Racetrack Lenny

They Are Animals After All- Derby Post-Mortem

OUCH! On any given Saturday...! Well, back to work tomorrow since all I have are a batch of losing tickets and once again my pick got victimized by a horrible trip. It is what it is. Like humans, some animals take to being surrounded by 157,000 drunken fans and tons of noise; others get freaked out by it and it showed in yesterday's 132nd running of the Derby.

Congratulations to Barbaro who settled in very nicely on the outside in the 2nd tier of horses, avoided traffic and clearly was much the best winning with authority by nearly 7 lengths. I'm very happy for jockey, Edgar Prado, who got his first Derby. He has labored for many years and has shown what a good rider he is, yesterday's win for him was much deserved and long overdue.

I thought the long rest between the Florida Derby and the Ky. Derby would be Barbaro's undoing. And, I was not alone in that observation. The "wise guy" handicappers just couldn't see how Barbaro could come in with rust on him and win this huge race. Well, Mike Matz (trainer) got it right and the first horse since 1956 to win with 5 weeks or more rest got the roses.

Congratulations as well to Bluegrass Cat, who I thought was a much under-rated horse. He showed his mettle yesterday running truer to his 2 year old form than this years. However, he was 2nd best; but catching him at 30-1 provided some very nice place and show prices.

Of the stone closers, both Steppenwolfer and Jazil hit the board. Steppenwolfer rounded out the triple while Jazil and Brother Derek rounded out the twin superfecta. Steppenwolfer had fewer traffic problems than Jazil and clearly got 3rd; with Jazil closing fast. Up until the 3/4 mark, Jazil was last behind some 15 lengths. Nice effort for him in a ton of traffic.

What happened to my other picks? Sweetnorthernsaint had the worst start of all the horses in the race. Just out of the gate, Sweetnorthernsaint was soundly bumped by Private Vow, who had no business in the race. Private Vow's jockey, Shaun Bridgmohan, came out of the gate and made a bee line to the rail; but, did it at the expense of Sweetnorthernsaint. To avoid going down, Kent Desormeaux, had to steady Sweetnorthernsaint, causing him to lose valuable ground right at the start. Desormeaux now had no other choice but to high-tail it to the rail and he was now 11th, a place he never wanted to be. As they made their run up the backstretch, there was a very narrow opening at the rail and Desormeaux squeezed Sweetnorthernsaint through it to reach contention on the far turn now getting into 3rd. However, when you take the rail trip, you run the risk of being behind tiring speed and that is exactly what happened. Sinister Minister had taken the lead; but was beginning to tire and was now backing up. Desormeaux had no choice but to steady Sweetnorthernsaint yet again and cutting off his momentum. Horses are not cars where you can switch gears at will. Sweetnorthernsaint was now tiring from his efforts and likely "spooked" by what was going on. One of the worst Derby trips I've seen.

Sinister Minister, my other pick, went as far as he could in a brutal pace. Now I know why Garrett Gomez opted to go elsewhere allowing Victor Espinoza the mount. Yesterday proved that Sinister Minister cannot rate. This was one of my picks where I felt he would either win or be last. Speed kills--in route races.

A.P. Warrior- Got bumped at the start and was in a ton of traffic. This horse was spooked and he never handled the deeper surface of Churchill Downs. This was just not to be A.P. Warrior's day and credit to Corey Nakatani to not use the whip on this horse as he just never fired.

The one horse I did not use in my bets that I had feared was Bob & John. There was no need to fear. This horse looked like a totally different animal than what raced in the Wood Memorial. An inexplicably no-show performance.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Derby should be restricted to the top 12 horses on the basis of earnings--with their earnings being rated on a point system. A 20 horse field is a cavalry charge that never has form holding up. However, this will never happen as Churchill Downs is not about to let $36Million bet in the win pool to slip away. Luck is as good as skill in the Derby- proven yet again.

Well, now it's off to the Preakness, which is in 2 weeks and is a much formful race. Rarely do you have more than 10 entrants in the Preakness; so, form holds up much more. Remember last year when Giacomo stunned in the Derby and he came crashing to earth in the Preakness. Barbaro looks like a horse that could be Triple Crown material; but, he won't have things as easy in the Preakness.

May the horse be with you---next time,

Racetrack Lenny

racetrack lenny went to the post at @ 1:14 PM