2009 KY Derby 135th edition; final post-position/odds p28

[Glimmerglass]

In case the hits from ESPN weren’t enough already - they’ve announced now they’re nixing the live Kentucky Derby position draw.

Courier-Journal March 28 “Derby post draw dropped by ESPN”

As a result, Churchill Downs is changing the Derby Week event’s time from the evening of April 29 to noon that day. Also, it will be moved from Fourth Street Live to Marquee Village at Churchill Downs.

Because nomination forms were already printed, Churchill will keep its current two-step selection process, at least this year, track spokesman Darren Rogers said yesterday.

The current made-for-TV format is a standard draw that determines the order in which the horses’ representatives then select post position. That format was put in place by former track president Tom Meeker in the late 1990s to add an element of strategy to the time-honored luck of the draw.

HRTV and most local [Kentucky] TV stations will show the selection live, Rogers said

Asked if the track might go back to a conventional draw next year, Rogers said, “I would imagine it would be dependent on any contracts signed in the future.”

[Linny]

@Filly85';3974856

I’ve seen some crazy moves, but that one ranks on up there.

Mott may do the same with the Lane’s End winner, Hold Me Back.

Maybe without the draw being televised, they’ll go to a “normal” draw. I can’t stand creating drama by having connections select their post position based on a draw for the order of selection. That was all made for TV and serves no purpose. I’m a racing nut and found that to be the worst bit of racing related TV EVER!

[Linny]

HEY!! Where’s the love for Quality Road. He looked very good today. It looks like Dunkirk’s chances of getting int he Derby are all depenent on the actions of others.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

HEY!! Where’s the love for Quality Road.

It’s over in the FL Derby thread. He looked mightily impressive today. What impresses me most about this horse is his high cruising speed, and his ability to dig. Don’t think he’ll have a problem with 10f either.

It looks like Dunkirk’s chances of getting int he Derby are all depenent on the actions of others.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if Dunkirk was sitting on the bubble the week before the Derby, with Godolphin undecided if they are going to run either of DP or RR or both.

[Filly85]

[QUOTE=Filly85’;3917315]
I don’t know if he is just the flavor of the week;). He just became my number one derby horse, and a lot will have to change to knock him off that spot. I’ve found the horse that I was looking for. I just hope he’s not too rushed for the Derby, and that he will be nominated to the TC races!

It’s interesting that Desert Party isn’t getting a lot of notice either. I thought that horse looked nice in his last win.[/QUOTE]

Quality Road is still my number 1 horse. I’m still showing him some love:)

[Glimmerglass]

[QUOTE=Linny;3981768]
HEY!! Where’s the love for Quality Road. He looked very good today. It looks like Dunkirk’s chances of getting int he Derby are all depenent on the actions of others.[/QUOTE]

I’m quite certain that QR will happily reside on most pundits Top 5 lists come Monday morning. He certainly didn’t look like the suggested sprinter today and had plenty still in the tank after the distance. Jerkins said he’ll easily go 1 1/4 mi and I would concur.

He looked the part of a possible Kentucky Derby winner.

When you see efforts like that you look at the connections of Win Willy declining a $3M offer on their colt and just wonder what they’re thinking.

As an aside no deal has yet been reach with IEAH trying to buy a stake in I Want Revenge. Negotiations are still continuing to sell 50 percent of I Want Revenge, but no deal has yet been struck, according to David Lanzman, the colt’s current owner.

[Glimmerglass]

A bit odd and maybe this is where I just don’t get it but all these owners and trainers are clamboring to get to the KD yet when a plumb opportunity like the Illinois Derby comes along - a Grade 2 $500,000 race - there are precious few who are actually entered

Note there were 95 nominations submitted, 16 by trainer Steven Asmussen for a variety of owners, alone!

Yet per ESPN/DRF Giant Oak will lead the pack with an expected field of just “six or seven” to run the race. Why so few?

Hawthorne stakes coordinator Debbie Lindsay said Saturday also expected [in addition to Giant Oak] to be entered are Al Khali, Lord Justice, Musket Man, Free Country, and His Greatness. Strike a Note is possible.

Giant Oak will be a no-go if it rains. Not to worry as Chicago is under a severe snow advisory right now

[Linny]

As we saw last year, with Denis of Cork, the ILL Derby is run on a quirky and sometimes very spped favoring track. (Not that the Fla Derby wasn’t speed favoing yesterday!) Since Hawthorne is not a track most of the “big name trainers” run at regularly, the race kind of fades out of the picture. Interesting though that several horses coming out of the ILL Derby have taken alot of money in the Derby. Sweetnorthernsaint is one and Greeley’s Galaxy another. Of course this was in the wake of War Emblem’s Derby win.

[Filly85]

Some interesting trivia about Quality Road: Quality Road is so much bigger than the other horses that he is running against. He even made Dunkirk look small, and Dunkirk is not small. Quality Road is 17 hands and has a huge hindend on him. Physically, he has it.

[Glimmerglass]

SOLD

IEAH Finally Gets “Revenge”

Ok, just 50% but IEAH looks like they’ve landed a stake in a real Derby contender so no need to try and force Stardom Bound against the boys or pray Patena can pull off a big graded win. An interesting sight: the too-tan-for-Long-Island Iavarone next to the Gordon Gecko slicked-back Jeff Mullins on Derby day

No price was disclosed

With the purchase of I Want Revenge and with leading 3-year-old filly Stardom Bound pointing toward next Saturday’s $400,000 Ashland Stakes (gr. I) at Keeneland, IEAH now owns top contenders for both the Derby and the Kentucky Oaks.

Iavarone said he and trainer Rick Dutrow have not given up on their first 3-year-old purchase this year, Patena, after his eighth-place finish in the Louisiana Derby (gr. II).

[Laurierace]

Mullins and Ivarone both make me wanna puke but their horses gets my allegiance simply because that makes my foal that is hopefully on the way worth a tiny bit more if IWR does win. Without that mating I would be rooting heartily against him.

[Glimmerglass]

A nice fat field for the $500,000 Grade 2 Illinois Derby at 1 1/8 mi and so I think I’ll venture out to Hawthorne just for the occasion. Entries closed mid-day Monday March 30th

When the race finally closed a surprisingly large field of 11 had been assembled. Including for Todd Pletcher 3 horses including a previously cited “Tomcito of 2009” runner: - Al Khali is an interesting Peruvian import; Lord Justice won an entry-level, two-turn Aqueduct allowance race last month; and Il Postino. Per the DRF he is “an improbable-looking $20,000 maiden-claiming winner.”

52nd Running of the Illinois Derby - Race 7 on the card - schedule to off at 4:12 CST

Field all carries 122 lbs

PP - Horse (Jockey): ML odds
1 - Nowhere to Hide (Paco Lopez): 5-1
2 - Giant Oak (Shaun Bridgmohan): 9-2
3 - Lord Justice (Chris DeCarlo): 8-1
4 - Toccet Rocket (Tanner Riggs): 20-1
5 - His Greatness (Larry Sterling, Jr.): 20-1
6 - Perfect Song (Jeremy Rose): 6-1
7 - Free Country (Eddie Razo, Jr.): 6-1
8 - Musket Man (Eibar Coa): 7-2
9 - Al Khali (Cornelio Velasquez): 6-1
10 - Il Postino (Jesse M. Campbell): 20-1
11 - Knight Shot (Ms. Inez Karlsson!): 30-1

Note: NBC sports is to air this race on tape delay with the SA Derby coverage of the same day.

While War Emblem captured this race in 2002 on his way to the KD Derby it was at the now defunct Sportsman’s Park vs. Hawthorne Race Course

[Linny]

I saw Lord Justice’s allowance and though the company wasn’t great, he looked pretty good.
Perfect Song is bred to stretch out and his only loss was on the Poly at Turfway. Trombetta won this with Sweetnorthernsaint.
If Al Khali wins there might be some irony in that if his owners go the Derby, with Todd Pletcher, he could e keeping Dunkirk out.
Early in the year I thought that both Giant Oak and Nowhere to Hide were pretty good. I am discounting bad races at Tampa which is a weird track, but not sure what to do with Giant Oak. Don’t forget he ran well at Churchill last fall.

[Glimmerglass]

Despite setting the track record and winning (then getting DQ’d to 2nd) the Grade 2 Swale Stakes, Big Drama will not re-enter onto the Kentucky Derby trail - so the connections claim. “Despite DQ, Big Drama impresses”

[Trainer David] Fawkes said he and [owner Harold Queen] will sit down and discuss what will be next for Big Drama later this week.

“His next start will be around two turns somewhere,” said Fawkes. “And I think I might either open his blinkers up or take them off altogether. But as of right now, there will be no Derby.”

[Glimmerglass]

Looks like ESPN2 will (or is scheduled to) air the $1,000,000 Grade 2 Arkansas Derby on April 1th.

Early probables include Papa Clem, Old Fashioned, Danger to Society, Win Willy, Poltergeist, Summer Bird, Flat Out, Flying Private, Wise Kid, and Join in the Dance. However depending on who scratches from the Wood, Illinois and even maybe the SA Derby they could get another.

Sadly here is another journalist who bought into the hyperbole and knee-jerk comments of Todd Pletcher with the Florida Derby - nonsense!: NBC Sports - Mike Brunker 3-30-09 “Thanks to souped-up track, it’s likely Done-kirk”

In recognition of the weekend’s big Triple Crown prep, I’d like to propose a new verb for inclusion in the English language: “Dunkirk: To deny one his or her rightful place.”

Now the James Jerkens-trained Quality Road ran a big race, and is a deserving Kentucky Derby entrant in his own right. But if you don’t think he benefited from a lightning fast track that saw track records set in both the Florida Derby and the Swale Stakes (Gr. 2) that preceded it, consider this: Every race but one run on the Gulfstream dirt track on Saturday was won by a horse that was first or second at the second call, and the only one that wasn’t was captured by a horse that was third, just a length behind the pace-setter at that point.

That is indicative of a strong speed bias, suggesting that Gulfstream’s track superintendent engaged in the ridiculous but time-honored practice of tightening the track for a big day of racing in hopes of generating a headline generating track record or two.

Yep and the man on the grassy knole had $20 to win on Quality Road, too

[Glimmerglass]

Not to always bash poor Joe Drape at the New York Times with his comments/picks but man the guy just is out there! His picks for the Top 10 March 30, 2009:

#1: MAFAAZ English invader has won 2 of 3, and last year finished two lengths behind Donativum, who went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

‘The cheese stands alone’ on that one!

Do I think Mafaaz is a good horse? Certainly. However why anyone would (for example) notch him above the steady-Eddie, thoroughly tested, and multiple graded stakes winning FF is a little beyond me

[lizathenag]

oh great. now I will be humming the farmer in the dell all day. . .

[Glimmerglass]

Interesting: IEAH had to give up 1/4th of Stardom Bound in order to get 50% of I Want Revenge

NTRA/DRF 3-31-09 "Part of Stardom Bound sold "

As part of his deal to sell 50 percent of the colt I Want Revenge to IEAH Stables, owner David Lanzman has acquired from IEAH 25 percent of the Eclipse Award-winning filly Stardom Bound, IEAH announced on Tuesday.

In addition to IEAH and Lanzman, Stardom Bound also counts Paul Pompa Jr. and Michael Dubb among her ownership group.

Both horses will run on Saturday: ‘Revenge’ in NY and ‘Stardom’ at Keeneland

[Glimmerglass]

Not that another race was an option so this isn’t a “shock” but Friesan Fire [will be] training up to Derby which is a seven-week layoff. The most recent winner with the longest layoff was six-weeks in 1956 with a Derby victory by Needles.

(Barbaro and Big Brown had 5-weeks off before their respective victories)

Although winning a grueling 1 1/4-mile race like the Kentucky Derby off a seven-week layoff will not be easy, it is not unprecedented. In 1915, Regret, one of only three fillies ever to win the Derby, made her 3-year-old debut in the race. Exterminator in 1918 and Triple Crown winner Sir Barton in 1919 also made their first 3-year-old starts in the Derby.

Jones has first-hand experience bringing a fresh horse into the Derby. In 2007, he sent out Hard Spun to finish second in the race off a six-week layoff.

“We have raced them both approximately the same,” Jones said of the pre-Kentucky Derby schedules of Friesan Fire and Hard Spun. “Friesan Fire has had seven races in a row since the start of his career. It’s not like he’s not fit. We feel very comfortable with it. We feel like he’s sitting on a big race. I don’t know if I’ve got two more big races in him just like that, so we’re going to take our shot in the Derby.”

As for Old Fashioned:

Old Fashioned, another leading Kentucky Derby candidate for Jones, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.40 at Oaklawn on Tuesday (3/31) morning

[Glimmerglass]

The Grapefruit was smoking 'em yesterday!

The Pamplemousse burns up work tab

The Pamplemousse threw down the gauntlet Tuesday morning at Santa Anita, where a blazing three-furlong work by the dark gray front-runner left no doubt regarding his weekend intentions.

The Pamplemousse and jockey Alex Solis will go straight to the front Saturday in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby, a nine-furlong race they will try to steal from Pioneerof the Nile and Chocolate Candy. All three worked Tuesday, and The Pamplemousse was fastest.

Trainer Julio Canani instructed Solis to keep The Pamplemousse off the rail, use his speed, and shut him down soon after the wire.

“Julio wanted to go 35, and to pull him up at the seven-eighths,” Solis said.

The Pamplemousse was four and five wide into the stretch, finished strongly in 34.80 seconds, then pulled to a stop midway on the clubhouse turn.

Same track, same day, similar time of day:

The Pamplemousse: 3F in 34.80
Pioneerof the Nile: half-mile in 47.60
Chocolate Candy: half-mile in 48.60
Gallant Son: half-mile in 49.20

A past workout video and conversation with connections (3-18)

However as history shows and former LA Times sportswriter Bill Christine points out actually winning the Santa Anita Derby has been the kiss of death in the Kentucky Derby - so maybe fans of The Pamplemousse would prefer to see 2nd

From 1991 - 2008 not one SA Derby winner has take the Kentucky Derby and only one finished 2nd. (Giacomo, for example, finished fourth in the 2005 Santa Anita Derby)