Tag: Uncle Lino

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Preview Pimlico’s Preakness

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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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lucky 13

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I am on pins and needles about all of the fun things going on this weekend.  I am a marshal in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade this Saturday!  It is March Madness time and I love the Kentucky Wildcats, go Big Blue Nation!  Finally, we have 2 of the 13 remaining Kentucky Derby prep races this Saturday too!

On March 12, 2016 we have the Tampa Bay Derby and the San Felipe Stakes.  We can watch some of our favorites and plenty of our less well known 3 year olds battle it out for KY Derby points to become one of the 20 contenders.  Each of these races will reward 50 points to the winner, 20 points for 2nd place, 10 points for third place and 5 points for the 4th place finisher.  Currently, Mohaymen is at the top of the leaderboard with 70 points followed by Gun Runner with 51 points and Shagaf with 50 points.  That being said, the winner of these races will take a nice jump near the top of the leaderboard.

The 36th Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, Grade II,  will be held at Tampa Bay Downs in Florida, race 11,  at 5:24 P.M EST on 3/12/16.  The purse is $350,000 and the race is 8 and 1/2 furlongs on the dirt.  This race was inaugurated in 1981.  Last year’s winner, Carpe Diem, was my 2015 KY Derby pick.  However, he ran 10th and American Pharoah kept on winning!  In 2007 Street Sense won both the Tampa Bay and Kentucky Derbys.  Street Sense still holds the speed record for the Tampa Bay Derby.  This year, the Tampa Bay Derby has 10 horses in competition.  Riker and Brody’s Cause competed against each other before, as seen in the photo above, in the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 2015.  Currently, Destin has 1 point on the leaderboard.  Riker has 10 points and Brody’s Cause has 14.  The full field, by post position, followed by jockey and trainer, is as follows:

  1. Morning Fire – Daniel Centeno – Keith Nations
  2. Rafting – Edgar Prado – H. Graham Motion
  3. Outwork – John Velazquez – Todd Pletcher
  4. Economic Model – Irad Ortiz,Jr, – Chad Brown
  5. Star Hill – Julien Leparoux – George Arnold, II
  6. Riker – Florent Geroux – Mark Casse
  7. Destin – Javier Catellano – Todd Pletcher
  8. Brody’s Cause – Corey Lanerie – Dale Romans
  9. Tale Of S’avall – Joe Bravo – Barclay Tagg
  10. Awesome Banner – Antonio Gallardo – Stanley Gold

As a side note, tune in earlier, at 3:54 P.M. to see Silver Magnolia in the Florida Oaks, race 8 and at 4:54 P.M. to watch Tepin in race 10, the Hillsborough Stakes, both at Tampa Bay.  Neither are  KY Derby prep races but Silver Magnolia won by 8 and 1/2 lengths in her last race at Tampa Bay.  While, Tepin is 5 years old and she is awesome.  She has won multiple graded stakes including the Breeder’ Cup Mile.  I really enjoy watching her.  The entire race card at Tampa Bay on Saturday should be fun.  It will be the biggest day of racing ever at that track.  Saturday is Festival Day at Tampa Bay with a total purse of $760,000.

Switch over to the West coast for the next KY Derby prep race at 6 P.M EST.  Watch the San Felipe Stakes, Grade II,  at Santa Anita in California, part of Big ‘Cap Day!  This is the 7th race on the card for Santa Anita on 3/12/16.  The purse is $400,000.  This 8 and 1/2  furlong race on dirt has 7 horses entered.  The San Felipe was inaugurated in 1935.  Consolidator owns this race’s speed record, established in 2005.  Dortmund won the San Felipe stakes in 2015 and then showed third in the KY Derby.  In 2014 California Chrome won both the San Felipe and the KY Derby!  Right now, I Will Score has 2 points towards the KY Derby.  Uncle Lino has 4 points, Exaggerator has 16 points and Mor Spirit already holds 24 points.  Exaggerator was in the pack photographed above as well.  I focused on Exaggerator and Mor Spirit in my last story, seen here:

A Pinch Of Luck

There are some strong contenders in the San Felipe Stakes field, listed here:

  1. Uncle Lino – Fernando Hernandez Perez – Gary Sherlock
  2. Danzing Candy Mike Smith – Clifford W. Sise, Jr.
  3. Mor Spirit -Gary L. Stevens – Bob Baffert
  4. Cupid – Martin Garcia – Bob Baffert
  5. I Will Score -Rafael Bejarano – Jerry Hollendorfer
  6. Smokey Image – Victor Espinoza – Carla Gaines
  7. Exaggerator – Kent J. Desormeaux – J. Keith Desormeaux

I am thrilled to see how these last lucky 13 KY Derby prep races resolve.  I hope you all have a great weekend at the races.  If you are lucky enough to see these races live, tell us about it.  I would love for you to share your stories.  Please, follow and like my pages on Facebook and Twitter.  Thank you in advance!

Update: Cupid has scratched.

 

 

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