Thursday Night Notes

- I just watched The Works on TVG, and now, for some reason, there's poker!! Why would there possibly be poker on TVG now, especially when there's exciting action from Prairie Meadows and Evangeline!!

- Edgar Prado on Sun King's Blue Grass:

"The Blue Grass is definitely a throw-out....We had planned something, and it worked out the other way. Nothing went our way. You did not see the real Sun King that day, and hopefully we see him Saturday." [Bloodhorse]

I'm sure being 8 wide on the final turn wasn't part of that plan. That low fig in the Tampa Bay Derby is what makes me hesitate to excuse his Blue Grass. On the other hand, I've mentioned the two recent Derby winners who also finished 4th in that prep.

- Lauren Stitch in the Form hasn't given up on Andromeda's Hero and reiterates that after his last two races, he was like a wild horse, blowing by the winners as if they were standing still.

In a race loaded with speed, and with the added distance, it would be a mistake to dismiss a colt who looks, on paper, to be too slow

In his last two races, Andromeda's Hero did something you love to see in a horse trying a classic distance. On the pull-up immediately after the wire in both the Lane's End Stakes and Arkansas Derby, Andromeda's Hero was like a wild horse, blowing by the winners as if they were standing still. In a race loaded with speed, and with the added distance, it would be a mistake to dismiss a colt who looks, on paper, to be too slow.
.....
In addition to Andromeda's Hero and Bandini, the best-bred colts for 1 1/4 miles this year are Noble Causeway, Bellamy Road, Coin Silver, Don't Get Mad, and Wilko. [Daily Racing Form]

- I saw Seek a Star's impressive win in the G3 La Troienne at Churchill today. She's by the Seeking the Gold stallion Mutakddim, out of a half-sister to the popular and versatile stakes winner from the late 70s (Whitney, Carter), Star de Naskra. However, Mutakddim's Lady Tak, last year's G1 Ballerina winner, was beaten at 3-10 in her 5 yo debut in the third race on the card, checking in 3rd.