- No, your eyes are not deceiving you. That was Highland Cat, our very own Highland Cat, who this morning worked a half in :47.81, the fastest of 11 at the distance over the Belmont training track. Even in the heady days of August in Saratoga with the encouraging words from the trainer and still intact the promise of a horse who'd yet to make his first start, he never flashed all that much speed in his workouts. This prompted me to ask: Are you sure they timed the right horse??? Well, as we've seen, maybe not. Another partner quipped: Downhill and WITH the WIND??? The suddenly fleet gelding is still on target for a 60K claimer at the Big A on Sunday.
- Dan Hendricks is almost there with Brother Derek, now the undisputed favorite for the Kentucky Derby. One more prep, the April 8 Santa Anita Derby, and it’s on to the Land of YUM! "He'll go back to the track (today) and breeze eight days from now," the trainer said yesterday. "He could go a half-mile." [NY Daily News] And a fine Derby favorite he would be, with the heartwarming story of his trainer soldiering on, undaunted by the motorcycle accident that paralyzed him from the waist down; certainly much better so than Bluegrass Cat, with his uncharismatic superstar conditioner. I’m officially opposed to Bluegrass Cat; my new motto is Anybody But Bluegrass Cat (ABBC). The horse is boring too. If Pletcher has to win, let it at least be with the dynamic Keyed Entry (who worked a bullet, of 38, five furlongs in 59 flat yesterday).
Of course, all of us know that a son of Benchmark isn’t winning the Derby, so the Anyone But will have to be someone other than Brother Derek. Cause to Believe (Maria’s Mon) impressed with his last-to-first win at Golden Gate on Saturday, and Russell Baze said: "There's more horse than he showed today." [NY Post] He's slated for the Illinois Derby as his final prep.
- David Hofmans may send Balance directly to the Kentucky Oaks without another prep. "We'll let her tell us…..She was so full of herself today. We might have to run her before [the Oaks].” [LA Times] Jockey Victor Espinoza explained the wide trip:
"I knew she was wide down the backstretch…..but she was doing it so comfortably. I would much rather lose ground with her than maybe get her upset weaving in and out of traffic. She's such an awesome filly, it really doesn't make a difference (losing ground)." [Whittier Daily News]- Barbaro worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 at Palm Meadows this morning (2/30)
5 Comments:
...i don't get it, Alan...what's wrong with being a son of Benchmark?...and what's wrong with Benchmark himself?...he was a damn fine racehorse in his own right...is there something wrong with being a Cal-bred?...is that it?...it didn't seem to bother Tiznow any...he did beat Giant's Causeway at ten furlongs (in a pretty big race, if i remember), and that one is all the rage with the breeding gurus nowadays...you're beginning to sound like Lauren Stich (God Forbid), who thinks every race is run in the breeding shed...i'm pretty sure races are run on the racetrack, and Brother Derek looks downright powerful on the racetrack...i don't think his lineage is an issue, and on top of that, i don't think there's anything wrong with his lineage to begin with...besides, i once heard that Holy Bull was bred to be a claiming-level sprinter...that pretty much tells you all you need to know...i mean, if you wanna say a son of Phone Trick isn't gonna win the Derby, then yeah, maybe there's something to that...but Benchmark?...i don't see a problem there...
...ps...i could be wrong, but didn't Phone Trick sire Mazel Trick?...take a look at THAT one's race record...
...i just looked up Mazel Trick myself...yep, he was a Phone Trick, out of a MEXICAN-bred mare...all he did was set the 7-furlong track record @ Hollywood Park (1:19 and change), then came right back and won the 1 1/16 San Diego Handicap by 6 lengths in 1:40 and change, receiving back-to-back Beyers of 118...if i remember correctly, he was gonna be a HUGE favorite in the 1 1/4 mile Pacific Classic, but suffered some kind of injury ledaing up to the race and was retired...i also remember Frankel referring to Mazel Trick as "the best horse he's ever trained"...pretty heady stuff coming from Frankel...not bad for the son of a Mexican-bred mare, wouldn't you say?...another horse with world-class talent (though not going long), was Afternoon Deelites...he was one of the best horses i've ever seen, period...and he was a West Virginia-bred...you just never know where a good horse is gonna come from, or who he's gonna be sired by...if you can run, you can run...and if you can't, you can't...that's about all there is to it, i think...
...Ah, I'm just joshing about Benchmark; I really don't know enough about him as a sire to have an opinion one way or another, and don't recall much about him as a racehorse. But after picking the Derby favorite last year, being cocky about it no less, and being completely wrong about the race, I don't see myself going anywhere near any of the favorites this year, and I'm just having some fun. I think he's a legit favorite at this point; now let's see if he can get by whichever of Baffert's team that makes it to the SA Derby.
...sorry bout that...i get a little riled up when people question Benchmark (i've seen it in more than a few articles already, by people who probably never saw him run)...as for favorites falling on their face in the Derby, yeah, it happens all the time...but i don't think that means the horse came up lacking in some area, just because he lost...look at Afleet Alex...how did Giacomo and Closing Argument finish in front of him last year?...and how did Point Given lose?...he looked damn near unstoppable coming off his Santa Anita Derby win...how did Holy Bull lose, when he was probably the best horse to run in the Derby in the last 15 years?...it's the race ITSELF, not the horses in question...new surface, new distance, 20 animals in the gate, half of whom are probably spooked because of the 100,000 people screaming their lungs out...i really think the race is a total crapshoot...sure, some horses have a lot better chance than others...but it's a damn hard race to win, due to circumstances beyond the horse's control...
Yeah, I take this view as well that the Derby "is a total crapshoot." Well, not completely, but at least the standard deviation of a horses output on that day is considerably higher because of all the special circumstances you mention, not to forget that they are still THREE YEAR OLDS. That's why I always take a price. Last year I had Closing Arguement. I had Charasmatic in 1999. I had Invisible Ink & Monarchos for my biggest single score in my handicapping life. Gotta take a price, and let the FuPeg's beat you (I had Aptitude). Often I embarrass myself with a 40-1 shot that runs to his odds, but in the other years getting your longshot even to place or show pays well enough and gloating sure is fun.
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