JC / Railbird - We Have a Derby Winner

We Have a Derby Winner

And his name is Giacomo. Closing Argument ran second, Afleet Alex was third, followed by Don’t Get Mad and Buzzards Bay. Wilko was sixth. Intriguing that four of the top six were California horses.
Asks Rick Bozich: “Jack Who won the Derby?” Exactly.
The last mention I made of Giacomo was on May 1:

Workouts: Giacomo (remember Giacomo?) breezed six furlongs in 1:11.8 on Sunday at Hollywood Park.

And I then forgot all about him, as did almost everyone else, which is why he was sent off at 50-1 in yesterday’s race. What a surprise finish — you’ve got to be happy for jockey Mike Smith and trainer John Shirreffs, though.
The New York Post’s Ray Kerrison captures the outrage of horseplayers everywhere:

This Derby was not a true bill. Far from being a genuine test of the three-year-old crop, it degenerated into the equine equivalent of a barroom brawl, specifically designed that way by the connections of Spanish Chestnut, so that the last horse standing would be crowned and blanketed with roses.

That’s exactly what happened, except the plans misfired. The last one standing was not Bandini — hell, he was the first horse beaten — but a Californian slowpoke who has never run a fast race in his life. What he did have, however, was some stamina and staying power and that was enough to waltz off with the biggest horse race in America.

To the winner goes the spoils and no one would deny Giacomo his day in the sun. But one thing is for sure: there will be no Triple Crown winner this year.

The Boston Herald reports today that a $1.7 million Derby superfecta ticket was sold at Suffolk.
A record-setting $103,325,518 was bet on the Derby.
I’m going to suggest you visit Left at the Gate for more post-Derby news; Alan has a good collection of links up this morning. I’m out of here again today to look at apartments. If anyone has a lead on a 1+/2 bedroom place in Cambridge/Somerville near the red line for $1200-$1500/month including utilities, available May 15/June 1, please send me an email.

Posted by JC in Racing on 05/08/2005 @ 12:00 pm / Tagged Kentucky Derby / Follow @railbird on Twitter