The Shrinking Gold Cup Field

- Now the Form reports that Spanish Chestnut is not running in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. And that the only confirmed runners are Andromeda's Hero and Dylan Thomas. Nick Zito has not made a final decision on who he is running besides Andromeda's Hero. [DRF]

If the race ends up being just those three, it could be like two public workouts within one race; you'd have Bernardini loping along in front, and Dylan Thomas trailing behind the irrelevant Andromeda's Hero, trying to figure out running on dirt. It could be a pretty humorous sight.

[Now, Zito tells the Form that Wanderin Boy is a possibility, which would certainly add a dimension of speed.]

Of course there's another scenario. Perhaps Dylan Thomas will take to the dirt. Picture him slowly, but ever so steadily, start to close the gap on the turn and roll into the stretch as Castellano takes a wary peak behind him. He draws closer and closer to the presumed three-year old champ. The crowd of 13,247 starts to roar as they see Castellano start to ride with urgency, and - gasp - go to the whip.

But it's no use. The Irish Derby champ draws even, and then edges away to a half length victory, thus throwing the division wide open. Sheikh Maktoum, shaken by the defeat to his bitter rivals from Coolmore, decides to enter Discreet Cat in the Classic. "Sometimes you gotta say, 'what the fuck,'" he tells Steve Haskin. Those are the words we've all been waiting to hear His Royal Sheikhness say, thus setting up the race of the decade in the Classic.

Well? It could happen, right? No, there's little in the pedigree to suggest that Dylan Thomas will love the dirt, but you never know. Check out the replay, courtesy of John at Not to the Swift, of Dylan Thomas' win in the Irish Derby. The call is in French, as usual, but keep your eye on the horse with the red saddlecloth along the inside around mid-pack. Here's a horse with the kind of closing burst that that can really get people excited.

So while I may or may not be betting, I'll be rooting for Dylan Thomas. Nothing against Bernardini at all; and great horses can get beat without being shamed. But a win by Dylan Thomas would really shake things up and throw the Classic into wide-open mode. Just think, you'd perhaps be able to get 3-1 on Bernardini on Breeders Cup day. 8-1 if Deep Impact runs.