Every once in a while at the track, you see a performance that takes your breath away and leaves you shaking your head saying to yourself "how did he do that?" Saturday at Aqueduct, I saw one of those incredible feats in horse racing.
I Want Revenge, the big favorite in the Wood Memorial, gave the field a nice head start as the race began but overcame the adversity at the starting gate (on the far right) and through a rough stretch run to win the $750,000 Kentucky Derby prep race in New York.
Most times when a horse is "left at the gate", the horse gets discouraged and doesn't run or the horse make his or her run and then tires. I Want Revenge's trainer, Jeff Mullins, summed it up perfectly.
"When he missed the break, I was already heading back to the barn at that point....I thought we were done. I didn't know we had a chance."
When you see the final margin of victory of 1 1/2 lengths and the final time of 1:49.49, it doesn't seem very impressive. But, much like a box score of a basketball game when a player doesn't score a lot of points but did all the intangibles to help the team win, jockey Joe Talamo and I Want Revenge did what they had to do to win and then some.
After falling behind at the start, Talamo guided I Want To Revenge along the inside and started to make up ground slowly and steadily. Then, as the field began its turn for home, I Want Revenge made his way to fifth and then had to wait for the wall of horses in front of him to clear. Once the hole opened, Talamo bulled his way through and took the lead just before the finish line.
An impressive win to be sure.
"He had every trouble you could have in a race and still overcome it," Mullins said. "It tells me he's a pretty nice horse. That's as good as it gets right there. We've got one more show to go and if he can win that one, he's a pretty special animal."
Also smiling after the race were owners David Lanzman and IEAH Stables. IEAH just purchased 50% of the horse earlier in the week and must have had a little "deja vu." IEAH was one of the owners of 2008 Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown when the colt overcame starting in the 20th position in the gate to post one of the most impressive wins in the Derby.
Oh by the way, in case you care, the complete order of finish for the Wood was: I Want Revenge, West Side Bernie, Just a Conicidence, Atomic Rain, Imperial Council, Cellar Dweller, Lord Justice and Lime Rickey.
The biggest disappointment of the day was Imperial Council's fifth place finish. Although the horse flipped over in the paddock before the race, trainer Shug McGaughey made no excuses and said "There's no chance he's going to the Kentucky Derby."
Looking at the overall Kentucky Derby picture, the list of legitimate contenders is shrinking rapidly. Pioneerof the Nile won the Santa Anita Derby but was not impressive. Musket Man captured the Illinois Derby but beat a very, very weak field.
This day belonged to I Want Revenge and he will be your Kentucky Derby favorite and my choice for the "Run for the Roses."
(photo courtesy of Eclipse Sportswire)
On the eve of the one of the biggest pre-Derby racing days, here's some things to look forward to tomorrow.
On my radio show (The Kentucky Winner's Circle with E.J. Clark and Molly Rosen), we will have Daily Racing Form's David Grening to talk about the Road to the Kentucky Derby and a close look at the horses running in the Wood Memorial in New York. If you are in Louisville, the show is this and every Saturday from 11:00 a.m. - 12 Noon and WKJK- AM (1080). Tune in.
All horses are a go for the big three races (Wood Memorial, Illinois Derby and Santa Anita Derby). The horses to watch in those races.
Wood Memorial - I Want Revenge and Imperial Council. For those betting on the race, don't take a very short price on I Want Revenge. He may well "bounce" after his dazzling win last month in the Gotham Stakes and Imperial Council needs the victory to assure himself a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate.
Illinois Derby - The whole field. Although Musket Man won the Tampa Derby last month, this group of 11 horses is very evenly matched and is not a very strong field. An upset here is likely and be wary of any horse who wins this race.
Santa Anita Derby - Pioneerof the Nile and The Pamplemousse. The two West Coast heavyweights have yet to meet head-to-head but they both have swept all the major 3-year-old races in Southern California. This should be a great race and a lot of people have knocked these horses in part because their times haven't been that fast and they are running on an "artificial surface" in SoCal .They should be taken seriously for the Derby if they live up to their billing Saturday.
And for those who following the road to the Kentucky Oaks, the sister race to the Derby, two of the big favorites are running this weekend.
Stardom Bound, the reigning 2-year-old champion, is the big favorite in Saturday's Ashland Stakes at Keeneland. Meanwhile, the white hot Rachel Alexandra scared off a lot her rivals as she only faces four others in the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas on Sunday. Not worth betting those races but should be fun to watch.
I will be at Aqueduct tomorrow and will be writing updates throughout the day.
Good night and "May the Horse Be With You."
Welcome to my new blog. Before we get this race started, a quick introduction is in order for those who don't me. (If you already know me, please skip ahead a couple of paragraphs.)
My love of horse racing started when I was a kid watching racing at Aqueduct and Belmont in New York. I then moved my tack to Louisville to attend the University of Louisville's Equine Administration program. While finishing up my degree in 1996, I began an internship at Churchill Downs and landed a full-time job there upon graduation in 1997. While rounding the final turn of my Churchill tenure (ok, 2003), I began co-hosting the Kentucky Winners Circle Radio Show with E.J. Clark (for those in Louisville: Saturdays, 11am, WKJK-1080 on your AM dial).
I moved back to New York in November 2004 but my love of racing has endured. I still co-host the radio show and attend the races frequently.
Now that we've crossed the finish line on my bio to-date, it's on to the blog. It is my sincerest hope that the perspective and insights I have into the racing world are both informative and intriguing (and perhaps find you a winner for the betting windows).
To say this weekend is incredibly important for the Kentucky Derby contenders, is an understatement. The potential field is starting to take shape but it looks like more than 20 want to be in the starting gate.
And what complicates it even more is that one spot is already reserved for Mafaaz, the winner of the Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes in England last month. So with only 19 spots left, and six major races before the Derby, the scramble for cash is on.
This week's race to keep a close eye on are:
Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in NY
Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita in Los Angeles
Illinois Derby at Hawthorne in Chicago
I will update the horses to watch and the crucial money chase on Thursday.
Stay tuned!
