Daily Archives: April 2, 2013

Here’s some news and notes to pass your way for the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby set for Saturday, May 4 at Churchill Downs.

Orb Riding High

We’ve written a lot about famed trainer Shug McGaughey in the lead-up to the Derby, mostly because of his prized horse, Orb.
That theme continued when the red-hot horse won the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.

McGaughey, who has yet to train a Kentucky Derby winner in his 30-plus years on the circuit, clearly has a favorite on his hands in Orb. Orb has now won four-straight stakes races and is quickly shooting to the top of many oddsmakers’ lists for May 4.
McGaughey thinks he has a star in the making, one that could capture the 2013 Kentucky Derby.

”It’s my dream,” he told the Associated Press after winning at Gulfstream. ”When the 2-year-olds come in, I always try to think, ‘Well, one of these is going to be the one to take us to the Derby where we have an opportunity to win.’”

Ridden by jockey John Velazquez, Orb caught another serious Derby contender – Itsmyluckyday – inside the eighth pole at Gulfstream and ran to victory.

McGaughey has had success in Triple Crown races – he trained Easy Goer, who won the 1989 Belmont Stakes – but as mentioned, has never trained a Derby winner. Heck, he hasn’t had a horse in the race in over 10 years.

”I haven’t taken one to the Derby since (Saarland in) 2002,” McGaughey said, ”and this horse, by far, is the best opportunity I’ve had since Easy Goer.”

Revolutionary Stands Tall

Another horse making big waves as the Derby draws near?

Revolutionary.

One of the stars of the Todd Pletcher stable, Revolutionary won one of the first 100-point races of the stakes season by finishing first in the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds.

The result was key for Pletcher’s prized horse, as he’d struggled in an earlier race (Withers Stakes, in February) that left many people wondering what Revolutionary would have in store for the Derby.

Jockey Javier Castellano put those concerns to rest at the Fair Grounds.

He paced his horse to a solid, powerful move on the final turn and did well to hold off a pesky challenger, Mylute, to win the grade 2 stakes.

“[Revolutionary] did everything you could ask, last time and today,” Castellano told Daily Racing Form. “I’m looking forward to the Derby big-time.”

Animal Kingdom Captures Dubai

If horses can have swan songs, Animal Kingdom has written a beauty.

The 2011 Kentucky Derby winner put an injury-plagued campaign behind him to win the $10 million Dubai World Cup – the first American to capture the world’s richest horse race in four years.

A series of ailments have kept Animal Kingdom from running much in the last year, including the 2012 Dubai World Cup. However he showed strong this time around, taking the lead from Royal Delta down the stretch, holding off a late charge by Red Cadeaux to win by two lengths.

“He’s a tremendous horse,” jockey Joel Rosario told the Associated Press following the race. “I let him do his thing, whatever he wanted to do.”

The month of March has been a busy one in terms of Kentucky Derby positioning. With the 2013 race having implemented a new points qualification system – races increase in point value as we draw closer to the May 4 run date – things have progressively gotten more and more intense as the 139th Run for the Roses draws near.

Let’s take a look at some of the big stakes and prep races from this past month.

Grade 3 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct, March 2

The big story from Gotham was the performance of Vyjack, who won his fourth-straight race thanks to a stunning late rally down the stretch. Perhaps even bigger than the win was Vyjack’s ability to overshadow pre-race favorite race horse Overanalyze – the Todd Pletcher-trained horse that many liked as a Derby contender heading into the race. Overanalyze finished fifth (in what was his debut race at the three-year-old level) which has since tempered expectations for both Pletcher and his horse heading into May.

As for Vyjack, he picked up a crucial 50 points to vault himself right near the top of the Derby leaderboard.

Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs, March 9

This was the race in which Verrazano solidified his status as a major favorite for the ’13 Derby.

The betting favorite heading in (at 2/5), Verrazano passed Falling Sky at the half-mile mark and cruised to his third-straight victory.

Another of the prized horses from the Pletcher stable, Verrazano impressed many on the day, including Pletcher himself.

“He definitely showed us that he can overcome an early stumble and deal with a little dirt in his face,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “We found out that he could travel well and handle two turns. All the things we were worried about he overcame them pretty well.”

Like Gotham, this too was a 50-point first-place finish for Derby seeding. As such, it was an important result for Verrazano, given there’s only a handful of 100-point firsts up for grabs in April. Verrazano’s in the driver’s seat for a good spot at the Derby.

Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park, March 16

Oaklawn was the D. Wayne Lukas show.

The four-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer captured the day as his horses finished first and second in the $600,000 race – Will Take Charge captured the crown, while Oxbow showed extremely well in a runner-up role.

The win put Will Take Charge atop the leaderboard with 60 points – he gained an additional 10 at the Smarty Jones back in January – though that status could change in the near future as some big April points stakes are still to be run.

Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park, March 23

Black Onyx made his stakes debut a good one at Turfway, capturing the Spiral and earning 50 Derby points as a result.

It promises to be a brief debut, according to trainer Kelly Breen.

“He’s proven he’s a multi-talented horse,” Breen said immediately after the race. “He’s won on dirt, on turf, and now on Polytrack. The plan was – if he won – that we wouldn’t run again until the Derby. His next start will be the Derby.”

The 50 points should be more than enough to qualify Black Onyx for the Derby (as Breen alluded to), so it’ll be interesting to see what a limited body of stakes race work will do come May 4.