A sophomore standout going nine furlongs impressed at Gulfstream over the weekend, and it wasn’t Dialed In running the final eighth in :13.09 to beat 68-1 Shackleford by a head in the Florida Derby on Sunday. “For a lightly raced horse to do what he did is amazing,” cried trainer Nick Zito to Mike Welsch. Amazing seems a better word for R Heat Lightning in the Gulfstream Oaks on Saturday. The Kentucky Oaks prospect finished in :12.77, winning by 8 1/4 lengths under a handride. Her final time of 1:49.27, “less than one-fifth of second off of the time clocked by 4-year-old Awesome Maria in the Rampart,” was eight-tenths of a second faster than the time of 1:50.07 in the Florida Derby. For her brilliant effort, R Heat Lightning was given a Beyer speed figure of 100. Dialed In received a 93 for his final Derby prep. “Disappointing, considering he got the perfect setup,” the man himself reportedly said.
3/5/11 Addendum: “To me, even though they ran on different days, usually it’s not a good sign for the colts when fillies run faster,” observes Pletcher.
Posted by JC in Racing on 04/04/2011 @ 7:41 am / Tagged Derby Preps, Derby Prospects, Dialed In, Oaks Preps, Oaks Prospects, R Heat Lightning / Follow @railbird on Twitter
Bill Finley on who should follow RCI’s call for a medication ban:
… the Breeders’ Cup is exactly the organization that should lead the way. Just announce that starting next year no horse will be allowed to race in the Breeders’ Cup on any medications. A grandfather clause is fine. You can allow any horse that raced on Lasix in 2011 to continue to run on the drug, but no one else. The Breeders’ Cup has nothing to lose. There’s not a trainer in America who would decline a spot in the Breeders’ Cup because they’d have to run drug free. And if they do, too bad.
Such a move by the Breeders’ Cup would not only help clean up American racing, it would be a significant signal to the international scene.
Maybe Europe would call off the boycott? (Note the posted date.)
Posted by JC in Racing on 04/03/2011 @ 11:11 am / Tagged Breeders' Cup, Building Momentum, Drugs, International, Lasix, Medications, RCI / Follow @railbird on Twitter
Bob Baffert on the verge of his ninth Santa Anita training title:
“Getting back to the dirt was a big plus, and I have a pretty strong barn now which we were able to build up again. I’ve got no complaints, and it’s been a very safe meet.”
For Baffert’s barn, perhaps, aside from Always a Princess’ career-ending injury in the Santa Margarita. But it’s hardly been a safe meet for the overall horse population; on-track injury and fatality rates at Santa Anita have returned to the ugly level that helped spur the installation of synthetics in California.
Posted by JC in Racing on 04/02/2011 @ 5:18 pm / Tagged California, Equine Safety, Fatalities, Injuries, Santa Anita, Track Surfaces / Follow @railbird on Twitter
