Tag: Lani

Posted on

Meydan March Madness

California Chrome, winner of the 2016 Dubai World Cup
Share This:
Facebooktwitter

Wake up sleepy heads!  It is well worth being an early riser today.  The Dubai World Cup (DWC) card starts at 7:45 A.M. EST on Saturday, 3/25/17!  California Chrome represented the United States well last year when he romped in the DWC.  Will Arrogate win for America in this year’s race?  Which Thoroughbred will pick up 100 points on the road to the Kentucky Derby in the UAE Derby?  The “richest day in racing” carries $30 million dollars in prize money and features 9 Group 1 and 2 races.  This day of racing is every bit as delightful for me as my love for the University of Kentucky Wildcats is at NCAA tournament time.  In Meydan today, we have March Madness!

 

Continue reading “Meydan March Madness”

Share This:
Facebooktwitter
Posted on

Greetings from Gainesway

Share This:
Facebooktwitter

IMG_5575

It is my first day of vacation and I started it out on the right hoof foot!  Earlier in the week I logged on to Horse Country and booked a tour to Gainesway Farm.  This is the home of many Thoroughbreds including Tapit, seen above!

image(259)

The tour started in the office before 12:30 pm.  Marilyn Brashear, the receptionist, and two sweet dogs offered a warm welcome as we collected in the seating area.  We were surrounded by lovely equine art and many framed cover shots from Bloodhorse magazine.  Ian Tapp, with Sales and Bloodstock Development, fetched us and led us onto the beautifully maintained grounds.  He explained that the area had once belonged to the Shawnee Indians.  Several generations of horseman have owned the land, Ben Ali Haggin, C.V. Whitney, John Hay Whitney, John R. Gaines, Graham Beck and Antony Beck.  The farm has rolling hills and plenty of bluegrass, clover and rye making it a great place for Thoroughbreds to thrive.

image(260)

During the 1980s, the eight stone barns, a few seen above, housed as many as 52 stallions.  Now they have eight available sires living on the farm.  These lucky sires are Afleet Alex, Afleet Express, Birdstone, Empire Maker, Hat Trick, Karakontie, Tapit and Tapizar.  The stalls are clean and well ventilated to keep a comfortable environment for their tenants year round.

image(261)

Entering barn three, I met Afleet Alex.  When he raced he won the 2nd and third legs of the Triple Crown after a third place finish in the 2005 Kentucky Derby.  He won an Eclipse Award that same year.  His progeny include Texas Red, Materiality, Afleet Express and many more.

image(262)

Next, I had the pleasure of viewing Birdstone.  He was a Belmont Stakes winner in 2004.  Swipe, Mine That Bird and Summer Bird are some of his well know offspring.

image(263)

Then, Empire Maker made an appearance.  The name is so appropriate.  The empire he produced includes Bodemeister and Pioneer of the Nile.  The later is the sire of the only Grand Slam winner, American Pharoah.  When Empire Maker was racing he was 2nd in the Kentucky Derby and he won the Belmont Stakes.

image(264)

With much built up anticipation, Tapit finally hoofed it on over.  He is the beloved sire of Juba, Twitter’s favorite horse!  Tapit is stunning, as he looks snow white.  He is the leading sire for 2014 and 2015.  He is well on his way to the 2016 title as well.  He sired the adorable, Lani.  Some of his other crops include Creator, Frosted, Tapizar, Tonalist, Untapable, Mohaymen, Cupid and many more.

image(266)

Our next stop was the breading shed.  As MTV Cribs would have put it, “this is where the magic happens”.  Tapp went into a lot more in depth information on that subject.  I admit, it is quite the process and it was educational.  We learned about resident teasing stallion, Bud.  He has an important job to do up to three times per day during the busiest of seasons.

image(265)

As the tour was about to wrap we walked thru the barn that houses Afleet Express and To Honor and Serve.  Afleet Express is a multiple graded stakes winner including both the Pegasus Stakes and the Travers Stakes in 2010.   He began his stud career in 2011.  His graded stakes winning filly Diva Express frequents Churchill Downs.

To Honor and Serve won the Cigar Mile in 2011 and the Woodward Stakes in 2012 as well as a few more multiple graded stakes.  He came to Gainesway in 2013 and his crop produced some pricey Thoroughbreds at the sales.

image(267)

The Gainesway tour was wonderful.  I would love to see their mares, weanlings and yearlings too.  It was such a neat experience to view these champion sires up-close.  If you find yourself in Lexington, KY, I recommend checking the place out yourself.  Enjoy my photos and check back soon for my next Thoroughbred story.

 

Share This:
Facebooktwitter
Posted on

Breakdown for the Belmont

Share This:
Facebooktwitter

IMG_5226

One more day to go to reach the crowning jewel!  Tomorrow, Saturday, 6/11/16, is the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes.  It is the third leg of the Triple Crown of U.S. Thoroughbred  racing.  The “Test of the Champion”  will post at 6:32 P.M. EST at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

A lucky 13 horses will compete.  Only 4 of these contenders did not run in at least one of the prior legs of the Triple Crown.  The field is as follows, by post/horse/jockey/trainer/ owner:

  1. Governor Malibu/Joel Rosario/Christopher Clement/Jump Sucker Stable and Oak Bluff Stable
  2. Destin/Javier Castellano/Todd Pletcher/Twin Creeks Racing Stabel and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners
  3. Cherry Wine/Corey Lanerie/Dale Romans/William Pacella, Frank L. Jones, Jr. and Frank Shoop
  4. Suddenbreakingnews/Mike Smith/Donnie Von Hemel/Samuel F. Henderson
  5. Stadivari/John Velazquez/Todd Pletcher/John Gunther, Michael Tabor, Susan Magnier, Derrick Smith
  6. Gettysburg/Paco Lopez/Steve Asmussen/WinStar Farm
  7. Seeking the Soul/Florent Geroux/Dallas Stewart/Charles Fipke
  8. Forever d’ Oro/Jose Ortiz/Dallas Stewart/Charles Fipke
  9. Trojan Nation/Aaron Gryder/Patrick Gallagher/Julie Gilbert and Dr. Aaron Sones
  10. Lani/Yutaka Take/Matsunaga Mikio/Koji Maeda
  11. Exaggerator/Kent Desormeaux/Keith Desormeaux/Big Chief Racing, Head of Plains Partners/ Rocker O Ranch
  12. Brody’s Cause/Luis Saez/Dale Romans/Albaugh Family Stable
  13. Creator/Irad Ortiz, Jr./Steve Asmussen/WinStar Farm

Notice that there are a lot of repeats on trainers and owners.  If the horse’s last race out was the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness Stakes, check my old stories to limit repetition.

Derby Deciphered

Preview Pimlico’s Preakness

Governor Malibu did not run the KY Derby or the Preakness.  He is a New York bred horse so he is right at home.  He has raced at Belmont 3 times of 7 starts in his career.  He won twice, placed on 4 occasions and showed once as well.  It took him 4 races to break his maiden.  Most recently he finished 2nd in the Grade II Peter Pan Stakes.

Destin finished 6th in the KY Derby.  He will likely position himself near the lead.

Cherry Wine was second in the Preakness Stakes.

Suddenbreakingnews came in 5th in the KY Derby.

Stradivari was the 4th horse to finish in the Preakness.  He is know to run in the lead.  Post position 5 is where American Pharoah broke from last year to win.

Gettysburg has had 7 starts.  He has one win, one 2nd place and 1 third place finish in his career.  His sire is Pioneer of the Nile who sired last year’s Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah.  Gettysburg is grey and he finished 5th in both the Sam F. Davis Stakes and the Arkansas Derby.  In his last race he was 3rd at Belmont.  He is a front runner.  He has a fun Twitter personality.

Seeking the Soul has only raced 3 times, breaking his maiden in his last race at Churchill Downs. At the same track, he placed 5th in his prior race on KY Derby day.

Forever d’ Oro is sired by Medaglia d’ Oro who was 2nd in the 2002 Belmont Stakes.  The winner of the 2002 Belmont is pictured above in my #Flashback Friday photo.  That is Sarava!  I met Sarava last summer at Old Friend’s Farm In Georgetown, KY.  Forever d’ Oro’s maternal grandsire was Lemon Drop Kid who won the Belmont Stakes in 1999.  Forever d’ Oro has a nice family history but jut like Seeking the Soul he has only raced 3 times.  He also broke his maiden in the last race, however it was at Belmont Park.  He got his start at my home track, Keeneland!

Trojan Nation was 16th in the KY Derby.

Lani is my favorite Twitter character  in the race.  He has a nice following of fun stories, memes and videos.  He was 9th in the KY Derby and 5th in the Preakness.  He is the 1st Japanese horse to go for all three legs of the Triple Crown.

Exaggerator is the favorite.  He was 2nd in the KY Derby and he won the Preakness Stakes.

Brody’s Cause was 7th in the KY Derby.

Creator finished lucky 13 in the KY Derby.  He takes post position 13 which has never had a Belmont Stakes winner.

Belmont Stakes Fun Facts:

  • The purse is $1.5 million dollars
  • The drink is  The Belmont Jewel
  • The flower is the white carnation, thus “The Run for the Carnations” with a blanket of 700 carnations
  • The race is 1 and 1/2 miles (12 furlongs) on dirt
  • The song is “New York, New York”
  • The trophy is the August Belmont Memorial Cup by Tiffany and Co.
  • 5 other Grade 1 stakes are on Saturday’s Belmont card
  • NBC Sports Network will televise the event from 3 to 5 P.M. EST and 7 to 7:30 P.M. EST  while NBC will cover the live race from 5 to 7 P.M. EST

Unfortunately, this isn’t the year for a Triple Crown winner but it is still going to be a great day for racing.  Have a super weekend everyone.  I’ll find something new to bring you next week!

Share This:
Facebooktwitter
Posted on

Preview Pimlico’s Preakness

Share This:
Facebooktwitter

image(254)

The 141st running of the Grade I Preakness Stakes will take place this Saturday, 5/21/16.  I will be betting on Nyquist (update: that is him pictured above), our latest Kentucky Derby winner!  He was just announced as the morning line favorite with 3/5 morning-line odds immediately following the post position draw.  Here is the full field:

Post Position: Horse/Jockey/Trainer/Owner/M-L Odds

  1. Cherry Wine/Corey Lanerie/Dale Romans/William Pacella and Frank L. Jones, Jr./20-1
  2. Uncle Lino/Fernando Hernandez Perez/Gary Sherlock/Tom Mansor, Purple Shamrock Racing and Gary Sherlock/20-1
  3. Nyquist/Mario Gutierrez/Doug O’Neill/Reddham Racing/3/5
  4. Awesome Speed/Jevian Toledo/Alan Golberg/Colts Neck Stables/30-1
  5. Exaggerator/Kent Desormeaux/Keith Dersormeaux/Big Cheif Racing, Head of Plains Parteners, Rocker O Ranch, et al./3-1
  6. Lani/Yutaka Take/Mikio Matsunaga/Yoko Maeda/30-1
  7. Collected/Javier Castellano/Bob Baffert/Speedway Stable/10-1
  8. Laoban/Florent Geroux/Eric Guillot/McCormick Racing and Southern Equine Stable/30-1
  9. Abiding Star/J.D. Acosta/Edward Allard/Stonehinge, LLC/30-1
  10. Fellowship/Jose Lezcanno/Mark Casse/Jacks or Better Farm/30-1
  11. Stradivari/John Velazquez/Todd Pletcher/John Gunther, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and John Magnier/8-1

While the Preakness Stakes is eligible to 14 Thoroughbreds only these 11 will be participating.  That is 3 more than last year’s small field when American Pharoah became the 14th horse to take the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.  He went on to win at the Belmont Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Classic to become our 12th Triple Crown winner and our first Grand Slam winner.  The competition is tough to see if Nyquist can follow in those horseshoes.

Cherry Wine was an “also eligible” as the 22nd horse in a 20 post position race for the Kentucky Derby but he did not get his chance that day.  He is a lovely grey late bloomer.  It took him 5 starts to break his maiden.  His last 2 of 8 career races were graded stakes.  He finished 4th in the Rebel Stakes and then 3rd in the Blue Grass Stakes.  In all he has 2 wins, 1 place and has come in third twice.  American Pharoah won from post position 1 in last year’s Preakness.

Uncle Lino wasn’t in the Kentucky Derby.  His last race out was the California Chrome Stakes.  He finished 1st place with his only win since he broke his maiden his second start.  Out of his 7 races he has been twice at each 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.  He has has finished in the top four of all three of his graded stakes, Robert B. Lewis, San Felipe and Santa Anita Derby.  His sire is Uncle Mo, making him a half brother to Nyquist and Laoban and Abiding Star.

Nyquist is the favorite and I have written about him a few times if you want a more complete history on him check on my webpage, ThoroughbredU.com.  He is undefeated in 8 starts and he wants to keep that title.  He just won the KY Derby by 1 and 1/4 lengths on 5/7/16.  California Chrome won the Preakness from post position 3 in 2014.  Secretariat liked this post in 1973.

Awesome Speed has finished 1st in 4 of his 6 career starts however, he was 4th in his only graded stakes race, the Fountain of Youth.  His connections have noted that he has bumped around a lot in his last couple of races.  He is a pacemaker in his running style.

Exaggerator ran an exciting late sprint to earn 2nd to Nyquist in the KY Derby.  He is 1 of only 3 horses from that race to step up to the Preakness challenge.  His sire, Curlin, won the 2007 Preakness.  To read more about Exaggerator, look back to my KY derby story.

Lani is the final horse to return from this past KY Derby.  This lovely grey son of Tapit finished 9th in the KY Derby.  Lani is described in more detail in my former KY Derby story.  His dam sire, Sunday Silence, won the Preakness in 1989.

Collected is trained by Bob Baffert.  Baffert has won the Preakness with Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Point Given, War Emblem, Lookin At Lucky and American Pharoah.  In 6 career starts, Collected has 4 wins and a finish in 2nd place as well.  He has won 2 of his 4 graded stakes races.  These were the Cecile B. DeMille, Sham, Southwest and Lexington Stakes.

Laoban was the other “also eligible” that missed the KY Derby by a post.  One of the 4 sired by Uncle Mo he is a front runner but also he has never won a race!  Despite that, his connections have raced him 5 times and 3 of those where graded stakes, the Sham, Gotham and Blue Grass Stakes.

Abiding Star is the 4th and final horse sired by Uncle Mo in this race.  He has had an amazing 11 career starts in which he has won 5 times and finished at 2nd and 3rd place each once.  It took him 7 times to break his maiden.  He has never ran in a graded stakes race, however he is on a five race winning streak.

Fellowship is trained by Mark Casse.  He is the trainer of one of my favorite Thoroughbreds, Tepin.  Fellowship has had a total of 12 starts.  He has finished 1st two times and 2nd and 3rd three times each.  He raced at Churchill Downs on KY Derby day in the Pat Day Mile where he finished fourth.  That race was his fourth graded stakes race.  He is of the Secretariat lineage.

Stradivari is the final horse in the Preakness.  He has only been in 3 races.  He won the last two.  These were not stakes races.  To my personal surprise, his trainer Todd Pletcher, despite all his fame, has never won the Preakness.  Pletcher was 3rd in 2000 with Impeachment.

Preakness Fun Facts:

  • the food of the day, crabcakes
  • the flower, Black-Eyed Susans
  • the blanket is actually made of Viking Poms
  • the race is “The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans”
  • the song, “Maryland, My Maryland”
  • the trophy, a silver replica of the 1860 Woodlawn Vase
  • the track record, 1:55 set by Secretariat
  • the drink is also the Black-Eyed Susan
  • post time is 6:45 PM EST
  • NBCSN will televise starting at 2:30 PM EST
  • NBC will televise starting at 6:30 PM EST
  • Pimlico starts racing at 10:30 AM EST that day and the Preakness is the 13th race
  • the race is 1 and 3/16 miles or 9.5 furlongs on the dirt
  • the race is for 3YO Thoroughbreds

I hope everyone finds this info useful and helpful for their Preakness Stakes planning.  Check back after the race for another blog post.  Go, Nyquist, go!  Let’s wish the rain holds off this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share This:
Facebooktwitter
Posted on

Derby Deciphered

Share This:
Facebooktwitter

image(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