Tag: Ferdinand

Posted on

Stakes at Santa Anita Serve as Derby Preps

Mucho Gusto, winner at Del Mar!
Share This:
Facebooktwitter
Mucho Gusto, winner at Del Mar!
Mucho Gusto, winner at Del Mar!

The Road to the Kentucky Derby travels through the west coast this weekend on its long trip to the bluegrass. Santa Anita’s track has seen plenty of future KY Derby winners over the past several years. Several key stakes races at Santa Anita reward KY Derby points. This weekend, Santa Anita will host its third prep race for the KY Derby and the second of three prep races for their own Santa Anita Derby, one of the most important races leading up to the KY Derby. Four of six contenders will earn KY Derby points. Who will triumph in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes?

Share This:
Facebooktwitter
Pages: 1 2
Posted on

Chrome Again

Share This:
FacebooktwitterCalifornia Chrome for the Awesome Again Stakes

California Chrome is ready again to prove that he is the most awesome male in Thoroughbred  racing today!  Tomorrow, 10/1/16, Chrome will race in the Xpressbet Awesome Again Stakes.  Chrome is undefeated in all 5 of his 2016 races and based on his recent workouts he is looking like every bit of the champ that will keep the wins coming.  He is 5 at 5!

California Chrome looks amazing

California Chrome is the flashy 5 year old son of Lucky Pulpit and Love The Chase.  Chrome is a California bred Thoroughbred with some Kentucky connections.  In 23 starts he has won 14 times.  He won 2 of the 3 legs of the Triple Crown in 2014.  He finished 3rd in the Breeders’ Cup Classic as a 3 year old, as well.  Chrome earned 2 Eclipse Awards that same year, Horse of the Year and Champion 3 Year Old Colt.  With 2 nice finishes at 2nd in 2015, Chrome traveled a bit and then got some rest and relaxation at Taylor Made Farm in Kentucky.  That is where I visited him on 2 occasions.  He will retire there soon to make beautiful Chrome babies.  He is affectionately called Junior and he is both an amazing race horse and just a joy of an animal at the same time.  He loves his cookies and hamming it up for the camera and his fans, even babies.  Chrome will race in the Awesome Again Stakes, the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Pegasus World Cup before he returns to his old Kentucky home, to stay.

Caifornia Chrome is happy

One race at a time, California Chrome is focused on another win in the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.  Chrome calls nearby Los Alamitos Race Course his current home.  His last race was 8/20/16 when he won the Pacific Classic Stakes at Del Mar.  He has been resting and prepping nicely ever since then.  He got in a fast 7 furlongs at Los Alamitos on 9/24/16.  This morning he galloped and schooled at Santa Anita.  All signs show, Chrome is at his best at age 5.  It is worth noting that the Stronach group put up a $1 million dollar bonus for the connections of the horse that could sweep the Pacific Classic, the Awesome Again and the BC Classic.  1 down, 2 to go!

Happy California Chrome

The Awesome Again Stakes was inaugurated as the Goodwood Breeders’ Cup Handicap in 1982.  The Goodwood name came from England’s Goodwood Racecourse.  In 2008 the race became the Goodwood Stakes.  Named once again in 2012, it became the Awesome Again Stakes for Awesome Again, the horse that won the BC Classic in 2008.  The race is 9 furlongs (1 and 1/8 mile) on the dirt for Thoroughbreds age 3 and up with a purse of $300,000. Some of my personal winners include Ferdinand and Silver Charm.  Last year, Smooth Roller won.  Posting at 3:37 P.M PDT (6:37 EST) , the Grade 1, Awesome Again Stakes is the 7th race on a card of 11.  The first post is at 12:30 P.M. PDT.  It is a Breeders’ Cup “Win And You’re In” berth race for the 2016 BC Classic.  NBC will begin its television coverage at 5:30 P.M. EST.  The preceding race, the G1 FrontRunner Stakes, brings a BC berth into the BC Juvenile Division race.  Actually, every race from the 6th to the 10th is a BC berth.  Those should be fun to watch and/or bet as well.

California Chrome smiles

The field for the Awesome Again Stakes is as follows by post/horse/jockey/trainer/owner:

  1. California Chrome/Victor Espinoza/Art Sherman/California Chrome LLC.
  2. Dortmund/Rafael Bejarano/Bob Baffert/Kaleem Shah
  3. Hoppertunity/Flavien Prat/Bob Baffert/Karl Watson, Michael Pegram and Paul Weitman
  4. Win the Space/Gary Stevens/George Papaprodromou/Kretz Racing LLC
  5. Soi Phet/Kent Desormeaux/Leonard Powell/Benowitz Family Trust, Mathilde Powell and Paul A. Viskovich
  6. El Huerfano/Martin Pedroza/Peter Miller/Wachtel Stabel and Gary Barber
  7. Hard Aces/Santiago Gonzalez/John Sadler/Hronis Racing LLC.

I’ll be pulling for California Chrome for his 6th straight win while I’m praying for a safe ride for all.  I believe Chrome will be awesome again.  My bet will be placed from Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY where I will be simulcasting and taking in some live racing.  Mr. Z returns in race 9 at Churchill Downs tomorrow and I love him.  He hasn’t raced since November, 2015.  I will always remember the day I met Mr. Z, at D. Wayne Lukas’ barn, in the early morning hours and he gave my bestie a love bite on the arm.  That is just too funny for me.  Check back soon for more photos and commentary from my adventures and education in racing.

 

 

 Share This:
Facebooktwitter

Posted on

Derby Deciphered

Share This:
Facebooktwitterimage(248)

It is hard to contain my enthusiasm with only 2 days to go until the 142nd Kentucky Derby.  Post time is 6:34 P.M. EST on 5/7/16 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY.  The KY Derby Undercard can be watched from 12 PM to 4 PM on NBCSN and then NBC will broadcast coverage from 4 PM to 7:30 PM EST.

The Longines Kentucky Derby has taken place annually since 1875.  The race is held on the first Saturday of May.  The track is dirt and is raced 10 furlongs, 1 and 1/4 miles.  Contenders are 3 year old Thoroughbreds that were selected from a points system in 35 qualifying races.  Points are awarded to the 1st four finishers on those races.  The first race, on the road to the KY Derby, was the Iroquois held at Churchill Downs on 9/12/15.  The last race to qualify in was the Lexington at Keeneland on 4/16/16.  Last evening 22 horses drew post positions.  20 will race, the final 2 are “also eligible” if there is a scratch before 9 A.M EST on 5/6/16.  The field is as follows:

Post position. Horse/Jockey/Trainer/Owner

  1. Trojan Nation/Aaron T. Gryder/Patrick Gallagher/Julie Gilbert and Aaron Sones
  2. Suddenbreakingnews/Luis Quinonez/Donnie Von Hemel/Samuel F. Henderson
  3. Creator/Ricardo Santana Jr./Steven Asmussen/WinStar Farm LLC
  4. Mo Tom/Corey J. Lanerie/Thomas M. Amoss/GMB Racing
  5. Gun Runner/Florent Geroux/Steven M. Asmussen/Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC, Three Chimneys Farm LLC and Besilu Stables
  6. My Man Sam/Irad Ortiz Jr./Chad C. Brown/Sheep Pond Partners, Newport Stables LLC and Jay W. Bligh
  7. Oscar Nominated/Julien R Leparoux/Michael Maker/Ken and Sarah Ramsey
  8. Lani/Yutaka Take/Mikio Matsunaga/Koj Maeda/North Hills Co Limited
  9. Destin/Javier Castellano/Todd Pletcher/Twin Creeks Racing Stables LCC and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners
  10. Whitmore/Victor Espinoza/Ron Moquett/Robert LaPenta, Harry Rosenblum and Southern Springs Stables
  11. Exaggerator/Kent J. Desormeaux/J. Keith Desormeaux/Big Cheif Racing LLC, Head of Plains Partners LLC, Rocker O Ranck LLC, et al.
  12. Tom’s Ready/Brian Joseph Hernandez Jr./Dallas Stewart/GMB Racing
  13. Nyquist/Mario Gutierrez/Doug F. O’Neill/Reddam Racing
  14. Mohaymen/Junior Alvarado/Kiaran McLaughlin/Shadwell Stable
  15. Outwork/John Velazquez/Todd Pletcher/Repole Stable
  16. Shagaf/Joel Rosario/Chad C. Brown/Shadwell Stable
  17. Mor Spirit/Gary Stevens/Bob Baffert/Michael Lund Petersen
  18. Majesto/Emisael Jaramillo/Gustavo Delgado/Grupo 7 C Racing Stable
  19. Brody’s Cause/Luis Saez/Dale L. Romans/Albaugh Family Stable
  20. Danzing Candy/Mike E. Smith/Clifford W. Sise Jr./Halo Farms and Jim and Dianne Bashor
  21. “Also Eligible” Laoban
  22. “Also Eligible” Cherry Wine

Trojan Nation has not even broken his maiden in 6 starts but he received his qualifying Derby points when he finished 2nd in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct on 4/9/16.  His dam sire, Summer Squall, was 2nd in the KY Derby in 1990.  Ferdinand was the last horse that won the KY Derby from post position 1 and that was back in 1986.

Suddenbreakingnews has raced 8 times with 7 times winning or placing.  He is experienced in 3 graded stakes races that are all KY Derby select races.  He got his points in the Arkansas Derby, 2nd, and the Southwest Stakes, 1st, while he was a disappointing 5th place finisher in the Rebel Stakes.  His dam sire, Afleet Alex, was 3rd in the 2005 KY Derby.

Creator also has 8 starts behind him.  He has finished in the top 3 in 7 races.  He is a lovely grey son of Tapit.  Juba, my favorite horse is sired by Tapit.  Lani and Mohaymen are also sired by Tapit.  Creator did better in both the Rebel, 3rd, and the Arkansas Derby, he was the winner, than Suddenbreakingnews who ran 5th and 2nd respectively.

Mo Tom has finished 1st or 3rd in 6 of 7 races.  He is the offspring of Uncle Mo as are Nyquist and Outwork.  Mo Tom ran in 4 KY Derby qualifying graded stakes races and gathered points in each of them.  He was 3rd in the KY Jockey Club, 1st in the LeComte, 3rd in the Risen Star and 4th in the Louisiana Derby.

Gun Runner, son of Candy Ride, has participated in 5 races and won all but the KY Jockey Club Stakes when he came in 4th, right behind Mo Tom.  He beat out Mo Tom in 2 other graded stakes when he won both the Risen Star and the Louisiana Derby. He shares a trainer with Creator.  California Chrome won the KY Derby from post 5 in 2014!

My Man Sam has only raced 4 times.  It took him twice to break his maiden and he placed twice since then.  He has only been in one graded stakes and he finished 2nd.  It was the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on 4/9/16 that gave him his KY Derby points.

Oscar Nominated has finished 4th or better in his 7 races.  In his 3rd stakes race he won the Grade 3 Spiral Stakes and earned his KY Derby points.  The Ramsey’s are frequent winners at Keeneland and Churchill but they have never had a KY Derby horse yet.

Lani is another Tapit colt.  He is also a champ on an international level.  He has raced 6 times in Japan and in the United Arab Emirates.  It was his win in the U.A.E. Derby that qualified him to “Run for the Roses.  In all 142 KY Derbys he is only the 2nd Japan based entry.  Ski Captain was the other Japan based horse.  He came in 14th in 1995 in the KY Derby with the same jockey as Lani has now, Take.

Destin has 3 wins and 1 show finish is his 5 starts.  Two of his 3 graded stakes races were part of the KY Derby prep series.  He was 4th in the LeComte, where Mo Tom won, and he was 1st in the the Tampa Bay Derby.  He is a pretty grey.

Whitmore will be have the winner of the past 2 KY Derbys on his back, Espinoza!  Espinoza won with California Chrome and again with American Pharoah.  Whitmore has 2 firsts, 2 seconds and 1 third place finish out of his 6 races.  4 of his races were KY Derby prep stakes.  He earned no points in the Delta Downs Jackpot where he finished 5th.  He was 2nd in both the Rebel Stakes and the Southwest Stakes. In the Arkansas Derby he finished 3rd.  He lost to Suddenbreakingnews in the Southwest but beat him in the Rebel.  Whitmore beat Creator in the Rebel too.

Exaggerator has had a whopping 9 starts in his lifetime. 5 of these races were for KY Derby points.  He was 1st in the Santa Anita Derby and the Delta Downs Jackpot.  He took second in the Breeders’ Futurity.  He was 3rd in the San Felipe Stakes and 4th in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.  He has beat out Whitmore in the Delta Down Jackpot.  Nyquist beat Exaggerator in the San Vicente Stakes.  Exaggerator’s sire Curlin was 3rd in the 2007 KY Derby.

Tom’s Ready has had 9 starts too.  He is a Pennsylvania bred horse. His dam sire, Broad Brush, was 3rd in the 1986 KY Derby.  He is owned by the same owner as Mo Tom.  He hasn’t won since he broke his maiden his 3rd time out.  He participated in 4 KY Derby preps.  He finished 8th in the KY Jockey Club.  He was 2nd in the LeComte and the Louisiana Derby and 7th in the Risen Star.  He finished behind Mo Tom in the KY Jockey Club and the Risen Star but bested him in the LeComte and the Louisiana Derby. Gun Runner has beat him in 3 prep races.  Tom’s Ready beat Destin in the LeComte.

Nyquist is the favorite to win and I have agreed with that for some time.  I have seen Nyquist on several occasions and written a great deal about him.  He is pictured at the top.  He is undefeated in seven races.  He drew lucky post 13 which is the post he won from in the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, where I first saw him.  Three of his races were in the KY Derby prep series, the FrontRunner Stakes, the BC Juvenile and the Florida Derby.  He has beaten Exaggerator in the San Vicente and Mohaymen in the FL Derby.

Mohaymen is another lovely grey sired by Tapit.  He has raced 6 times and was undefeated until his last race. Nyquist beat him in the Florida Derby where he can in a very unexpected 4th place.  His other 3 Derby preps were the Remsen Stakes, the Holly Bull Stakes and the Fountain of Youth Stakes where he dominated them all.

Outwork is a fine colt of Uncle Mo.  He has only 4 career starts.  He did 2 KY Derby preps.  He was 2nd in the Tampa Bay Derby and 1st in the Wood Memorial Stakes, when he beat Trojan Nation.  Outwork drew post 15, the post that American Pharoah won from last year!  Outwork’s dam sire, Empire Maker, was 2nd in the 2003 KY Derby.

Shagaf has the same trainer as My Man Sam and the same owner as Mohaymen.  Shagaf took on two KY Derby prep races in his slim 4 starts.  He won the Gotham Stakes but he scored no points in his 5th place finish in the Wood Memorial Stakes.  Trojan Nation beat him in his last race.

Mor Spirit is trained by Baffert, winner of last year’s KY Derby.  He has 3 1st place finishes and 4 2nd place races in his 7 starts.  5 of these were KY Derby prep races.  He was 2nd in the KY Jockey Club, San Felipe Stakes and Santa Anita Derby.  Mor Spirit was 1st in the Los Alamitos and Robert B. Lewis Stakes.  He has beaten Mo Tom, Tom’s Ready,Exaggerator and Gun Runner.

Majesto has raced 6 times.  It took 5 times out to break his maiden but then his next time out he was 2nd in the Florida Derby.  Nyquist beat him out that day but he still bested Mohaymen.

Brody’s Cause also has had 6 starts.  4 of them were on the road to the KY Derby.  He won the Breeders’ Futurity and the Blue Grass Stakes.  He was 3rd in the BC Juvenile and a sad 7th in the Tampa Bay Derby.  He has lost to Nyquist,  Outwork, Exaggerator and Destin.  He has beaten My Man Sam.

Danzing Candy has put in 5 races with 2 KY Derby preps.  He won the San Felipe Stakes but was 4th in the Santa Anita Derby.  He has lost to but also beaten both Exaggerator and Mor Spirit.

Finally, if there is a scratch by tomorrow morning there are 2 also eligibles and I will add an update if that happens.

KY Derby Fun Facts:

  • American Pharoah won last year
  • The record is held by Secretariat who finished in 1:59.40
  • The largest margin is 8 lengths held by 4 horses: Old Rosebud, Johnstown, Whirlaway and Assault
  • The song is My Old Kentucky Home
  • The Drink is the Mint Julep
  • The official flower is the red rose, thus “The Run for the Roses” and a garland of roses is draped on the winning horse
  • The purse is $2 million dollars
  • The trophy is 22 inches tall and gold on a jade base
  • May 17, 1875 was the inaugural race

I hope everyone has an opportunity to do something special for the Kentucky Derby.  I will be cheering for Nyquist as I could never get enough of watching him win.  Just as I mentioned with my KY Oaks story, you may want to bookmark Thoroughbred U for a quick reference for this information on race day.  Who is your Derby favorite?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Share This:
Facebooktwitter