Bandini wins the Blue Grass Stakes, Afleet Alex the Arkansas Derby, both with brilliant performances.
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What I like about both the Blue Grass and the Arkansas Derby is that there are no questions attached to the winners — there were no sloppy tracks, no shocking performances, no concerns about the quality of the fields. Bandini did come in slowly, running the last eighth in :13.4, and the race’s final time was 1:50.16, hardly the speediest prep race we’ve seen, but the way he took the lead in the stretch was commanding and in keeping with the improvement he’s shown in each race this year. Afleet Alex was considerably zippier, making it to the wire in 1:48.8, running the final eighth in :11.7, proving that his poor performance in the Rebel was legitimately due to a lung infection and dispelling any doubts about his ability around two turns.
The biggest disappointment of the day was Sun King, who ran fourth in the Blue Grass. Blood-Horse reports that a dismayed Nick Zito “criticized Sun King’s jockey, Edgar Prado, saying he didn’t follow instructions. ‘I told him to make a left turn and try to save some ground, as much as you can, and we’ll take our chances with him,’ Zito said. ‘He never saved an inch of ground. I guess he couldn’t get over. I don’t know. He was so wide.'” Prado blamed the horse.
There is one question hanging over yesterday’s results — will Jeremy Rose keep the mount on Afleet Alex? Trainer Tim Ritchey squirmed when asked this in an interview following the race. “Who knows,” he said. “We just want to enjoy the moment right now.”
Posted by JC in Racing on 04/16/2005 @ 6:50 pm / Tagged Kentucky Derby / Follow @railbird on Twitter
DRF readers have their say on the Sweet Catomine affair. Charlie Garcia writes that the CHRB is wasting its time investigating owner Marty Wygod when there are more deserving targets:
The California racing board will, however, allow racing a horse — Pearls ‘n’ Satin in the ninth race at Santa Anita on April 10 — whose trainer had not won in more than a year, whose jockey had won once out of 43 tries this year, and who had worked no faster than six-furlongs in 1:16 at Fairplex, with several three- to four-week gaps in the works. The board witnessed that horse get bet down from a 30-1 morning line to 12-1 and win like a 3-5 shot, and seemed not to think twice about investigating.
That does sound suspicious….
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The CHRB has slapped (now former) Sweet Catomine trainer Julio Canani with a complaint regarding the matter:
Canani is alleged to have violated Rule 1887 (a) as the absolute insurer of the condition of a horse; Rule 1489 (c) for making material misrepresentations or false statements to the CHRB or its agents; and Rule 1902 for engaging in conduct detrimental to horseracing.
Ahern said that Canani was ultimately responsible, regardless of whether he consented to Wygod’s action.
A hearing is scheduled for May 1. (Blood-Horse)
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Sports Illustrated writer Tim Layden, who reportedly had information regarding Sweet Catomine’s condition the day before the Santa Anita Derby, explains what happened:
On Friday morning I met Marty Wygod, Sweet Catomine’s owner, for a pre-arranged interview at Santa Anita. We talked about the horse, his life, his family… the sort of things that would eventually comprise an SIÂ story on the great filly. At one point, Wygod asked me: “The things we talk about, you’re writing them after the race, correct?”
“Correct,” I said. Naturally, SI doesn’t publish until after the race. Obviously, breaking news goes here on SI.com, but I was looking for the back story on a horse, not anticipating breaking news….
Wygod went on to tell me he didn’t think Sweet Catomine was coming to the race in top form, that she had lost weight and was fighting a minor problem that he would not disclose, but that he said had nothing to do with soundness. He also confirmed a rumor I had heard on the Santa Anita backstretch, that Sweet Catomine was in season (heat) for the first time. Oddly, Sweet Catomine’s trainer, Julio Canani, had raved about the filly the previous day. Something didn’t add up.
So, something didn’t add up — Wygod was saying something very different from what Canani was saying about the filly’s readiness — but Layden didn’t press it. There was a rumor on the backside that Sweet Catomine was in heat, but not that she was missing for two days. Something doesn’t add up here, either. (Sports Illustrated)
Posted by JC in Misdeeds & Wrongdoing on 04/16/2005 @ 10:15 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
– “Alex Solis and Megahertz go well together, like catsup and French fires, mustard and hot dogs, corned beef and rye.” Solis and the diminutive filly with the distinctive running style have won nine out 16 starts together, and will be trying this Sunday to win the Santa Barbara Handicap at Santa Anita for an unprecedented third consecutive year. (BH)
– Funny Cide is back in New York. He returned to Belmont last Monday, and worked six furlongs in 1:13 on Belmont’s main track Friday. Funny Cide is scheduled to make his 2005 debut in the May 1 Kings Point Handicap. (NYRA)
– Send links, comments to railbird at jessicachapel dot com
Posted by JC in Miscellany on 04/16/2005 @ 10:10 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
