More on Old Fashioned
DiscreetCat
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from Bloodhorse:
Technically, this blog is still called Breeders' Cup Chat, with Triple Crown Talk not officially returning until the start of the New Year. But in my mind it is never too early to start talking about the Kentucky Derby, especially after the performance we saw from Old Fashioned last weekend in the Remsen.
If you missed it or haven't gotten around to watching Old Fashioned's eye-popping 7 1/4-length score at Aqueduct, do yourself a favor and check it out. What you will see is your early Kentucky Derby favorite. That's right. I'm saying it now. Forget about Vineyard Haven, Midshipman or the other impressive 2-year-olds we've seen so far; Old Fashioned is the one to watch when the Triple Crown trail begins in a couple months.
It is impossible not to be impressed with Old Fashioned so far. After breaking his maiden at first asking, the son of Unbridled's Song caught everyone's attention next out when he devoured first-level allowance company at Delaware Park, winning by more than 15 lengths on Nov. 3.
In the Remsen, Old Fashioned flashed early speed, was under a Ramon Dominguez stranglehold until inside the eighth-pole and still destroyed the field without being asked. When Dominguez peeked back at the quarter-pole and drew away with ease, I had flashbacks of Kent Desormeaux doing the same thing on Big Brown in his allowance race at Gulfstream. It was an awesome sight to watch.
For people who were not overly impressed, I know what you're saying: Old Fashioned had things his own way on the lead and the fractions (:24.41, :49.44, 1:14.18) were very soft. But I'll counter that by telling you he ran the final 3/8th of a mile in :36 and final eighth of a mile in :12 1/5th, all without ever being asked! I don't care how slow you go early, if you come home in those splits, you're something special. Plus, in his allowance race he ran a :47 1/5 half and 1:12 for six furlongs while being pressed.
When I spoke with trainer Larry Jones on Thursday, he was also shocked by Old Fashioned's closing time in the Remsen.
"That surprised me more than anything else," Jones said. "We knew he had had good speed and turn of foot, but when I saw he got that last three-eighths in a little over 36 seconds and was still galloping, that impressed me.
"He had it pretty easy up front, but couldn't rate. He went :49 for a half, how much slower can he go? Why go :54 if you don't have to? I think he already proved he could rate at Delaware."
Jones went on to compare Old Fashioned to Eight Belles, who had the same ability to draw away from the field without being asked. When pressed, he admitted Old Fashioned is probably the most talented 2-year-old he has ever trained, including Eight Belles, Proud Spell and Hard Spun.
"I would have to say he's probably the best I've had at this point," Jones said. "Eight Belles didn't have that same early lick. Hard Spun was really fast, but he had to work a little more at the end. This colt is the whole package. We're very pleased right now, especially to get that mile and an eighth win under his belt. I've never had one do that this early. He acts like he just wants to go, go, go."
Jones said Old Fashioned arrived in New Orleans on Wednesday in great shape and they will begin mapping out a plan for him. He will keep him separated from his two other Derby hopefuls - Friesen Fire and It Happened Again.
"I have three good ones here," Jones said. "Old Fashioned won't go in the LeComte; maybe the Risen Star, but I think they cut the purse in that one. So he might go to the Southwest and stay out there with my string at Oaklawn. We'll see."
Wherever he goes, watch out. Old Fashioned, who is owned by Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms, is not just a speed burner like War Pass. He is much more than that. Granted, it is still very early and I am by no means calling him your Derby winner yet. But this colt is special. We'll be talking about him all spring long.
Technically, this blog is still called Breeders' Cup Chat, with Triple Crown Talk not officially returning until the start of the New Year. But in my mind it is never too early to start talking about the Kentucky Derby, especially after the performance we saw from Old Fashioned last weekend in the Remsen.
If you missed it or haven't gotten around to watching Old Fashioned's eye-popping 7 1/4-length score at Aqueduct, do yourself a favor and check it out. What you will see is your early Kentucky Derby favorite. That's right. I'm saying it now. Forget about Vineyard Haven, Midshipman or the other impressive 2-year-olds we've seen so far; Old Fashioned is the one to watch when the Triple Crown trail begins in a couple months.
It is impossible not to be impressed with Old Fashioned so far. After breaking his maiden at first asking, the son of Unbridled's Song caught everyone's attention next out when he devoured first-level allowance company at Delaware Park, winning by more than 15 lengths on Nov. 3.
In the Remsen, Old Fashioned flashed early speed, was under a Ramon Dominguez stranglehold until inside the eighth-pole and still destroyed the field without being asked. When Dominguez peeked back at the quarter-pole and drew away with ease, I had flashbacks of Kent Desormeaux doing the same thing on Big Brown in his allowance race at Gulfstream. It was an awesome sight to watch.
For people who were not overly impressed, I know what you're saying: Old Fashioned had things his own way on the lead and the fractions (:24.41, :49.44, 1:14.18) were very soft. But I'll counter that by telling you he ran the final 3/8th of a mile in :36 and final eighth of a mile in :12 1/5th, all without ever being asked! I don't care how slow you go early, if you come home in those splits, you're something special. Plus, in his allowance race he ran a :47 1/5 half and 1:12 for six furlongs while being pressed.
When I spoke with trainer Larry Jones on Thursday, he was also shocked by Old Fashioned's closing time in the Remsen.
"That surprised me more than anything else," Jones said. "We knew he had had good speed and turn of foot, but when I saw he got that last three-eighths in a little over 36 seconds and was still galloping, that impressed me.
"He had it pretty easy up front, but couldn't rate. He went :49 for a half, how much slower can he go? Why go :54 if you don't have to? I think he already proved he could rate at Delaware."
Jones went on to compare Old Fashioned to Eight Belles, who had the same ability to draw away from the field without being asked. When pressed, he admitted Old Fashioned is probably the most talented 2-year-old he has ever trained, including Eight Belles, Proud Spell and Hard Spun.
"I would have to say he's probably the best I've had at this point," Jones said. "Eight Belles didn't have that same early lick. Hard Spun was really fast, but he had to work a little more at the end. This colt is the whole package. We're very pleased right now, especially to get that mile and an eighth win under his belt. I've never had one do that this early. He acts like he just wants to go, go, go."
Jones said Old Fashioned arrived in New Orleans on Wednesday in great shape and they will begin mapping out a plan for him. He will keep him separated from his two other Derby hopefuls - Friesen Fire and It Happened Again.
"I have three good ones here," Jones said. "Old Fashioned won't go in the LeComte; maybe the Risen Star, but I think they cut the purse in that one. So he might go to the Southwest and stay out there with my string at Oaklawn. We'll see."
Wherever he goes, watch out. Old Fashioned, who is owned by Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms, is not just a speed burner like War Pass. He is much more than that. Granted, it is still very early and I am by no means calling him your Derby winner yet. But this colt is special. We'll be talking about him all spring long.
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Even with five months before the 2009 Kentucky Derby, Old Fashioned is gaining recognition as a horse to watch.
Old Fashioned, owned by Fox Hill Farm's Rick Porter of Wilmington, jumped into the national spotlight on Nov. 29, romping to a 7 1/4 length win in the Grade II Remsen Stakes for 2-year-olds at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, N.Y.
Trained by Delaware Park-and Fair Hill, Md.-based Larry Jones, Old Fashioned has three wins in three career starts.
The heavily-favored Old Fashioned went 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.33. He went to the lead out of the gate and never gave it up. He went the first quarter in 24.41 seconds, then jockey Ramon Dominguez slowed the pace somewhat with a 49.44 mark at the half-mile pole.
Dominguez only tapped the colt left-handed once to make sure he stayed straight on as he drew away in the stretch.
The son of Unbridled's Song, won his first two career races, both at Delaware Park, this fall.
"He was certainly impressive," Porter said. "It's interesting to note that the initial fractions were very moderate for the first three quarters [of a mile], but he came home the last three eighth in 36.1 [seconds]. He went the last eighth of a mile in 12 1/5. To tell you the truth, when he got through the first turn galloping out he must have been 50 lengths in front. It was like he wanted to go around again."
It was the second Remsen win for a Porter horse in the last five years. Rockport Harbor won the 2004 Remsen despite suffering an injury to his right hind foot in the race. Rockport Harbor missed the 2005 Triple Crown races and was retired early in 2006.
Porter said he wasn't worried before Old Fashioned took his shot at the Remsen because of what happened to Rockport Harbor.
"No, I didn't think about it before this race," Porter said. "I try not to think about bad things that happen. I sort of block them out of my mind the best I can. I just know Rocky ran a great, gutsy race that day."
The Porter-Jones connection has finished second in the Kentucky Derby the past two years with Hard Spun in 2007 and the late Eight Belles in 2008.
Unbridled's Song is also the father of Eight Belles and Rockport Harbor.
"It's exciting, just amazing to think we might be lucky enough to possibly have a quality horse to take to the Derby for a third straight year," Porter said. "We were really fortunate the last two Derbys to finish second. After what happened to Eight Belles it would be great to take another Unbridled's Song grey back to Churchill and possibly win the race. However, that's a long, long way off in horse racing, but it's a good dream to have. We just want to keep him physically sound and improving all the time."
Old Fashioned broke his maiden at six furlongs when he beat Sunday Blitz at Delaware Park on Oct. 6 by a nose. The next time out he won by 15 1/2 lengths in a one-mile allowance on Nov. 3.
The Kentucky-bred Old Fashioned was an $800,000 purchase at the 2007 Keeneland September yearling sale.
"I always like to take a look at the Unbridled's Song yearlings," Porter said. "We've been fortunate to have good luck with his offsprings."
This week Jones shipped Old Fashioned and the rest of his horses from the Fair Hill Training Center to the Fairgrounds in New Orleans for the winter.
Porter said it may be a couple of months before Old Fashioned makes his next start as a 3-year-old.
"Larry and I have talked and we think there is nothing to do for awhile," Porter said. "What we plan on doing if he stays sound is not to run him in December or January. In February we hope to enter him in the Grade II Risen Star at a mile and a sixteenth, followed up by the Louisiana Derby."
Porter isn't surprised at the news out of Las Vegas that Old Fashioned is already the Future Book Derby favorite.
"After the sale I heard his odds were something like 150-1," said Porter. "After he won his maiden they were 50-1 and dropped to 40-1 after the allowance race at Delaware. Now, he's won the Remsen, so that also helped. We don't worry about any of that kind of stuff right now. I do know that Larry likes the horse and that means I like his chances as well for next year."