Tomcito Es Un Tramposo

- Several commenters now have mentioned Tomcito, and I have to admit that I've been out of it enough over the last couple of weeks that I had to Google him to refresh my memory and see who he is. Ah yes, the Peruvian horse....actually a pure US-bred who sold as a yearling at Keeneland for $7500 and has won four of five in Peru, including Peruvian Grade 1 stakes against older South American horses at a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half.

Personally, I think that Tomcito should not be eligible for the Derby. The conditions of the race should specify that it is for three-year olds who have not run over nine furlongs....and I'm only half-kidding about this. The whole intrigue of the race is based on young horses trying the mile and a quarter distance for the first time, and in that sense, Tomcito has cheated. Derby horses are not supposed to have already answered the red phone at 3 AM.

Tomcito is by Street Cry, the sire of last year's Derby winner Street Sense, out of an unraced mare by the late Eastern Echo (Damascus). He has some interesting inbreeding - 5x5 to Hoist the Flag and 4x4 to Northern Dancer and his half-sister Raise the Standard. And he has some solid distance influence close up, with horses such as Theatrical, Alleged, Glowing Tribute, and Sword Dancer all in his first four generations. Despite all that, and his success at longer distances on the racetrack, he has a serious question of class to answer when he starts in the Florida Derby on Saturday. An impressive performance would certainly shake up the unsettled Derby picture; but to me, it would smack of, as Trevor Denman would say, his jumping in at the quarter pole.