Happy Thursday, everyone! Tomorrow is Friday (thankfully) and then we're off to what looks to be a great weekend, as far as horse racing goes! There was just one worker on Tuesday and seemingly none on Wednesday; Texas Bling worked three furlongs in 36 flat at Oaklawn in preparation for his start in the Arkansas Derby.
Let's meet the fields, shall we?
ARKANSAS DERBY FIELD
1. Carve (KY), R Santana Jr., 118, S M Asmussen, 20/1
2. War Academy (KY), M E Smith, 118, B Baffert, 2/1
3. Divine Ambition (KY), J Graham, 118, D Miller, 20/1
4. Falling Sky (PA), M Garcia, 122, J P Terranova II, 10/1
5. Den's Legacy (FL), R Albarado, 122, B Baffert, 6/1
6. Heaven's Runway (KY), I Ocampo, 122, J R Martin, 30/1
7. Texas Bling (TX), C H Borel, 122, D Durham, 20/1
8. Frac Daddy (KY), V Lebron, 118, K G McPeek, 15/1
9. Overanalyze (KY), R Bejarano, 122, T A Pletcher, 4/1
10. Oxbow (KY), G L Stevens, 122, D W Lukas, 5/2
War Academy is the slight favorite here. His allowance win last time out at Santa Anita was very impressive, running a great time in what looked to be an effortless performance. Smith and Baffert teamed up to win this race last year with Bodemeister, who went on to finish second in the Kentucky Derby three weeks later. His Giant's Causeway-A.P. Indy pedigree is near flawless for a mile and a quarter, and he looks better the farther he goes. I will be interested to see how this colt does in only his second stakes try.
Second favorite is Oxbow. You all know how much I love Oxbow. I was a little upset that he drew a bad post (again) but hopefully, with a new rider in the irons, he'll be classy enough to recover from it. After him in the odds comes Overanalyze. This colt was great at two, winning a couple of graded stakes, but lost a couple of steps in this year's Gotham, where he wound up fifth. I'm not overly confident of his taking a step forward; it looks like his better days are behind him. Of course, he could prove me wrong. Horses love to do that.
Rounding out the horses in the single-digit odds is Den's Legacy, the other Baffert horse. This poor colt, while talented, has has finished second or third in seven of his eleven starts. This year, he was second in the Sham and the Robert B. Lewis and third in the Rebel. He is a nice colt with a nice pedigree, but he seems to have difficulty getting into the winner's circle. All the other horses are double digits.
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BLUE GRASS STAKES ENTRIES
1. Dynamic Sky, J. Rosario, M E Casse, 10-1
2. My Name Is Michael, S. Bridgmohan, W I Mott, 15-1
3. Undrafted, C. Nakatani, W A Ward, 10-1
4. Java's War, J. Leparxou, K G McPeek, 4-1
5. Palace Malice, G. Gomez, T A Pletcher, 8-1
6. Channel Isle, J. Rocco, Jr., D W Lukas, 30-1
7. Uncaptured, M. Mena, M E Casse, 7-2
8. Charming Kitten, J. Bravo, T A Pletcher, 10-1
9.Tesseron, A. Garcia, J Carroll, 50-1
10. Footbridge, C.J. Lanerie, E G Harty, 20-1
11. Balance the Books, J. Castellano, C Brown, 15-1
12. West Hills Giant, J.L. Espinoza, J P Terranova II, 20-1
13. Rydilluc, E.S. Prado, G C Contessa, 4-1
14. Fear the Kitten, R. Napravnik, M J Maker, 30-1
AE. Divine Ambition, J. Graham, D Miller, 50-1
I am beyond excited for Uncaptured to get a second crack at being a three year-old here! He's a horse that I'm really high on that I'll probably discuss tomorrow in this blog. Last time out he was second in the Spiral to Black Onyx. Although he may not take kindly to the Keeneland surface, he certainly is proven on the Churchill Downs circuit, with two graded stakes wins at that track. A good placing here will put him solidly into Derby contention and once he's there, he'll do swimmingly.
Second-choice on the morning line is split between Java's War and Rydilluc. Java's War is a stakes-proven War Pass colt who finished second behind Verrazano in the Tampa Bay Derby in his last start. With his earlier turf form, he should love the polytrack. Rydilluc is also proven on the turf, as he won the Palm Beach Stakes in his last start. He is a consistent Medaglia D'oro colt with three wins in four starts. They are two deserving second-choices who need to do well in this race to earn a spot in the Derby starting gate.
Palice Malice is third choice at 8-1. A consistent colt, he desperately needs a good finish in this race to put him in the Kentucky Derby. Last time out, he was third in the Risen Star Stakes behind Ive Struck A Nerve and Code West. This bay colt is a son of Curlin, who finished second in the mile and a half Belmont Stakes, and out of a Royal Anthem mare. Royal Anthem was a Breeders' Cup Turf winner, so stamina shouldn't be a problem with this colt, nor should an all-weather surface. However, he needs to show more of a will to win if he wants to get to the finish line first against this company. All the other horses are double digits, although there is a smattering of them at 10-1.
These two races are extremely great ones. They should help clarify the Derby trail even more. By the end of Saturday, we should have a definitive look at the potential starting gate on May 4.
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