If you recall on Friday, I said the following.
I think Super Saver with Calvin "Bo-Rail" Borel will win this year's Kentucky Derby, his third Derby win in the last four years, Pletcher's first win, and WinStar's first win as an owner. Finishing in second I have Paddy O' Prado the maiden winner who finished in second in the Bluegrass, and in third I have my dark horse Backtalk.
Yeah forget about that Backtalk third place finish. That was a swing for the fences. Paddy was third so that's okay. Super Saver got the perfect trip to get the win today. And with this win, I think it's time for the Tampa Bay Derby to get a grade upgrade. Since 07, it has produced 2 winners, 2 third place finishers in the Derby, a 3rd place finish in the Preakness and a 2nd place finish in the Belmont. All, but 1 (ironicly it was Super Saver) did NOT win the TB Derby. Then again, the winners haven't/didn't do much after their wins, the lone exception being Street Sense. It will be interesting to see what happens.
The Oaks, wow what a finish! California goes 1-2 with a Lukas horse in third. Blind Luck showed why she is the best 3yo filly in the Country, but my heart broke for Evening Jewel. So close, but yet so far away. I can't wait to see what she does in her next race which will more then likely be at Hollywood.
Speaking of grade upgrades, the Fantasy should be another race to be looked at. Since 2005, it has produced the following:
2005: Round Pond, 2006 BC Distaff winner
2006: Ready to Please, 3rd in the Mother Goose, 2nd in the Dogwood BC both races in 2006
2007: High Heels, 3rd 2007 KY Oaks
2008: Eight Belles, 2nd 2008 KY Derby
2009: Rachel Alexandra, 1st 2009 Preakness, Haskell, Woodward, KY Oaks, Martha Washington, Fair Grounds Oaks, Mother Goose, Champion 3yo Female, Horse of the Year
2010: Blind Luck
I'm really interested where Blind Luck goes next.
As for the rest of the weekend:
La T: My fellow Rachel fans, take a deep breath, she didn't lose by much and the winner was coming off a G2 win. Her Beyer (as well as Unriveled Belle) was a 103, which means while she has taken a step back, it's not as far as you think. I think his win on Super Saver earned Calvin one more chance on her, both he and Rachel have very simlar running styles and in her next race she should be fully cranked and ready to go. As for the winner, meh I think she's going to bounce next time out, but then again I'm not a fan of any of her connections (inluding her sire) which is the opp. of what I was with Zardana whose series of inconsitancy caught up to her.
Eight Belles: I guess Hot Dixie Chick hates mud. I gotta give Bell's Shoes some love, she almost got up for third. Hopefully the Acorn is next for her. The winner is undefeated on dirt, and could be a horse to be rekoned with. That's of course Dixie doesn't get a fast track.
Alysheba: It's time to retire Friesan Fire, he just hasn't been the same horse since his injury. No excuses for Bullsbay (last) or Macho Again (third to last) either. The Stephen Foster is coming up a bit on the tough side, I won't be suprised if these two bounce back there.
Woodford: Blues Street bombed badly. However, apperently the horses he beat in NO where suspect. How about General Quarters, it came a year late, but it was great to see Tom McCarthy get a win on Derby day. People say he's found a home on turf (I thought this was his first start, this was actually his second), but I would like to see him to go for the G1 win on dirt. Keep in mind, he is a stakes winner on dirt so he's no slouch there. He would be only the second horse to win G1's on all three surfaces (Lava Man being the other).
One more thing from the Derby, there is a trainer change, Awesome Act will be staying in the US. He'll be joining the Steve Asmussen barn, which is no suprise as that's who Vinery uses for their big name horses. I assume if he goes back to England he will rejoin the Jeremy Noseda barn.
With that being said, Congrats to Barry of Pari Mutual Wagering as he won the Road to the Roses Thoroughbred Chat Readers League! Barry, please email me at thoroughbredchat at yahoo dot com with an post on anything about horse racing that you would like. Thanks again everyone for particpating in the league this year, and I do appologize for not keeping everybody updated on how everyone was doing. That's something I plan to fix for next year.
I'm going to be taking the next few days off of posting here, but will be back later in the week with new content stay tuned!
