Anyway, the day of racing is now over. I have time to look over what all happened today, as there was a lot going on.
First of all, as all racing fans know, Dubai had its hands full with its World Cup Day, which turned out to be a very good day indeed. Let me take a moment to gush about St. Nicholas Abbey and Animal Kingdom, two of my favorite horses. I'm so glad they came through with wins today! (Really eased my soreness of seeing Trinniberg fade in the stretch of the Golden Shaheen.)
I'll tell you all about this prep-filled day after the jump!
Anyway, the 3rd race on the card was the UAE Derby, Meydan's premiere race for three year-olds. After Soft Falling Rain's domination of the Godolphin Mile - that colt being a three year-old who decided to bypass the Derby in favor of shorter distances - I didn't know what I could expect in this race.
(By the way, throughout this blog, most, if not all, of the replays shown here will be linked to the video posted on YouTube by the wonderful Partymanners2. I can't thank their channel enough for helping to catch me up on what went down over the weekend, especially when I'm busy.)
So for the second year in a row, Aiden O'Brian wins the UAE Derby. All the stories say that the colt, Lines of Battle, is a go for the Derby. Well, why not go? I mean, he has enough points now to qualify him for the first Saturday in May. Let's look back at history, though. How well have UAE Derby winners fared in Kentucky Derbies past? Not so good. I'm not sure if it's the surface change (doubtful), the different atmosphere (possible) or the tiring ship from Dubai (Dubai curse?) that really does them in, but for some reason, horses coming from the UAE Derby do not do well in Kentucky.
Lines of Battle. He has a very interesting pedigree. At first glance, you see War Front and have to resist cringing at the thought of ten furlongs. His top half has Rubiano and Fappiano...good horses in their own right, but not exactly the first horses that come to mind when you think of a classic distance. But glance down to his maternal side. His dam, Black Speck, is an Arch half-sister to the iron horse Dynaformer, whose offspring have never shown any lack of stamina. Other horses adding distance in that part of his family include Roberto, Princequillo, Alydar...etc. So like many other champions, we see this dichotomy of a speedy sireline and a stamina-laden female family.
But what about him as a racehorse? This is the first time the colt has gone nine furlongs. To be honest - and this could just be me - I was not impressed by what I saw. The colt was all over the place in the stretch; he looked drunk. To me, he's either a) still green, which is a fixable problem but one that needs to be remedied soon if O'Brian doesn't want his colt to take out half the field in the Derby, or b) tired from the distance and/or track, which makes me question his ability to get the extra furlong. Now, the track at Meydan was very deep. However, so is the one at Churchill. There are too many question marks with this colt for me. He will be another enigma going into the run for the roses.
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Meanwhile, in Louisiana, Fair Grounds held their own major prep race for the Derby. It went off without a hitch:
As expected, the WinStar/Pletcher favorite wins the race. After a beautiful run in the Withers Stakes in February, he was carried extremely wide around the turn and ended up gutting out the victory today by about a neck over Mylute in second. Pletcher has a lot of nice prospects for the Derby this year, including popular favorite Verrazano, but this horse, I believe, is one to keep an eye on.
I mean, come on! He might as well have stopped at the outer rail to snatch a bite of hay before running down the wall of horses beside him. He was that far out. What really impressed me, however, was when Mylute literally headed him and Revolutionary fought right back to finish first. That kind of grit is the stuff that wins Kentucky Derbies. Too often we see horses who flash to ten length victories in easy, empty preps before getting overwhelmed in a 20 horse Derby field. This courage was not limited to today. Revolutionary's win in the Withers was nothing short of incredible, as he came from last to first, squeezing through traffic trouble to nail the runner-up on the line. Can you say, "Wow!"? I know I can.
And what about Mylute? That was a gutsy run from him. He was carried just as wide as Revolutionary going into the stretch and, at one point, I thought he would collar the favorite, who had just too much heart to give up. The gray son of Midnight Lute now sits 11th on the points list. With a quick glance at his pedigree, my mind is not at ease. The only serious source of stamina I see there is Alydar on his dam's side. He is inbred to Raise a Native and In Reality. I think he could be a dangerous horse at shorter distances; I don't think ten furlongs is quite right for him.
Revolutionary is one of those horses who I regret not putting on my Road to the Roses roster. I had my doubts about him, but he proved me wrong today. It will be exciting to watch the Pletcher/WinStar team attempt to chase down another Derby win, as they did with Super Saver in 2010.
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Finally, we come to the last Derby prep race of the day - the Florida Derby. Or, if you will, the Besilu Stables Florida Derby (G1). Whatever floats your boat. (In my opinion, these corporate names are getting too long and too wordy. The Kentucky Derby Sponsored by Yum! Brands? Gag me.) Anyway, enough of my diatribe...
(There is no video; Partymanners2 is not streaming any of Gulfstream's replays. You can find the replay for the Florida Derby on the official Kentucky Derby website; just go to "schedule," click on "Florida Derby" and the replay should be below the prices.)
Let me get this out in the open - I LOVE ORB. In fact, Orb is probably the horse I will be gushing about for the next five weeks. I've loved the colt ever since his debut. How can you go wrong? The Janneys and Phipps are top-notch owners, remainders of the familial racing dynasties of the past. Shug McGaughey has always been one of my favorite trainers. And come on, those silks. How can those silks not stir up wonderful memories of racing history - Ruffian, Buckpasser, etc.?
So when I saw the headline that Orb had won the Florida Derby, I shrieked out loud. Then I watched the replay. What a horse! I tell you what, the way he motored home...this horse will have no trouble with ten furlongs. In fact, I think he'll get better and better as the distances get longer. And yes, while his pedigree suggests that nine furlongs may be his peak, I believe that he will outrun his pedigree. After all, Malibu Moon has sired Grade 1 winners at ten furlongs. No problem. I am over the moon with this horse and cannot wait to see what he brings to the table in five weeks' time.
What of the others? It was not a good race for juvenile champion Shanghai Bobby, and now, unless he runs well in some other prep race soon, he won't be in the Derby starting gate. Maybe that's for the better... Itsmyluckyday has never been a favorite of mine either. Good for him and his connections that he ran so well here; I don't think he'll get the Derby distance comfortably. Seeing how Orb blew past him really cemented my opinions of both horses.
Here's how the starting gate looks thus far (though it is still early):
Top 20 by Points
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1) Orb
2) Revolutionary
3) Lines of Battle
4) Will Take Charge
5) Itsmyluckyday
6) Vyjack
7) Govenor Charlie
8) Black Onyx
9) Verrazano
10) Hear the Ghost
11) Mylute
12) Oxbow
13) Uncaptured
14) Flashback
15) Goldencents
16) Shanghai Bobby
17) Java's War
18) Merit Man
19) Den's Legacy
20) Falling Sky
On the outside looking in... (Bubble horses)
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21) Departing
22) Code West
23) West Hills Giant
24) Golden Soul
25) Dynamic Sky
So next Saturday, we have the Santa Anita Derby and the Wood Memorial. When entries come out on Wednesday, you can be sure that there will be a post on here breaking down the field! All throughout this week, I will be keeping you up to date on works and news as well as discussing the horses I've picked for my fantasy stable as well as horses I left off that list that could be dangerous.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed today's day of racing as much as I did.
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