- I've made my Derby bets, and it's right along the lines of my selections the other day. I'd like to get a peek at Any Given Saturday before making any further commitments to him.
Barclay Tagg seems in good humor, smiling as he told Donna Brothers how Funny Cide lost his cool before the race. I guess if I had seen that, I wouldn't have bet him; not like I did anyway. Gary Stevens spoke earlier about how a calm trainer soothes the nerves of the rider and horse; and Nobiz Like Shobiz and Cornelio Velasquez should feel quite at ease.
The mint juleps have started, and yeah, this is cool. Mike Smith just spoke about studying the races beforehand, and memorizing the silk colors so that he knows who is who.
- Curlin and Street Sense are vying for favoritism. Battaglia says that he likes "Pletcher." Please don't say Any Given Saturday, please don't say.... Circular Quay; boxed with Street Sense. Neumeier likes Hard Spun.
- Great shot of all of the jockeys walking out to the track. Pletcher saddled all of the horses himself, and they showed it in high speed; it reminded me of that scene from Clockwork Orange. There's Queen Elizabelth; they said before that they needed a separate vehicle to carry her hats. Riders up...
- For heaven's sake, they cut away from the horses leaving their stalls just as they got to Any Given Saturday!
- The Head Chef says that Cowtown Cat is a "monster." Street Sense is "very handsome. No fool."
- Nobiz Like Shobiz. Nice. Circular Quay looks like all business. Stormello looks gorgeous as usual. Any Given Saturday. Looking good!
- Well, congratulations to the connections of Street Sense, and for all of you that stuck with him. Especially John over at Not To The Swift. Calvin got the rail, but he could have gone around the outside and still been the best.
Time for some serious bourbon drinking, and the Head Chef is preparing a BBQ feast, which will serve as ample consolation. Be back with more on the winner later on.
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Saturday, May 05, 2007
Half Hour To Go - with updates
Posted by Alan Mann at 5:38 PM
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4 Comments:
Triple Crown???
Hard Spun impressed me, with the pace all the way and held well for place. he will be tough in Preakness if the connections opt in.
Alan, I thought my choice SS got a perfect trip, if he went wide he loses. Calvin "the rail" Borel nailed it, surprised the other jocks let him roll.
Curlin impressive in defeat. not a bad crop, hope they come back in the Preakness.
Alan, nice job with this whole derby prep series and all the comments and links. Your blog and its reach has become essential for my thinking this season.
I am happy that I picked Hard Spun and Curlin on top. I knew SS would finish well, but not that well, but like anon said, the boys let Borail through and he did it again. I guess he deserved it, that sneaky pete.
Luckily, I capped my exacta box at 7 horses, and SS just made it into the group, and ONLY because the track dried out. But I spent half the measly profits hedging on longshots. I think I won $12. Not bad for 3 months of analysis.
On a wet track, it would have been all Hard Spun, and cowtown cat and AGS would have been up there too. I have to say I like Hard Spun even more now.
I need to analyze my brain cells that produced the theory that Liquidity would run big...
Thanks for the kind words. It's not often a horse you peg the previous August goes on to win the Derby and for me that's the best part of this. Borel's trip was perfect, someone said their prayers because the trip he had looks like he had divine intervention. Hmmm, Maybe I'll write a post about that, saying a prayer before you place a bet.
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