[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;3062831]
I’m putting a few bucks on Nikkisgoldsteed who appears to be at odds of 99+ in the Futures Wager Pool 2 - [/QUOTE]
I went with Tale of Ekati. He had 2 valid excuses imo. Here’s to hoping!
Like Pyro more and more
Loved his race yesterday - he stalked rather than closed, ate some dirt, got tangled in traffic and had to dive through a hole. Still showed that kick - everything you want to see in a Derby horse! :yes:
Florida Derby will be a special one. I’m looking forward to Tomcito’s first US race.
Regarding Giant Moon and his excuse and next steps- if he does return to the Wood Memorial he’ll likely face Michael Matz’s Visionaire again …
Meanwhile, previously unbeaten Giant Moon exited his last-place finish in the Gotham in good shape, according to trainer Rick Schosberg. Schosberg said Giant Moon struggled mightily over the extremely sloppy inner track.
“Ramon (Dominguez) did an excellent job protecting him, just getting him around there safely,” Schosberg said. “He wasn’t getting a hold of the track whatsoever. We learned a little something about the horse yesterday, and I’m thankful we had a good, smart rider on his back.”
Not surprisingly, Schosberg said the Gotham was both a non-effort and a throw out for Giant Moon.
“He was trying to grab a hold of everybody at the barn this morning,” Schosberg said. “His legs were ice cold and he ate up tight. His energy level is through the roof.”
Despite finishing ninth, Schosberg said his horse would probably start next in either the Wood Memorial or Illinois Derby.
“We’ll come up with a plan over the next week or so,” Schosberg said.
For as much as people like Pyro in the Louisiana Derby there has to be solid props to the super longshot My Pal Charlie with Julien Leparoux up. They were challenged by the rabbit (IMHO) J Be K with the lead and held the lead until the stretch when Pyro took over - but only a couple of lengths at most. With $120k in graded money going to My Pal Charlie he could have earned at starting gate at Churchill with that solid 2nd place finish.
Yankee Bravo took in “just” $60k for 3rd so it will take another graded run (and top 3 finish) at least to be considered for the Kentucky Derby.
props for charlie
Yep, Glimmer, you’re right, My Pal Charlie was tough all the way - on or close to the lead and took the heat in the stretch. I agree that he’s one to watch.
I am not a JbeK supporter but I think they totally took him out of his game and that race isnt a reflection of what he had to offer. However I still don’t think he’s winning the KD.
It is going to be awfully hard to root for Pyro now (not that I was sold yet) since it is more than likely he’ll be retired after the Breeders Cup. I know that sounds pessimistic, but lets be realistic.
[QUOTE=miss_critic;3063802]
It is going to be awfully hard to root for Pyro now (not that I was sold yet) since it is more than likely he’ll be retired after the Breeders Cup. I know that sounds pessimistic, but lets be realistic.[/QUOTE]
Agreed. Since when has Darley purchased the breeding rights to any 3 year old and had them come back to race as an older horse?
Darley takes the fun out of the game. :mad:
His chances of being retired are no different than if someone else (Lane’s End, Tres Chimeneas, Ashford etc etc) bought his breeding rights. If he does well, he goes to stud, if he doesn’t he might race another year or more.
And people conveniently seem to forget, the Maktoums have a long history of racing older horses, some pretty damn good ones too.
[QUOTE=Drvmb1ggl3;3065280]
His chances of being retired are no different than if someone else (Lane’s End, Tres Chimeneas, Ashford etc etc) bought his breeding rights. If he does well, he goes to stud, if he doesn’t he might race another year or more.
And people conveniently seem to forget, the Maktoums have a long history of racing older horses, some pretty damn good ones too.[/QUOTE]
If it makes you happy, I am equally as irked that Lane’s End will surely retire War Pass at the end of this year.
If Pyro (or War Pass or anyone else who’s breeding rights get bought by one of the big conglomerates) continues to be successful as a 3 y/o and goes on to race as an older horse, I will GLADLY eat my words. 
Too true, but it takes a fun away from the dance before it even began.
According to DRF, only 2 are confirmed to face War Pass this weekend. That’s right, the Tampa Bay Derby will be a 3 horse race unless someone else steps up. Atoned (Pletcher) and Big Truck (Tagg) are the only brave souls now that Smooth Air has decided to dodge War Pass and take the Florida Derby route. Although guaranteed 3rd place graded purse money doesn’t sound like such a bad deal in my book.
However, nobody seems to be scared of Pyro, who’s leading the KD future wager pool. Visionaire and Cool Coal Man are definitely aiming to face Pyro in the Blue Grass (barring any unforeseen circumstances). Court Vision is probable. And several others have expressed interest.
Interesting…
[QUOTE=Texarkana;3065859]
… the Tampa Bay Derby will be a 3 horse race unless someone else steps up.[/QUOTE]
Keep in mind that even though there is fat graded money at stake ($300,000 for the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby) you can’t just show up this week and knock on the door. If you could I suspect you’d see a horse like Absolute Cindy taking a crack at this
The eligible list was already a bit thin and compounded by horses who either ran last week or for some unexplicable reason would rather go for the $1M FL Derby. Right about now I bet Tagg would’ve rather run Tale of Ekati, for example, in this tiny field.
Just my opinion but the folks behind Hey Byrn would be idiots forgo racing in a field of maybe just 5 horses in the TBD vs. aiming for the Florida Derby with a bigger fields and lot more unknown.
2008 Tampa Bay Derby Nominations (pdf)
ATONED
BARRIER REEF
BIG TRUCK
CIGAR MAN
DA’ TARA
DYNAMIC WAYNE
FACE THE CAT
GENTLEMAN JAMES
GIBBER’S GOLD
GOLDEN SPIKES
HEY BYRN
JOCKEY RIDGE
ROMAN EMPEROR
SMOOTH AIR
SONG OF GREATNESS
STORMIN YANK
TALE OF EKATI
TIZBIG
VISIONAIRE
WAR PASS
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;3066068]
Keep in mind that even though there is fat graded money at stake ($300,000 for the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby) you can’t just show up this week and knock on the door. If you could I suspect you’d see a horse like Absolute Cindy taking a crack at this :)[/QUOTE]
I obviously meant someone nominated. 
War Pass or not, this could be a much needed paycheck for several horses. Like Barrier Reef. He was supposedly aiming for this weekend. Not sure if his connections are still toying the idea around or not. But even if War Pass passes him by 20 lengths, a $60K paycheck for placing would put him a heck of a lot closer to the first Saturday in May. Same goes for Smooth Air, Da’Tara, Face The Cat, etc. Heck, even a 3rd out of 4 on Saturday would probably get Smooth Air into the Derby.
And don’t forget about those pesky supplemental nominations. I mean, for $7500 + all the other fees, Autism Awareness could find himself starting in field of potentially 4 horses and picking up an “easy” $15K… (I didn’t say it was going to happen, lol)
Has anybody seen a list of graded stakes earned thus far?
[QUOTE=miss_critic;3066345]
Has anybody seen a list of graded stakes earned thus far?[/QUOTE]
http://www.thedowneyprofile.com/Derby_Contender_Graded_Earnings
[QUOTE=Texarkana;3066375]
http://www.thedowneyprofile.com/Derby_Contender_Graded_Earnings[/QUOTE]
Thanks for posting that. Several horses on the list, obviously, are not pointing to the Derby due to injury, etc. #10 Salute the Sarge was mention on TVG Monday as a horse that might come back to race in the Derby Trial Stakes (just as Don’t Get Mad did in 2005) held the week before the Kentucky Derby. DGM was a rarity with his smashing victory in that race and then 4th in the Kentucky Derby.
[QUOTE=Texarkana;3065375]
If Pyro (or War Pass or anyone else who’s breeding rights get bought by one of the big conglomerates) continues to be successful as a 3 y/o and goes on to race as an older horse, I will GLADLY eat my words.[/QUOTE]
If any of the big farms had been able to buy Curlin’s breeding rights, I’m sure he wouldn’t be running this year. Maybe the ownership legal mess has ended up being a good thing. It is probably the only reason why he’s still running.
I have noticed this too. War Pass certainly hasn’t done anything wrong, but I feel better about Pyro getting the 1 1/4 miles in the Derby. War Pass reminds me of Indian Blessing…that front-running style is fine as long as the race isn’t too long and if no one else runs with them early.
Denis of Cork skipping the Rebel Stakes; he’ll opt instead for the either the G1 $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct or the G2, $500,000 Illinois Derby at Hawthorne. Both races held on April 5 at a distance of 1 1/8 miles
And the uplifting story of Autism Awareness the $1,000 auction purchase who won the El Camino Real Derby (G3) by the longest odds ever is:
It was a nice tale while it lasted and it still was a lovely effort.
That’s a bummer for Autism Awareness. I didn’t really have high hopes for him, but it would have been such a great story for the press if he made it to the derby. They could have a field day with him in the pre-race coverage. At least his owners saved their $6K.
Regarding the list of the top graded stakes earnings-- we are going to see very big changes to that list in the next few weeks. There’s a ton of graded money still to be had. And… hardly anyone already on the list is aiming towards either of the $1million races. So more than likely there will be 6 new horses appearing near the top after those races are run.
I might get to see Blackberry Road next month … Blackberry Road targets Ill. Derby
The Grade 2 Illinois Derby, the highlight of the Hawthorne meet, is contested at 1 1/8 miles and gives Blackberry Road a month to recover from a taxing effort Saturday.
“He ran hard the whole way, and I’ve never seen him this tired,” Carroll said Tuesday morning. “Today was his best day since the race, though.”
