Daily Archives: March 4, 2013

We’re into March and that means one major thing in the horseracing community – just two months remain until the 2013 Kentucky Derby gets underway at Churchill Downs. Over the past two weeks, a series of stakes races have been run as horses and trainers look to qualify for the annual Run for the Roses, but there are also a number of important races on the horizon in terms of jockeying for position.

Let’s take a look back and forward…

— There were some big developments out of Palm Beach, Fla. on the weekend as Rydilluc, a Gary Contessa trainee, captured the Palm Beach Stakes in impressive fashion by outlasting Charming Kitten and Reporting Star.

While the purse was nice ($150,000), there were no Derby points awarded for this race, meaning it was mostly about show, status and claiming a spot as a legit contender heading into May.

It was also a chance for Contessa to talk up his colt, who is now 3-for-3 in his turf starts this season and showing true star potential.

“You see what he looks like turning for home with the stride he’s got,” Contessa told Bristnet.com. “He’s an amazing horse.

“At the top of the stretch(…) he kicks in like that and draws off [and] my heart is in my throat. That’s what keeps us getting up in the morning – a horse like this. It’s going to be fun getting to the bottom of it and find out exactly what he is.”

— Looking ahead, the second week in March promises to be a major one for two horses on a number of Derby watch lists: Verrazano and Flashback.

Both are undefeated this season and will put their records on the line against strong fields at Tampa Bay Downs. For Verrazano, Tampa Bay will be his first start going around two turns – meaning a lot of eyes will be on both the horse and jockey John Velazquez, who will have to show he can ratio Verrazano’s speed right from the start of the race.

Verrazano is from the Todd Pletcher stable and you have to think Pletcher will have a small bit of desire coursing through his veins as he tries to capture the Tampa Bay race for the first time in nine years. He’s had three favorites run over the last three years (Spring Hill Farm in 2012, Brethren in 2011 and Super Saver in 2010) but all three disappointed at Tampa Bay, failing to win or place.

As for Flashback, he’ll likely be the favorite heading into Tampa Bay. The Bob Baffert-trained colt has finished second in each of his last two runnings.

— Away from the track, the Kentucky Derby unveiled this year’s 2013 Pegasus Pins on Friday at an event at Louisville’s Hard Rock Café.

The pins sell annually for $5 with proceeds accounting for 25-30% of the Derby’s annual revenue. They serve as admission-like tokens to a variety of Derby events and, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal, more than 300,000 are sold annually.

We’re into March and that means one major thing in the horseracing community – just two months remain until the 2013 Kentucky Derby gets underway at Churchill Downs. Over the past two weeks, a series of stakes races have been run as horses and trainers look to qualify for the annual Run for the Roses, but there are also a number of important races on the horizon in terms of jockeying for position.

Let’s take a look back and forward…

— There were some big developments out of Palm Beach, Fla. on the weekend as Rydilluc, a Gary Contessa trainee, captured the Palm Beach Stakes in impressive fashion by outlasting Charming Kitten and Reporting Star.

While the purse was nice ($150,000), there were no Derby points awarded for this race, meaning it was mostly about show, status and claiming a spot as a legit contender heading into May.

It was also a chance for Contessa to talk up his colt, who is now 3-for-3 in his turf starts this season and showing true star potential.

“You see what he looks like turning for home with the stride he’s got,” Contessa told Bristnet.com. “He’s an amazing horse.

“At the top of the stretch(…) he kicks in like that and draws off [and] my heart is in my throat. That’s what keeps us getting up in the morning – a horse like this. It’s going to be fun getting to the bottom of it and find out exactly what he is.”

— Looking ahead, the second week in March promises to be a major one for two horses on a number of Derby watch lists: Verrazano and Flashback.

Both are undefeated this season and will put their records on the line against strong fields at Tampa Bay Downs. For Verrazano, Tampa Bay will be his first start going around two turns – meaning a lot of eyes will be on both the horse and jockey John Velazquez, who will have to show he can ratio Verrazano’s speed right from the start of the race.

Verrazano is from the Todd Pletcher stable and you have to think Pletcher will have a small bit of desire coursing through his veins as he tries to capture the Tampa Bay race for the first time in nine years. He’s had three favorites run over the last three years (Spring Hill Farm in 2012, Brethren in 2011 and Super Saver in 2010) but all three disappointed at Tampa Bay, failing to win or place.

As for Flashback, he’ll likely be the favorite heading into Tampa Bay. The Bob Baffert-trained colt has finished second in each of his last two runnings.

— Away from the track, the Kentucky Derby unveiled this year’s 2013 Pegasus Pins on Friday at an event at Louisville’s Hard Rock Café.

The pins sell annually for $5 with proceeds accounting for 25-30% of the Derby’s annual revenue. They serve as admission-like tokens to a variety of Derby events and, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal, more than 300,000 are sold annually.

The month of February is a big one with regards to the Running of the Roses. Each year, a series of important stakes races happens across America as horses and trainers fight for a spot in the Kentucky Derby – and this year, with Churchill Downs revamping its point qualification system, the prep races have more value than ever.

With that said, let’s take a look at which horses are making noise as we count down to the 2013 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 4.

Grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes, Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The big story here was Orb, a Shug McGaughey-trained colt that has now won his last three starts after a stellar victory at Hallandale Beach. Orb knocked off one of Todd Pletcher’s prized Derby contenders – Violence – in the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth, and instantly became a favorite for Churchill Downs in the process.

“If he keeps improving, maybe he’ll be something,” McGaughey said of Orb following the race, clearly trying to keep a low-profile heading into the Florida Derby on March 30.”He’s come so far over the winter. My people have done a great job with him.”
The Associated Press, which keeps a running ‘power rankings’ of Top 10 Derby Contenders, now has Orb in the No. 5 slot.

Grade II Risen Star Stakes, New Orleans, LA.

In a result that stunned the horse racing community, 99-1 longshot I’ve Struck a Nerve edged Code West at the wire to wow the New Orleans audience. Trained by J. Keith Desormeaux and ridden by James Graham, I’ve Struck A Nerve was something of an afterthought heading into this race, especially since pre-Derby favorite Normandy Invasion (trained by Chad Brown) was in the field.

Unfortunately for Brown, Normandy Invasion broke poorly and was never a factor in the Risen Star. But that set the stage for I’ve Struck a Nerve, the Louisiana-bred horse, to pull off a stunning upset that even took his trainer by surprise.

‘I can’t believe it,” Desormeaux said. ”We’ve always thought highly of the horse. The expectations were we would finally get a clean trip at that distance. He’s never had a clean trip around two turns.”

I’ve Struck a Nerve earned 50 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, which should be enough to earn him a spot in the field.

Withers Stakes at the Aqueduct, New York, NY.

While it was a race that happened earlier in February, it was still an important one because of who emerged the winner – Revolutionary, another horse from the Pletcher stable that’s expected to factor heavily at May’s Kentucky Derby.

Revolutionary split apart from Escapefromreality down the stretch to capture the Aqueduct crown, giving him 10 qualifying points to the Derby (which it looks like he’ll have no trouble qualifying for now.)

Revolutionary now joins the likes of Shanghai Bobby, Violence, Verrazano and Overanalyze as Pletcher horses that you can expect to see in May.