The Race
You read it here first. The famous Two Bills—Killeen and Mauk—both told you Orb was the best horse in the 139th Kentucky Derby, then he went out and proved it. When handicapping the race, Orb appeared to be the only horse in the field without a significant hole in his fabric, tough and proven against top flight competition. He could be beaten, of course, like any horse can be beaten, by bad racing luck or circumstance. Kentucky Derby history is rife with both. What would happen on a wet track to a horse who came from well behind, mud flying everywhere? How would Orb handle the slick surface? Just fine to all of it, thank you. Benefiting from a very fast pace—Mike Smith on Palace Malice must have thought he was riding a 2-5 shot in a 5-furlong sprint at Suffolk Downs the way he rocketed out of the gate—Orb took a seat near the back of the auditorium to watch the first two acts of the play, his rider, the clever Joel Rosario, displaying steely patience as the leaders ran away from him. Your horse will get the money in most six-furlong races if he runs the distance in the Derby time of 1:09.8 but he will be among the missing at the wire of a mile-and-a-quarter test such as this one. Usually smart jockeys played follow the leader and were all sucked down into the vortex. Verrazano, Itsmyluckyday and Goldencents were all victims of the pace. The horses who finished first through third—Orb, Golden Soul (who was a last minute entry into the race) and Revolutionary were all between 15th and 18th through the first three calls.
How does this happen? Well, the excitement inherent in a race of this magnitude is apt to throw a jockey off his game. We commented on Goldencents’ rider, Kevin Krigger, being a raw rookie and he rode like one. Jockey Elvis Trujillo, who rode Itsmyluckyday, has been around awhile but does not ride in too many Kentucky Derbies. Top rider John Velazquez, on trainer Todd Pletcher’s Verrazano, simply should have known better, though we have never felt this horse wanted any part of the Derby distance no matter what the pace and we doubt you’ll see him in the next two classics. We threw our gut instincts out the window and picked him second on his undefeated record and first-class connections, but we, like Velazquez, should have known better.
On the positive side, Golden Soul came out of nowhere to be second, Revolutionary, under the old master Calvin Borel, finished well to be third, Normandy Invasion was a good fourth and Mylute, under Rosie Napravnik, was a strong fifth. Further back were D. Wayne Lukas’ pair, Oxbow and Will Take Charge, in sixth and eighth, well out of the running. The Emirates horse, Lines Of Battle, was a respectable seventh, considering.
Even though we all like to see a little guy get the roses, the owners of the winner, Stuart Janney and Dinny Phipps are lifetime contributors to the thoroughbred industry and deserve a Derby winner as much as anyone. Their veteran trainer, Shug McGaughey, a Kentucky homeboy, rarely has a horse in the Derby because of his disinclination to rush horses in his care. He says he was surprised to be in Louisville, never expected to be there until Orb won the Florida Derby. He won’t be surprised to be in Baltimore on May 18th, however, when Orb will be a prohibitive favorite to win the next jewel in the Triple Crown, the 138th Preakness Stakes.
On To Baltimore!
After a convincing victory like Orb enjoyed in the 139th Kentucky Derby, everybody jumps on the bandwagon. The man in the street—and many racing-savvy observers, as well—start having Triple Crown dreams. Best to remember, there have only been eleven of these in the history of thoroughbred racing and none since 1978. Obviously, sooner or later some horse will overcome the obstacles to such exalted success and win another Triple Crown. Will it be Orb? He has a chance. It is difficult to see him losing a race like the Belmont, at 1 1/2 miles. He probably ran almost that far in the Derby, going as wide as he did in the final turn and finishing well on a heavy track. If he is going to lose, the Preakness looms as the more likely of the two upcoming races to see him beaten.
The Baltimore race at Pimlico is shorter than the Derby, if only by one-sixteenth of a mile. Although the pace is likely to be fast, the riders will probably take a lesson from the Derby and hold their horses a little better. The weather may be less of a factor, the track may be faster and more to the liking of some of the contenders. So, the next question is who will show up? Which horse or horses can play speed bump to Orb’s journey to the Triple Crown?
Of the Derby runners, Revolutionary got closest last time, beaten a little over 3 1/2 lengths. Calvin Borel is a wily ground-saving rider who is very experienced in races of this type. This horse is always close. Normandy Invasion closed well, only beaten a head by Revolutionary, and is ridden by top rider Javier Castellano. This horse was twelfth at the first call in the Derby but moved up sooner than the other closers and actually got the lead for awhile in the stretch. He is a definite challenger. Itsmyluckyday, beaten by the frantic pace in Louisville, should be wiser the next time. Were he mine, he would have a proven rider in the Preakness but Eddie Plesa will probably stick with Trujillo. I feel the same way about Goldencents, a much better horse than he appeared in the Derby. Jockeys Edgar Prado and Rafael Bejarano are available and either one would be a good choice.
Horses expected for the Preakness which did not run in the Derby are Departing, Bob Baffert’s Governor Charlie, Wayne Lukas’ Titletown Five (giving him three in the race as Oxbow and Will Take Charge are projected to try again) and somebody named Street Spice, who might as well be named “No Way.” Others may appear, but not many others. Departing looks promising, for the others it’s a reach. We’ll discuss all this in our Preakness selections column next week. In addition to the competition, another thing to consider is the close proximity of the two races. Most horses of this quality never race 14 days from a previous start, so that will be new, except, of course, for the Derby nonstarters. I think that will not affect many of these horses, done just once. The issue of coming back just three weeks later for the Belmont is a more intriguing question. Races like this take a lot out of a horse and many of them are not up to it. But some are—and those are the kind that win Triple Crowns.
Fastest Horse In The World Debuts
Well, we finally got Cosmic Flash in a race and, after insufficient entries in the first few attempts, we ended up with nine in this one with one scratch. Siobhan and I decided to drive down to Miami and then back after the race, she being obsessed with a need to be on scene for her quickly-growing horde of customers. It was raining, of course. Just a little, at first, but then a LOT. Monsoon weather, especially for Siobhan’s half of the drive, a lot of it at 50 mph or less. Even a visit to Dunkin Donuts didn’t cheer us up much, stressful (and slow) as the trip was. Just before we got to Miami, the rain stopped. It hadn’t rained there much at all but the sky was murky and foreboding. I have spent hours of my life at Calder, looking up at threatening skies, begging for the rain to hold off. It did hold off until the fifth race. Unfortunately, we were in the sixth. They sealed the track after the fifth race but it already was a swamp and correctly labeled “sloppy.” This is not an occurrence you particularly want when you feel you have the speediest horse. A wet track can compromise speed and often be a great equalizer. An opponent not especially spectacular on a fast track might excel in the slop.
Cosmic Flash was remarkably composed in the paddock, where first-timers are often fractious, shaking or exhibiting nervous diarrhea. He looked like he’d been there a hundred times, even though he’d only walked through the place once and that with no other people or horses present. “This horse has a really good mind,” said trainer Larry Pilotti. After a slight delay to wait out a nasty cell, they were off to the gate. Cosmic Flash broke fourth from the seven hole, only one horse outside of him, a desirable position. The morning-line favorite, Torrid Heat, immediately went to the lead and held it into the stretch. Cosmic Flash, with plenty of room, moved to the rail and saved ground, split horses at the eighth pole moving outside Torrid Heat, opened up three lengths and cruised to victory. The eventual race chart was deceiving, calling him “all out” to prevail over a closing filly who never had a chance. The final margin was 1 1/4 lengths with the jockey just sitting. Up to this time, I always thought the people who wrote the charts were actually at the race track where the race took place. I guess not. Due to a never-ending squabble between the track and the horseman, the Calder signal did not go out that day, a fact testified to by many of you who tried to view it. So I guess the chart man never got to see the race and just tried to puzzle things together from the positions the horses had at various stages. Whatever happened to the Good Old Days? Anyway, we know what happened.
The drive back to Fairfield was even worse than the drive down, much of it performed at 50 mph or less. When you win, however, the ordeal is lessened by the thrill of victory (not to mention the nice purse). One of the problems with winning early—and there aren’t many—is that now you have to wait awhile for enough horses to become winners to field a non-winners of two race. Since that won’t happen for awhile, Cosmic Flash will probably next be entered in The Frank Gomez Stakes at five-and-one-half furlongs on June 22, which is pretty much a glorified non-winners of two—but with a $100,000 purse, $60,000 to the winner. You can buy a lot of chalupas for $60,000. And, as an added bonus, a lot of old friends begin to call. Fortunately for us, we have all the old friends we need.
That’s all, folks. Lila says “hi”.
You read it here first. The famous Two Bills—Killeen and Mauk—both told you Orb was the best horse in the 139th Kentucky Derby, then he went out and proved it. When handicapping the race, Orb appeared to be the only horse in the field without a significant hole in his fabric, tough and proven against top flight competition. He could be beaten, of course, like any horse can be beaten, by bad racing luck or circumstance. Kentucky Derby history is rife with both. What would happen on a wet track to a horse who came from well behind, mud flying everywhere? How would Orb handle the slick surface? Just fine to all of it, thank you. Benefiting from a very fast pace—Mike Smith on Palace Malice must have thought he was riding a 2-5 shot in a 5-furlong sprint at Suffolk Downs the way he rocketed out of the gate—Orb took a seat near the back of the auditorium to watch the first two acts of the play, his rider, the clever Joel Rosario, displaying steely patience as the leaders ran away from him. Your horse will get the money in most six-furlong races if he runs the distance in the Derby time of 1:09.8 but he will be among the missing at the wire of a mile-and-a-quarter test such as this one. Usually smart jockeys played follow the leader and were all sucked down into the vortex. Verrazano, Itsmyluckyday and Goldencents were all victims of the pace. The horses who finished first through third—Orb, Golden Soul (who was a last minute entry into the race) and Revolutionary were all between 15th and 18th through the first three calls.
How does this happen? Well, the excitement inherent in a race of this magnitude is apt to throw a jockey off his game. We commented on Goldencents’ rider, Kevin Krigger, being a raw rookie and he rode like one. Jockey Elvis Trujillo, who rode Itsmyluckyday, has been around awhile but does not ride in too many Kentucky Derbies. Top rider John Velazquez, on trainer Todd Pletcher’s Verrazano, simply should have known better, though we have never felt this horse wanted any part of the Derby distance no matter what the pace and we doubt you’ll see him in the next two classics. We threw our gut instincts out the window and picked him second on his undefeated record and first-class connections, but we, like Velazquez, should have known better.
On the positive side, Golden Soul came out of nowhere to be second, Revolutionary, under the old master Calvin Borel, finished well to be third, Normandy Invasion was a good fourth and Mylute, under Rosie Napravnik, was a strong fifth. Further back were D. Wayne Lukas’ pair, Oxbow and Will Take Charge, in sixth and eighth, well out of the running. The Emirates horse, Lines Of Battle, was a respectable seventh, considering.
Even though we all like to see a little guy get the roses, the owners of the winner, Stuart Janney and Dinny Phipps are lifetime contributors to the thoroughbred industry and deserve a Derby winner as much as anyone. Their veteran trainer, Shug McGaughey, a Kentucky homeboy, rarely has a horse in the Derby because of his disinclination to rush horses in his care. He says he was surprised to be in Louisville, never expected to be there until Orb won the Florida Derby. He won’t be surprised to be in Baltimore on May 18th, however, when Orb will be a prohibitive favorite to win the next jewel in the Triple Crown, the 138th Preakness Stakes.
On To Baltimore!
After a convincing victory like Orb enjoyed in the 139th Kentucky Derby, everybody jumps on the bandwagon. The man in the street—and many racing-savvy observers, as well—start having Triple Crown dreams. Best to remember, there have only been eleven of these in the history of thoroughbred racing and none since 1978. Obviously, sooner or later some horse will overcome the obstacles to such exalted success and win another Triple Crown. Will it be Orb? He has a chance. It is difficult to see him losing a race like the Belmont, at 1 1/2 miles. He probably ran almost that far in the Derby, going as wide as he did in the final turn and finishing well on a heavy track. If he is going to lose, the Preakness looms as the more likely of the two upcoming races to see him beaten.
The Baltimore race at Pimlico is shorter than the Derby, if only by one-sixteenth of a mile. Although the pace is likely to be fast, the riders will probably take a lesson from the Derby and hold their horses a little better. The weather may be less of a factor, the track may be faster and more to the liking of some of the contenders. So, the next question is who will show up? Which horse or horses can play speed bump to Orb’s journey to the Triple Crown?
Of the Derby runners, Revolutionary got closest last time, beaten a little over 3 1/2 lengths. Calvin Borel is a wily ground-saving rider who is very experienced in races of this type. This horse is always close. Normandy Invasion closed well, only beaten a head by Revolutionary, and is ridden by top rider Javier Castellano. This horse was twelfth at the first call in the Derby but moved up sooner than the other closers and actually got the lead for awhile in the stretch. He is a definite challenger. Itsmyluckyday, beaten by the frantic pace in Louisville, should be wiser the next time. Were he mine, he would have a proven rider in the Preakness but Eddie Plesa will probably stick with Trujillo. I feel the same way about Goldencents, a much better horse than he appeared in the Derby. Jockeys Edgar Prado and Rafael Bejarano are available and either one would be a good choice.
Horses expected for the Preakness which did not run in the Derby are Departing, Bob Baffert’s Governor Charlie, Wayne Lukas’ Titletown Five (giving him three in the race as Oxbow and Will Take Charge are projected to try again) and somebody named Street Spice, who might as well be named “No Way.” Others may appear, but not many others. Departing looks promising, for the others it’s a reach. We’ll discuss all this in our Preakness selections column next week. In addition to the competition, another thing to consider is the close proximity of the two races. Most horses of this quality never race 14 days from a previous start, so that will be new, except, of course, for the Derby nonstarters. I think that will not affect many of these horses, done just once. The issue of coming back just three weeks later for the Belmont is a more intriguing question. Races like this take a lot out of a horse and many of them are not up to it. But some are—and those are the kind that win Triple Crowns.
Fastest Horse In The World Debuts
Well, we finally got Cosmic Flash in a race and, after insufficient entries in the first few attempts, we ended up with nine in this one with one scratch. Siobhan and I decided to drive down to Miami and then back after the race, she being obsessed with a need to be on scene for her quickly-growing horde of customers. It was raining, of course. Just a little, at first, but then a LOT. Monsoon weather, especially for Siobhan’s half of the drive, a lot of it at 50 mph or less. Even a visit to Dunkin Donuts didn’t cheer us up much, stressful (and slow) as the trip was. Just before we got to Miami, the rain stopped. It hadn’t rained there much at all but the sky was murky and foreboding. I have spent hours of my life at Calder, looking up at threatening skies, begging for the rain to hold off. It did hold off until the fifth race. Unfortunately, we were in the sixth. They sealed the track after the fifth race but it already was a swamp and correctly labeled “sloppy.” This is not an occurrence you particularly want when you feel you have the speediest horse. A wet track can compromise speed and often be a great equalizer. An opponent not especially spectacular on a fast track might excel in the slop.
Cosmic Flash was remarkably composed in the paddock, where first-timers are often fractious, shaking or exhibiting nervous diarrhea. He looked like he’d been there a hundred times, even though he’d only walked through the place once and that with no other people or horses present. “This horse has a really good mind,” said trainer Larry Pilotti. After a slight delay to wait out a nasty cell, they were off to the gate. Cosmic Flash broke fourth from the seven hole, only one horse outside of him, a desirable position. The morning-line favorite, Torrid Heat, immediately went to the lead and held it into the stretch. Cosmic Flash, with plenty of room, moved to the rail and saved ground, split horses at the eighth pole moving outside Torrid Heat, opened up three lengths and cruised to victory. The eventual race chart was deceiving, calling him “all out” to prevail over a closing filly who never had a chance. The final margin was 1 1/4 lengths with the jockey just sitting. Up to this time, I always thought the people who wrote the charts were actually at the race track where the race took place. I guess not. Due to a never-ending squabble between the track and the horseman, the Calder signal did not go out that day, a fact testified to by many of you who tried to view it. So I guess the chart man never got to see the race and just tried to puzzle things together from the positions the horses had at various stages. Whatever happened to the Good Old Days? Anyway, we know what happened.
The drive back to Fairfield was even worse than the drive down, much of it performed at 50 mph or less. When you win, however, the ordeal is lessened by the thrill of victory (not to mention the nice purse). One of the problems with winning early—and there aren’t many—is that now you have to wait awhile for enough horses to become winners to field a non-winners of two race. Since that won’t happen for awhile, Cosmic Flash will probably next be entered in The Frank Gomez Stakes at five-and-one-half furlongs on June 22, which is pretty much a glorified non-winners of two—but with a $100,000 purse, $60,000 to the winner. You can buy a lot of chalupas for $60,000. And, as an added bonus, a lot of old friends begin to call. Fortunately for us, we have all the old friends we need.
That’s all, folks. Lila says “hi”.
