Now that we have four Kentucky Derby prep races in the books, the picture for the Derby has gotten a little more cluttered.
No horse was overly impressive but will be curious to see if the Sunland Park Derby first three finishers (Endorsement, Conveyance and Tempted to Tapit) move forward. That race had the fastest time of all the prep races and remember that race produced last year's Derby winner - Mine That Bird (right).
But finishing in the top two in your last prep race before the Derby has been crucial. Since 1988, only five horses finished worse then second in their final race and went on to win the Derby. Those five are (1990 - Unbridled, 3rd Blue Grass; 1993 - Sea Hero, unplaced in Blue Grass; 1995 - Thunder Gulch, 4th Blue Grass; 2005 - Giacomo, 3rd Santa Anita Derby; 2009 - Mine That Bird, 4th Sunland Park Derby.)
Since there hasn't been a dominant 3-year-old this year, it looks like more than 20 will want to start in the Derby. If that holds true, then it will come down to which horses have enough Graded Stakes earnings to get into the Top 20.
After the four races this weekend, there are some bigger names that would be excluded. Among those that are on the "outside looking in" with their position on the list:
24 - Pleasant Prince, winner of the Florida Derby
25 - Tempted to Tapit, 3rd in the Sunland Park Derby
27 - Connemara, 3rd in the Lane's End
28 - Northern Giant, 2nd in the Lane's End
32 - Drosselmeyer - 3rd in the Louisiana Derby
There are still a handful of races to go but the money situation will hold the key for which 20 horses we see on the first Saturday in May.
As we wind our way through the final Kentucky Derby preps, you hope that a horse jumps up and shows that he is a star on the rise.
After watching the big 3-year-old races on Saturday, you have to feel let down by what transpired.
The day kicked off with the $2,000,000 UAE Derby in Dubai and the best performance in that race by a sophomore was a third place finish by Mendip. That colt, who was 3-for-3 coming into that heat, is owned by racing powerhouse Godolphin who has yet to win a Kentucky Derby but wants to win one in the worst way. Not sure if he will make the trip to Louisville but it's a good guess that he will.
The next race on the slate was the Lane's End at Turfway Park. This race has not produced a major Derby contender in some years so there was no great hope that one would emerge and the race lived down to those expectations.
Dean's Kitten, (left) owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey and trained by Mike Maker, took the $500,000 event but his time was very slow over the "artificial dirt" and the field was not very good. The beaten favorite, Connemara, finished an unimpressive third but you should expect to see him in the Derby.
But there was hope in the final race of the day with the $750,000 Louisiana Derby. There appeared to be some horses with a bright future but once again, we were let down. The only bright spot was for trainer Todd Pletcher who added yet another horse to his growing stable for the "Run for the Roses" as Mission Impazible (right) wore down pacesetter A Little Warm in the stretch for an impressive three-quarters of a length win. Pletcher's other entrant in the race, Discreetly Mine, ran fourth.
Pletcher has eight horses that could run in the Derby and five are safely inside the Top 20 list of Graded Stakes earnings (Rule, Mission Impazible, Discreetly Mine, Interactif and Aikenite).
The horse with perhaps the biggest upside and talent in the Louisiana Derby, Drosselmeyer, ran a closing third but now may not be able to get into the Derby as he only has $94,500 in Graded Stakes earnings. It's likely he'll need another $100,000 or so to get in and he is doubtful to run again.
One can only hope that Sunday's $800,000 Sunland Park Derby, which produced 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, will have a winner with a little more flash that we saw on Saturday.
With "crunch time" about to start on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, most owners and trainers are focused on getting enough money to qualify for the 20 spots to start in the Derby. And, in the midst of the NCAA Tournament, those horses who are on the earnings "bubble," will have plenty of chances to punch their ticket for the "Run for the Roses."
For those who don't know or aren't sure how it works, if more than 20 want to run in the Kentucky Derby, then Churchill Downs turns to a list of earnings in Graded Stakes Races. (Graded Stakes Races are considered the highest levels of racing). The top 20 money earners in those graded stakes are given priority. It's almost analogous to NASCAR in its points system for those Top 12 drivers who qualify for the Sprint Cup Chase.
Over the next four weekends, there are multiple opportunities for horses to vault their way into the Top 20 and lock up a spot. This weekend alone there are four races with substantial money on the line which will all but guarantee the winners entry into the Derby. (See below for list of races.)
Since there hasn't been a dominant three-year-old this year, you can be pretty sure that we'll see a capacity field of 20 in the Kentucky Derby.
What's even more crucial about this weekend's races are just two of the 37 three-year-olds that are running are inside the Top 25 on the official earnings list. (Those two horses are the Todd Pletcher-trained Discreetly Mine (#9, above) and the unbeaten Conveyance. (#15))
All four of this weekend's events are wide open which means we are likely to see a few new names in the Top 20. But if you are worried about some of the biggest and best trainers in the country not being amongst the Top 20, you have nothing to fear.
Such prominent names as Bob Baffert, Richard Dutrow, D. Wayne Lukas and Nick Zito, all Derby winning trainers, should have at least one horse in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. And Pletcher, the best trainer never to win a Derby, should have at least three entrants into the Derby.
It will be a great weekend of racing and if you haven't watched any races leading up to the Derby, it's a good time as any to tune in.
SATURDAY
$2,000,000 UAE Derby - Post Time: 10:40 a.m. (ET)
$750,000 Louisiana Derby - Post Time: 5:48 (ET) (Live on USA Network)
$500,000 Lane's End - Post Time: 5:12 p.m. (ET) (Live on USA Network)
SUNDAY
$850,000 Sunland Park Derby - Post Time -7:45 p.m. (ET) (Live on NTRA.com)
For some odd reason, I took a break from writing about a sport that I love dearly. And for that, I apologize to myself and everyone who was reading my prose.
There are a core group of us who truly enjoy writing about a sport that is in our blood. I certainly tip my cap to those who bring you stories, insight and commentary on a regular basis for nothing more than the enjoyment and the occasional recognition from some fans.
Now that Derby is around a month away, I plan on joining that group of "full time" writers who love to talk about the wonderful word of Thoroughbred Racing which include Molly Jo Rosen, Brian Zipse, Alex Brown, Brock Sheridan, Teresa Genaro and many, many others (sorry for those I didn't mention).
So without any more delay, it's time to get fired up about the Kentucky Derby and start writing about the Greatest Two Minutes (or so) in Sports.
With the Day 1 of the Breeders' Cup behind us, what did we learn about the horses that ran?
Since the day went without a favorite, you have to think we'll see a favorite or two on Saturday's card come home triumphant.
It appears that the NY contingent is not comfortable in Southern California. I am certain it has something to do with the Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita but even on turf, it was not a great showing for the horses based in Northeast. The best effort was for trainer Todd Pletcher as Rose Catherine was the runner-up in the Juvenile Fillies Turf.
Life Is Sweet's (left) victory in the Ladies Classic certainly bodes well for Zenyatta in the Classic. Life Is Sweet was beaten three times by the undefeated star mare this year and today's easy victory over what appeared to be a good group of contenders is a good sign.
The Europeans again proved that they are very tough. They won two races on Friday (Man of Iron - Marathon and Midday - Filly & Mare Turf) and will have a big shot in the Mile, Turf and Classic. The only disappointment was Lillie Langtry in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. She was sent off as the post-time favorite but never fired and ran ninth. The Juvenile Fillies was a good race but don't think we've seen next years Kentucky Oaks winner. She Be Wild (right) loves the synthetic tracks and being a daughter of Offlee Wild doesn't make me think she'll stretch out in distance. The horses to watch in that race are Biofuel and Zilva who had horrific trips.
Sad that Ventura did not win the Filly & Mare Sprint. Trainer Bobby Frankel reportedly has been sick for a while and this would have been a nice way to pick up his spirits.
Informed Decision might be the biggest synthetic track lover since the surface made its debut a few years ago. She is now 7-for-7 on the artificial dirt. The great news is that she will run again next year but the Breeders' Cup moves back to the conventional dirt at Churchill.
It was nice to seeCloudy's Knight (left) run so well in the Marathon. He's a 9-year-old gelding, which ties for the oldest horse ever to run in a Breeders' Cup.
Day one was a lot of fun and Saturday should be even better.
Allegre – Trainer Brian Koriner said Thursday morning his Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf prospect is dealing with a foot issue and the prospects of the 4yo Orientate colt running will be considered on Friday.
Koriner said the colt appeared to have the beginnings of an abscess.
Allegre did not go to the track on Thursday.
Conduit/Spanish Moon – Conduit, back to defend his Turf title over the Santa Anita grass, was his usual assertive self Thursday morning, greeting onlookers at the quarantine barn with a few loud snorts.
Conduit went to the turf course for a gallop in company with stablemate Zacinto (Mile).
Trainer Michael Stoute said all was well with the 4yo son of Dalakhani, who finished fourth – 2 ¼ lengths behind Sea of Stars – in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe last out.
Spanish Moon, a 5yo by El Prado, came out alone after his mates had returned to the barn and galloped around the grass course on his own.
Conduit drew post 2 for the Turf and will have regular rider Ryan Moore in the irons. The colt has a strong stretch kick, which he demonstrated here last year when he circled the entire field on the turn and went on to win going away by 1 ½ lengths.
Spanish Moon, who comes into Saturday’s race off two wins in France, is also coming to the race the right way, the trainer said. He drew post 5 for the Turf, with Kieren Fallon to ride for the first time.
Dar Re Mi – Veteran jockey Frankie Dettori, who has won eight Breeders’ Cup races from 55 starters, will replace regular rider Jimmy Fortune on the 4yo Singspeil filly and on trainer John Gosden’s starter in the Juvenile Turf, Pounced.
“Frankie is highly experienced here,” Gosden said. “He cut his teeth here during his early teenage years. He’s ridden here a lot. It’s no fault of Jimmy’s that he’s never ridden here.”
Dar Re Mi will run in the Turf against males because she is proven at the distance of 1½ m and the Gosden said he doesn’t think she is suited to run at the 1¼m distance of the Filly & Mare Turf.
“From the filly’s point of view, we thought it would be a lot fairer to run her close to her favorite distance, even if that meant taking on the boys,” he said.
Gosden said he preferred not to adjust his strategy for a particular race.
“You don’t want to be dictated to by anybody else’s running style, you just want to run according to how you’re traveling and how the jockey feels about it,” he said. “I really leave that up to jockeys. I don’t think you should be tying people down to instructions. In my experience it never really works.”
Monzante – The 5yo gelding jogged 2m on the main track Thursday for trainer Mike Mitchell with exercise rider Jose Dominguez aboard.
Presious Passion – The 6yo gelding, who won the Clement Hirsch Stakes over the Santa Anita turf course last out on Oct. 11, galloped 2m around the main track under exercise rider Fernando Espinoza Thursday morning.
Trainer Mary Hartmann said Presious Passion is ready to do his thing on Saturday.
“He’s as ready for this as he can be,” Hartmann said. “He’ll run his race his way. He always does.”
Presious Passion, a son of Royal Anthem, is a dedicated front-runner who has the stamina to remain a factor to the finish. He won the Clement Hirsch at 1 ¼m by opening a long early lead, and in July won the 1 3/8m United Nations Stakes at Monmouth by two lengths after surprising the field by opening a 20-length lead the first half-mile.
Red Rocks – This will be the fourth and final run in the Breeders’ Cup Turf for the 6yo son of Galileo, trainer Brian Meehan said Thursday.
“He’ll be retired after this run,” Meehan said. “He’s coming to the race in grand shape. He’s training great.”
Meehan, who saddled Red Rocks to win the Turf in 2006 at Churchill Downs and run 3rd at MonmouthPark in 2007, has named Julien Leparoux to ride the horse for the first time Saturday.
Thursday morning, Red Rocks went out in company with stablemate Radiohead (Juvenile) and schooled in the paddock and in the starting gate before galloping around the main track.
Red Rocks, who was trained by Mark Hennig when he ran 10th in last year’s Turf at Santa Anita, returned to Meehan’s care this fall, and finished fourth in the Cumberland Lodge Stakes most recently on Sept. 27.
Telling – With trainer Steve Hobby astride, Turf contender Telling got his first experience down the hill of the Santa Anita grass course Thursday morning.
“He got a little upset waiting around to go out there, but he settled down once the outrider arrived,” Hobby said. “It went great, he marched right down there. It was a bit to do for nothing. He’s a professional, but if we didn’t give him a practice run, after the race I didn’t want to be asking myself ‘what if’. It’s not like the sprinters who have to fly across from the turf to the Pro-Ride. In a 1 ½-mile race, we’ll cross it in 25 and change, so it’s not nearly as much of a concern.”
Hobby is thrilled with the way Telling is coming into the race, and hopes that he has an “improving horse at the right time.
“The Belmont grass was really soft and taxing the day he ran (Turf Classic Invitational), but as crazy as it sounds, he came out of it less tired than when he won the Sword Dancer,” Hobby said. “The firmer the better for him and that (Santa Anita) turf course is just what we want.”
Careless Jewel – The 3yo filly, who has won her last five races by daylight, will return for another season of racing in 2010 no matter how she fares in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic Friday.
“We’ll run her next year. That’s the plan,” said owner Vern Dubinsky, who purchased the filly for $40,000 as a yearling. “After this race she’ll go to Waver Tree Farm in Ocala (Florida) for a nice break and then we’ll get her ready to run as a 4-year-old.”
Careless Jewel galloped 1m Friday morning under exercise rider Moises Guce and was to school in the paddock during the afternoon races. Trainer Josie Carroll plans to send the filly out for a jog around 6:30am on race day.
As for the race itself, it will be no surprise to see the Alabama winner setting the pace.
“She’s got a lot of natural speed so she’ll be on the lead or close to the lead,” Carroll said. “Music Note has early speed as well, and she’s capable of sitting close to her and will be there in the stretch. Rainbow View ran a big race at Woodbine in her last and will be running at us at the end.
“This is the Breeders’ Cup and they’ll all be running at us. This is a really good field and it will be a really good test.”
Cocoa Beach - The 2008 Ladies’ Classic runner-up walked the shedrow of Godolphin’s barn at Santa Anita Thursday morning, one day away from her second attempt at the Friday race for fillies and mares. She comes off a third-place finish in the Oct. 10 Lady’s Secret, an event won by the unbeaten Zenyatta.
“She’s a filly that improves all the time, she’s looking much better than before she ran in the Lady’s Secret,” said trainer Saeed bin Suroor, who arrived from Dubai Wednesday afternoon and was onsite Thursday to watch his horses gallop. “Early in the season I wasn’t really happy with her, but she’s doing really good now and coming into it well.”
Cocoa Beach is a 5yo daughter of Doneraile Court who raced extensively in Chile before she was purchased by Godolphin and moved to Dubai for the early part of the 2008 racing season, then to the United States later in the year. She was the 2yo filly champion of Chile and won Horse of the Year honors there in 2008.
Lethal Heat –The 4yo filly took her final pre-race exam for Friday’s Ladies’ Classic on Thursday morning and passed with flying colors, according to trainer Barry Abrams.
“She galloped 1 1/2m, spent 20 minutes in the paddock to simulate race-day action without the crowd, and then stood in the gate for about five minutes,” Abrams said.
“I stood her in the small gate [near the head of the stretch] so she could look down the stretch from where they’ll start in the mile and an eighth race.”
As for race strategy, Abrams said, “I let the jockey decide. He knows the horse and he’s ridden her many times. If I make any plan, and it doesn’t work when they come out of the gate, then it messes everything up.”
Co-owner Madeline Auerbach is looking at the race from a perspective beyond that of simply an owner. She is also co-breeder, as well as co-owner, of Lethal Heat’s sire, Unusual Heat, who is heading toward his second straight year as California’s top stallion. Auerbach can’t help but think of what siring a Breeders’ Cup champion would mean to the stallion.
“I think it would give him the recognition that he deserves,” she said. “I think he’s every bit as good as any of the stallions in Kentucky. If he had been able to start out with the same high-end mares, he would be in their class.”
Even so, Auerbach doesn’t expect Kentucky breeders to come calling.
“He’s coming up on 20 years, so I don’t think they will be calling,” she said. “I don’t think I’d let him go [to Kentucky], anyway. In his past couple of books, some of the top California breeders have sent their A-list broodmares instead of the B-list.”
Unusual Heat’s progeny earned $5.8 million last year and have compiled $4.5 million so far this year.
Life Is Sweet – Owner-breeder Marty Wygod said Thursday that life should be sweeter for his 4yo filly without the daunting presence of Zenyatta in the Ladies’ Classic. Life Is Sweet has chased the unbeaten champion mare to the finish line in three of her last four races.
"It breaks my heart that Zenyatta is not in the race," Wygod said with a laugh.
"I have a good feeling about her," Wygod said. "I think she's back where she was earlier this year. She was tying up at Del Mar and I think you will see the Life Is Sweet you saw at Santa Anita last winter and spring (when she won three straight stakes, including the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Handicap).
"Of course, a lot depends on how the race unfolds," Wygod added. "We'll have to see whether anybody can put pressure on Careless Jewel (expected to show speed from the rail). But Life Is Sweet will be flying at the end."
Life Is Sweet is trained by John Shirreffs, who won the Ladies’ Classic last year with Zenyatta. Life Is Sweet galloped around the main track early Thursday morning with exercise rider Isabelle Bournez aboard.
Mushka – Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott knows a little bit about what it takes to win the Ladies’ Classic, formerly known as the Distaff. Mott won back-to-back editions of the race with Ajina and Escena in 1997-98, and he believes Mushka, a daughter of Empire Maker, has a similar pre-race profile.
“I feel as good about her going in as I did about them,” said Mott, who has won five Cup races in his career. “Neither one of those fillies was what anybody thought would be an easy winner going in. They had to run their race and work for it; the same with Mushka.”
The Brushwood Stable filly didn’t get to run her race in the Spinster at Keeneland in her final Ladies’ Classic prep, but was awarded the victory when the stewards disqualified fellow Ladies’ Classic contender Proviso for coming out on Mushka.
“She had a huge effort in the Spinster,” Mott said. “It’s probably debatable whether she’d have won that race or not (without the interference), but it was still a very good race for her.”
Mushka went out early for a Thursday morning gallop and then stood in the starting gate after her exercise.
Music Note – The 4yo daughter of A.P. Indy walked the Godolphin shedrow at Santa Anita Thursday morning, her preparations completed for a start in the Ladies’ Classic. Last year she finished third behind stablemate Cocoa Beach in second and the unbeaten Zenyatta in the 1 1/8m race.
“She’s won two of three starts this year, and she’s much better now than she was any time in the year,” said trainer Saeed bin Suroor. “She’s in very good form and I’m happy with her.”
Proviso – The 4yo filly galloped once around the main track Thursday with exercise rider Salvador Martinez.
Trainer Bobby Frankel will try to win the race for the second time in three years with the Juddmonte Farms homebred after prevailing with Ginger Punch in 2007.
Chief assistant Humberto Ascanio will deputize for Frankel, who has been running the stable by phone from his home for several months.
Juddmonte racing manager Garrett O'Rourke is also scheduled to be at the track.
Rainbow View – Augustin Stable’s 3yo homebred returned to her early-morning schedule Thursday, and at 6 a.m. she was the first of the European-based horses to visit the main track.
The Dynaformer filly has made all 11 of her career starts on grass, but she is entered in the Ladies’ Classic on the main track because Forever Together, also owned by Augustin Stable, is trying for a repeat victory in the Filly & Mare Turf.
Rainbow View was shipped to Santa Anita after her second-place finish in the E.P. Taylor on Oct. 17 at Woodbine. Trainer John Gosden said the filly seems to be flourishing in her new surroundings.
“Since coming to California she’s certainly eating and looking bigger and better,” he said.
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.
