Win Willy out and lets make a tie in the brackets

Well Willy is out :(. And Nowhere to Hide is in. Ah well, there's nothing that I can do. The Oaks field has been announced and will be posting on here later today along with the Derby field. Stay tuned for a special second post later today. And this time I mean it.

Also I'm calling a tie in the brackets as I just don't have the time to write them up and post them. Sorry everyone!

KY Derby Brackets Semi-Finals

All right here is the semi finals! We have four great horses going against each other. Now I should note, this is will not be my top four as things can change between now and the Derby. These are just the four that I feel have the greatest chance to win this bracket.

Let's get started.

#1 Friesan Fire (AP Indy) vs #4 Papa Clem (Smart Strike)- The one-two finishers in the LA Derby, they are going in two different directions. Friesan will not have a prep between now and the Derby, where as Papa will make his final prep in the AR Derby against Old Fashioned, Win Willy ect. While I'm not a huge fan of a long layoff, but I gotta give Friesan the slight edge going into the finals. I do hope Papa proves me wrong and comes out of the AR Derby as a contender. Whatever happens, both of these horses will do well in the Kentucky Derby.

Winner: Friesan Fire

#2 Pioneerof the Nile (Empire Maker) vs #3 Chocolate Candy (Candy Ride)- These two will face off (along with The Pamplemousse) in the Santa Anita Derby. I like both of these horses, but both face a huge question mark. Can either of them take to dirt? While both of their sires say they can, I'm going to give the edge to Chocolate Candy, being by an undefeated sire out of a mare who is by a Triple Crown winner who went in and came out of those three races undefeated. Also distance should not be a problem for him. What I'm a little concerned about as this is a jump up in class where Pioneer has the edge. But hopefully Candy will win the SA Derby.

Winner: Chocolate Candy

So it's set, it's Friesan Fire vs Chocolate Candy in the finals. The finals and 3rd place matchup will be next week.

KY Derby Brackets Round 2 and need podcast names!

#1 matchup

Friesan Fire vs I Want Revenge- This is a really nice matchup and to be honest I can't make a decideson, but I have to. However, a decideson has to made. I gotta give the slight edge to Friesan Fire, just for the fact that he has a little bit more dirt experience then I Want Revenge. Now watch I Want Revenge win the Derby :P.

Winner: Friesan Fire by AP Indy

#2 matchup

Pioneerof the Nile vs Win Willy- While I chose the #1 seed winner for dirt experience, I'm choosing this matchup based on race experience. And I gotta with Pioneerof the Nile who has more starts then Win Willy. I will be very interested in how he does in the SA Derby and Willy does in the AR Derby.

Winner: Pioneerof the Nile by Empire Maker

#3 matchup

Chocolate Candy vs Quality Road- Distance is a questionmark for Quality Road, where as Chocolate Candy pedigree wise should be okay. I'm going with Chocolate Candy on this round where he'll face someone who he'll face in the SA Derby in Pioneerof the Nile.

Winner: Chocolate Candy by Candy Ride

#4 matchup

Take the Points vs Papa Clem- Another tough one, both have synthtic and dirt experence. Take the Points finished behind The Pamplemousse in his last start, while Papa Clem finished behind Friesan Fire. This is a coin flip and I gotta give it to Papa Clem as he is prepping on dirt in the AR Derby where as Take the Points is heading to the Bluegrass S. which is on Polytrack. Also Papa is by a stallion who has success in the TC in recent years.

Winner: Papa Clem by Smart Strike

All of these matchups where very hard to choose and any of them could have won these. Next week will be the semi-finals.

Also I need catchy podcast names for the upcoming podcast. I've decided to let it be interactive and I'll have more information on this in the upcoming weeks.

The rest of the Brackets

Sorry for the delay! Here are the rest of them.


#2 matchups

Imperial Council vs. Pioneerof the Nile
The battle of the Empire Maker colts. Both have excellent trainers, but I give the slight edge to Pioneerof the Nile. This is because he has a graded stakes win and he’s beaten I Want Revenge.
Winner: Pioneerof the Nile by Empire Maker

Dunkirk vs. Win Willy
Dunkirk is royally bred, but Win Willy is by a Derby winner. Also Willy has more experience underneath him which is why he wins this round.
Winner: Win Willy by Monarchos

#3 matchups

Mr. Fantasy vs. Chocolate Candy
Candy Ride + Seattle Slew broodmare= a great chance to take the Roses. Chocolate Candy’s problem is that he has no dirt experience, but his pedigree should allow it. I personally think Mr. Fantasy is just hype.

Winner: Chocolate Candy by Candy Ride

Quality Road vs. Flat Out
This is a tricky one, Flat Out may be the one to beat in the AR Derby and Quality Road is on top of many people’s lists, even though he’ll most likely be a miler. I gotta give it Quality Road just for the fact I think he can beat Dunkirk, and I’m not sure Flat Out can beat Old Fashioned or Papa Clem.
Winner: Quality Road by Elusive Quality

#4 matchups

West Side Bernie vs. Take the Points
After Bernie’s race yesterday, Points takes this easily. Plus of all who are going into the SA Derby, he has a win over a dirt surface.
Winner: Take the Points by Even the Score

Papa Clem vs. Silver City
This match-up is actually going to happen in the AR Derby. I really like both of these horses, but I gotta give it to Papa Clem. It was really tough to choose between these two.
Winner: Papa Clem by Smart Strike

Sorry for the shortness of some of these reviews. I just haven’t had the time to do them thoroughly. Although on Thursday it will be much better. Starting tomarrow, will be the preview for the FL Derby and the Dubai races which feature several American based horses.

Also thanks for everyone who voted in the poll. Because the majority of you voted yes, I think I will be doing it. So what I'm going to do, is ask you the readers, to think of a catchy name for the podcast. I'll then put the suggestions up in a poll and have everyone vote on it. So stay tuned for more details soon.

1st Annual Thoroughbred chat Kentucky Derby Brackets (March Madness style)

Sorry guys, I'm only posting the #1 match-ups tonight. The rest will be coming tomarrow, I promise! Also somewhat a weak weekend Derby/Oaks prep wise, but I'll go ahead and preview them tomarrow in a double post.


# 1 matchups

I Want Revenge vs. The Pamplemousse

I Want Revenge and The Pamplemousse actually both started their careers in California. However, after losing to Pioneerof the Nile not once, but twice, I Want Revenge went east to Aquaduct. He was a very impressive winner in the Gotham Stakes and will go to the Wood Memorial next. The Pamplemoussse has not faced Pioneerof the Nile or Chocolate Candy yet. He has beaten the #4 West seed Take the Points going gate to wire, he can also rate. His problem? He has not faced really good fields and there may be a distance issue (Although his sire did cross the line second in the 2003 LA Derby, but he was Dq’ed shortly afterwards). The other problem is that he’s never been on dirt. Which is why, I’m giving this round to I Want Revenge.
Winner: I Want Revenge by Stephen Got Even

Freisan Fire vs. Old Fashioned

The two stablemates go against each other in this match-up. While Old Fashioned lost this past Saturday, I will give him the benafit of doubt that it was the hot pace that did him in. With that being said, that hot pace would be extremely helpful for Friesan Fire. He’s bred for distance on both sides of the family and is a closer. A hot pace in the Derby and he might just steal it.
Winner: Freisan Fire by AP Indy

This week prep, the Lane's End Stakes will be on ESPN 2. Also don't forget to vote in the poll!

Kentucky Derby Brackets (March Madness Style)

I'm going to do something different for the next few weeks until the final preps. I'm going to split everyone into 4 "regions". These regions will be split up into where they are racing.

East (NY and KY)
South (FL and LA)
Mid-West (AR and IL)
West (CA)

Here are the seedings.

#1's
East: I Want Revenge (Stephen Got Even)
South: Freisan Fire (AP Indy)
Mid-West: Old Fashioned (Unbridled's Song)
West: The Pamplemousse (Kafwain)

# 2's
East: Imperial Council (Empire Maker)
South: Dunkirk (Unbridled's Song)
Mid-West: Win Willy (Monarchos)
West: Pioneerof the Nile (Empire Maker)

#3's
East: Mr. Fantasy (E-Dubai)
South: Quality Road (Elusive Quality)
Mid-West: Flat Out (Flatter)
West: Chocolate Candy (Candy Ride)

#4's
East: West Side Bernie (Bernstein)
South: Papa Clem (Smart Strike)
Mid-West: Silver City (Unbridled's Song)
West: Take the Points (Even the Score)

So how will this work. The 1's will face off against each other, the 2's against each other and so on. Then done the following will face off against each other:
1st Semi-Final: 1 vs 4
2nd Semi-Final: 2 vs 3
Final: Winner of 1st S-F vs Winner of 2nd S-F
3rd place game: 1st S-F loser vs 2nd S-F loser

The winner will be the first ever winner of the Thoroughbred Chat's Kentucky Derby Brackets (March Madness style). These match-ups will be happening on Thursdays starting this week. So stay tuned!!!