Notes - April 5

- Paul Moran of Newsday notes that besides an eight week layoff, Circular Quay will go into the Derby not having raced further than a mile and a sixteenth.

While the manner in which he won the 1 1/16-mile Louisiana Derby suggests that Circular Quay will stay 10 furlongs, every Derby winner in at least the last half century had a 9-furlong prep. [Newsday]

- Kiaran McLaughlin is planning a three race campaign for Invasor; I guess that five is becoming something of a norm for Horses of the Year these days. The Suburban, Woodward, and Breeders Cup are the three, with a Whitney a possibility if the Suburban is easy; this according to the Daily Racing Form. So it looks like Invasor has taken his last plane ride until he goes off to stud in Kentucky. McLaughlin also denied a report that Sheikh Hamdan was upset with Fernando Jara for apparently easing up on Invasor, thus allowing Premium Tap an opportunity to come back at him in the stretch. Seems like a ridiculous idea; Jara had it measured all the way in my view.

- So I've done my handicapping columns for Friday and Saturday's Keeneland cards, which should be up on the Keeneland Special website sometime this evening, probably at this link here. Please check it out, and feel free to come back to discuss and criticize.

Today will be another difficult day to post, as I'm at a new client, and it might make a bad impression if I was sitting here writing (like I'm doing now, hee hee) (I don't imagine any of my readers are ever going to hire me). And tonight is the Rangers' final home game; a chance to clinch a playoff spot in the second to last game of the season. If they lose, and the fetid Islanders lose to Toronto, it will come down to the final game on Saturday night, thus causing me much distraction during the Wood card.

In any event, I should be able to resume more frequent posting later tonight and tomorrow, if I'm not too depressed. So please root for the good guys. Let's Go Rangers!