Odds and Ends - June 4

- Todd Pletcher sent out first-timer Scat Daddy (Johannesburg) on Saturday at Belmont; this was the horse that John Velazquez was supposed to return on at Monmouth on Friday; but he was scratched that day. He was bet down to .65-to-1, and won by five. Of the eight first-time two year-olds that Pletcher has run at the Belmont and Churchill meetings, six have won, and the other two ran second. Scat Daddy won so easily that the chart caller was moved to note that “he was gone before the whip was turned over.” I’m anxious to see how they translate that one for the comment line in the Form.

Johannesburg (Hennessy) had his first winner the other day in the UK; and I believe that Scat Daddy is his first one in the U.S. Scat Daddy is out of a Mr. Prospector mare, and is, in fact, inbred 4x2 to that stallion. The broodmare, Love Style, is a half-sister to the nice turf horse Grat. Scat Daddy's second dam is the G1 (Las Virgenes) winner Likeable Style.

- Hey, Christening (Vicar) is entered in the first race at Delaware on Tuesday! She’s in for a $40,000 tag and has Ramon Dominguez up to ride for Graham Motion; doesn't get much better than that at Delaware. The hope is that she’ll run well and get sold. If she doesn’t get claimed. The word is that we think she should be “very competitive” in this spot.

- Kiaran Fallon dismissed speculation that he was unhappy with the decision to let Horatio Nelson start in the Epsom Derby. (I should actually say the Vodophone Derby. We’re unhappy about adding ‘Presented by Yum’ to the Kentucky Derby...they apparently sold out the entire name of the race.)

"I just felt that he was a little bit flat - he wasn't giving the same bounce that he had done...”

"But he was fine when I trotted him up and down a few times, in fact the more I trotted him the better he felt.

"I was happy with him. If I wasn't happy then I wouldn't have gone round on him.

"He travelled brilliantly on the snaff in the race then we went to go and challenge and it happened. Obviously it must have been one of the uneven bits of ground that you can get on the camber at Epsom. He twisted a joint and that did it.” [Sporting Life]

- Mike Hushion sent out My Little Bean (David) in the 4th at Belmont Sunday; in her only prior race, in February, this three year-old NY bred was 4-1 in a 12 horse field, but ran a distant 5th after a bad start. On Sunday, she was 4-1 morning line, and was hanging around 7-2 with a few minutes to go. The late money came in on this one in abundance folks; she went from 3-1 to 5-2 to 2-1 in the last two flashes. (Again, odds with three minutes to go is something I'd love to see in race charts and past performances.) But she was a bit slow away from the gate again, and never threatened in rallying for third behind the favorite Mrs. Chippy in the six furlong affair.

My Little Bean was running very well at the finish though, and was past the winner shortly passed the wire. She continued to gallop out strongly around the sweeping Belmont turn, and jockey Pedro Morales needed outrider assistance to pull her up. Definitely one to watch on the stretch out and/or on a wet surface.