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| The Derby field in my picturesque purple Sharpie handwriting. |
The favorites, though, drew pretty well. Goldencents and Verrazano got beautiful gate spots, while Palace Malice, a live longshot, drew the most successful Derby post, #10. McGaughey wanted the morning-line favorite Orb a little more to the inside, but he'll be fine with #16.
Actually, Orb is who I want to discuss. The big race is tomorrow and he's the current favorite. I've been high on this horse for a long time now and am a little miffed that he's gotten so popular, but c'est la vie. Never too late to jump on the bandwagon of a good horse!
Let's talk pedigree. Orb is a Phipps homebred, which immediately inspires confidence in any hardened racing fan. The Phipps family has been successfully racing and breeding Thoroughbreds for generations, and Orb is one of the products of that carefully crafted lineage. The Phipps influence shines through in his beautiful pedigree, as we'll discuss soon.
Orb is the son of Malibu Moon. Although Malibu Moon is by A.P. Indy, he is not known for injecting as much stamina into his offspring as his famous sire. Nevertheless, he has done a terrific job in the breeding shed, siring many graded stakes winners, including Life at Ten, a filly who won a Grade 2 stakes at ten furlongs.
Maybe one of the reasons Malibu Moon has not been so successful at producing stamina is the fact that he is inbred to Nasrullah, whose progeny averaged a winning distance of just under nine furlongs, and Bold Ruler, the sire of Secretariat who was notorious - before Secretariat destroyed the Triple Crown - for siring speed. Malibu Moon never had the chance to show what he was made of on the track, as he fractured his knee shortly after his maiden win. Who knows? Maybe he wouldn't have had the ability to carry speed a distance.
But if there are question marks regarding Orb's top half, the bottom half of his pedigree inspires nothing but confidence in the colt's ability to go long. His broodmare sire is Unbridled, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic in 1990. Though there have been some issues regarding structural soundness through the influence of his son, Unbridled's Song, they don't seem to affect horses from the traditional Unbridled line.
Orb's female family is a strong Phipps female family. His first three dams are stakes winners, and his fourth, Laughter, was a half-sister to graded stakes winners Icecapade, Buckfinder and Ruffian, and the dam of graded winner and good sire Private Terms. As you follow the history of this family, you see it change hands from Keene to Whitney to Hancock to Phipps - all very important names in the history of horse racing. It is clear that Orb has the royal bloodlines to become a champion.
Not only is he bred to go the distance, he's been showing it in his performances as well. He has matured with every start. His Florida Derby, while seemingly slow, was one of the most powerful prep performances this year. The way he drew away from horses like Itsmyluckyday and Shanghai Bobby displayed his dominance over the second-string members of this crop.
With Joel Rosario in the irons, who's on fire at Churchill Downs lately, and Shug McGaughey, who knows how to train champions, Orb is head and shoulders above the rest of his peers, in my opinion. He is a deserving morning-line favorite and will get a lot of money throughout the day. I can't wait to see how he performs at the Derby.
In other news, I have a Twitter now! Follow me at @horseracewriter and keep up with my random rants and musings. Twitter has become a great medium for horse racing.
The Derby is tomorrow! Have a wonderful rest of your Oaks Friday and I hope you enjoy this exciting weekend.
Actually, Orb is who I want to discuss. The big race is tomorrow and he's the current favorite. I've been high on this horse for a long time now and am a little miffed that he's gotten so popular, but c'est la vie. Never too late to jump on the bandwagon of a good horse!
Let's talk pedigree. Orb is a Phipps homebred, which immediately inspires confidence in any hardened racing fan. The Phipps family has been successfully racing and breeding Thoroughbreds for generations, and Orb is one of the products of that carefully crafted lineage. The Phipps influence shines through in his beautiful pedigree, as we'll discuss soon.
Orb is the son of Malibu Moon. Although Malibu Moon is by A.P. Indy, he is not known for injecting as much stamina into his offspring as his famous sire. Nevertheless, he has done a terrific job in the breeding shed, siring many graded stakes winners, including Life at Ten, a filly who won a Grade 2 stakes at ten furlongs.
Maybe one of the reasons Malibu Moon has not been so successful at producing stamina is the fact that he is inbred to Nasrullah, whose progeny averaged a winning distance of just under nine furlongs, and Bold Ruler, the sire of Secretariat who was notorious - before Secretariat destroyed the Triple Crown - for siring speed. Malibu Moon never had the chance to show what he was made of on the track, as he fractured his knee shortly after his maiden win. Who knows? Maybe he wouldn't have had the ability to carry speed a distance.
But if there are question marks regarding Orb's top half, the bottom half of his pedigree inspires nothing but confidence in the colt's ability to go long. His broodmare sire is Unbridled, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic in 1990. Though there have been some issues regarding structural soundness through the influence of his son, Unbridled's Song, they don't seem to affect horses from the traditional Unbridled line.
Orb's female family is a strong Phipps female family. His first three dams are stakes winners, and his fourth, Laughter, was a half-sister to graded stakes winners Icecapade, Buckfinder and Ruffian, and the dam of graded winner and good sire Private Terms. As you follow the history of this family, you see it change hands from Keene to Whitney to Hancock to Phipps - all very important names in the history of horse racing. It is clear that Orb has the royal bloodlines to become a champion.
Not only is he bred to go the distance, he's been showing it in his performances as well. He has matured with every start. His Florida Derby, while seemingly slow, was one of the most powerful prep performances this year. The way he drew away from horses like Itsmyluckyday and Shanghai Bobby displayed his dominance over the second-string members of this crop.
With Joel Rosario in the irons, who's on fire at Churchill Downs lately, and Shug McGaughey, who knows how to train champions, Orb is head and shoulders above the rest of his peers, in my opinion. He is a deserving morning-line favorite and will get a lot of money throughout the day. I can't wait to see how he performs at the Derby.
In other news, I have a Twitter now! Follow me at @horseracewriter and keep up with my random rants and musings. Twitter has become a great medium for horse racing.
The Derby is tomorrow! Have a wonderful rest of your Oaks Friday and I hope you enjoy this exciting weekend.
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