Check out several of The Queen’s works, gallops, and jogs.
It’s been reported that Rachel Alexandra was seen logging in to check it out too…
Jul 152010
Late Double | Races 9 & 10 | 4:59 pm ET / 1:59 pm PT
Race 9: $50k OC 75k/N1X for 3yo going 6f
8‐Safe Trip … is a different horse than when he debuted at this distance last year; owns the race on pace analysis, and comes in off a seriously strong win over the track on 4/28
6‐Kajiwara … broke his maiden impressively against older horses at Oaklawn last out, gets a jock who knows him, and has a string of solid 5f & 6f works lately
Race 10: $48k MSW for 3&up F&M going 1‐1/16 mi. (T)
4‐Splashdown … should own the race early, shows an affinity for the grass and stretches back to a distance she seemingly liked but got a bad trip in two back against some decent horses
5‐Dandyna … bred to run forever on the grass, is improving with every out, and should be the fastest of the closing stalkers
2‐Frances Gardner … ran a strong fourth and learned a lot in a debut that saw her get hung six wide
May 012010
Yet one more person just walked by me and asked what the news of this Derby was. There is none - people are bored.
Ok, maybe it’s just us working press people who are thirsty for a story that doesn’t involve rain water and kayaking to the turf course to cover the races.
Yes, Eskendereya came out of the race on Sunday. Yes, Endorsement came out of the race on Wednesday. Other than that, though, we’ve been sorely lacking in stupid quotes, bad works, injuries, and gossip.
A “wise guy” horse is the one us industry people are chatting up based on works and a trainer’s hush hush comments. Last year it was obvious that Chocolate Candy was it. This year, there isn’t even one good wise guy horse:
Tuesday, Bruno DeJulio called Mission Impazible
Thursday, Ed DeRosa called Ice Box
This morning on the air, Caton Bredar called Stately Victor
I’m sorry: this is depressing. There’s no news - good or bad. To be clear, I do not wish any ill on a horse or owner/rider/trainer … but is a foot-in-mouth quote or a nugget of gossip too much to ask for?
On a day when Tiger Woods is expected to have a small battalion of Special Forces troupes to protect him from whatever is worse than having your 15 mistresses come out of the woodwork just months after YE Yang hijacks your PGA Championship trophy, may I take a minute to share two of my favorite Bodyguards in Racing moments…
As a Winner’s Circle photo: no contest - the ’09 First Lady at Keeneland…
When Diamondrella won, I was sitting in the Keeneland press box with Jim Williams and the communications team. We were playing the usual game of How Are People In The Winner’s Circle Related, and we were all particularly shocked by the overwhelming voluminously gigantic hat the blonde partner had on. Right as someone mentioned that IEAH principle Michael Iavarone was training to become an MMA fighter, I noticed the large man just over Iavarone’s left shoulder. The man is so big that poor jock Rajiv Maragh is pushed so far to the edge of the shot, he might as well be taking wagers at Drive Through Betting in the parking lot.
I know a racetrack is a wide open expanse, with a grandstand perfect for hiding snipers - and IEAH certainly had even fewer friends in the game when the photo was taken - but the only one’s worth that much effort to attack are (maybe) head’s of state.
Speaking of… Bodyguards in Racing moment: grandstand edition - coming off the Belmont press elevator, avoiding several Moving to Saratoga Next Week boxes, and rounding the last corner only to smack into the back of a refrigerator-esque man in a dark suit with an earpiece.
Having had the experience of growing up knowing a Secret Service agent and having met former Governor Elliott Spitzer in the Saratoga press box the year prior, it wasn’t the earpiece that threw me. It was the fact that at like 11:30am, it was still way too early for any dignitary to show up for a spontaneous presser.
Turns out Rachel Alexandra was running and owner Jess Jackson’s trip to the press box to chat up a reporter necessitated a team of Blackwater operatives. Yup: not just one, but four (that we saw!) - stationed at all corners, patting down several media members, and eyeing others. Scary enough, in a room where you can hear every mouse in the walls, these men were on their headsets and we couldn’t hear a word of it - Central Casting could not have found more intimidating men who managed to blend into a crowd in a room that small.
For the record, I appreciate the need for security - I truly do - racing is a sport of big animals, big egos, and even bigger insurance premiums. Therefore, I am never one to question Godolphin having ’round the clock guards in front of their stalls; or the FBI bomb squad taking over the Churchill basement; or security cameras in barns, be they stakes- or otherwise.
Having worked the PGA Championship and walked with Tiger last year, I totally understand the hysteria that comes with big names on big days. And - when it came to racing on the days mentioned above - yes, Iavarone and Jackson were two of the honcho-iest guys around.
No matter it’s basis in reality, the frenzy of a security detail certainly plays well into the eye of a camera lens. But one has to wonder if, at some point, the bulk of the pressure these folks are under isn’t really just a figment of their imaginations.
Beyers are in on yesterday’s Kentucky Derby preps …
Santa Anita Derby: Sidney’s Candy (100), Setsuko (92), Lookin at Lucky (89)
Wood Memorial: Eskendereya (109), Jackson Bend (93), Awesome Act (93)
Illinois Derby: American Lion (98), Yawanna Twist (94)
So let’s play What Did We Learn
The problem with the month of April in racing is that no horse can just run for running’s sake - everything is tied to Can He Win The Derby.
What does talent count for? In 2 of the above 3 races, I guaran-darn-tee the winner was not the best horse in the race - and it has nothing to do with my predictions going in or the wagers I had at the windows.
No offense to Sidney’s Candy - who, like last year with Chocolate Candy in the Derby, will get $2 of my money simply for the irony of a Jenny Craig-owned horse being named after dessert. ‘Candy ran a good enough race that no one could catch him: but I highly doubt he’s going to be able to pull a War Emblem at Churchill in 4 weeks. Setsuko looked phenomenal in the paddock yesterday and he had that air of I’m About To Do Something Special, which has me sure he’ll be on future tickets.
But … Lookin at Lucky was dead stopped twice: bouncing off the rail once on the turn, then completely sawed off at the top of the stretch. For him to finish at all: amazing. For him to finish in the money: crazy. The thing I like about him is the same thing that scares me, though: he hasn’t run clean in his last two starts - from running up on Noble’s Promise in the Rebel to massive traffic this time … it bodes well that he can overcome it all with sheer talent, but at what point is he completely out of the money?
Now, let’s move back east to the Wood Memorial for a moment. I said as they loaded into the gate that I wouldn’t best Eskendereya or Jackson Bend until they were gatemates in the King’s Bishop at Saratoga this summer. I think the latter is a really talented, speedy miler and the former is a special horse but not for going long.
Yes, they finished 1-2. Yes, I was wrong. And I’m ok with that … why? Because watching Julien Leparoux standing straight up and so far back in the irons that he was virtually driving a car means it wasn’t the horse that lost Awesome Act the race.
Just as Lookin At Lucky can overcome the inevitable traffic trouble that comes with the Kentucky Derby because there’s really nothing he hasn’t faced yet, I think Awesome Act will benefit from having to be stuck behind a wall of horses - there’s a difference between being a ton-o-horse fighting your jock and being bottled up with horse to spare.
When it comes to American Lion in the Illinois Derby - congrats to WinStar for having like 35 of this year’s 20 Derby horses … ok, so it’s 3 or 4 depending on Drosselmeyer in the Lexington in 3 weeks. I’ve like American Lion from the get-go this year and I love how he took to dirt and that he dug in to get the distance at the end (foundation building) - I know he’ll be at Churchill and I’ll probably like him, but at this point he’ll be a perfect 6th or 7th place finisher.
Talent may get you everywhere in racing, but it doesn’t guarantee you win the big prize.
