forty Niner fell short in Hutcheson at 3-to-5 to open his sophomore season after a 5-for-6 juvenile campaign.
But none of those star horses' narrow losses comes even close to the lackluster showing War Pass made on Florida's west coast. Whether we ultimately remember War Pass' Tampa Bay Derby two decades from now largely depends on what he does next -- either rebound in a big way, or fade into sophomore oblivion.
In stunning fashion, two-year-old champion WAR PASS (Cherokee Run) suffered his first career loss with a last-place effort in Saturday's Tampa Bay Derby (G3). The Nick Zito-trained colt didn't display his customary speed after being squeezed at the start and wound up backing out of it at the top of the stretch, finishing more than 23 lengths behind the winning BIG TRUCK (Hook and Ladder). War Pass exited in good order, according to Zito, and will still be pointed toward the April 5 Wood Memorial (G1), but the Tampa Bay Derby exposed the one-dimensional front runner. By a champion sprinter and out of a speed-oriented Mr. Prospector mare, War Pass' pedigree was a big concern entering the season, and the Tampa Bay Derby served as his first start around two turns on a fast track.
Saturday turned out to be a big afternoon for state-bred programs in New York and California. Big Truck is a New York-bred, and the winners of the Rebel S. (G2) and San Felipe S. (G2), SIERRA SUNSET (Bertrando) and GEORGIE BOY (Tribal Rule), respectively, were both bred in California. Who would have ever expected such a thing?
Big Truck is coming on for Barclay Tagg. He drew high praise from his conditioner last summer when opening his career with a pair of impressive wins over New York-bred opponents, and the bay colt suffered his first setback over an off track in the restricted Sleepy Hollow S. at Belmont Park in October, finishing third by a half-length to GIANT MOON (Giant's Causeway). However, Big Truck was never a factor when stepping up to face open company in his juvenile finale, recording a fourth in the Remsen S. (G2), and his three-year-old season began poorly with a well-beaten fifth in the January 5 Hutcheson S. (G2) over a sloppy track at Gulfstream Park.
Big Truck rebounded from those debacles with a fast-closing second in the February 16 Sam F. Davis S., finishing a half-length back of FIERCE WIND (Dixie Union), and he rallied determinedly to catch ATONED (Repent) in deep stretch of the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby, winning by a neck. Big Truck hasn't earned a triple-digit BRIS Speed rating, but he registered a career-best 99 figure on Saturday.
Tagg mentioned training Big Truck up to the Kentucky Derby (G1), but left open the possibility of one more prep. His supporters have to be hoping for the latter. Big Truck raced close to the pace until the far turn of the Tampa Bay Derby, when he came under a ride, and the colt actually lost ground on the final bend as Atoned passed him on the far outside. He kicked it in after straightening into the stretch, but Atoned figured to be a little short coming back off a lengthy layoff. Big Truck, who is out of a Go for Gin mare, hasn't been nine furlongs yet, and he hasn't run well fresh in the past. Why wouldn't his connections give him another race to build upon before the Kentucky Derby?
Credit Atoned with a solid showing. Unraced since a troubled second in the Remsen, the Todd Pletcher runner traveled wide most of the entire way in the Tampa Bay Derby and surged to a clear lead in midstretch before being caught late. The stakes-winning colt hasn't run very fast yet (career-best 98 Speed rating), but Atoned owns plenty of foundation and is eligible to keep improving in his final prep race.
Sierra Sunset captured the Rebel in convincing fashion, rolling to a three-length score for conditioner Jeff Bonde, and the Northern California-based colt was the only winner of Saturday's three preps to earn a triple-digit Speed rating, posting a 103. He broke well under Chris Emigh and stalked the pace in second, racing well off the rail the entire way. It was clear entering the far turn that Emigh had plenty of horse under him, and Sierra Sunset swooped past the pacesetter and entered the stretch drive full of run, quickly opening up a daylight advantage. Maiden winner KING'S SILVER SON (Mizzen Mast), a 17-1 outsider, produced a brief run to loom as a threatening presence in midstretch, but Sierra Sunset went on to the wire as much the best.
Winner of the California Cup Juvenile S. and Bay Meadows Juvenile S. in back-to-back starts last fall, Sierra Sunset was no factor when wrapping up his juvenile season with a sixth in the CashCall Futurity (G1) and opening 2008 with a fourth in the San Rafael S. (G3). The bay colt dropped in class off those starts and headed to Oaklawn Park, where he finished second in the Southwest S. (G3) prior to the Rebel. The April 12 Arkansas Derby (G2) will be next, but Sierra Sunset, who is by Bertrando and out of a Pirate's Bounty mare, will have to outrun his breeding as distances increase. The competition also figures to get much tougher in his upcoming starts.
Z FORTUNE (Siphon [Brz]), the 3-5 Rebel favorite, was a huge disappointment finishing fifth. Stablemate King's Silver Son, who needed six starts before breaking his maiden in a slow time at Fair Grounds on January 21, finished a clear second in his first start against winners. Rebel third-placer ISABULL (Holy Bull), a near 27-1 outsider, finished far back in the Southwest and hasn't won a race since breaking his maiden on Polytrack last September. In hindsight, Saturday's Rebel looks like a very soft field.
Saturday's San Felipe was deeper in talent, but the top three contenders -- Georgie Boy, GAYEGO (Gilded Time) and BOB BLACK JACK (Stormy Jack) -- were all unproven around two turns. Georgie Boy passed the test with flying colors, rolling past Gayego in deep stretch to win the 1 1/16-mile heat going away by three parts of a length. The Kathy Walsh charge remains a complete unknown on dirt, but he's clearly a top-class performer on synthetic surfaces.
Winner of the Del Mar Futurity (G1), Georgie Boy returned from a five-month layoff to capture the seven-furlong San Vicente S. (G2), winning off by 3 1/4 lengths. He netted a 106 Speed rating for that effort. His Speed figure dropped to a 95 on Saturday, but Georgie Boy looked very good, with the exception of not changing leads in the stretch. His pedigree doesn't inspire much confidence in a classic distance, but Georgie Boy hasn't shown any distance limitations so far. He'll likely stretch out to nine furlongs in the April 5 Santa Anita Derby (G1), where he'll face the two other leading three-year-olds in California, COLONEL JOHN (Tiznow) and EL GATO MALO (El Corredor).
Gayego figures to go on to the Santa Anita Derby for Paulo Lobo, but trainer James Kasparoff plans to ship Bob Black Jack elsewhere, stating that the synthetic tracks don't suit his front-running style.
Upcoming
Saturday's Lane's End S. (G2) at Turfway Park is the lone graded event for three-year-olds this weekend, and a mostly unproven cast of 12 has been assembled. Top contenders include TURF WAR (Dixie Union), HALO NAJIB (Halo's Image) and CHITOZ (Forest Wildcat).
Top 10
1) PYRO -- He's on schedule for his next start in the April 12 Blue Grass (G1)
2) COLONEL JOHN -- Returned to the races with a game win in the Sham (G3)
3) EL GATO MALO -- No dirt experience but late runner is talented
4) COURT VISION -- Improvement expected in Wood off his late-running third in Fountain of Youth (G2)
5) VISIONAIRE -- Michael Matz runner rallied boldly for Gotham (G3)
6) GEORGIE BOY -- Closed strongly to win going away when making two-turn debut in San Felipe
7) BIG BROWN -- Smashing allowance winner will make stakes bow in Florida Derby (G1)
8) COOL COAL MAN -- Fountain of Youth winner is headed to Blue Grass
9) ATONED -- Owns two-year-old class and returned to the races with an encouraging showing in Tampa
10) DENIS OF CORK -- Will use a light schedule to prepare for Kentucky Derby
MARCH MADNESS
What is with the radical decline in the Beyer Speed Figure department this month by undefeated 3-year-olds? Is this racings version of March Madness?
Giant Moon won his initial three career starts with Beyers of 83, 84 and 82 before a career-high 93 when he took the Count Fleet Stakes at Aqueduct on Jan. 5.
And then, in the Grade III Gotham Stakes at Aquedcuct on March 8, Giant Moon suffered his first loss while recording a puny Beyer of 17. Thats right, a 17. Look, its tough enough to win a race at Penn National or Portland Meadows with a 17, let alone a graded stakes race like the Gotham.
J Be K registered a 99 Beyer Speed Figure when he broke the track record for 5 1/2 furlongs with a 1:03.13 clocking in his career debut at Saratoga last Aug. 29. He then earned a 91 when victorious in his 2008 debut against allowance rivals on a wet track at the Fair Grounds on Feb. 15.
But after a pair of Beyers in the 90s, J Be K dropped way off to a 67 when he finished eighth in the Grade II Louisiana Derby on March 8.
The Beyer madness continued last weekend. War Pass, winner of last years Grade I Champagne Stakes and Grade I Breeders Cup Juvenile on his way to an Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male, went into Saturdays Grade III Tampa Bay Derby undefeated and untested in five lifetime starts. There were comparisons by some, including Andrew Beyer of The Washington Post, to 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew.
War Pass earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure when unveiled at Saratoga last July 28, followed by figures last year of 94, 103 and 113. That 113 is the highest in the history of the Breeders Cup Juvenile, surpassing the Beyers earned by such other winners of that race as Street Sense (108), Vindication (102), Johannesburg (99), Macho Uno (99 while defeating Point Given), Favorite Trick (101 en route to the Horse of the Year title), Unbridleds Song (103), Timber Country (100) and Arazi (101).
Remember Arazi and his electrifying Breeders Cup Juvenile victory in 1991? Well, from a Beyer Speed Figure perspective, it did not come close to what War Pass did last fall in the Juvenile.
After posting Beyers of 84, 94, 103 and 113 as a 2-year-old, War Pass earned a 97 when he kicked off his 3-year-old campaign in a 7 1/2-length allowance victory (which was essentially a paid workout) at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 24.
And then, from that 97, War Pass earned a meager 53 Beyer while struggling home last as a 1-20 favorite in the Tampa Bay Derby. A 53 is a pretty good Will Rogers Downs-like number, not one generally associated with a champion.
Considering what has happened to Giant Moon, J Be K and War Pass this month, its probably just as well that the connections of undefeated Denis of Cork elected to skip last Saturdays Grade II Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park since that race is in March. Denis of Cork instead is scheduled to make his next start in either the Grade I Wood Memorial or Grade II Illinois Derby. Fortunately those races are in April (April 5, to be exact).
And what about Big Brown? He earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure when he romped to an 11 1/4-length debut win on the turf at Saratoga last year, followed by a 104 Beyer in his monstrous 12 3/4-length victory in his dirt debut at Gulfstream Park on March 5.
Big Brown is to make his next start in the Grade I Florida Derby. The Florida Derby will be renewed on March 29. Oh-oh. Will the March madness continue and Big Browns Florida Derby plunge? Well have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, what in the heck happened to War Pass at Tampa Bay Downs? Yes, he was pinched back at the start. But that alone does not really explain such a poor performance. In a Daily Racing Form story Sunday by Mike Welsch, trainer Nick Zito said War Pass sustained some cuts on his left leg that the trainer surmises were a result of being jostled around leaving the gate.
On Monday, Zito told Jay Privman of the DRF that he remained baffled by the champs race.
Zito said: We scoped him. Everything was perfect. We took X-rays. No change. Well keep taking more today. Hell go back to the track on Wednesday. Im baffled right now. We know that whatever happened, that wasnt him. That we know.
There has been quite an outcry over the widely reported characterization that War Pass competed in the Tampa Bay Derby after having a fever earlier in the week. That is what owner Robert LaPenta was reported to have told some members of the media immediately after the race.
I found that extremely hard to believe. Why would a great trainer like Nick Zito run War Pass if he werent right? That would be hard enough to believe if it were the Kentucky Derby, let alone the Tampa Bay Derby. With a plethora of Derby preps, theres absolutely no reason for Zito to run War Pass in the Tampa Bay Derby if something were amiss.
He did not have a fever, Zito told Privman. Fever means youre sick. On my mothers life, he never missed an oat. His temperature was a little high, just slightly, last Sunday [March 9], but he was fine the rest of the week. Just to make sure, we took a blood [test] on him on Thursday, and it was perfect. He did not have a fever. Thats not why he got beat. Why did he get beat? Thats what weve got to find out.
As of now, Zito is inclined to dismiss War Pass Tampa Bay debacle and stick to the plan to run in the Wood Memorial on April 5. However, the Hall of Famer has reserved the right to pull the plug on that plan should he see something he doesnt like in the colts training between now and the Wood.
Despite what happened in the Tampa Bay Derby, I still respect War Pass. Hes obviously a talented colt. Personally, I can picture him being a very tough customer in a race like the Met Mile. But even before War Pass ran a clunker at Tampa Bay Downs, I just couldnt picture him winning the roses. As I wrote last week, in my opinion, Pyro looks much more like a horse capable of winning at 1 1/4 miles under 126 pounds on the first Saturday in May than War Pass.
While the focus understandably was on War Pass stunning loss in the Tampa Bay Derby, Big Truck deserves credit for winning the race, especially since he didnt have the best of trips. Big Truck was shuffled back going into the far turn, then came on inexorably in the stretch to prevail by a neck at 7-1. Atoned ran second at 9-1.
Big Truck is a New York-bred trained by Barclay Tagg, who saddled New York-bred Funny Cide to win the 2003 Kentucky Derby. A son of Hook and Ladder, Big Truck earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure in the Tampa Bay Derby. So its not as if the bar was set high for War Pass by the winner running some sort of huge Beyer. Big Truck is a grandson of Go for Gin, who won the 1994 Kentucky Derby for Zito.
In other graded stakes action for 3-year-olds last Saturday, California-bred Georgie Boy proved a punctual 7-5 favorite in Santa Anitas Grade II San Felipe Stakes for trainer Kathy Walsh. Another Cal-bred, Sierra Sunset, won Oaklawn Parks Grade II Rebel Stakes by three emphatic lengths for trainer Jeff Bonde.
Georgie Boy did not have an ideal trip.
He was blocked in behind horses [turning for home], Walsh said. [Jockey Michael Baze] had so much horse all the way around. When [Georgie Boy] got to the quarter pole, he was just waiting for a spot. He had no place to go, and hes a smart enough horse he wasnt going to run up on horses heels. Michael did a nice job on him.
Walsh indicated Monday that Georgie Boy will probably run next in the Grade I Santa Anita Derby on April 5, with the Grade II Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on April 12 as a back-up plan.
In the San Felipe, Georgie Boy earned only a 92 Beyer, down from his career-best 103 when he won the Grade II San Vicente Stakes on Feb. 10. The gelded son of Tribal Rule also took the Grade I Del Mar Futurity as a 2-year-old when earning an 88 Beyer.
Georgie Boy became only the third horse to win both the Del Mar Futurity and San Felipe. The other two were Your Host and Bertrando.
After Your Host won the 1950 San Felipe, he went on to win the Santa Anita Derby and break the track record for seven furlongs at Keeneland. He finished ninth as the 8-5 favorite in Middlegrounds Kentucky Derby.
After Bertrando won the 1992 San Felipe, he finished second to A.P. Indy in the Santa Anita Derby. Bertrando did not start again at 3. He later would be voted an Eclipse Award as champion older male of 1993.
Sierra Sunset, a son of Bertrando, was clearly the Beyer Speed Figure star among sophomores last Saturday. He recorded a 99 Beyer in the Rebel.
Last years Rebel winner also earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure. You may have heard of that colt. His name is Curlin.
Curlin, of course, would go on to win the Arkansas Derby (105 Beyer), Preakness Stakes (111), Jockey Club Gold Cup (114) and Breeders Cup Classic (119) en route to the 2007 Horse of the Year title.
What does the future hold for this years Rebel winner? Who knows? But Sierra Sunset is a very good 3-year-old who seems better on the dirt than on synthetic surfaces.
In his last three starts on the dirt, Sierra Sunset streaked to an eight-length win in the Bay Meadows Juvenile last Sept. 15, finished second to Denis of Cork in the Grade III Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 18, then won the Rebel.
In four starts on a synthetic track, Sierra Sunset finished ninth in the Grade III Hollywood Juvenile Championship last July 4, won the California Cup Juvenile at Oak Tree on Nov. 3, ran sixth in the Grade I CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park on Dec. 22 and finished fourth in the Grade III San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 12.
Sierra Sunset is to remain at Oaklawn Park to go next in the Arkansas Derby, which, despite being a Grade II instead of a Grade I as it should be, has become an increasingly key race in recent years.
Arkansas Derby winners Curlin (Preakness), Afleet Alex (Preakness and Belmont Stakes) and Smarty Jones (Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes) have won five of the last 12 Triple Crown races.
Z Fortune finished fifth as the 7-10 favorite in last Saturdays Rebel. The Siphon colt, like Sierra Sunset, will likely make his next start in the Arkansas Derby, according to his trainer, Steve Asmussen.
With their losses last Saturday, War Pass and Z Fortune dropped off this weeks Kentucky Derby Top 10 list. They can earn their way back on it down the line. Georgie Boy returns to the list this week, while Sierra Sunset is appearing on it for the first time.
Here is this weeks list:
1. Pyro
2. Denis of Cork
3. Cool Coal Man
4. Elysium Fields
5. Colonel John
6. El Gato Malo
7. Georgie Boy
8. Big Brown
9. Visionaire
10. Sierra Sunset
Ward: Cannonball Ready to Roll. Cannonball worked four furlongs Monday at Palm Beach Downs for trainer Wesley Ward. "It was the best work he's ever had, said Ward. It was beautiful, nice and easy. The exercise rider had to turn him over to the pony afterwards because she was so sore from pulling to keep him slow. He went a half in :48.40, and that was going as slow as he can on the turf."
Cannonball, a gelding, leaves West Palm Beach at 10:30 this morning and will go into Ward's barn at Keeneland before shipping up to Turfway on race day. Cannonball has earned good money in stakes, but only $9,300 in the graded variety.
Comments
100% Agree. I spit out my water when I saw Tale of Ekati as the 7/2 second choice. I've been waiting months for his return and was expecting the layoff would lead me to some value. I've been going back and forth all week after this write-up, DC's post on Yankee Bravo, and more on other forums. I'm in between J Be K, Tale of Ekati, and Yankee Bravo...I have about 36hrs to figure this one out.
The excitement in her voice was unmistakable.
Jessica Steinbrenner was chatting up her 3-year-old colt Majestic Warrior, and she wanted it known that her father is caught up in more than just spring training.
He is absolutely ecstatic he could have another shot at the Kentucky Derby, said Jessica, the younger of George Steinbrenners two daughters, the other day by phone from Florida. He had a great chance a few years ago with Bellamy, Road but that didnt work out. Hes excited all over again.
While the 77-year-old Steinbrenner recently turned over the day-to-day running of the New York Yankees to sons Hal and Hank, Jessica has been managing dads Kinsman Stable the past few years.
On Saturday, the Steinbrenners will find out whether Majestic Warrior moves forward on the road to the May 3 Derby when he runs in the $600,000 Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds. It will be the colts first race since finishing sixth in the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 6, when he most likely developed an ankle injury that set back his training.
If you love horses, these are the most exciting months of the year, Jessica Steinbrenner said. I can hardly think of anything else.
It seems dad is loving it, too. Jessica says she gave her father a picture of Majestic Warrior, and its hanging above the mantel in his bedroom. And, she added, the blanket from winning the Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga last Sept. 3 hangs over the Boss office chair.
Hes always said his dream is to win the Kentucky Derby, and that hasnt changed, Jessica said.
Steinbrenner has been in the Thoroughbred business since the 1970s. Kinsman Stable currently has about 25-30 horses in training as well as about 40 broodmares, many of them in Kentucky. The 750-acre farm in Ocala, Fla., has a private home for each of Steinbrenners four children.
Two-time Derby winner Nick Zito trained Bellamy Road, but this time fellow Hall of Famer Bill Mott was chosen to handle the Steinbrenners top colt. Mott is best known as the trainer of two-time Horse of the Year Cigar in the mid-1990s, and he has excelled with older horses, especially fillies and mares. Both have been training for the Steinbrenners for years.
We chose Bill because it has been a constant that he gets our fillies and the colts were going elsewhere and he deserved a shot with our best colt, Jessica Steinbrenner said. He takes great care of horses. He wont run them too soon, and he wont run them if he doesnt believe its a safe choice. ...I really look up to him. He is a great trainer.
Mott trained one of Steinbrenners Derby horses Blue Burner, who finished 11th in 2002. While Zito is Derby driven with 19 starters since 1990, Mott has sent out four since his first one in 1984.
They have given me a lot of support for a long time, and recently Jessica has given me a big chance with a couple of colts, Mott said, adding that Majestic Warrior has trained well at Payson Park in Miami in the weeks leading up to the race.
Mott has Derby hopefuls for other owners as well. Among them are Court Vision and Z Humor, who ran third and fourth in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream on Feb. 24.
Were glad to be able to have some potential horses for all these prep races, and we hope we come out of it in good order and have something to run on the big day, Mott said. Thats what were shooting for.
Majestic Warrior could put Mott and the Steinbrenners a step closer to Churchill Downs with a big effort in New Orleans. Risen Star winner Pyro is the morning-line favorite in a nine-horse field.
Ive been to Louisiana, but never for the races, Jessica Steinbrenner said. This is an exciting time.
By Jennie Rees
jrees@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
NEW ORLEANS -- David Carroll endured the most difficult span in his training career when one of his horses came down with equine herpes virus right before Churchill Downs' fall meet.
But less than four months later, Carroll not only is back on his feet, he has two serious contenders for the May 3 Kentucky Derby.
Blackberry Road could give the 48-year-old horseman his biggest training triumph to date in Saturday's $600,000, Grade II Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds. The other, 3-for-3 Denis of Cork, awaits next week's Grade II Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn, where he won the Southwest.
Not bad for a barn of only 22 horses having two horses ranked among the top 12 in The Courier-Journal's Kentucky Derby poll.
But there certainly wasn't any luck of the Irish this fall. Off a traffic-troubled third in the Kentucky Cup Juvenile, Blackberry Road would have been one of the favorites in Churchill Downs' opening-day Iroquois. Instead, Carroll was forced to scratch all four horses he had entered that day at his adopted hometown track.
With the ailing horse -- who was never identified -- quickly sent to a clinic, Carroll's remaining horses spent half the meet in quarantine, including Blackberry Road and Denis of Cork. None was allowed to train for nine of the first 14 days, with only limited training the other five days in late afternoon following the races, he said.
Other than one horse stabled at Trackside training center, Carroll could not run a horse until Nov. 15 during the Oct. 28-Nov. 24 meet -- a devastating blow financially.
But on closing day, Blackberry Road was a fast-closing second in the $200,000, Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club, and Denis of Cork won a maiden race -- Carroll's only win of the meet.
"It wasn't the ideal preparation going into the Kentucky Jockey Club without running in the Iroquois," Carroll said.
"But closing day made up for everything," Carroll said. "It was a tremendous boost for the whole stable and the owners."
Carroll wasn't the only trainer affected in the equine herpes lockdown. Al Stall Jr.'s horses on the other side of a firewall in the barn were in quarantine, though for a shorter time. Among Stall's horses were My Pal Charlie, who also runs in the Louisiana Derby after winning his last two races.
Stall, who finished second in last year's Louisiana Derby with Ketchikan, said My Pal Charlie was supposed to make his racing debut on Churchill's opening day but had to scratch.
"It's unusual, you've got two horses in quarantine in the Louisiana Derby," Stall said, quipping, "Maybe we're training too hard, and we need breaks."
Besides the support of his family and staff, Carroll said what helped immensely was the understanding of his owners, including Cot Campbell, president of the Dogwood Stable that owns Blackberry Road.
Campbell, in turn, praises Carroll for being straight-up about the affected horse and acting quickly and responsibly. Contagious diseases are a sensitive thing at Churchill, ever since an outbreak of "strangles" -- a highly contagious bacterial upper respiratory infection -- several years ago threatened to get out of control.
But this time, no other horse was infected, and Carroll said the horse who was has made a full recovery.
"It was very disappointing, but gosh you couldn't do anything because it wasn't his fault," Campbell said of Carroll. "He was doing the best he could. He did every conceivable thing he could to keep training horses.
" He's an earnest fellow who doesn't have a crooked bone in his body. He did the only thing he could do, and we did the only thing we could do: Stick by him and dig in there."
Carroll has never had a Kentucky Derby horse, but he's been around them. While working for trainer Shug McGaughey, he was the exercise rider for Easy Goer, the 1989 Derby and Preakness runner-up who captured the Belmont Stakes, and for Seeking the Gold.
Carroll, who did an internship at the Irish National Stud and worked for the highly regarded John Oxx in his native Ireland, spent two years as an assistant to trainer Pete Vestal before opening his own Louisville stable in 1992. The $250,000 Southwest was his biggest victory to date in terms of purse, but he also won Belmont's Grade II Riva Ridge with Fire Slam in 2004 and Saratoga's Forego with American Chance in 1994.
"It's very humbling, really," he said of his potential Derby duo. "But something I feel very comfortable with. I've always had the privilege of working around nice horses. I'm really enjoying it, just enjoying the whole ride."
Now he's on hot track to the Derby
By Jennie Rees
jrees@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
NEW ORLEANS -- If horses were basketball players, Louisiana Derby favorite Pyro would be the teenage talent who never got serious about his jump shot until he started playing pickup games with LeBron James.
After working Pyro several times with Horse of the Year Curlin, Steve Asmussen, the trainer of both, said the 3-year-old colt -- the favorite for tomorrow's $600,000 Louisiana Derby after his explosive triumph in the Risen Star -- became noticeably more earnest in his training.
The 11/16-mile Kentucky Derby prep at the Fair Grounds has the best assembly of 3-year-olds this year. It features four of the top 12 horses in The Courier-Journal's Kentucky Derby poll, including top-rated Pyro and stakes winners from both coasts.
But none of Pyro's eight competitors approaches what he faced when working alongside Curlin. Not that works always translate into race performance, but at least we know Pyro won't be intimidated.
"I really like how much Pyro seemed to pay attention in his training after his works with Curlin," said Asmussen, who also has Saratoga record-holder J Be K in the Louisiana Derby. "He wasn't so mischievous and playful. He paid a lot better attention going to the track and starting off."
Pyro went from a 2-year-old who was troublesome in the gate and 0 for 2 in stakes races to a 3-year-old who is a stakes winner and no problem in the gate. Maybe the workouts with Curlin did wonders.
"I think they can acknowledge their company's ability," Asmussen said about horses. "They didn't outwork each other; they went together. For me an ideal work is when they go around there covering ground and both the riders come back saying about the other, 'I had him whenever I wanted.' "
Pyro finished second to unbeaten champion War Pass in his two stakes last year: New York's Grade I Champagne and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Those marked three straight losses to War Pass -- Pyro also finished third in a stakes-quality allowance race at Saratoga.
But he tipped his hand to what kind of horse he is when he came from well off the pace to win a six-furlong maiden race at Churchill Downs on July 7. With his pedigree (by Pulpit out of a Wild Again mare) and running style, winning his first time out sprinting was a bonus.
Asmussen said Pyro has been "aimed at the Derby ever since."
"It was kind of like the sky's the limit," said David Fiske, racing and bloodstock manager for Joan and Ron Winchell, the mother-son team who bred and own Pyro. "I thought it would take him a couple of starts to be completely fit and to the point where he was truly competitive. So when he ended up winning first time out, it was like, 'Holy cow. If he could do that, he's got a chance to be something special.' "
Pyro turned on the wow factor again in his 3-year-old debut, coming from last at the top of the stretch to blow past stablemate Z Fortune, who appeared to be the Risen Star winner within the eighth pole.
Through the stretch, Fiske said the range of emotions started with, " 'We couldn't have been this wrong. Is he hurt?'
"Everything starts racing through your mind because you're watching something that doesn't make sense. After the sixteenth pole he sorted it out for me."
The view is that Pyro already has earned his way into the Kentucky Derby. The Risen Star, this race and next month's Toyota Blue Grass at Keeneland are about getting him to Churchill Downs in the best shape possible, mentally and physically.
Jockey Shaun Bridgmohan called the Risen Star performance "unbelievable."
"It's not like they went fast early and backed up late, where you say, 'Well, the race set up well for him,' " he said. "They went slow, and I don't think they slowed down. He accelerated so much that it was that visually impressive -- and it felt impressive."
Pyro is the latest standout tracing to Winchell Thoroughbreds' broodmare Carols Christmas, whom the late Verne Winchell, the donut mogul, claimed one day in 1981 for $25,000.
"He claimed her sight unseen," Ron Winchell recalled. "He was looking through the Racing Form and saw she had a lot of speed, which was something we always looked for in broodmares. Then when he saw her, she had a big swayback. It was like 'Uh-oh.' But she produced some of the best-looking horses on our farm."
Carols Christmas produced Arkansas Derby winner Olympio and major winner Call Now. Another daughter, Carol's Wonder, had Grade II winner Wild Wonder and Wild Vision, Pyro's dam. Another daughter produced the sprint star Cuvee.
"I couldn't tell you what I'd give to have him here today to be part of this," Ron Winchell said of his father, who died in 2002. "We worked so long in breeding all these horses, getting this line going. The decisions you make today, you don't see the outcome for 3-5 years. You always have that long-term mind-set going.
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By Randy Moss
Special to ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: March 8, 2008, 11:21 PM ET
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Insiders are abuzz -- for good reason -- about the Wednesday performance by 3-year-old Big Brown at Gulfstream Park.
In his second lifetime start, Big Brown took a one-mile allowance race by 12 3/4 lengths with a Beyer Speed Figure of 104. He also looked to be coasting through the lane under no encouragement from Kent Desormeaux (although we have seen a thousand times that good horses are good because they try hard whether the little guys on their backs are wailing away or posing for the crowd.)
Looking at video of that race, the sky appears to be the limit for the Rick Dutrow-trained colt, who won his only other start by 11 1/4 lengths on grass last summer at Saratoga.
But Big Brown's big shortcoming -- other than inexperience -- shows in his pedigree.
His sire, Boundary, did not race until April of his 3-year-old season. He was brilliant in his first two starts, then went back on the shelf the rest of the year. When Boundary made it back in January 2004, he reeled off three more wins in succession. Boundary ran six times in all as a 4-year-old, outrunning ultimate Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Cherokee Run in the A Phenomenon Stakes at Saratoga in August before the injury bug surfaced again and sent him to the stud barn.
Boundary came by his infirmaries honestly. Boundary is by the late Danzig, who managed only three starts and three runaway victories in 1979 and 1980 before he broke down and was retired. He is out of the mare Edge, who was fast enough to win the El Encino but made only a grand total of 10 starts at ages 2, 3 and 4 two decades ago when horses ran more frequently than they do today.
And don't look to the female side of Big Brown's pedigree for physical inspiration.
Big Brown's dam, Mien, finally raced in September of her 3-year-old season. After two races and a maiden win at Pimlico, she was done for good. Mien was a daughter of the great sire Nureyev, who had to be retired after just three starts on the track.
See a pattern here?
Big Brown is the latest in a long line of horses bred for extreme talent with scarce attention paid to durability. The emphasis -- especially for horses designed to be sold at public auction -- apparently is to breed/purchase racehorses with genetic capabilities to win the Kentucky Derby even if soundness has to be sacrificed. After all, in today's stallion market, even an unsound championship-caliber 3-year-old can be worth tens of millions of dollars -- if their careers are managed judiciously with well-spaced races and use of all permitted medications, and, of course, with a healthy dose of sheer luck.
Therefore, the conundrum for equine capitalists on both sides of the fence has become: why breed or buy yearlings bred more for durability than brilliance, if their pedigrees suggest they may only be talented enough to reach the Grade 2 or Grade 3 level? Owning racehorses is an expensive proposition and a gamble in every sense of the word, so why approach it with a buying strategy that reduces the possibility of a life-changing grand-slam home run, such as Rick Porter hit last year with Hard Spun? In a sense, this philosophy comes into play in other sports as well. NFL teams clearly are more likely to draft a college player with all-world talent but a strong lack of character than a straight-laced overachiever who doesn't stand as tall, run as fast or jump as high.
Admittedly, this is a generalization of a complex issue. In a perfect world, breeders and buyers would always prefer both extreme talent and soundness.
But in my opinion, the basic premise holds true. Nowadays, potential talent is king, while potential durability is nothing but a lowly servant.
In this instance, Dutrow says Big Brown has already battled two quarter cracks in his brief career, and it can be surmised that he started on grass last summer because that surface would be easier on his brittle feet. Clearly, Big Brown is a phenomenally talented colt, but he may have too much in common with Badge of Silver, another shooting star on the Derby radar screen several years back with colossal talent but whose legs were too fragile to get him to the promised land.
By Bill Finley
Special to ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: March 8, 2008, 8:00 PM ET
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The smartest thing to do, Richard Dutrow Jr. figured, was to find a grass allowance race for his horse named Big Brown. After all, the colt had raced only on the turf and had a grass pedigree.
So Dutrow found a March 5 turf allowance at Gulfstream Park, which might just have been a springboard to stakes races you've probably never heard of, like the Palm Beach Stakes or the Hill Prince. And then it rained.
The March 5 race was taken off the grass, which might turn out to be the luckiest break Dutrow and his owners have ever had. Once a promising grass horse, Big Brown is suddenly, and from out of nowhere, a hot Kentucky Derby candidate.
In his second career start, he won the off-the-turf Gulfstream allowance by 12 3/4 lengths, completing the one mile in 1:35 3/5. His Beyer number was a 104, second best this year among all 3-year-olds and the best of any in a route race. He'll run next in the March 29 Florida Derby, where, you have to think, he has a big chance.
Last summer, no one could have figured that Big Brown would ever come close to the Kentucky Derby. His pedigree said all grass. He is by Boundary out of a Nureyev mare named Mien, who was eased the one time she tried dirt.
Then-trainer Pat Reynolds debuted Big Brown in a Sept. 3 maiden race on the grass at Saratoga and the colt who is, I assume, big and brown, won by 11 1/4 lengths. That race caught the eye of the team at IEAH, a racing partnership group, and it reached in and bought a piece of the horse and turned him over to Dutrow.
Dutrow was pointing Big Brown toward the Breeders' Cup's new 2-year-old grass race last fall but the colt developed foot problems. Since then, quarter cracks have been a recurring problem for Big Brown and the reason his 3-year-old debut was put off until early March. Leading up to the March 5 race, Dutrow was only able to give the colt a pair of short, easy works. For that reason, he wasn't expecting a big effort.
"That race took me by surprise because I felt I was rushing him into that race," Dutrow said. "I was in a zone when I knew he was in because I was afraid that he just might not be fit enough. We've been having troubles with these quarter cracks; we've been having to wait on them."
Now, with his horse having gotten through the dirt race, Dutrow is understandably excited about the Florida Derby. In fact, he has cancelled his plans to travel to Dubai to saddle two starters -- Benny the Bull and Diamond Stripes -- in the Dubai World Cup races. He can't bear to miss the Florida Derby.
"He only had three easy breezes and you saw what he did," the trainer said. "He needed that last race. Now, as long as he cooperates, I get to really train him up to a big race, which is something I haven't gotten to do."
Quarter cracks might not be his only problem. Big Brown will go into the Florida Derby having had only two career races. That makes him a lightly raced, inexperienced horse, exactly the type of horse that traditionally struggles in the Kentucky Derby. Dutrow isn't worried.
"I always think that talent is much more important than experience," he said. "I'd much rather have the talent than the experience. The other day, he was in between two other horses down the backside and (Kent) Desormeaux said he was perfectly comfortable with that. I'd much rather have a horse with a world of talent as opposed to a seasoned veteran who goes over the knocking hard all the time."
Should he run well in the Florida Derby, Big Brown will be on his way to the Kentucky Derby. In that case, his getting there will be a matter of talent and some remarkable good fortune.
"He didn't show any signs that he wouldn't run on the dirt," Dutrow said. "He showed us that he liked it. So when they took the race off the grass it wasn't really a big deal to us. I'm glad that they did because now we have Derby dreams. If they had kept it on the grass it might have been a different story. I have to say that we got very lucky."
Email Printer friendly version Normal font Large font John Schell at Flemington
March 9, 2008
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THOROUGHBRED excitement machine Weekend Hussler is set to hit Sydney with a world-class rating and the Doncaster Handicap appears ripe for the taking.
Racing Victoria chief handicapper Greg Carpenter yesterday declared Weekend Hussler "the best three-year-old sprinter in the world".
The gelding again toyed with older rivals to win under handicap conditions, carrying 56 kilograms to become just the second three-year-old to win the Newmarket Handicap since Baguette in 1971 with such an impost. The great Ajax in 1938 won the race as a three-year-old with the equivalent of 57kg.
"I'd say he's challenging [Hong Kong horse] Sacred Kingdom as the best sprinter in the world," said Carpenter, who is in charge of weighting the internationally acclaimed Melbourne Cup, of Weekend Hussler.
"He's got gate speed, he can relax and he has a turn of foot."
Carpenter said the next round of international ratings were due in March, with the Ross McDonald-trained Weekend Hussler expected to be allotted 120.
McDonald said Weekend Hussler would head north along with jockey Brad Rawiller, with his main mission the Doncaster at Randwick on April 26.
"I think he is a superstar," McDonald said after Weekend Hussler's fourth group 1 win added to his Caulfield Guineas, Coolmore Stakes and Oakleigh Plate victories.
"The Doncaster will be the go now and then, in the spring, the Cox Plate will be an ideal race for him. I've also won a couple of Caulfield cups, it would be nice to win another one. And I've never won a Melbourne Cup."
Rawiller was in raptures over Weekend Hussler and said he rode the gelding like "a good thing".
"I didn't want to get stuck behind Dance Hero when he was in front so I gave myself plenty of room to get him wound up," he said. "Everything went to plan. He could be anything."
Weekend Hussler scored by three-quarters of a length over the Peter Moody trained Magnus ($16), which he also beat into second in the Oakleigh Plate.
"I've run into another freak," Moody said. "Tell me he's not running in The Galaxy. They won't bet 20/1 in The Galaxy about my horse, will they?"
by Steve Haskin
Updated: March 10, 2008
This is what makes Thoroughbred racing such a great sport. On Saturday, in one corner of the country, the mighty Pyro, whose name and powerful stretch kick conjure up images of fires and explosions, once again crushed his foes, winning the Louisiana Derby (gr. II) in grand style.
On the same day, in the opposite corner of the country, a humbly-bred colt who sold for meager $1,000 as a yearling in Northern California and was given the unusual, but well-intentioned name of Autism Awareness, mowed down his field to win the El Camino Real Derby (gr. III) at Bay Meadows.
Pyro was given his name to signify an unstoppable force of power. Autism Awareness was given his name to raise awareness for the disorder that the owners 8-year-old son was born with. Pyro is trained by super trainer Steve Asmussen, who commands a 300-horse stable and who won 488 races last year for a .21 win percentage. Autism Awareness is trained by Genaro Vallejo, who won 13 races last year for a .07 win percentage. Pyro went off as the 4-5 favorite in the Louisiana Derby. Autism Awareness went of as the longest price in the El Camino Real Derby at odds of 62-1.
Pyro was sired by the top-class stallion Pulpit, who stands at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky for a fee of $80,000. Autism Awareness was sired by the obscure Tannersmyman, who stands at Woodbridge Farm in Oakdale, Cal. for a fee of $2,500. Pyros breeding rights have been sold to Darley. No such offer has been made by Darley for Autism Awareness breeding rights.
Six days before Pyro broke his maiden at Churchill Downs in his career debut last July, Autism Awareness finished eighth in his career debut at the Pleasanton fair. Pyro went on to finish second to 2-year-old champion War Pass in the grade I Champagne Stakes and Bessemer Trust Breeders Cup Juvenile. Autism Awareness went on to be beaten at the Santa Rosa, Bay Meadows, and Fresno fairs, while racing twice for a claiming tag. Two weeks before Pyro inhaled his opponents in the Risen Star (gr. III) with one of the most spectacular stretch runs ever witnessed on the Derby trail, Autism Awareness was breaking his maiden at Golden Gate in his 13th career start.
But now, here they are together on the road to Churchill Downs, destined perhaps to cross paths on the first Saturday in May. If that happens, get the golden coach and glass slippers out of storage. Wipe the dust off the old slingshot.
Yep, this is what makes racing special Cinderella getting another chance to dance with the prince; David getting another crack at Goliath. Will it happen with Autism Awareness and Pyro? Who knows? But its something that can happen, and thats what separates racing from other sports.
OK, back to reality. Pyro showed in the Louisiana Derby that he is now the one to beat on May 3. One sensational performance raises the eyebrows, but two seals the deal, especially in a year when no one has stepped up to claim the role of Kentucky Derby favorite. Pyro did just that on Saturday. Instead of lagging back in the rear of the field off sloth-like fractions, as he did in the Risen Star, he showed a new dimension by sitting in fourth, some four lengths off another dawdling pace. Again trapped behind a wall of horses turning for home, Pyro and Shaun Bridgmohan this time sat chilly and bided their time, waiting for the inevitable hole to open. No more meandering all over the track looking for an opening. Bridgmohan knew that he could afford to wait, because once one did open, hed be gone in the proverbial blink of an eye.
Well, one did open and Pyro was indeed gone, as the colt calmly shot through there as if he hadnt a care in the world. He burst clear of the field in a flash and strolled home to win by three lengths. Once again, his closing fractions were strong, with a quarter in :23 4/5 and final sixteenth in :06 2/5.
If there is anything that Pyros future opponents can use to diminish his victory, it is the performances of the other top contenders. The horse that finished second, My Pal Charlie, was 60-1 and didnt look like he was in the same class as Pyro. The main threats Tale of Ekati, Majestic Warrior, and Blackberry Road all came up empty in the stretch, despite the slow pace, while the consistent Unbridled Vicar never ran a step, indicating something might have happened to him early in the race. Tale of Ekati, who broke slowly and lost his position, and Majestic Warrior were on course to have only two Derby preps and neither could afford to throw in this kind of performance. Blackberry Road was closer to the pace than usual, and had a clean trip this time, so no apparent excuse. But he still should improve going longer; 1 1/16 miles is not his game. Yankee Bravo, making his dirt debut, ran well enough late to get third, which will keep him firmly entrenched on the Derby trail. Still lightly raced with only four starts, and with a big closing kick, he is not one to be taken lightly.
The smartest guy on Saturday was Team Valor International president Barry Irwin, who packed up Visionaire after his third-place finish in the Risen Star and fled town, getting as far away from Pyro as possible. He headed up north to New York, where Visionaire captured the Gotham Stakes (gr. III) with a powerful stretch run of his own, charging through a thick blanket of fog to just get up by a nose.
Irwin had no desire to pick a fight with Pyro again, and for good reason. That horse is from a different planet, he said shortly after the Risen Star. Hes also a physical monster with a forearm like Sonny Liston. For all those too young to remember the former heavyweight champion, just think of George Foreman and add a mean streak to him. Liston was the terror of the ring until one Cassius Clay got in his head and drove him nuts.
Dont expect that to happen with Pyro, whose mental state has actually improved since last year, and he is now the consummate pro on the racetrack.
All that is left for him is to bide his time and wait for his white whale, also known as War Pass, to breach on May 3. Many people feel, at a mile and a quarter, Pyro will have better luck with his nemesis than Ahab had with his.
It must be noted that if Pyro should emerge victorious on the first Saturday in May he will be the fifth straight homebred to win the Kentucky Derby, following Smarty Jones, Giacomo, Barbaro, and Street Sense, which bodes well for the good old days when homebreds were the backbone of the sport. Be aware, however, that in both his victories this year, the 3-year-old fillies -- Indian Blessing in the Silverbulletday (gr. III) and Proud Spell in the Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. II) -- ran faster. Those are top-class fillies, but that's a pattern you don't want to see repeated too often.
Getting back to Autism Awareness, he looked like a totally different horse from the one that opened a big lead and ran his field into the ground back on Jan. 21. Since then, hes had two bullet works at Golden Gate, and in the El Camino Real, he took back to fourth and then got himself boxed in badly on the far turn. Waiting patiently, just as Pyro did, he finally found an opening after turning for home and took off, charging by the battling leaders, Nikkisgoldensteed and Tres Borrachos, to win going away by 1 1/2 lengths in the respectable time of 1:43 for the 1 1/16 miles.
Fairy tales aside, Autism Awareness most likely has had his big moment on the Derby trail. But even if thats true, its still a story that will be told numerous times in the weeks ahead. And if he should make it to Churchill Downs, following a $6,000 late nomination fee, you can bet the story of Autism Awareness and his cause will spread across the country in much the same manner as Afleet Alex and Alexs Lemonade Stand in 2005. In that respect, $6,000 is pretty cheap.
Credit must be given to Nikkisgoldensteed, who was under pressure every step of the way from Tres Borrachos, but kept on battling to the wire along the rail, never seeing the winner until he was well past him. He finally got the better of Tres Borrachos and pulled 1 1/2 lengths clear to finish second. This is a tough colt, who is both game and brilliant.
A vision in the fog
Well, a Visionaire to be more precise. As the horses in the Gotham emerged from the thick shroud that had enveloped the track, all one could see was the ghostly figure of the gray colt, Texas Wildcatter, well ahead of the others. Someone, somewhere was second, but no one had a clue who it was.
Then came a sole figure, still on his left lead, his tail tied because of the sealed sloppy track. One could faintly see the familiar green silks of Visionaires co-owner Team Valor International. The son of Grand Slam was well ahead of everyone else, but looked to have no chance of catching Texas Wildcatter. As the two horses became more visible, one could now clearly see Visionaire chopping into Texas Wildcatters lead with every stride, but the finish line was approaching fast. Texas Wildcatter began shortening stride, and Visionaire, under a hand ride by Jose Lezcano, nailed him right on the wire, winning by a nose.
Team Valor president Barry Irwin, who bought 51% of Visionaire following the colts impressive allowance victory at Gulfstream Jan. 4, was standing on the rail and had no idea if the rallying horse was his or not until he saw the 10 on the saddle towel.
Between the time I figured out it was us and they crossed the wire couldnt have been three seconds, Irwin said. Ill tell you one thing, thats the way to watch a race. Theres no sweating, no nerves; you just sit there like everyone else and you wait. And then here they are and either you did it or you didnt.
Visionaire had drawn post 10, which is not where you want to break from on the inner track at Aqueduct. Irwin knew his only chance was for Lezcano to drop back to last, tuck in, and let the colt return to the running style that enabled him to score back-to-back explosive victories. In the Risen Star, the pace was agonizingly slow, and breaking from the inside, Visionaire was forced to race closer to the pace than he liked, while stuck behind horses. Irwins only concern in the Gotham was that horses all day were winning from close up and well off the rail.
If you werent up there on the lead or just off it, and rallying wide, you got nothing, Irwin said. So, for him to do what he did was pretty impressive. And he ran a98 Beyer number, so I think were in a good spot. Now we can just kick back and point him for the (Toyota) Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I). We have enough earnings to get in the Derby, so I want to run him where its going to help him the most for the Derby. By running him on Polytrack in the Blue Grass, he might not win it, but I think itll set him up for the race the best way. I believe Polytrack helps your horse get what he needs from a cardiovascular standpoint without having to take the pounding.
If there is one question mark surrounding Visionaire, it is his pedigree, which is kind of iffy for 1 1/4 miles, with sire Grand Slam and broodmare sire French Deputy. But there are several hard-knocking, two-turn Maryland stakes horses in his female family, and he does have the right running style to keep stretching out. Lets call his pedigree borderline, so it may just come down to ability, of which he has plenty.
Second wave brings heavy ammo
Each year about this time, we wait for the second wave to hit the Derby trail, hoping to find a Monarchos or a Grindstone or a War Emblem late developers who emerge on the scene, seemingly out of nowhere, to become leading Derby contenders.
Just when many fans were becoming disillusioned with the run of mostly mundane Derby preps, in came the second wave second, bringing two colts who rocked the Derby trail with performances so spectacular their names quickly were on everyones lips, despite neither having ever run in a stakes. Just like that, Big Brown and Hey Byrn were hot commodities. Three days after Hey Byrns stroll in the park, Big Brown, who hadnt run since demolishing his foes by 11 1/4 lengths in a maiden turf race at Saratoga last summer, returned in a one-mile allowance race at Gulfstream that was taken off the turf and turned in a performance so awe-inspiring he quickly made Hey Byrn yesterdays news.
By crushing his opponents by 12 3/4 lengths, winning with ridiculous ease, Big Brown earned a 104 Beyer figure and an impressive 3 1/2 on the Ragozin Sheets. What amazed everyone was the way he cruised along under a motionless Kent Desormeaux after six furlongs in 1:09 4/5, this following a second quarter in :22 2/5. He merely cantered home his final quarter to win eased up with his ears pricked in 1:35 3/5. Although Hey Byrn had won his race just as easily, his time for the 1 1/8 miles over a slow track was 1:52 3/5.
A majority interest in Big Brown had been purchased by IEAH Stables from original owner Paul Pompa following the colts debut for a price believed to be around $2 million. He was then turned over to Rick Dutrow, who had to battle through a couple of quarter cracks with Big Brown before being able to get him back to the races.
What amazed Dutrow most about Big Browns performance was that the colt had had only two breezes this year a half in :48 on Feb. 24 and five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 on March 1. On the day of the race, Dutrow admitted to being scared, and kept thinking, I gotta be out of my mind to do that to this horse. His final work, in which he galloped out strong and came bouncing back on his toes, had convinced him he was ready, but now he was wondering if he was doing the right thing.
In a little over a minute and 35 seconds, everything changed. Believe me, I wasnt thinking about the Derby before the race, Dutrow said. Now, how can I stop it? Hes absolutely unstoppable right now.
Dutrow did say, however, that the only thing that could prevent Big Brown from making the Derby is his feet, so hes going to keep him at Gulfstream and run in the Florida Derby (gr. I) and keep everything basic. That would give Big Brown only three career starts before the Derby, an obstacle even Curlin couldnt clear last year, nor could anyone else in the past 93 years. With Big Brown having debuted on grass, then sidelined for six months before resurfacing in another scheduled grass race, one has to wonder just how troublesome his feet are. As talented as he is, hes still bucking the odds, having to overcome both soundness and experience issues.
So impressive were the victories by Big Brown and Hey Byrn, it is conceivable they will vie for favoritism, along with Elysium Fields, in the Florida Derby despite their lack of stakes experience.
What is unusual about both colts, other than their jaw-dropping victories, is the fact that both are by sprinting sires. Hey Byrns sire, Put it Back, a son of the speed-oriented Honour and Glory (sire of sprinters Battle Won and Keyed Entry) is best known for his sons Smokey Stover and In Summation both confirmed sprinters. Big Browns sire, Boundary, who was a stakes-winning sprinter, has sired mostly sprinters and milers. So, whats happening here? Is the breed so random nowadays that we have absolutely no idea any longer who the real Derby contenders are based on pedigree?
That means its time to pay much more attention on the dam. Hey Byrns maternal grandsires are Skip Trial and Storm Bird, so that is apparently where his stamina is coming from. Big Brown is inbred to Damascus and Round Table, as well as Northern Dancer, so theres your stamina. Damascus has been known to inject speed into many of his sons, but his inbreeding in Big Browns case is through his daughters, which brings out his stamina.
The bottom line is that these two exciting colts do have question marks that wont be erased until they face each other and a number of proven stakes horses in the Florida Derby.
In an interesting sidelight of these allowance races, Todd Pletcher decided to run his seven-furlong maiden winner Sleuse in a second level allowance race on March 2 instead of a first level allowance the day before and ran smack into Hey Byrn. Then, he entered his runaway maiden winner Crimson Comic in a one-mile allowance race on turf March 5, but listed him as main track only. As a precaution, he also entered him in a first level allowance race on dirt at the same distance the following day. The grass race came off the turf and Pletcher decided to go with Crimson Cosmic in that spot and ran smack into Big Brown. It just goes to show you that on the Derby trail you never know behind which door the monsters are lurking.
In other Derby news:
In the Beyer beware department, when Gulfstream Park announced that Cool Coal Mans final time in the Fountain of Youth (gr. II) was 1:49 2/5, he was given a 98 Beyer figure. That time was changed soon after to 1:50, yet on the latest past performances, his Beyer is still 98. So, is Beyer using the old time, the new time, or Randy Moss private clocking? Whichever one he is using, there is no reason for the colt to earn the same figure based on two different times, three-fifths apart.
If there is a horse who may be able to give War Pass a tussle in the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. III), it is Dogwood Stable's Atoned, who indicated his readiness by working five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 at Palm Beach Downs and galloping out a strong seven panels in 1:26 4/5 and pulling up a mile in 1:40. Judging from his works, he is ready to come back running and he already has an excellent foundation.
Delta Jackpot (gr. III) dead-heat winner Turf War, who turned in a dismal effort in the Southwest Stakes (gr. III) Feb. 18, returned to the work tab last week, breezing five furlongs in a bullet 1:00 at the Ocala Training Center.
Speaking of the Southwest, if youre looking for a magabomb future book horse whos running in Saturdays San Felipe, keep an eye on a colt named Southwest, who was forced seven-wide going into the first turn and was five-wide turning for home in a Santa Anita allowance race, yet still closed well off a dreadfully slow pace to finish third behind On the Virg. Trained by Gary Mandella, Southwest is by Cozzene, out of a Quiet American mare, so he should only get better the farther he goes.
Readys Image, winner of the Sanford Stakes (gr. II), had his first work of the year after being sidelined with an injury last fall, breezing three furlongs in :39 2/5.
It's official as it's on the DRF home page tonight. He is going to freshner her up.
FB
BARRIER REEF
Brandon Benson/NYRA photo
by Jeff Lowe
Whirlaway Stakes winner Barrier Reef will not participate Saturdays Tampa Bay Derby (G3) after missing a few days of training at Payson Park due to a minor injury.
He grabbed himself behind coming off the track the other day in the mud, said Rick Mettee, the United States assistant to Godolphin Racing trainer Saeed bin Suroor. Its nothing serioushes going back to the track [on Wednesday]but he missed his scheduled workout the other day. I spoke with Saeed, and he said Lets just pass this race.
Mettee said no decision has been made on an alternative race for Barrier Reef, who was transferred to Godolphin after his victory in the Whirlaway on February 2 at Aqueduct for owner Darley Stable.
Barrier Reef was not among the early nominees for the Triple Crown. The late nomination deadline is March 29.
The defection leaves Atoned and Big Truck as perhaps the leading rivals for champion War Pass in the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby. Atoned has not raced since his second-place finish in the Remsen Stakes (G2) on November 24. Big Truck finished second in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay on February 16.
Stakes coordinator Duane Christo said local horses Dynamic Wayne, Gentleman James, and Song of Greatness are likely for the Tampa Bay Derby. Cigar Man, Golden Spikes, and Stormin Yank also could join the field.
MARCH 13, 2008
by James Scully
PYRO (Pulpit) didn't disappoint his many supporters in Saturday's Louisiana Derby (G2), recording a three-length victory as the 4-5 favorite, and the Steve Asmussen-trained colt was bet down to 4-1 favoritism in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager over the weekend. Pyro is a leading Kentucky Derby (G1) contender by virtue of two convincing wins this season, but there are still holes in his resume.
At some point, Pyro will have to deal with a legitimate pace. After winning the Risen Star (G3) behind snaillike fractions, Pyro was expected to receive a truer test on Saturday, and Asmussen even assured us of a realistic set-up from Pyro's stablemate, J BE K (Silver Deputy), who would be going right to the front in an attempt to lead wire to wire. Jockey Kent Desormeaux apparently had different plans, taking a hold of J Be K after the gates opened, and Desormeaux allowed 60-1 MY PAL CHARLIE (Indian Charlie) to crawl along unopposed on the front end during the early stages. The pacesetter reached the three-quarters mark in 1:13 4/5.
Pyro's final times in the Louisiana Derby and Risen Star are also subject to criticism. He finished the Louisiana Derby in 1:44 2/5. One race earlier in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), Proud Spell (Proud Citizen) turned the same distance in 1:44. And the early fractions in the Oaks (:24 2/5, :48 and 1:12 4/5) weren't significantly faster than the Louisiana Derby. On February 9, Pyro completed the 8 1/2 furlongs of the Risen Star in 1:44 3/5. One race earlier that afternoon, Indian Blessing (Indian Charlie) ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:43 3/5. Three-year-old fillies are running faster than him on the same program.
Speed ratings are another concern. After earning a 96 in the Risen Star, Pyro hit the century-mark in the Louisiana Derby, registering a 100 BRIS Speed figure, but his 2008 Speed numbers are still lower that he was earning at the end of his juvenile season.
Despite these knocks, Pyro must be given his due. He dominated the three-year-old ranks in Louisiana this winter. After capturing only one-of-four starts at two, Pyro is winning this year, and winning convincingly. He's much-improved from that perspective. A confirmed closer, Pyro needed to pass 10 horses after racing in last for most of the Risen Star, but he displayed more tactical speed in the Louisiana Derby, racing closer to the pace in fourth during the early stages. As a result, his BRIS Early Pace numbers increased by about 20 points from his seasonal bow.
Pyro is also showing the ability to overcome adversity. He had to wait and change course in the stretch run of the Risen Star, and his momentum was stopped during the Louisiana Derby. The colt advanced into contention approaching the far turn on Saturday, but jockey Shaun Bridgmohan had no place to go and threw the brakes on. Pyro patiently waited until splitting rivals around the eighth pole, and he accelerated away with a dynamic turn of foot once clear. His stop-and-go versatility figures to serve him well in a 20-horse field at Churchill Downs.
The top challengers entering the Louisiana Derby failed to perform well, with TALE OF EKATI (Tale of the Cat) and MAJESTIC WARRIOR (A.P. Indy) checking in sixth and seventh, respectively, but the competition isn't important to Steve Asmussen. He's laying the groundwork for the first Saturday in May. The outstanding conditioner played catch-up with a lightly raced Curlin (Smart Strike) in 2007, but he had the opportunity to plot a long-range course this year in pursuit of his first Kentucky Derby win. And his colt appears to have the tools to get it done. Critics may want to dismiss Pyro's two efforts so far this year as fake, but don't be surprised to see the colt keep improving over the next six weeks. He will receive his final Kentucky Derby prep in the April 12 Blue Grass S. (G1) at Keeneland.
My Pal Charlie captured a $50,000 maiden claiming event two starts earlier and entered the Louisiana Derby off an entry-level allowance win at Fair Grounds. He's headed in the right direction for trainer Al Stall, but Desormeaux should get a present from his connections for allowing My Pal Charlie an easy lead on a slow pace. Circumstances will be different next time. YANKEE BRAVO (Yankee Gentlemen) turned in a commendable effort in his dirt debut. Last after six furlongs, he launched a big rally to reach contention at the top of the stretch and might have cost himself second when ducking in around the eighth pole. The Paddy Gallagher charge suffered his first setback on Saturday, but he proved something to doubters who thought he was strictly a synthetic track/turf horse. Yankee Bravo will make his next appearance in the April 5 Santa Anita Derby (G1).
Tale of Ekati proved to be a mighty disappointment on Saturday, racing at the back of the pack the entire way after breaking a step slow. The Grade 2 winner had been working in South Florida since mid-January, but Barclay Tagg waited until almost mid-March to run him, opting for only two Derby prep races. That strategy looks terrible now. Majestic Warrior, who was also returning from a lengthy layoff, finished a spot behind Tale of Ekati, but the lightly raced colt at least showed signs of life in a race he desperately needed, offering a move from the back of the pack to reach contention before flattening out in the stretch. It's tough to envision him being ready for the Derby off such a light campaign, but Majestic Warrior still owns some promise.
In Saturday's Gotham S. (G3), VISIONAIRE (Grand Slam) notched his first stakes win with a stirring late rally through the fog at Aqueduct. After breaking a step slow from his outside post, the chestnut colt dropped far back in the nine-horse field. He began picking up rivals on the far turn, but Visionaire didn't appear to have any chance of catching TEXAS WILDCATTER (Monarchos) entering the stretch drive. That rival swooped to the lead on the far turn and turned for home with a clear lead and a head full of steam.
Visionaire gamely wore down his rival late, catching Texas Wildcatter in the final jump for a nose decision, and the Michael Matz-trained colt recorded his first triple-digit Speed rating (100) in the process. He's a promising colt indeed. After easily breaking his maiden over Elysium Fields (El Prado [Ire]) at Laurel Park last November, Visionaire opened his sophomore campaign with a 5 1/2-length romp in a one-mile, entry-level allowance at Gulfstream. He made his stakes and two-turn debut in the Risen Star and raced close to the pace before finishing third, beaten 2 3/4 lengths by Pyro. Visionaire benefited from that experience, displaying a ton of heart in the slop at Aqueduct, and he's eligible to keep moving forward for his Derby-winning conditioner. We don't know how far he'll run, but Visionaire impressed in the 1 1/16-mile Gotham. The Blue Grass is next.
Texas Wildcatter is an improving sort for Todd Pletcher. He entered the Gotham in solid form, recording BRIS Late Pace ratings of 111 and 108 in his two previous outings, and he closed a lot of ground into a slow pace when finishing third in the Whirlaway S. last time out. The gray colt came up a little short in the Gotham, but he finished 7 3/4 lengths clear of third and owns a favorable pedigree for a classic route of ground. It will be interesting to see whether Texas Wildcatter can carry his form forward in the Wood Memorial (G1) on April 5.
Saturday's El Camino Real Derby (G3) at Bay Meadows probably won't have any impact upon the Kentucky Derby (G1). AUTISM AWARENESS (Tannersmyman), the longest shot on the board at 62-1, exited his shocking 1 1/2-length upset with an injury and will miss the Run for the Roses. Turf Paradise Derby winner NIKKI'SGOLDENSTEED (Formal Gold) offered a decent showing for second after jumping shadows earlier in the race, battling back in deep stretch after being passed by the winner, but the California-bred will step up much to face much tougher company in his next outing. With only $30,000 in graded earnings, Nikki'sgoldensteed will likely have a difficult time making the Kentucky Derby field, but that could be a blessing in disguise.
Upcoming
Unbeaten juvenile champion WAR PASS (Cherokee Run) will command the spotlight in Saturday's Tampa Bay Derby (G3), and a small group of rivals are expected to challenge him in the 1 1/16-mile race. He should roll on the front end.
The Rebel S. (G3) and San Felipe S. (G2) figure to be more competitive events on Saturday. The 1 1/16-mile Rebel lost a top contender when DENIS OF CORK's (Harlan's Holiday) connections decided to skip the race in favor of the Wood or Illinois Derby (G2), and that will leave the unseasoned runner with only one start in the 75 days prior to the Kentucky Derby. If the thrice-raced colt had more foundation, I could understand the move. But late-blooming sophomores (Denis of Cork made his second career start on January 19) aren't ready to win the Derby off only one prep race in 75 days.
His defection leaves Lecomte (G3) winner and Risen Star runner-up Z FORTUNE (Siphon [Brz]) as the one to beat in the Rebel. ANAK NAKAL (Victory Gallop), SIERRA SUNSET (Bertrando) and SACRED JOURNEY (Unbridled's Song) are also expected.
The San Felipe will be a distance test for the three top contenders -- GEORGIE BOY (Tribal Rule), GAYEGO (Gilded Time) and BOB BLACK JACK (Stormy Jack). They've all been very impressive in one-turn events this winter at Santa Anita.
Top 10
1) PYRO -- Sets his sights on Blue Grass following dominant Louisiana Derby win
2) COLONEL JOHN -- Sham (G3) winner is headed to the Santa Anita Derby
3) WAR PASS -- Expect a strong showing in Tampa Bay Derby
4) COURT VISION -- Eligible to improve significantly upon late-running third in Fountain of Youth (G2)
5) EL GATO MALO -- Sham runner-up turned in an excellent effort in defeat
6) VISIONAIRE -- Gotham winner gives Matz hope for second Derby trophy in three years
7) Z FORTUNE -- Asmussen runner is the horse to beat in the Rebel
8) COOL COAL MAN -- Fountain of Youth winner will make his final prep in Blue Grass
9) MAJESTIC WARRIOR -- Deep closer needed the Louisiana Derby off a 154-day layoff
10) DENIS OF CORK -- Unbeaten and lightly raced colt will have only one more start to build upon
By Jon White
PYROMANIA IN LOUISIANA
This Saturday will put us seven weeks away from the 2008 Kentucky Derby. A lot certainly can happen in those eight weeks. But, at this point, it appears to me Pyro will be awfully tough to beat in the Run for the Roses following his victory last Saturday in the Grade II Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds.
Four days before the Louisiana Derby, trainer Steve Asmussen talked about his goal of creating a more consistent rhythm in Pyros running style i.e., make him more efficient all the way from Point A to Point B. That was a primary reason Asmussen had worked Pyro twice in company with 4-year-old Curlin, the 2007 Horse of the Year, prior to the Risen Star.
Bob Fortus, racing writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, told me that Pyro had been extremely impressive in those two works with Curlin.
In the Louisiana Derby, one could plainly see that Pyro is indeed getting better at staying focused from start to finish. In the Risen Star, a 1 1/16-mile race, he was last in a field of 11, nearly nine lengths off the pace with five-sixteenths of a mile to go. In the Louisiana Derby, also at 1 1/16 miles, he was fourth, a little more than a length off the lead. Thats a huge difference.
Pyro had to await room turning into the stretch and early in the stretch run in the Louisiana Derby. When a hole materialized with a little less than a furlong to go, he charged to the front and quickly pulled away to prevail by three lengths for Asmussen and owner-breeder Winchell Thoroughbreds.
We put him in the race more, and he showed he could make more than one move, Asmussen was quoted as saying by Daily Racing Forms Jay Privman. I feel very good that he did what we asked him to do.
Shaun Bridgmohan has ridden Pyro in all six of his career races.
I was not panicking with my position at all, Bridgmohan said with regard to having to await racing room for a period of time in the Louisiana Derby. I knew what I had, and he gave it to me.
Pyro earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure in the Louisiana Derby, up from his 90 in the Risen Star. He recorded a pair of triple-digit Beyers last year, a 100 when second to War Pass in the Grade I Champagne Stakes and a 105 when second to that same rival in the Grade I Breeders Cup Juvenile.
AVOIDING STRIKES
As regular readers of this column know, I have come up with 10 key Kentucky Derby factors. These factors help point out 3-year-olds who have a good chance to win the Derby from a tactical and historical perspective. When a horse doesnt qualify in one of the 10 categories, the horse gets a strike.
Since coming up with the concept of key factors in 1999, six of the nine Kentucky Derby winners have had either zero strikes or one strike. No winner has had more than three.
Three Kentucky Derby winners (Monarchos at 10-1 in 2001, War Emblem at 20-1 in 2002 and Smarty Jones at 4-1 in 2004) and a runner-up (Closing Argument at 71-1 in 2005) had zero strikes.
Kentucky Derby winners Charismatic in 1999, Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000, Barbaro in 2006 and Street Sense in 2007 had only one strike each.
Charismatics strike was for not having finished at least third in a 1 1/8-mile race before the Kentucky Derby.
Fusaichi Pegasus strike was for not having had at least six lifetime starts before the Kentucky Derby.
Barbaros strike likewise for not having had at least six lifetime starts prior to the Kentucky Derby.
Street Senses strike was for not having made at least three starts at 3 before the Kentucky Derby.
Kentucky Derby winners Funny Cide in 2003 and Giacomo in 2005 had two strikes each. Funny Cide received strikes for not having won a graded stakes race and for being a gelding. Giacomo received strikes for not having won a graded stakes race and for not having finished at least third in a 1 1/8-mile race.
I consider it quite significant regarding the Kentucky Derby that Pyro was second with an eighth of a mile to run in the Louisiana Derby. This will probably prevent him from getting a strike in what I feel is one of the more important key Kentucky Derby categories, The Eighth Pole Factor. In order to avoid a strike in this category, a horse must have been either first or second with an eighth of a mile to go in either of his or her last two starts before the Kentucky Derby. This points out those who were running strongly at the eighth pole, usually in races at 1 1/16 miles (such as the Louisiana Derby) or 1 1/8 miles.
By running strongly at the same point in the Kentucky Derby, it can put a horse first or second with a furlong to run. And thats extremely important since 43 of the last 45 Kentucky Derby winners have been first or second with a furlong to go in that race.
Decidedly won the 1962 Kentucky Derby after being third with a furlong to run. Grindstone won the 1996 Derby after being fourth with a furlong remaining. Giacomo took the 2005 Derby after being sixth with a furlong left.
Although Street Sense rallied from 19th to win the Derby last year, he was first or second with a furlong to go. With a furlong to run, he led by a length.
Pyro is scheduled to start once more before this years Kentucky Derby. Next on his agenda is the Grade I Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 12.
PYRO REMAINS NO. 1
After his explosive triumph in the Grade III Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds on Feb. 9, Pyro moved into the No. 1 position on my weekly Kentucky Derby Top 10 list. He solidified his spot at the top with his win in the Louisiana Derby.
Here is this weeks list:
1. Pyro
2. Denis of Cork
3. War Pass
4. Cool Coal Man
5. Elysium Fields
6. Colonel John
7. El Gato Malo
8. Big Brown
9. Z Fortune
10. Visionaire
There are those who still have reservations about Pyro vis-à-vis the first Saturday in May. I am not one of them at this time. In my opinion, there are fewer questions about him than any other Kentucky Derby candidates.
Lets look at some of the questions the other horses on the Top 10 list still have to answer:
Dennis of Cork is light on experience (three career starts) and unproven at the Grade I or Grade II levels.
War Pass is very talented, to be sure, but remains a question mark to me in terms of being able to win at 1 1/4 miles under 126 pounds.
Cool Coal Man already has won twice going 1 1/8 miles. Thats a big plus. However, he has yet to earn a Beyer Speed Figure higher than 98.
Elysium Fields is improving, as evidenced by his fine performance when the runner-up in the Grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes off a maiden victory. But keep in mind that hes still eligible to run in a race for non-winners of two. He also had blinkers added to his equipment as a 3-year-old. Since Daily Racing Form began including blinkers in its past performances in 1987, no horse has added blinkers at 3 before winning the Derby.
Big Brown obviously has a ton of natural ability. But hes extremely light on experience (two career starts and only one start this year).
Colonel John and El Gato Malo have yet to race on the dirt, with both having competed solely on synthetic surfaces in California.
Z Fortune, like Visionaire, has to prove he can beat Pyro. The only time they met, Z Fortune finished two lengths behind Pyro.
Visionaire has to prove he can beat Pyro. The only time they met, Visionaire finished 2 3/4 lengths behind Pyro.
Pyro already has proven a lot to me. Hes shown he can run fast (two Beyer Speed Figures of 100 or higher as a 2-year-old). Hes shown that after being one of the leaders of his class at 2, he is likewise at 3. Hes shown that he can win on the dirt. Hes shown that he can win at Churchill Downs. Hes shown more than once that he can win without a perfect trip. Hes shown that he can go toe-to-toe with mighty Curlin in the morning.
To me, the only question Pyro has yet to answer is whether he can beat War Pass. Pyro is three for three when not running against War Pass. When running against War Pass, Pyro is zero for three.
But there are pros and cons regarding War Pass. I thought Dick Jerardi of the Philadelphia Daily News articulated them well after the Breeders Cup when he wrote: Is it possible War Pass just caught a sloppy track he loved and wont come back to the 113 [Beyer Speed Figure in the Juvenile]? Possible. Is it also possible he is a need-the-lead horse that wont be as effective under early pressure? Also possible. Is it also possible that this is a really, really fast horse with unlimited potential? Also possible.
Maybe War Pass is a superstar. The Washington Posts Andrew Beyer has gone so far as to compare him to 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. Until War Pass loses, whos to say Beyer is wrong?
But I have to call it the way I see it. And, at this point, the way I see it is Pyro looks much more like a horse capable of winning at 1 1/4 miles under 126 pounds on the first Saturday in May than War Pass.
A BIG DIRT DEBUT
How good is Big Brown? Many people are pondering that question after the Kentucky-bred son of Boundary won a one-mile off-the-turf allowance affair by 12 3/4 lengths in Swaps-like fashion at Gulfstream Park on March 5.
In the Jan. 9 edition of this column, I discussed 32 sophomores on my radar screen, lurking below my Kentucky Derby Top 10 list. Big Brown was one of the 32.
This is what I wrote of Big Brown on Jan. 9:
I find the son of Boundary an intriguing Kentucky Derby dark horse. It looks like there is an awful lot of talent there. Big Brown romped to an 11 1/4-length debut win at Saratoga on the turf last Sept. 3. Maybe hes strictly a turf horse. Or maybe he also might do well on the dirt, a la Barbaro, who started off in turf races before making the successful transition to the dirt.
Big Brown, now trained by Rick Dutrow after being conditioned by Patrick Reynolds at 2, is to make his next start in the Grade I Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 29. He debuts on my Kentucky Derby Top 10 list this week at No. 8.
Also debuting on the Top 10 list this week at No. 10 is Visionaire, who closed strongly from out of the fog to win Aqueducts Grade III Gotham Stakes by a nose at one mile last Saturday while earning a 98 Beyer Speed Figure. The Kentucky-bred Grand Slam colt, conditioned by Michael Matz, who won the 2006 Kentucky Derby with Barbaro, had finished third behind the Asumssen-trained duo of Pyro and Z Fortune in the Risen Star.
Visionaires Gotham triumph makes Pyro look even better.
END
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By BART O'CONNELL
Tribune correspondent
Published: March 16, 2008
Updated: 12:14 am
OLDSMAR - Twenty feet from the hoopla in the Tampa Bay Downs winner's circle stood Nick Zito, right hand in his pocket, glazed look on his face, trying to find out what happened.
It was a look that perfectly summed up Saturday's Grade III Tampa Bay Derby, a race that will be remembered more for who finished last - Zito's previously unbeaten 2-year-old champion War Pass, a 1-20 betting favorite - than the winner, Big Truck.
As War Pass faltered, eased by jockey Cornelio Velasquez at the top of the stretch, the Barclay Tagg trainee and Sam F. Davis Stakes runner-up, ridden by Eibar Coa, held off Todd Pletcher's Atoned by a neck in 1 minute, 44.25 seconds. Dynamic Wayne, a local horse trained by Dale Bennett, was third.
Much of the Tampa Bay Downs record crowd of 12,746 was still stunned by the outcome, and so were Tagg and Coa, who weren't looking to make history. They just wanted to finish second, with one caveat.
"I told Coa if something happens to War Pass, if you ride for second he'll win the race," Tagg said. "He felt the same way, and it kind of worked out that way. I mean, you just never know. Theoretically, you're not going to beat War Pass going a mile-and-a-16th here."
Big Truck owner Eric Fein and his sizeable group pranced into the winner's circle, high-fiving and hugging each other, already making plans for the Kentucky Derby after the $180,000 win. Meanwhile, War Pass's somber connections - Zito, Velasquez and owner Robert LaPenta - searched for answers as the colt was being sponged down, clearly gassed.
The awe-inspiring speed War Pass had shown in winning his first five races never arrived Saturday. Breaking from the No. 3 post, he bumped Make Me Zach on the right and brushed off Gentleman James on the left, squeezed back sharply. It was probably the worst thing, short of injury, that could have happened to the front-runner.
Zito wanted Velasquez to take him to the front for the first turn, but traffic problems forced him to settle for fifth early. He moved up to third on the backstretch, but still was unable to find any running room. Velasquez used the whip only once, at the top of the stretch, but gave up soon after.
"He got moving and I thought was in a good position going down the back, but when Velasquez asked him nothing happened," Zito said. "I don't know what happened, I just don't know."
"He's a nice horse, he try all the time," Velasquez said, "but today, he didn't try."
LaPenta said War Pass "wasn't himself" and earlier in the week had a fever, a revelation that was not released to the public before the race. LaPenta didn't immediately know if War Pass suffered an injury. He added that plans to run in next month's Wood Memorial at Aqueduct would need to be evaluated.
Tagg also is unsure of where Big Truck will race next.
The result sent many home angry. The show pool was the most heavily bet part of the race, with 93.6 percent ($717,212.39) wagered on War Pass. The result was huge show payouts for the three horses in the money, $25.20 for Big Truck, $27.80 for Atoned and $76.40 for Dynamic Wayne.
"Unbelievable. Unbelievable," Fein said. "You hope for this, you root for it. I've had a lot of them that haven't panned out, but this is absolutely amazing."
Bart O'Connell can be
He came out of the race fine, but were not going to do anything for a day or two, Walsh said. Mr. Schwary was enjoying the day with his family, and we didnt talk at all much."
Walsh wouldn't say whether Michael Baze would retain the mount. Rafael Bejarano could be back should he recover from vertebra fractures suffered Thursday, but Walsh was noncommital. Bejarano rode the son of Tribal Rule to victory in the Grade II San Vicente Stakes on Feb. 10.
I keep saying it. This is the best horse Ive ever trained, said Stutts. Ive never had a horse work like that. He does things so easily. Im excited.
Stutts is pointing Smooth Air to the Grade I Florida Derby on March 29 and shipped the colt from his Calder base to Gulfstream for the work. He set the goal after Smooth Air finished third in the $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes on Feb. 16.
Smooth Air won the Grade II Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream on Jan. 5, defeating horses that have subsequently won major stakes, including Grade III Tampa Bay Derby winner Big Truck and OBS Championship victor Halo Najib.
We had to get him tired. He hasnt run in a month, and hes tired, but he worked fast. What more can you ask? Hell get an easy five-eighths next week. Thats all he really needs, Stutts said.
Theres no doubt this horse has the talent to ship all over and win a lot of money, said Stutts. Were of course looking to do well in the Florida Derby, and if he can win that, you know where were going next.
According to the story, trainer Nick Zito said that War Pass sustained "a few cuts on his leg" at the break from the gate in the Grade III Tampa Bay Derby, and that the Grade I Wood Memorial on April 5 is still in the stable's plan for War Pass.
The story doesn't address a statement made by owner Robert LaPenta after yesterday's race that War Pass had a fever during the week.
The colt had a workout yesterday at Gulfstream Park ahead of a trek to Dubai for the Group 2 U.A.E. Derby on March 29, breezing six furlongs in 1:15.60 (3/5).
He finished strong and did just what we wanted him to do, said Romans, who took over training of Massive Drama from Bob Baffert. We wanted to get him one good tightener before we ship.
Romans successfully shipped to Nad al Sheba to win the 2005 Dubai World Cup with Ken and Sarah Ramseys Roses in May. He said he's following a similar methods with Massive Drama. I can tell you were not doing anything different, said Romans. All the advice we got going over there with Roses in May was get all your training done before you get over there. Thats what todays work was all about.
OLDSMAR, Fla., March 16, 2008--
The horses for the 28th Tampa Bay Derby were filing into the paddock, one by one. With arms outstretched and fingers wrapped around digital cameras, the assembled among a record crowd of 12,746 waited for the star to arrive. And the champion is always the last one to enter the ring.
Atoned, glistening with health as he walked by, and the businesslike Big Truck, were already taking their turns around the saddling enclosure. Shortly thereafter, there began a stirring in the crowd, which turned into a buzz, which turned almost immediately hoots and howls.
Whats all the noise about? asked stakes coordinator Duane Dube, his question directed facetiously toward Barclay Tagg. Tagg laughed, Dube smiled, but he never broke stride as he worked his way down the line, one stall at a time.
War Pass entered the ring looking like a champion. He stopped just before stepping into the paddock area, pricked his ears and turned his head, surveying the crowd. All this took a couple of seconds, before he continued his walk toward stall number 3.
Before Nick Zito and longtime assistant Tim Poole moved in for the girth-tightening procedure, War Pass took a circumference or two of the enclosure, Zito, game face on, shared a few moments with owner Robert LaPenta until his cell phone interrupted their visit.
Horsey paparazzi, some credentialed, some not, were everywhere, shooting anything that moved. A small group of people, either the connections of one of the horses or visiting dignitaries, got as close as they could get to stall number three. When the moment was right, they began clicking or buzzing away. Some apparently had flash capability, a big no-no when pent-up racehorses are the subject.
Moments later, a young, well-dressed man with a lovely child perched atop his shoulders, approached the group and said in a nice way to no one in particular: I love all you people to death, but please dont flash pictures of the horse. It just sucks all the energy right out of them.
A racetracker for more than four decades, that was news to me. Maybe its because I dont know the difference between a view-finder and the backside of a horse. Just then my cell phone began to vibrate. I flipped the lid open to see whether I should take the call immediately or call back when, staring me in the face, I noted the moment in time: Sat, Mar. 15, 5:38 pm.
The Ides of March. Hmm.
The horses left their enclosures for one final tour of the ring. War Pass didnt turn a hair, as the racetrackers say, a real professional racehorse. Either that, or he could be a little flat. It happens without rhyme or reason sometimes. Not knowing the individual well, I cant say.
Atoned was the last horse to leave the ring. Later, he would lead the Derby pack into the stretch, absolutely running his eyeballs out. It would take a big truck to run over the top of this guy.
The horsemen followed their charges out of the paddock. As the trainer of the favorite walked by, I was tempted to say what I always say: Run good and come back good. But luck almost always has nothing to do with it. So instead, I said: Have a safe trip, Nick.
You said it right, Zito replied. Thats the only thing that really matters.
Luck, both good and bad, did have something to do with it: Bad because of the start, the brilliant speedster breaking two lengths slow away from the barrier; good in that nothing untoward happened to the colt. But War Pass and Cornelio Velasquez were buffeted about soon after the start, and were in uncomfortably close quarters on the first turn, Velasquez forced to steady as the leaders straightened away into the backstretch.
Meanwhile, Johnny Velazquez, as if reprising his winning ride on the filly in last years Belmont Stakes, had Atoned comfortably out in the middle of the Tampa Bay straight, way out, in fact, moving into the four path on the final turn as Velazquez attempted to pull the rug out from beneath his rivals hooves, surging to a clear advantage into the stretch.
At this juncture War Pass also was outside in the clear but obviously struggling over the surface and going nowhere. The early favorite for the Kentucky Derby was no longer going to be an undefeated champion, and his performance will be sure to open the flood-gates of Derby possibilities in coming days even wider.
As Atoned began to open his lead, Big Truck, appearing a bit heavy-headed, was being pushed on by Eibar Coa as they began their run for second. Leaving the quarter pole, as the horses came into view, Tagg ran toward the outside paddock railing and jumped up on a fence post, straining to see Big Trucks outside rally that reached even terms with Atoned before finally pulling away with 40 yards to go--all while trying to maintain his balance.
When they left the three-sixteenths, I was standing on the fence screaming and trying not to fall off, said a smiling, reflective Tagg in the winners circle amidst a media semi-circle. You just never know. Youre not supposed to beat War Pass going a mile and a sixteenth. But when I looked up and didnt see him, I thought he had on the wrong colors.
Tagg and owner Eric Feins concerns about graded earnings should not weigh on them too heavily, Big Trucks $180,000 share of the purse should be enough. Knowing in earnest that they belong, Tagg and Fein have a serious interest in staying on the Derby trail with their Tampa Derby winner. A phone call to Zito had yet to be returned as this is posted.
If you believe in omens and legends, it appears the Ides of March have claimed another victim. Either that, or the reason why its called gambling.
Jet Set Racings Peruvian champion Tomcito slipped into Gulfstream Park Monday morning to turn in a bullet workout that solidified his status as a starter in the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) on Sat., Mar. 29.
Trainer Dante Zanelli Jr. had planned on working the 3-year-old son of Street Cry at his Palm Meadows Training Center headquarters, but called an audible Monday and put the colt into his personal trailer and drove to Gulfstream.
Tomcito responded with a quick five-furlong drill in 58 4/5 under jockey Christian Pilares. It was the fastest of 24 workers going five-eighths that morning.
I was looking for something just under a minute and figured it would be quicker because he was at Gulfstream, said Zanelli. I wasnt expecting 58, but he did exactly what we wanted with the way he finished, the way he came back to the barn, and with the way hes cooling out.
The Kentucky-bred winner of Perus 12-furlong, Group 1 Derby Nacional
( YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.) dominated in all but one of his five starts in South America, including two Group 1 wins against horses with considerably more development under their belts as older Southern Hemisphere-breds. His only loss was a troubled trip when second in the Peruvian 2,000 Guineas (G1).
Big Truck May Roll Into Holy Bull after Tampa Triumph
Assistant trainer Robin Smullen reported Eric Feins 3-year-old Big Truck returned to Barclay Taggs Gulfstream Park stable feeling fine early Sunday morning hours after the colts triumph in the $300,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G3) Saturday.
The connections are mulling a start in the $150,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) here on Apr. 12 in its inaugural running at 1 3/16 miles. Tagg trained Elizabeth Valandos Nobiz Like Shobiz to victory in the Holy Bull last year when it was run in early February at one mile.
Hes (Big Truck) been going and going since last fall, but hes none the worse for wear, said Smullen Monday morning. If he makes another start before the Kentucky Derby (G1), it would only be in the Holy Bull. Barclay could also train him up to it. Both plans are possible right now.
Big Truck, a New York-bred son of Hook and Ladder, slugged out a neck victory over Dogwood Stables Atoned with 2007 2-year-old Eclipse champion War Pass fading to last in the first loss of that colts career in Saturdays race.
It was the biggest payday of Big Trucks career after a runner-up effort in the $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa on Feb. 16 and a fifth-place finish in the $150,000 Hutcheson Stakes (G2) here over a very sloppy track on Jan. 5.
Big Truck has been racing once a month since last August except for a short break in December when he shipped from New York to South Florida.
Fortunately, it looks like his last race was more of a progression, said Smullen. Its not like his speed figure jumped by a whole lot, so were not as worried about a bounce. He hasnt gotten a break, but hes gotten bigger after each start. The Holy Bull means he wouldnt have to ship and he trains well over this track. Barclay will just see how he does and make a decision.
Smullen sent Partingglass Stable and Three Colleens Stables Dave for a five-furlong workout at Gulfstream Sunday morning that might propel the 7-year-old son of Ends Well into the $150,000 Pan American Handicap (G3) on Sat. Apr. 5. He was clocked in 1:00 4/5, second-fastest of 18 workers at five-eighths of a mile.
The workout was supposed to be in company with Thomas Farone Jr.s New York-bred stakes winner Factual Contender, but that 7-year-old mare wasnt in the mood for playing with her fellow turf-running stablemate. She was credited with five furlongs in 1:01 4/5.
I sent her out with Dave because she needed a good strong workout, said Smullen. He was just feeling so good and wanted to work today. Plus, he hates being inside, so she went on the rail and he went outside her, and he just ran away from her. They both got what they needed out of it. If we worked the two of them with him inside, she would have run off from him.
Jockey Garrett Gomez will ride Grade 2 winner Court Vision
(Gulch) in the Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) at Aqueduct on April
5, according to Gomezs agent, Ron Anderson.
Gomez was aboard Court Vision for the
first time in the three-year-old colts previous
start, a third-place finish in the Fountain
of Youth Stakes (G2) on February 24
at Gulfstream Park.
Last season, Court Vision won the Remsen
(G2) and Iroquois (G3) Stakes for
trainer Bill Mott.
Jockey Julio Garcia will soon rejoin the Santa Anita Park jockey
colony, according to his agent, Bob Meldahl.
Hes been riding all over, Florida, Puerto Rico, and Mexico City,
but he wants to stay here, Meldahl said of the 45-year-old native of
Puerto Rico. Hes a very good rider and has had a lot of success here
off and on. Hopefully, well make a good team.
Garcia has been working horses for trainer Neil Drysdale at Hollywood
Park.
Turfway Park
Grade 3 winner Turf War (Dixie Union) and graded stakes-placed
stakes winners Cannonball(Catienus) and Halo Najib(Halos Image)
headline a list of ten horses probable for Saturdays $500,000 Lanes
End Stakes (G2), a 11⁄8-mile race for three-year-olds.
Other likely contenders are Grade 2-placed winner Racecar Rhapsody
(Tale of the Cat), Grade 3-placed winner Chitoz (Forest Wildcat),
Adriano (A. P. Indy), Duke of de Buqe (Dixie Union), Macho Again
(Macho Uno), Medjool (Monarchos), and El Aleman (Point Given).
Turf War (outside), who disappointed as the favorite in the Southwest, could try to regroup in the Lane's End (Jeff Coady Photo)
On St. Patrick's Day, 10 three-year-olds were considered probable for Saturday's $500,000 Lane's End S. (G2) at Turfway Park. Entries for the 37th running of the Lane's End, which has evolved into an important stepping stone to the Kentucky Derby (G1), will be taken on Wednesday.
According to Turfway Park Stakes Coordinator Randy Wehrman, the current list (in alphabetical order) consists of ADRIANO (A.P. Indy), CANNONBALL (Catienus), CHITOZ (Forest Wildcat), DUKE OF DE BUQE (Dixie Union), EL ALEMAN (Point Given), HALO NAJIB (Halo's Image), MACHO AGAIN (Macho Uno), MEDJOOL (Monarchos), RACECAR RHAPSODY (Tale of the Cat), and TURF WAR (Dixie Union).
In addition, trainer Grant Hofmans is considering HALO'S KING (Halo's Image) for the Lane's End, but may send him to the $100,000 Rushaway S. instead. The 1 1/16-mile Rushaway is one of four other stakes races on the undercard.
Chitoz and Duke of de Buqe likely will represent Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher, who won the Lane's End in 2001 with Balto Star and in 2005 with Flower Alley. Both Chitoz and Duke of de Buqe have strong ties to Turfway, either in past performances or bloodlines.
Chitoz was second, beaten only a neck, in last year's Kentucky Cup Juvenile S. (G3) at Turfway. In his seasonal debut, the bay colt finished fourth as the favorite in a second-level allowance race on the turf at Gulfstream Park.
"Chitoz obviously ran well last year at Turfway over the Polytrack," Pletcher said. "With a race under his belt this year, we're hoping to see an improved effort on Saturday."
Pletcher's other Lane's End charge, Duke of de Buqe, has never raced anywhere but Aqueduct. He has two wins from four starts, all in dirt races restricted to New York-breds. The bay gelding, however, is out of the Devil's Bag mare Miss Livi, which makes him a half-brother to Balto Star.
"Duke of de Buqe is a horse we always thought would like the turf, and since he's a half to Balto Star, who could run on both dirt and turf, we think Duke of de Buqe will handle the Turfway Polytrack well," Pletcher said. "The Lane's End is a good option for him."
Trainer Dale Romans reports that his Lane's End contender, Halo Najib, is all set for the 1 1/8-mile race following a bullet five-furlong workout in :58 4/5 on Sunday at Turfway Park. Halo Najib left his Florida base for Kentucky a week ago.
Romans said the deciding factor in bringing the chestnut to the Lane's End was his undefeated record on synthetic surfaces. He broke his maiden at first asking last October over Keeneland's Polytrack and two starts ago won the O.B.S. Championship S. over the Ocala Training Center's synthetic surface.
Adriano's ninth-place finish from post 12 in the Fountain of Youth S. (G2) on February 24 at Gulfstream Park was not exactly what Graham Motion was expecting, but the British-born trainer will give Adriano another chance in the Lane's End.
After a 6 3/4-length grass score in one of the most visually impressive performances of the current Gulfstream meeting, Adriano moved from allowance ranks to the Fountain of Youth for his first try on dirt. His bad luck started at the post position draw, where he drew the outside stall, and got worse from there, with first-turn trouble contributing to the lackluster finish behind Cool Coal Man (Mineshaft).
"He had a tough post, and I'm not sure he handled dirt as well as he handled grass," Motion said. "We were kind of experimenting with him. But I think he should handle the Polytrack and deserves one more shot at the big time."
Adriano's lone Polytrack effort resulted in a solid fourth-place finish in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) last October at Keeneland. "He ran respectably that day," Motion said. "It was a big step up for him, after just breaking his maiden at Delaware."
Motion is also eager to give Adriano another try at the Lane's End distance. "I think that as the distances get longer it will only help him," he said.
Racecar Rhapsody is owned in partnership by Jerry Carroll, who owned Turfway Park from 1986 to 1999. After breaking his maiden over Keeneland's Polytrack last October, Racecar Rhapsody finished a close third in the Kentucky Jockey Club S. (G2) at Churchill Downs and concluded his juvenile season with a fourth-place effort in the Delta Jackpot S. (G3) at Delta Downs. The Kenny McPeek charge has been training forwardly at Gulfstream for his return to action.
The Lane's End will be the last of 12 races on Saturday. Gates open at 10 a.m. (EDT). First post is 1:10 p.m.
Email Print RSS by Steve Haskin
Date Posted: March 18, 2008
Last Updated: March 18, 2008
War Pass was 100% healthy going into the Tampa Bay Derby.
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Photo: Coglianese Photos
Bob LaPenta and Nick Zito have always taken pride in their honesty, and with the nightmare of War Pass shocking performance in the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. II) still causing them sleepless nights, LaPenta feels the need to address his comment after the race that the colt had a fever earlier in the week.
It was a comment LaPenta regrets making, mainly using a harsh word like fever, but he admits to being in a state of shock after seeing War Pass stagger home in last place. At the time, he wasnt even aware of all the travails the colt had to endure, getting slammed into from both sides by two longshots, then being bumped hard again shortly after, and getting squeezed between horses going into the first turn. After that, the champ, who was bet down to 1-20 in the race, had little to offer after being swung to the outside by Cornelio Velasquez.
What caused the horse to run the way he did after all his troubles, whether it was physical or mental, no one knows. But if there is one thing LaPenta is sure of, its that War Pass was 100% healthy going into the race. And as a person who believes in integrity, in business and as a Thoroughbred owner, he now fears any repercussions that might question that integrity.
I cant believe I could have a catastrophe like I had on Saturday, he said. If there is one thing everyone who knows me will tell you, Im an honest person. I put money into the game, I bring my family into the game, and were having fun and having some success. Its a great thing. How that could go up in flames overnight is amazing to me. Believe me, if theres one thing in my life I take pride in, its that I never go home and lose sleep at night because I didnt tell somebody the truth. I may make a mistake, but I never, ever lie.
War Pass is a hot-blooded horse and his normal temperature is a little higher than most horses 100.3. On the Sunday before the race it was 100.6, yet he was eating and kicking the barn down. He was fine. Its not like he had a 102 temperature and was sick. He wasnt even given antibiotics.
Does anyone think Nick or I would bring a horse like this to a $350,000 race and jeopardize his health and do something terrible to his reputation? Wed have to be out of our minds to send this poor horse out sick. Nick sleeps with this horse; hes calling the barn all day and all night. Hell wake up at two oclock in the morning and call the barn. I have 24-hour guard service. Do you know how many times I spoke to the doctor last week and the doctor said hes fine; his blood count is fine? I just dont want to see Nick get dragged through the mud. I cant tell you how many conversations Ive had with him in the last three months in which he said, Bob, were not going to do anything with this horse unless hes absolutely perfect.
Although the debate about disclosure still exists, especially with a 1-20 shot who is one of the top two favorites for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), LaPenta emphasizes the fact that there was never any hesitation about running the horse, who was given a clean bill of health and who was acting perfectly normal.
I had 25 family members there and everyone was having a great time, LaPenta said. When the horse walked past the stands he looked like Adonis; he was gorgeous. Weve got babies on our shoulders and the people are cheering, and then everything went wrong.
I didnt see what everyone saw on the head-on shots. And when this horse came around the turn and into the stretch the world came to an end. I almost fell down; I was standing there in shock. I had no idea what happened; no clue. We still have no idea. I mean, were going to the Kentucky Derby with the favorite. We get letters from Japan and from all over the world. To have that explode like that, do you think I was in my right mind five minutes after that race?
Hes been checked over completely and we havent found a thing wrong with him. The whole day was a calamity of errors. I still havent been able to watch the replay, because Ill throw up. But there is one thing I can guarantee you going into the race, there was nothing wrong with that horse.
So, for now, LaPenta and Zito will draw a line through the race and continue with their plan to run in the Wood Memorial (gr. I) and hope War Pass rebounds in much the same manner Afleet Alex and Holy Bull did after their uncharacteristic bad efforts on the Derby trail.
Should these horses actually reach Churchill Downs on May 3, their trainers will eventually be broached about their built-in albatrosses, and the stock answer will be, "The horse doesn't know." But the historians do.
Funny Cide, a gelding, won the Derby in 2003, and even more ridiculous he was a New York-bred, the first of its kind to win the race. Thus the Derby was exorcised of the Clyde Van Dusen Curse. Clyde Van Dusen, named after his trainer, won the 1929 Derby from the No. 20 post, and then 76 more geldings finished up the track at Churchill before Funny Cide broke through. Between the 2003 Derby and the Preakness, when I was ratcheting enough gumption to ask Barclay Tagg, Funny Cide's crotchety trainer, about the celestial nexus his horse had with Clyde Van Dusen, he threw me out of his Belmont Park barn, while ranting nonsensically about how my hanging around was driving up his workers' comp costs.
It's been 46 years, or eight years after Jeff Bonde was born, since a California-bred has won the Derby. The last Cal-bred to prevail, in 1962, was Decidedly, who was the first since Swaps, seven years before. The only other Cal-bred to win the Derby was Morvich in 1922. Al Jolson tried to buy Morvich as a 2-year-old, for $75,000.
Bonde, who's based at Golden Gate Fields, is one race away from his first Derby after the Cal-bred colt Sierra Sunset won the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Brother Derek is the only Cal-bred to run in the Derby in the last five years. He was given a good chance, but drew the No. 18 post and didn't deal with the far outside nearly as well as Clyde Van Dusen. Brother Derek was next to last when the race was half over, and after a cross-country route to the wire, he finished in a dead heat for fourth, well behind Barbaro.
Sierra Sunset's owners bought him for $40,000 at the California Thoroughbred Breeders Assn.'s Northern California yearling sale in Pleasanton. Autism Awareness, recent winner of the El Camino Real Derby at Bay Meadows but now on the injured list, was a $1,000 bargain at the same sale. For directions to Pleasanton, see Jeff Bonde. The son of a horseshoer, he was born there.
I talked to Phil Lebherz, one of Sierra Sunset's owners, shortly after he won the California Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita in November. Lebherz told me about the "Bonde Scores," a mathematical evaluation that the trainer uses to help him buy horses. The way I understand it, Bonde X-rays a horse, measures the size of its heart and lungs, and then closely examines the feet and its way of going. Those combined assessments produce a number from 1 to 10. Bonde has never seen a 10, but Spain, who ran for him as a 2-year-old before Wayne Lukas saddled her to win the 2000 Breeders' Cup Distaff, came close.
Sierra Sunset, a son of Bertrando and Toot Sweet, who won only two races, came in at "almost a nine" on the Bonde scale. "He had a tremendous heart, and a great set of lungs," Lebherz said.
Sierra Sunset couldn't keep up with El Gato Malo and Colonel John on the synthetic tracks in California, but at Oaklawn, on dirt, he's put together two solid races. In the Southwest Stakes, he was second to Denis of Cork, who inexplicably skipped the Rebel. Bonde is expected to keep his colt at Oaklawn, for the Arkansas Derby on April 12. Forty-three Cal-breds have run for naught in the Derby since Decidedly won it.
There is speculation that Georgie Boy, the Cal-bred gelding who's won the Del Mar Futurity and most recently the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita, might also turn up in the Arkansas Derby. Racing over nothing but synthetic tracks, Georgie Boy has been awfully consistent, never worse than third in seven tries, and the San Felipe was his first test around two turns. He's trained by Kathy Walsh, whose only previous Derby trip, with the gelding Hanuman Highway in 1998, was preceded by a prep in Arkansas, where her horse, at 27-1, finished second, a head behind Victory Gallop, while outfinishing the previously undefeated Favorite Trick. Hanuman Highway finished seventh in the Derby.
Should Georgie Boy get to Louisville, the 68-year-old Walsh will become the first woman trainer to saddle a horse in the Derby twice. The Derby has had 11 female trainers, their best finish when Shelley Riley's Casual Lies finished second behind Lil E. Tee in 1992.
At Churchill, the media will treat Walsh as rara avis, but she is not likely to hum the second chorus. She was largely puzzled by the extra attention the first time around, as someone who's been chummy with horses for 60 years might be expected to react. She's been a head trainer since 1970, when her father died and she took over the family stable. Well, there were five years away from training when Walsh was married. "I found out I couldn't cook or sew," she said.
By Jeremy Plonk
On the twentieth anniversary of one of the most upset-ridden, early-season Triple Crown trails comes last week's ultimate trail-trembler, War Pass' stunning last-place finish at 1-to-20 odds in the G3 Tampa Bay Derby. Whether you blame a since-reported (but later retracted) fever, a bumpy beginning, a lack of versatility or a herky-quirky Tampa Bay Downs racing surface, it's hard to wrap your arms around a good excuse for a once-though freight train being grinded to a halt by cellophane.
War Pass finished seventh and last, beaten by 23-1/4 lengths -- as seemingly measured through binoculars -- last Saturday in a race he had no business losing, much less conceding outright. The Nick Zito trainee, who had won all five previous starts, including last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, is not the first big-name pony to have his reputation rattled en route to Louisville. But close inspection of the past two decades' Derby runners doesn't find anything nearly this startling.
Skip Away was "eased in distress" from his 1996 Gulfstream Park allowance comeback race, finishing last at 2-to-5 odds, probably the closest comparison in terms of shock value to War Pass' Tampa Bay Derby debacle. For War Pass' sake, he can take some solace in that Skip Away would rebound later that spring to win the Blue Grass Stakes and go on to one of the most stellar careers in Thoroughbred racing history.
Another disastrous pre-Derby attempt that turned out fine in the long-run was Holy Bull's 1994 Fountain of Youth, where he was beaten by 24-1/4 lengths (1 more than even War Pass) while finishing sixth as the 6-to-5 favorite. It proved to be Holy Bull's only bump in the pre-Derby road as he arrived in Louisville with a 7-for-8 lifetime mark. Like Skip Away, he flopped badly in the Kentucky Derby, but future racing endeavors turned out quite rosy, as he still earned '94 Horse of the Year honors after a summer/fall blitz.
Three springs ago, Afleet Alex was bombed by 12 lengths when sixth in the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn, finishing sixth as the 3-to-5 chalk. Later diagnosed with a lung infection, he erased his Rebel disaster with one of the most impressive Arkansas Derby victories in the event's steep history. Third in the Kentucky Derby, he registered the Preakness, Belmont and 3-year-old championship as the poster boy for what the War Pass camp hopes is possible.
Horses like Skip Away, Holy Bull and Afleet Alex prove that great runners get beat, and beat badly, sometimes. Most often, physical issues are behind the wheel. But sometimes the public simply gets it wrong, buying into a reputation built at age two, but not substantiated in the maturity process, or as the distances elongate for a Thoroughbred marching toward the Kentucky Derby.
One of the biggest springtime upsets of a Derby player came in the 1998 Arkansas Derby, when unbeaten 2-year-old champion Favorite Trick was drilled to 2-to-5 favoritism. With nine consecutive victories on his resume, the public dove in on a horse whose pedigree and running style leaned against success at nine, much less 10, furlongs. In a gallant effort, Favorite Trick was reeled in late by eventual Belmont Stakes winner Victory Gallop in Arkansas, tipping his hand to a tiring, eighth-place finish in Louisville.
Houston also fit that same bill as a hotshot speedball with a perfect record heading into the 1989 Santa Anita Derby, where his front-running wins had the fans ga-ga to the tune of 4-to-5 favoritism over the likes of Sunday Silence. He managed to beat only one runner when fifth by 16-3/4 lengths. Houston returned three weeks later to win the Derby Trial by daylight at one mile, but was overmatched at the big dance going a classic distance.
With distance questions in his pedigree, will War Pass follow along the lines of Favorite Trick and Houston, and simply not be up to the endurance challenge? It's probably too early to tell on that, given all the hub-bub that could have played into his Tampa Bay demise. But the Wood Memorial next month should un-categorically tell racing observers where War Pass stands on this all-important campaign issue.
Nick Zito, himself, has not been immune to this springtime bug. Just four years ago, his Birdstone ran an inexplicably poor fifth-place finish in the G2 Lane's End Stakes at Turfway Park, pummeled at the windows to 3-to-5 favoritism. Wallowing over a wet track some 10-3/4 lengths behind a one-hit wonder named Sinister G., Birdstone's impressive resume and 2-year-old form had been rendered meaningless in less than two minutes. Zito went back to the drawing board, trained the colt up to the Kentucky Derby without another prep race and ran into a traffic disaster and subsequent wet track in Smarty Jones' Derby score. But history always will remember his performance five weeks later when scoring the Belmont Stakes in a well-versed lesson in rebound and Zito-stable perseverance.
While most of these examples of great horses gone awry turned out with feel-good endings as their careers ensued, none were mentioned as being able to rebound and win the Kentucky Derby. If War Pass is to rebound for the roses, he can take a tiny slice of hope from the heavily favored, poor, single-spring efforts of Derby champions like Thunder Gulch and Unbridled. The former finished fourth in the 1995 Blue Grass at 6-to-5 in his final Derby tune-up and the latter fifth in the 1990 Tropical Park Derby at 6-to-5 odds to open his sophomore season.
And, who knows, maybe this spring will turn out as similar to the one that unfolded 20 years ago? In '88, upsets abounded early, but form came back to hold amongst the divisional leaders by the time the Triple Crown closed its curtain. Two decades ago, a bumpy road to Louisville possessed not one, but a quartet, of legitimate head-scratchers.
That was the season when Winning Colors lost the Las Virgenes at 3-to-5 in her only pre-Derby loss in six tries; Risen Star was upended in the Lecomte at 2-to-5, also his only pre-Derby defeat in a half-dozen starts; Seeking the Gold missed the mark in the Gotham at 3-to-5 to snap his unbeaten record; and Forty Niner fell short in Hutcheson at 3-to-5 to open his sophomore season after a 5-for-6 juvenile campaign.
But none of those star horses' narrow losses comes even close to the lackluster showing War Pass made on Florida's west coast. Whether we ultimately remember War Pass' Tampa Bay Derby two decades from now largely depends on what he does next -- either rebound in a big way, or fade into sophomore oblivion.
MARCH 20, 2008
by James Scully
In stunning fashion, two-year-old champion WAR PASS (Cherokee Run) suffered his first career loss with a last-place effort in Saturday's Tampa Bay Derby (G3). The Nick Zito-trained colt didn't display his customary speed after being squeezed at the start and wound up backing out of it at the top of the stretch, finishing more than 23 lengths behind the winning BIG TRUCK (Hook and Ladder). War Pass exited in good order, according to Zito, and will still be pointed toward the April 5 Wood Memorial (G1), but the Tampa Bay Derby exposed the one-dimensional front runner. By a champion sprinter and out of a speed-oriented Mr. Prospector mare, War Pass' pedigree was a big concern entering the season, and the Tampa Bay Derby served as his first start around two turns on a fast track.
Saturday turned out to be a big afternoon for state-bred programs in New York and California. Big Truck is a New York-bred, and the winners of the Rebel S. (G2) and San Felipe S. (G2), SIERRA SUNSET (Bertrando) and GEORGIE BOY (Tribal Rule), respectively, were both bred in California. Who would have ever expected such a thing?
Big Truck is coming on for Barclay Tagg. He drew high praise from his conditioner last summer when opening his career with a pair of impressive wins over New York-bred opponents, and the bay colt suffered his first setback over an off track in the restricted Sleepy Hollow S. at Belmont Park in October, finishing third by a half-length to GIANT MOON (Giant's Causeway). However, Big Truck was never a factor when stepping up to face open company in his juvenile finale, recording a fourth in the Remsen S. (G2), and his three-year-old season began poorly with a well-beaten fifth in the January 5 Hutcheson S. (G2) over a sloppy track at Gulfstream Park.
Big Truck rebounded from those debacles with a fast-closing second in the February 16 Sam F. Davis S., finishing a half-length back of FIERCE WIND (Dixie Union), and he rallied determinedly to catch ATONED (Repent) in deep stretch of the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby, winning by a neck. Big Truck hasn't earned a triple-digit BRIS Speed rating, but he registered a career-best 99 figure on Saturday.
Tagg mentioned training Big Truck up to the Kentucky Derby (G1), but left open the possibility of one more prep. His supporters have to be hoping for the latter. Big Truck raced close to the pace until the far turn of the Tampa Bay Derby, when he came under a ride, and the colt actually lost ground on the final bend as Atoned passed him on the far outside. He kicked it in after straightening into the stretch, but Atoned figured to be a little short coming back off a lengthy layoff. Big Truck, who is out of a Go for Gin mare, hasn't been nine furlongs yet, and he hasn't run well fresh in the past. Why wouldn't his connections give him another race to build upon before the Kentucky Derby?
Credit Atoned with a solid showing. Unraced since a troubled second in the Remsen, the Todd Pletcher runner traveled wide most of the entire way in the Tampa Bay Derby and surged to a clear lead in midstretch before being caught late. The stakes-winning colt hasn't run very fast yet (career-best 98 Speed rating), but Atoned owns plenty of foundation and is eligible to keep improving in his final prep race.
Sierra Sunset captured the Rebel in convincing fashion, rolling to a three-length score for conditioner Jeff Bonde, and the Northern California-based colt was the only winner of Saturday's three preps to earn a triple-digit Speed rating, posting a 103. He broke well under Chris Emigh and stalked the pace in second, racing well off the rail the entire way. It was clear entering the far turn that Emigh had plenty of horse under him, and Sierra Sunset swooped past the pacesetter and entered the stretch drive full of run, quickly opening up a daylight advantage. Maiden winner KING'S SILVER SON (Mizzen Mast), a 17-1 outsider, produced a brief run to loom as a threatening presence in midstretch, but Sierra Sunset went on to the wire as much the best.
Winner of the California Cup Juvenile S. and Bay Meadows Juvenile S. in back-to-back starts last fall, Sierra Sunset was no factor when wrapping up his juvenile season with a sixth in the CashCall Futurity (G1) and opening 2008 with a fourth in the San Rafael S. (G3). The bay colt dropped in class off those starts and headed to Oaklawn Park, where he finished second in the Southwest S. (G3) prior to the Rebel. The April 12 Arkansas Derby (G2) will be next, but Sierra Sunset, who is by Bertrando and out of a Pirate's Bounty mare, will have to outrun his breeding as distances increase. The competition also figures to get much tougher in his upcoming starts.
Z FORTUNE (Siphon [Brz]), the 3-5 Rebel favorite, was a huge disappointment finishing fifth. Stablemate King's Silver Son, who needed six starts before breaking his maiden in a slow time at Fair Grounds on January 21, finished a clear second in his first start against winners. Rebel third-placer ISABULL (Holy Bull), a near 27-1 outsider, finished far back in the Southwest and hasn't won a race since breaking his maiden on Polytrack last September. In hindsight, Saturday's Rebel looks like a very soft field.
Saturday's San Felipe was deeper in talent, but the top three contenders -- Georgie Boy, GAYEGO (Gilded Time) and BOB BLACK JACK (Stormy Jack) -- were all unproven around two turns. Georgie Boy passed the test with flying colors, rolling past Gayego in deep stretch to win the 1 1/16-mile heat going away by three parts of a length. The Kathy Walsh charge remains a complete unknown on dirt, but he's clearly a top-class performer on synthetic surfaces.
Winner of the Del Mar Futurity (G1), Georgie Boy returned from a five-month layoff to capture the seven-furlong San Vicente S. (G2), winning off by 3 1/4 lengths. He netted a 106 Speed rating for that effort. His Speed figure dropped to a 95 on Saturday, but Georgie Boy looked very good, with the exception of not changing leads in the stretch. His pedigree doesn't inspire much confidence in a classic distance, but Georgie Boy hasn't shown any distance limitations so far. He'll likely stretch out to nine furlongs in the April 5 Santa Anita Derby (G1), where he'll face the two other leading three-year-olds in California, COLONEL JOHN (Tiznow) and EL GATO MALO (El Corredor).
Gayego figures to go on to the Santa Anita Derby for Paulo Lobo, but trainer James Kasparoff plans to ship Bob Black Jack elsewhere, stating that the synthetic tracks don't suit his front-running style.
Upcoming
Saturday's Lane's End S. (G2) at Turfway Park is the lone graded event for three-year-olds this weekend, and a mostly unproven cast of 12 has been assembled. Top contenders include TURF WAR (Dixie Union), HALO NAJIB (Halo's Image) and CHITOZ (Forest Wildcat).
Top 10
1) PYRO -- He's on schedule for his next start in the April 12 Blue Grass (G1)
2) COLONEL JOHN -- Returned to the races with a game win in the Sham (G3)
3) EL GATO MALO -- No dirt experience but late runner is talented
4) COURT VISION -- Improvement expected in Wood off his late-running third in Fountain of Youth (G2)
5) VISIONAIRE -- Michael Matz runner rallied boldly for Gotham (G3)
6) GEORGIE BOY -- Closed strongly to win going away when making two-turn debut in San Felipe
7) BIG BROWN -- Smashing allowance winner will make stakes bow in Florida Derby (G1)
8) COOL COAL MAN -- Fountain of Youth winner is headed to Blue Grass
9) ATONED -- Owns two-year-old class and returned to the races with an encouraging showing in Tampa
10) DENIS OF CORK -- Will use a light schedule to prepare for Kentucky Derby
By Jon White
MARCH MADNESS
What is with the radical decline in the Beyer Speed Figure department this month by undefeated 3-year-olds? Is this racings version of March Madness?
Giant Moon won his initial three career starts with Beyers of 83, 84 and 82 before a career-high 93 when he took the Count Fleet Stakes at Aqueduct on Jan. 5.
And then, in the Grade III Gotham Stakes at Aquedcuct on March 8, Giant Moon suffered his first loss while recording a puny Beyer of 17. Thats right, a 17. Look, its tough enough to win a race at Penn National or Portland Meadows with a 17, let alone a graded stakes race like the Gotham.
J Be K registered a 99 Beyer Speed Figure when he broke the track record for 5 1/2 furlongs with a 1:03.13 clocking in his career debut at Saratoga last Aug. 29. He then earned a 91 when victorious in his 2008 debut against allowance rivals on a wet track at the Fair Grounds on Feb. 15.
But after a pair of Beyers in the 90s, J Be K dropped way off to a 67 when he finished eighth in the Grade II Louisiana Derby on March 8.
The Beyer madness continued last weekend. War Pass, winner of last years Grade I Champagne Stakes and Grade I Breeders Cup Juvenile on his way to an Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male, went into Saturdays Grade III Tampa Bay Derby undefeated and untested in five lifetime starts. There were comparisons by some, including Andrew Beyer of The Washington Post, to 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew.
War Pass earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure when unveiled at Saratoga last July 28, followed by figures last year of 94, 103 and 113. That 113 is the highest in the history of the Breeders Cup Juvenile, surpassing the Beyers earned by such other winners of that race as Street Sense (108), Vindication (102), Johannesburg (99), Macho Uno (99 while defeating Point Given), Favorite Trick (101 en route to the Horse of the Year title), Unbridleds Song (103), Timber Country (100) and Arazi (101).
Remember Arazi and his electrifying Breeders Cup Juvenile victory in 1991? Well, from a Beyer Speed Figure perspective, it did not come close to what War Pass did last fall in the Juvenile.
After posting Beyers of 84, 94, 103 and 113 as a 2-year-old, War Pass earned a 97 when he kicked off his 3-year-old campaign in a 7 1/2-length allowance victory (which was essentially a paid workout) at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 24.
And then, from that 97, War Pass earned a meager 53 Beyer while struggling home last as a 1-20 favorite in the Tampa Bay Derby. A 53 is a pretty good Will Rogers Downs-like number, not one generally associated with a champion.
Considering what has happened to Giant Moon, J Be K and War Pass this month, its probably just as well that the connections of undefeated Denis of Cork elected to skip last Saturdays Grade II Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park since that race is in March. Denis of Cork instead is scheduled to make his next start in either the Grade I Wood Memorial or Grade II Illinois Derby. Fortunately those races are in April (April 5, to be exact).
And what about Big Brown? He earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure when he romped to an 11 1/4-length debut win on the turf at Saratoga last year, followed by a 104 Beyer in his monstrous 12 3/4-length victory in his dirt debut at Gulfstream Park on March 5.
Big Brown is to make his next start in the Grade I Florida Derby. The Florida Derby will be renewed on March 29. Oh-oh. Will the March madness continue and Big Browns Florida Derby plunge? Well have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, what in the heck happened to War Pass at Tampa Bay Downs? Yes, he was pinched back at the start. But that alone does not really explain such a poor performance. In a Daily Racing Form story Sunday by Mike Welsch, trainer Nick Zito said War Pass sustained some cuts on his left leg that the trainer surmises were a result of being jostled around leaving the gate.
On Monday, Zito told Jay Privman of the DRF that he remained baffled by the champs race.
Zito said: We scoped him. Everything was perfect. We took X-rays. No change. Well keep taking more today. Hell go back to the track on Wednesday. Im baffled right now. We know that whatever happened, that wasnt him. That we know.
There has been quite an outcry over the widely reported characterization that War Pass competed in the Tampa Bay Derby after having a fever earlier in the week. That is what owner Robert LaPenta was reported to have told some members of the media immediately after the race.
I found that extremely hard to believe. Why would a great trainer like Nick Zito run War Pass if he werent right? That would be hard enough to believe if it were the Kentucky Derby, let alone the Tampa Bay Derby. With a plethora of Derby preps, theres absolutely no reason for Zito to run War Pass in the Tampa Bay Derby if something were amiss.
He did not have a fever, Zito told Privman. Fever means youre sick. On my mothers life, he never missed an oat. His temperature was a little high, just slightly, last Sunday [March 9], but he was fine the rest of the week. Just to make sure, we took a blood [test] on him on Thursday, and it was perfect. He did not have a fever. Thats not why he got beat. Why did he get beat? Thats what weve got to find out.
As of now, Zito is inclined to dismiss War Pass Tampa Bay debacle and stick to the plan to run in the Wood Memorial on April 5. However, the Hall of Famer has reserved the right to pull the plug on that plan should he see something he doesnt like in the colts training between now and the Wood.
Despite what happened in the Tampa Bay Derby, I still respect War Pass. Hes obviously a talented colt. Personally, I can picture him being a very tough customer in a race like the Met Mile. But even before War Pass ran a clunker at Tampa Bay Downs, I just couldnt picture him winning the roses. As I wrote last week, in my opinion, Pyro looks much more like a horse capable of winning at 1 1/4 miles under 126 pounds on the first Saturday in May than War Pass.
While the focus understandably was on War Pass stunning loss in the Tampa Bay Derby, Big Truck deserves credit for winning the race, especially since he didnt have the best of trips. Big Truck was shuffled back going into the far turn, then came on inexorably in the stretch to prevail by a neck at 7-1. Atoned ran second at 9-1.
Big Truck is a New York-bred trained by Barclay Tagg, who saddled New York-bred Funny Cide to win the 2003 Kentucky Derby. A son of Hook and Ladder, Big Truck earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure in the Tampa Bay Derby. So its not as if the bar was set high for War Pass by the winner running some sort of huge Beyer. Big Truck is a grandson of Go for Gin, who won the 1994 Kentucky Derby for Zito.
In other graded stakes action for 3-year-olds last Saturday, California-bred Georgie Boy proved a punctual 7-5 favorite in Santa Anitas Grade II San Felipe Stakes for trainer Kathy Walsh. Another Cal-bred, Sierra Sunset, won Oaklawn Parks Grade II Rebel Stakes by three emphatic lengths for trainer Jeff Bonde.
Georgie Boy did not have an ideal trip.
He was blocked in behind horses [turning for home], Walsh said. [Jockey Michael Baze] had so much horse all the way around. When [Georgie Boy] got to the quarter pole, he was just waiting for a spot. He had no place to go, and hes a smart enough horse he wasnt going to run up on horses heels. Michael did a nice job on him.
Walsh indicated Monday that Georgie Boy will probably run next in the Grade I Santa Anita Derby on April 5, with the Grade II Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on April 12 as a back-up plan.
In the San Felipe, Georgie Boy earned only a 92 Beyer, down from his career-best 103 when he won the Grade II San Vicente Stakes on Feb. 10. The gelded son of Tribal Rule also took the Grade I Del Mar Futurity as a 2-year-old when earning an 88 Beyer.
Georgie Boy became only the third horse to win both the Del Mar Futurity and San Felipe. The other two were Your Host and Bertrando.
After Your Host won the 1950 San Felipe, he went on to win the Santa Anita Derby and break the track record for seven furlongs at Keeneland. He finished ninth as the 8-5 favorite in Middlegrounds Kentucky Derby.
After Bertrando won the 1992 San Felipe, he finished second to A.P. Indy in the Santa Anita Derby. Bertrando did not start again at 3. He later would be voted an Eclipse Award as champion older male of 1993.
Sierra Sunset, a son of Bertrando, was clearly the Beyer Speed Figure star among sophomores last Saturday. He recorded a 99 Beyer in the Rebel.
Last years Rebel winner also earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure. You may have heard of that colt. His name is Curlin.
Curlin, of course, would go on to win the Arkansas Derby (105 Beyer), Preakness Stakes (111), Jockey Club Gold Cup (114) and Breeders Cup Classic (119) en route to the 2007 Horse of the Year title.
What does the future hold for this years Rebel winner? Who knows? But Sierra Sunset is a very good 3-year-old who seems better on the dirt than on synthetic surfaces.
In his last three starts on the dirt, Sierra Sunset streaked to an eight-length win in the Bay Meadows Juvenile last Sept. 15, finished second to Denis of Cork in the Grade III Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 18, then won the Rebel.
In four starts on a synthetic track, Sierra Sunset finished ninth in the Grade III Hollywood Juvenile Championship last July 4, won the California Cup Juvenile at Oak Tree on Nov. 3, ran sixth in the Grade I CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park on Dec. 22 and finished fourth in the Grade III San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 12.
Sierra Sunset is to remain at Oaklawn Park to go next in the Arkansas Derby, which, despite being a Grade II instead of a Grade I as it should be, has become an increasingly key race in recent years.
Arkansas Derby winners Curlin (Preakness), Afleet Alex (Preakness and Belmont Stakes) and Smarty Jones (Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes) have won five of the last 12 Triple Crown races.
Z Fortune finished fifth as the 7-10 favorite in last Saturdays Rebel. The Siphon colt, like Sierra Sunset, will likely make his next start in the Arkansas Derby, according to his trainer, Steve Asmussen.
With their losses last Saturday, War Pass and Z Fortune dropped off this weeks Kentucky Derby Top 10 list. They can earn their way back on it down the line. Georgie Boy returns to the list this week, while Sierra Sunset is appearing on it for the first time.
Here is this weeks list:
1. Pyro
2. Denis of Cork
3. Cool Coal Man
4. Elysium Fields
5. Colonel John
6. El Gato Malo
7. Georgie Boy
8. Big Brown
9. Visionaire
10. Sierra Sunset
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Cannonball, a gelding, leaves West Palm Beach at 10:30 this morning and will go into Ward's barn at Keeneland before shipping up to Turfway on race day. Cannonball has earned good money in stakes, but only $9,300 in the graded variety.