JC / Railbird

Pioneerof the Nile

Trivia

Noticed while skimming the Derby PPs, updating the historical criteria chart …

– Since 2002, every Derby winner has worked a bullet in their penultimate or final workout; since 1998, eight of 11 winners have done so. (Kennedy, helpfully, has real stats on this.) This year, six starters have bullet works: Friesan Fire, Regal Ransom, I Want Revenge, Atomic Rain, Dunkirk, and Summer Bird. The last time Friesan Fire worked a bullet was before winning the Louisiana Derby; Dunkirk has worked three straight bullets since the Florida Derby. The anti-bullet? Pioneerof the Nile: In his four works at Santa Anita listed on the pps, every one was the fastest or second-fastest at the distance. His two works at Churchill were fourth and eleventh, both at five furlongs.

– The game of musical jockeys continued through Tuesday, ending with 10 rider changes — seven of those new pairings: Chocolate Candy (Mike Smith), Desert Party (Ramon Dominguez), General Quarters (Julien Leparoux), Mine That Bird (Calvin Borel), Mr. Hot Stuff (John Velazquez), Nowhere to Hide (Shaun Bridgmohan), Flying Private (Robby Albarado). That’s the most since 2003, when six horses, all longshots, went to the post with new riders. Between 2003-2008, 22 horses, none at final odds of less than 10-1, started with new riders on Derby day. Of those, none won, and only two — Bluegrass Cat, second in 2006, and Imperialism, third in 2004 — finished in the money.

Posted in Racing on April 29, 2009 / Tagged Dunkirk, Friesan Fire, Jockeys, Kentucky Derby, Pioneerof the Nile, Statistics, Trivia

California Works

The Pamplemousse and Pioneerof the Nile worked for the Santa Anita Derby on Wednesday morning, and Horseplayerpro.com clocker Toby Turrell was there to catch both. First up, ‘Grapefruit, going six furlongs handily in 1:13:

“The Pamplemousse had regular pilot Alex Solis aboard for a key six-panel drill this morning at Santa Anita, and the signals were mixed for the big grey. On the plus side, Solis never really put him into gear most of the way. However, he still wanted to get a bit too aggressive early going (:47.20 to the top of the lane) en route to a 1:13-flat clocking — with an even more pedestrian gallop out time of 127.60.

“This drill was a bit backwards on the watch, and when Solis ‘clucked’ to the horse inside the eighth-pole, The Pamplemousse did not give much response visually over a pretty deep surface. The Pro-Ride was renovated on Monday afternoon as part of the track’s normal maintenance.

“It certainly appears at this stage that the connections are just going to have to let The Pamplemousse sail on the lead and hope for the best.”

That fits with how the Pamplemousse won the Sham and San Rafael; he won’t get away so easily in the Santa Anita Derby. The lack of response Turrell observed can be seen in this video posted by Larry Zap Eye, who also followed the tired-seeming and hard-blowing Pamplemousse back to the barn after his work. The same video has a few seconds of Pioneerof the Nile, moving smoothly over the Pro-Ride. According to Turrell:

“With just over a week to go until the Santa Anita Derby, trainer Bob Baffert wanted a stiff drill out of his charge and he got it with Joe Steiner piloting Pioneer Of The Nile to a co-bullet of 1:11.40 for six panels. The splits of this drill were :35.60 and 59-flat, then a final furlong of :12.40 past the wire, working down to the clubhouse turn. Baffert told me that he was extremely happy with the colt and it went according to schedule. There is no doubt he will get a lot out of this drill, fitness-wise, over a deeply renovated surface that played a bit on the heavy side this morning.

“Anytime a 3-year-old can go the last three-eighths in :35.40 with a real swift final clocking, you have to deem him on course to go the ultimate distance of a mile and a quarter on the first Saturday in May. I personally believe that this colt’s most impressive drills are when he shows his class in team drills, where he usually blows by his stablemate with ease through the last quarter-mile. Today, working solo, Pioneerof The Nile was professional, indeed, responding to the urging from his regular exercise rider from top of the lane to the clubhouse turn without having a target in front of him to keep him aggressive.”

Baffert likes bullets, so it’s no news that Pioneerof the Nile earned one for his stellar final time, but doing the last three-eighths in :35.40 is attention grabbing coming out of any barn.

Posted in Racing on March 25, 2009 / Tagged Derby Prospects, Kentucky Derby, Pioneerof the Nile, Santa Anita, Santa Anita Derby, The Pamplemousse, Workouts