The sun shines bright on My Old Kentucky Home in a mere 30 days so we’d better get crackin’ on our list of likely candidates to take home the roses. The top two, in no particular order, would be Florida Derby winner Orb and Tampa Bay Derby winner Verrazano. In the Florida Derby at Gulfstream, the more prestigious of the two races, Orb, who likes to come from behind, remained closer to the pace than usual and finished strong to beat Itsmyluckyday, a Calder horse trained by Eddie Plesa who had beaten two-year-old champion Shanghai Bobby in the shorter Holy Bull Stakes on January 26th. Itsmyluckyday put forth a game effort but Orb was the better horse this day.
Verrazano, named after either the navigator who first entered New York Harbor, the Narrows itself, or the bridge that spans the Narrows connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn, might have won the easier race but he is undefeated and yet to be really challenged. His current pre-derby odds are 4-1, while Orb is 6-1 and Itsmylucky day is 10-1. Shanghai Bobby. a major disappointment in his three-year-old season, may not even make the Derby. Orb, by the way, is trained by Todd Pletcher, who has more Derby possibles than Jesus.
Louisiana Derby winner Revolutionary, who also beat an easy field in the usually-prestigious Withers, is currently 8-1. Revolutionary is also trained by Pletcher (see, we told you—more than Jesus) and was impressive in winning at the Fair Grounds. Nonetheless, the competition didn’t compare with the field Orb faced and Revolutionary will have to improve to beat the former. And he may. Three-year-olds are often just finding themselves at this stage of their careers and many horses have made big jumps forward and surprised the competition in Kentucky.
Okay, you say, but I’m looking for a longshot. Not a hopeless longshot but somebody who could make that leap. Who else does Pletcher have? What about Bob Baffert? Is D. Wayne Lukas still around? Yes, indeed, both Baffert and Lukas are alive. The former has Flashback, a horse difficult to rate and therefore prone to burn out at a distance. Flashback is currently 15-1. Baffert also has Governor Charlie, who might be better than Flashback. Governor Charlie stomped a weak field in the Sunland Derby, seems to be improving rapidly, and is also now 15-1. A third Baffert horse is War Academy, by proven classics sire Giant’s Causeway, now at 20-1. Keep an eye on this horse. The Baffert barn has always loved him and he’s got the pedigree. The Arkansas Derby on April 13 should tell the tale. The Santa Anita Derby will let you know more about another Baffert possibility, Power Broker, training in California like a wonder horse but unraced for ages and currently at 30-1. Many of these longshots will have much higher odds later on so hold your horses if you like one of them.
We like to see Wayne Lukas show up with something even if it’s an unlikely something, like, for instance, Oxbow. This horse doesn’t win much but he’s always close. Gato Del Sol didn’t win much, either, but he won the Derby, so nothing is impossible. We like others better. Lukas also has Will Take Charge, by dependable classics sire, Unbridled Song. Will Take Charge won the Rebel at Oaklawn by a mere head but he won it. He’s 25-1 for the Derby and even an effort that got him on the board would be a surprise.
A Horse To Watch: Gotham Stakes winner Vyjack, now at 12-1 for the Derby and running in Saturday’s Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. If he wins, he’ll move up in the esteem of bettors. WAY up.
In the next couple of weeks, we’ll keep you up on the progress of these and any other likelies who pop up out of nowhere with a supreme effort in one of the preps. Riders who are currently vacillating will have to settle on their mounts and we’ll include all that. This will all be much easier next year when Cosmic Flash rips through the preliminaries and heads for the Derby odds-on. We can dream, can’t we?
Calder Update
Cosmic Flash, the aforespoken one, solved his gate issues yesterday and came blasting out in good order, hopefully earning his gate card, without which a horse cannot start. Next work will be at 4 furlongs sometime next week. Scarlet Siren went her first three-eighths on Wednesday in plebeian time when trainer Larry Pilotti reminded the rider it was her first effort at that distance. To this guy, that meant “Slow down.” It was still as good an effort as that of any other two-year-old at the distance that day, obviously on an off track.
Norm! Update
Norm! is doing well. He goes out into the big field a few times a day, runs small circles around his mother who is busily eating hay, and looks for pals, there being none. Norm! is sure there are bigger and faster circles to run but he is biding his time. We hauled his mother off to breed to Big Drama the other day and put Norm! in a stall next to Dot. Norm! was a little put off by the whole thing but didn’t get too bent out of shape. When Wanda returned, though, he did require an explanation. When last seen he was nodding his head in understanding while also requesting that this sort of thing not happen again.
The Evil Dissipation Blues
If your life is collapsing around you
And you haven’t a clue what to do,
If your wife has run off with the pool man
And left you incredibly blue;
If your children will no longer write you
And your mother is locked up in jail,
If your business has recently folded
And you don’t have the money for bail;
If your car burns more oil than McDonalds,
If your house is about to fall down,
If your health is a bit of a shambles,
If your boss thinks you’re Bozo the Clown;
If there’s nothing to enhance your spirits
If the road winds eternally down,
If you can’t fill the bill with a happiness pill
And the bars are all closed in your town;
If you don’t think you’ll find satisfaction
In a lemur, a goat or a guppie,
Resort to the Ultimate Weapon--
Just go out and buy you a puppy!
The Queen Is Dead! Long Live The Queen!
After China the Rottweiler passed away and was duly interred at the Ellison Burial Grounds, Siobhan opined that it would “be awhile” before she looked into getting a new puppy. In Siobhan terms, “awhile” lasted about five days. We tracked down a breeder named Tony the Greek—well, that’s what we called him—way out on Route 200 in Ocala, almost to Dunnellon. Tony, as it happened, had FOUR Rottweiler puppies, one male and three females. And they did not cost an outrageous $1800 or more dollars, like most of the dogs advertised. If I am paying $1800 for a dog, I will be expecting him to make breakfast and play a little accordion on the side. You could buy a goddam CAR for $1800. You could buy ice cream for a year, at least. You could get a round-trip ticket to Mozambique, wherever that is. It’s too much.
Anyway, we went out there after dinner and looked at the puppies. This is not a simple matter for Siobhan. The puppies must be put through extensive testing, like on Survivor. Siobhan walks down the fenceline alongside the puppies, watching which will meet her eyes. She takes them out of the pen individually and shows them toys to determine which are interested in the toys and which are more interested in her. She puts them on her lap and turns them on their backs to see who is submissive. She watches them roughhouse with their littermates, trying to ascertain how aggressive they are, looking to avoid another dog as prey-driven as was China. Finally, when all of this serious business is concluded, she turns to me and asks, “Which one do you like, Bill?”
“What the hell do I know? They all look the same to me.”
Oh, I could tell you the obvious differences. I’m real good at telling males from females, a talent which has stood me in good stead over the years. And it was obvious who was the scrappiest—the one with the cloth collar torn to shreds. So, after heavy consideration, Siobhan picked one of the females and named her Lila (her mother was “Nyla”). Lila came home with us in the truck and was surprisingly serene about the whole thing (China thought trucks were evil spawns of the Devil, come to fetch her and take her to Hell).
After a couple of days of taking up residence, Lila has decided there will be some rules. First, NO mats will be permitted in the bathrooms. If any mat should foolishly decide to repose in the bathroom, Lila will be quick to pick it up in her tiny teeth and drag it off for punishment. Second, there will be NO sleeping alone in the laundry room. Such attempts will be countered with LOUD WAILING. I thought if we put her on the bottom of the bed, she would keep us awake at night, but nope, she just lies there and sleeps, happy as a clam. Lila is a little taken back by the size of the horses, she can’t figure out just what they are supposed to be used for. She has decided she likes soft-boiled eggs VERY much. And ice. Lots of ice cubes. I think she was egg- and ice-deprived in her previous life. Oh, and don’t leave any socks around, even for a minute. Or slippers, either. Everything has to get piled up on the bed or the counters, where Lila can’t reach it. Unfortunately, we can’t put the electrical cords up there, so observation must be constant. Nobody wants a fried puppy.
All things considered, it looks like a good match. We feed Lila, Lila eats. We expend affection, Lila licks us. Which brings me to Lila’s methods for awakening her new friends. She licks you on the back of the neck. While I have liked this sort of attention in the morning, it is different when the attention is coming from a dog. I’m getting used to it, though. And we’re smiling a lot.
That’s all, folks….
Verrazano, named after either the navigator who first entered New York Harbor, the Narrows itself, or the bridge that spans the Narrows connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn, might have won the easier race but he is undefeated and yet to be really challenged. His current pre-derby odds are 4-1, while Orb is 6-1 and Itsmylucky day is 10-1. Shanghai Bobby. a major disappointment in his three-year-old season, may not even make the Derby. Orb, by the way, is trained by Todd Pletcher, who has more Derby possibles than Jesus.
Louisiana Derby winner Revolutionary, who also beat an easy field in the usually-prestigious Withers, is currently 8-1. Revolutionary is also trained by Pletcher (see, we told you—more than Jesus) and was impressive in winning at the Fair Grounds. Nonetheless, the competition didn’t compare with the field Orb faced and Revolutionary will have to improve to beat the former. And he may. Three-year-olds are often just finding themselves at this stage of their careers and many horses have made big jumps forward and surprised the competition in Kentucky.
Okay, you say, but I’m looking for a longshot. Not a hopeless longshot but somebody who could make that leap. Who else does Pletcher have? What about Bob Baffert? Is D. Wayne Lukas still around? Yes, indeed, both Baffert and Lukas are alive. The former has Flashback, a horse difficult to rate and therefore prone to burn out at a distance. Flashback is currently 15-1. Baffert also has Governor Charlie, who might be better than Flashback. Governor Charlie stomped a weak field in the Sunland Derby, seems to be improving rapidly, and is also now 15-1. A third Baffert horse is War Academy, by proven classics sire Giant’s Causeway, now at 20-1. Keep an eye on this horse. The Baffert barn has always loved him and he’s got the pedigree. The Arkansas Derby on April 13 should tell the tale. The Santa Anita Derby will let you know more about another Baffert possibility, Power Broker, training in California like a wonder horse but unraced for ages and currently at 30-1. Many of these longshots will have much higher odds later on so hold your horses if you like one of them.
We like to see Wayne Lukas show up with something even if it’s an unlikely something, like, for instance, Oxbow. This horse doesn’t win much but he’s always close. Gato Del Sol didn’t win much, either, but he won the Derby, so nothing is impossible. We like others better. Lukas also has Will Take Charge, by dependable classics sire, Unbridled Song. Will Take Charge won the Rebel at Oaklawn by a mere head but he won it. He’s 25-1 for the Derby and even an effort that got him on the board would be a surprise.
A Horse To Watch: Gotham Stakes winner Vyjack, now at 12-1 for the Derby and running in Saturday’s Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. If he wins, he’ll move up in the esteem of bettors. WAY up.
In the next couple of weeks, we’ll keep you up on the progress of these and any other likelies who pop up out of nowhere with a supreme effort in one of the preps. Riders who are currently vacillating will have to settle on their mounts and we’ll include all that. This will all be much easier next year when Cosmic Flash rips through the preliminaries and heads for the Derby odds-on. We can dream, can’t we?
Calder Update
Cosmic Flash, the aforespoken one, solved his gate issues yesterday and came blasting out in good order, hopefully earning his gate card, without which a horse cannot start. Next work will be at 4 furlongs sometime next week. Scarlet Siren went her first three-eighths on Wednesday in plebeian time when trainer Larry Pilotti reminded the rider it was her first effort at that distance. To this guy, that meant “Slow down.” It was still as good an effort as that of any other two-year-old at the distance that day, obviously on an off track.
Norm! Update
Norm! is doing well. He goes out into the big field a few times a day, runs small circles around his mother who is busily eating hay, and looks for pals, there being none. Norm! is sure there are bigger and faster circles to run but he is biding his time. We hauled his mother off to breed to Big Drama the other day and put Norm! in a stall next to Dot. Norm! was a little put off by the whole thing but didn’t get too bent out of shape. When Wanda returned, though, he did require an explanation. When last seen he was nodding his head in understanding while also requesting that this sort of thing not happen again.
The Evil Dissipation Blues
If your life is collapsing around you
And you haven’t a clue what to do,
If your wife has run off with the pool man
And left you incredibly blue;
If your children will no longer write you
And your mother is locked up in jail,
If your business has recently folded
And you don’t have the money for bail;
If your car burns more oil than McDonalds,
If your house is about to fall down,
If your health is a bit of a shambles,
If your boss thinks you’re Bozo the Clown;
If there’s nothing to enhance your spirits
If the road winds eternally down,
If you can’t fill the bill with a happiness pill
And the bars are all closed in your town;
If you don’t think you’ll find satisfaction
In a lemur, a goat or a guppie,
Resort to the Ultimate Weapon--
Just go out and buy you a puppy!
The Queen Is Dead! Long Live The Queen!
After China the Rottweiler passed away and was duly interred at the Ellison Burial Grounds, Siobhan opined that it would “be awhile” before she looked into getting a new puppy. In Siobhan terms, “awhile” lasted about five days. We tracked down a breeder named Tony the Greek—well, that’s what we called him—way out on Route 200 in Ocala, almost to Dunnellon. Tony, as it happened, had FOUR Rottweiler puppies, one male and three females. And they did not cost an outrageous $1800 or more dollars, like most of the dogs advertised. If I am paying $1800 for a dog, I will be expecting him to make breakfast and play a little accordion on the side. You could buy a goddam CAR for $1800. You could buy ice cream for a year, at least. You could get a round-trip ticket to Mozambique, wherever that is. It’s too much.
Anyway, we went out there after dinner and looked at the puppies. This is not a simple matter for Siobhan. The puppies must be put through extensive testing, like on Survivor. Siobhan walks down the fenceline alongside the puppies, watching which will meet her eyes. She takes them out of the pen individually and shows them toys to determine which are interested in the toys and which are more interested in her. She puts them on her lap and turns them on their backs to see who is submissive. She watches them roughhouse with their littermates, trying to ascertain how aggressive they are, looking to avoid another dog as prey-driven as was China. Finally, when all of this serious business is concluded, she turns to me and asks, “Which one do you like, Bill?”
“What the hell do I know? They all look the same to me.”
Oh, I could tell you the obvious differences. I’m real good at telling males from females, a talent which has stood me in good stead over the years. And it was obvious who was the scrappiest—the one with the cloth collar torn to shreds. So, after heavy consideration, Siobhan picked one of the females and named her Lila (her mother was “Nyla”). Lila came home with us in the truck and was surprisingly serene about the whole thing (China thought trucks were evil spawns of the Devil, come to fetch her and take her to Hell).
After a couple of days of taking up residence, Lila has decided there will be some rules. First, NO mats will be permitted in the bathrooms. If any mat should foolishly decide to repose in the bathroom, Lila will be quick to pick it up in her tiny teeth and drag it off for punishment. Second, there will be NO sleeping alone in the laundry room. Such attempts will be countered with LOUD WAILING. I thought if we put her on the bottom of the bed, she would keep us awake at night, but nope, she just lies there and sleeps, happy as a clam. Lila is a little taken back by the size of the horses, she can’t figure out just what they are supposed to be used for. She has decided she likes soft-boiled eggs VERY much. And ice. Lots of ice cubes. I think she was egg- and ice-deprived in her previous life. Oh, and don’t leave any socks around, even for a minute. Or slippers, either. Everything has to get piled up on the bed or the counters, where Lila can’t reach it. Unfortunately, we can’t put the electrical cords up there, so observation must be constant. Nobody wants a fried puppy.
All things considered, it looks like a good match. We feed Lila, Lila eats. We expend affection, Lila licks us. Which brings me to Lila’s methods for awakening her new friends. She licks you on the back of the neck. While I have liked this sort of attention in the morning, it is different when the attention is coming from a dog. I’m getting used to it, though. And we’re smiling a lot.
That’s all, folks….
