Bettor, Beware!
Coming from way back, With a City (Brice Blanc) upset Turfway Park's Lane's End Stakes at 48-1. Owner, trainer and jockey have caught Derby fever. Some legitimate Derby contenders (More Than Regal, Sharp Attack, Laity and Silent Times) finished 4th, 8th, 10th and 11th respectively. While the fractions were honest, the front end just stopped proving that a mile and an eighth was beyond their capability. With A City took advantage of the stopping speed to circle 4 wide and surge home winning by a lenghth and a quarter. Before you go putting real money on With A City, keep in mind that Turfway has that funky Polytrack. It is an all-weather surface that is a mixture of sand, rubber and other synthetic materials. It makes for a very spongy track that is very good for horse's hooves and durability. However, it tends to be a tiring track because it is so deep. Churchill Downs still runs on dirt; so, on a faster surface, speed may hold up a little longer. Horses that run well on the Polytrack surface, tend to run well on off-tracks elsewhere (i.e. tracks listed as good, muddy or sloppy). So, keep an eye on the weather for Derby day.
Laurel Park in Maryland ran the Private Terms Stakes at a mile. The winner was the longest shot on the board, Our Peak who closed from way back to win by a neck at odds of 73-1. Fast fractions set up the perfect scenario for this closer. However, look for the entries in this contest to be around for the Frederico Tesio at Pimlico next month. Generally, Maryland horses are looking at the Preakness, not the Derby.
May the horse be with you,
Racetrack Lenny
March Madness
4 major stake races this weekend with one Derby hopeful turning in the expected performance. So, let's start with him: Lawyer Ron. Sent off as the 9/5 favorite in a field of 10, Lawyer Ron, with John McKee up, settled into a stalking trip, swung 5 wide turning for home and drew away to win by 3 authoritative lengths. Fellow Derby hopeful Private Vow, sent off as the close 2nd choice at 2/1 under Shaun Bridgmohan was hard held all through the race. When Bridgmohan wanted to unleash Private Vow, there was nothing there and Private Vow finished a very unthreatening 7th. Perhaps too much energy expended fighting the jockey. Don't toss out Private Vow just yet. The other Derby hopeful, Steppenwolfer with Robby Albarado, was sent off at 5/2 and was closing at the end but started to run out of steam to just miss the place spot.
In the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park, even money favorite Bob & John, Victor Espinoza up, was soundly bumped at the start, was steadied along the rail, swung 5 wide for the drive and while closing, seemed to flatten out a bit to be beaten by 3 lenghts. Meanwhile, 7/1 A.P. Warrier under Corey Nakatani took advantage by racing off the rail and in a 4 wide move, ground it out on the front end to prevail by a 1/2 length over 7/2 Point Determined. Point Determined ran an even race and just could not outrun the winner.
Meanwhile, in Florida's Tampa Bay Derby, Bluegrass Cat (John Velasquez) was sent off as the prohibitive 2/5 favorite and had to settle for 2nd to 8/1 Deputy Glitters under Jose Lezcano. Deputy Glitters sat off the pacesetter 65/1 Winnies Tigger Too who held on to be 3rd. Storm Treasure with Mike Smith up was the other Derby hopeful thought to be able to give Bluegrass Cat a run for the money. He raced evenly and was never a threat at 6/1.
Back East, Aqueduct ran the Gotham Stakes, contested for the first time around 2 turns. The betting public settled on co-favorites. Achilles of Troy, with Ramon Dominguez, was sent off at 3/2. Keyed Entry, Edgar Prado up, was sent off at 8/5. After spectacular victories in the Count Fleet and Whirlaway stakes, Achilles of Troy clearly did not fire yesterday. He raced mid pack and when it came time to run, there was nothing there. In fact, the horse was vanned off after the race and we hope there is nothing seriously wrong--but, it's not a good sign. Taking advantage of the situation was sprinter Like Now sent off at 36/1 with Fernando Jara. Like Now led wire to wire and just lasted to win by a neck over Keyed Entry who was inching up at the end but just ran out of racing room. Sweet Northern Saint, sent off at 4/1 under Kent Desormeaux, raced well from the outside but got a puzzling ride. He was wide on both turns and made a decent bid to miss by less than a length.
Interesting day at the races with Lawyer Ron performing as expected and stamping himself as a true contender.
Racetrack Lenny
March Madness Begins
On the 4th of March, there were 4 major stake races all across the country.
At Gulfstream Park, the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth was run at 1-1/8th miles. A field of 10 contested the event run over a fast track. First Samurai under Edgar Prado was sent off as the prohibitive 3/5 favorite. There was much hype before the race about First Samurai never having gone 2 turns in a race and how would he handle it. Well, he handled it pretty well; but, the race was not without controversy and a DQ that worked to place First Samurai in first place. What happened?
First Samurai was winging on the front end setting fractions of 23.86; 48:30; 1:12.36 before 7-1 Corinthian (Javier Castellano) took a slim lead. Corinthian then proceeded to lug in putting a resurging First Samurai in tight quarters forcing Prado to steady First Samurai and swing to the outside for clear running room. But, Corinthian was now bearing out forcing First Samurai to go wide. Corinthian crossed the finish line first by a length and the Inquiry sign went right up. Prado also claimed foul. Result: Corinthian was taken down and placed 3rd moving up First Samurai and Flashy Bull (10-1, Rafael Bejarano) moved to 2nd. The stewards call was the right one.
The good news is that First Samurai showed he could handle 2 turns and, he showed some true grit by coming on again at the end. However, it looks like First Samurai needs the lead and is tough to rate. Let's see how he does in upcoming races.
Of the other Derby hopefuls in this race, Itsallaboutthechase (21-1, Mark Guidry) should be cured of Derby fever. He finished a well beaten 9th and never threatened. Great Point (4-1, Jeremy Rose) was a huge disappointment never lifting a hoof and finishing dead last. Not a good sign. Local horse Rehoboth was in over his head in terms of class, was sent off at 66-1 but did not do that badly. He was mid-pack and raced evenly; putting in a mild rally at the end to get 5th.
Gulfstream also had the Grade 2 Swale Stakes at 7 furlongs. One Derby hopeful, Catcominatcha broke down and was vanned off. I don't know the outcome but I hope the horse was not put down. Sharp Humor, Mark Guidry up, won by a hard fought neck at 13-1. The favorite, Noonmark, was closing down the lane but ran out of track and just missed. I don't think any Derby hopefuls will be coming out of this sprint.
Out West, Santa Anita held the Grade 2 Santa Catalina Stakes run at 1-1/16th miles. Brother Derek (1-2, Alex Solis) prompted the pace from 3rd and gradually moved up to win by 1-3/4 lenghts under steady hand-urging. Looks like his last race was for real. The lone closer in the field, Sacred Light (19-1, Aaron Gryder) swung to the outside and put in a strong close to clearly get 2nd. Pace setter Latent Heat went off 3-1 under Patrick Valenzuela and had to settle for a tiring 3rd. Quick fractions of 23.27; 46.31; 1:10.31 did this Derby hopeful in. Compared to the Fountain of Youth, I would argue Brother Derek's win was more impressive. Brother Derek will be one of the favorites the 1st Saturday in May.
Kentucky's Turfway Park held the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes at 1-1/16th miles. 6-1 Laity under Corey Lanerie had the early lead, relinquished it after the opening quarter mile in 23.75 and then commenced a rally up the rail to get up by a half length. Longshot Pair of Kings (33-1, Richard Bracho) closed from dead last to get 2nd and was coming like gangbusters on the outside. Keep in mind that Turfway's surface is the new polytrack that uses a rubberized product making it easy on the horses feet and making it a bit deeper than the traditional dirt surface.
A good weekend of racing. Next weekend, the California Derby will be run at Golden Gate Fields. Followed by 4 more stakes on March 18th.
Racetrack Lenny
