JC / Railbird

R360

Rebel Possible for Brandi

Owner Willis Horton and trainer D. Wayne Lukas are considering entering filly champion Take Charge Brandi in the March 14 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park, the same race American Pharoah is expected to make his first start in since last September. Lukas told Mary Rampellini that the Kentucky Oaks is still Brandi’s goal, but Horton likes the idea of keeping her options open: “If we win the Rebel we get the 50 points for it, and it puts us in a position where we can either go to the Kentucky Oaks or the Kentucky Derby.” And if she finishes second, she’ll get 20 points, which would likely put her on the bubble for a Kentucky Derby entry. The returning 2-year-old male champion looks formidable; he’s also been out with a foot injury. Add in the larger purse and that, aside from Pharoah, the Rebel is expected to draw “names that shouldn’t strike fear into the hearts of anyone,” starting Brandi in this race, instead of the Honeybee, looks like a pretty good (and sporting) move.

Vance Hanson isn’t so sure:

From what I’ve witnessed from my seat on the backbenches, Take Charge Brandi would seem better served going for the Honeybee rather than the more difficult Rebel hornets’ nest. If her connections ultimately choose the latter, though, it would probably be no less useful a prep for the Fantasy …

She has 40 points towards the Oaks — there’s really nothing for her to lose.

Mr. Z, another Lukas trainee, is one of the defectors from the Rebel Stakes after finishing third in the Southwest. He’ll start next instead in the March 28 Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds. He’s also getting an equipment change:

@thomasherding @bh_cnovak blinkers coming off

— Justin Zayat (@JustinZayat) February 24, 2015

3/3/15 Update: She’s going in the Rebel, says Lukas.

3/10/15 Update: She’s out. Take Charge Brandi will miss the Rebel Stakes and Kentucky Oaks after being diagnosed with a non-displaced knee chip.

Posted in Racing on February 26, 2015 / Tagged American Pharoah, Derby Preps, Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks, Mr. Z, R360, Rebel Stakes, Take Charge Brandi

Mis- Names

I noticed Pain and Misery’s name among the early Triple Crown nominations and asked the obvious question, “Why?” Jay Hovdey has the answer:

“Ray and I have had a few horses together, but I’ve always named them,” [co-owner Dr. Leonard] Blach said. “I told him it was his turn with this one, but he kept procrastinating. By the time the name was due he’d come down with the worst case of shingles you ever saw, the poor guy. So he just wrote ‘Pain and Misery’ on the papers and sent them in.”

Here’s the punchline:

Hopefully, then, the Mandella crew has a kinder, gentler nickname around the barn for their new shooter.

“Sure,” the trainer said. “We call him Shingles.”

In his most recent start, Pain and Misery finished second to Bench Warrant in the February 15 Baffle Stakes over the downhill turf course at Santa Anita.

Now, this is funny:

Indian Blessing's half brother by Misremembered (and out of Shameful) has been named Nightly News. That's a mic drop moment right there.

— Melissa Bauer-Herzog – Pyrois Media (@PyroisMedia) February 19, 2015

Nightly News is a 2-year-old colt bred by Hal Earnhardt, like his champion half-sister, and you can assume from his name that someone takes a low view of NBC news anchor Brian Williams “misremembering” an incident aboard a helicopter during the Iraq war, for which he was suspended from the network.

Posted in Racing on February 19, 2015 / Tagged R360

Superior Belief

California Chrome went to post in the San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday as something of an anomaly — he was the first Horse of the Year since All Along in 1984 not to enter the gate as the favorite in his or her first start back the following year. All Along had a few excuses — the 1983 Horse of the Year didn’t return until the Turf Classic at Belmont the following September, 10 months after last winning the D.C. International at Laurel, and had to face the venerable John Henry, in his final season and peak form. He won the Turf Classic as the even-money favorite, and she finished fourth.

Shared Belief also had a recency edge, but it was the widely shared belief (sorry) that he was the better horse — if unlucky in not being able to prove it last year, first missing the Triple Crown races, then getting slammed out of contention by Bayern in the Breeders’ Cup Classic — that made him the odds-on favorite in the San Antonio and California Chrome the 7-5 second.

You have to appreciate that the race was run in such a way — clean from start to finish — that there’s no questioning the results:

How Shared Belief passes California Chrome in the final sixteenth? It’s what I’d feared would happen to Rachel Alexandra if she and Zenyatta met. He’s so brilliant, it’s almost possible to miss that the top pair is lengths ahead of the rest of the field. They’re both monsters; Clark Handicap winner Hoppertunity ended up finishing 6 1/2 lengths behind California Chrome.

Shared Belief was given a Beyer speed figure of 106, and a TimeformUS figure of 112, for winning the San Antonio. Per Ed Golden’s stable notes, he and Chrome reportedly came out of the race in good shape. The two will point to separate races for their next starts — Shared Belief targeting the Santa Anita Handicap and California Chrome the Dubai World Cup.

Posted in Racing on February 8, 2015 / Tagged California Chrome, R360, San Antonio Stakes, Santa Anita, Shared Belief