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Triple Crown Archive

That Scamp

– Trainer Rick Dutrow’s transformation from crass cheat to lovable rogue with tragic backstory continues. Having a Kentucky Derby winner sure improves your media coverage.
– The one horse Dutrow claimed to respect in the Preakness is out. Withers winner Harlem Rocker will pass the second leg of the Triple Crown to prep for the Queen’s Plate, a more logical spot for the speedy son of Macho Uno. “He wants to play it conservative for now,” said trainer Todd Pletcher of owner Frank Stronach’s decision (DRF). Recapturetheglory, who came down with fever over the weekend, is also out, which means Big Brown will face a field that may have grown to 13 but could contain no other Derby starters.
– Aided by favored Lethal Heat’s stumble out of the gate, Million Dollar Run went from maiden to graded stakes winner in her second start, the Railbird Stakes at Hollywood on Sunday, and she did it most impressively, tracking first half fractions of :22.13 and :44.55, dueling, then drawing away to run the final furlong in :12.32. It’s another improbable 3-year-old accomplishment — coincidence, or do Million Dollar Run, Casino Drive, and Big Brown indicate a trend?
– The best stakes race this weekend happened at Lone Star:

Posted in Triple Crown on May 12, 2008

Casino Drive 101

– He acted up in the paddock and ran greenly in the stretch, but there’s no quibbling with the raw talent Casino Drive displayed winning the Peter Pan, for which the 3-year-old colt was given a Beyer speed figure of 101. “He was good, but he was not top form,” said racing manager Nobutaka Tada after the race. “There’s so much [room] for him to improve” (DRF). This spring is really shaping up as the season of young horses accomplishing the improbable … and like commenter John S., I’m not sure how much I enjoy or understand this sort of racing, however exciting to watch.
– I can’t help but read this story as a metaphor:

When it came time to take photos in the winner’s circle following the Derby, Dutrow bucked tradition by throwing the blanket of roses at Nevin and Blum rather than lay it over Big Brown’s neck … Nevin and Blum dutifully held the flowers for a moment, then dropped the blanket on the ground to join the party, leaving the most hallowed floral arrangement in sports laying on the infield for a few hours before it was rescued by a state trooper.

Dutrow said the only reason the roses weren’t draped over the Derby winner was because Big Brown is scared of flowers, although that hardly explains what followed.
– Goodbye, Bay Meadows: “It’s like an old friend who’s dying,” said former track chairman John Harris. “You hope you can spend more time with them before they’re gone.”
– New! Railbird friend Bill, of RacingFigures.com, has launched a video blog with group and graded stakes replays. Now available for viewing: The Peter Pan, French Guineas, and English Guineas, with more to come …

Posted in Triple Crown on May 11, 2008

Place in History

Casino Drive laid over the field in the Peter Pan on Saturday, prompting all sorts of excitement for the Belmont Stakes in four weeks.
Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but where would producing three consecutive Belmont Stakes winners place Better Than Honour in the history of the turf? Greatest bloodstock achievement in history? Certainly, yes, but how about in comparison to Secretariat’s 1973 Triple Crown or Woody Stephens’s five consecutive Belmont victories?
Keeping the perspective to this year only, if Big Brown wins the Preakness, he could head to Belmont as a wagering favorite but not a fan favorite (a la Sunday Silence).
It will be interesting to read Kent Desormeaux’s comments about Casino Drive. I liked the way he split horses turning for home. He looked a bit green in the stretch, but it was his second career start off a long layoff and ship, so the four weeks and added distance should help this one out a lot.
Gotta love the idea of getting 5-to-2 on this one in the Belmont if Big Brown rolls in the Preakness.
Update: Kent Desormeaux said that team Big Brown “has its hands full” while the trainer said that his star pupil was not in top form.
I’ll likely be wagering against Big Brown 166 hours from now, but I’ll at the very least be cheering for him to head to Belmont for a showdown with Casino Drive.

Posted in Triple Crown on May 10, 2008

Friday Morning Links

– Trainer Rick Dutrow’s confidence, which dipped regarding the Preakness immediately after Big Brown’s Derby win, has begun to return:

Asked in a national conference call yesterday what odds he’d take on Big Brown capturing the Triple Crown, Dutrow said, “I guess even money.”

I might put it at 3-1. As Dutrow said, “if he runs like a 5,” the Preakness is no problem. The Belmont is another matter …
– Of course, the Preakness won’t be a breeze, not with the field swelling to nine. Recapturetheglory, fifth in the Derby, will be among the starters, and he’ll get a slight equipment change for the race — trainer Louis Roussel plans to stuff cotton in the colt’s ears to block out crowd noise at Pimlico and prevent a reprise of the colt’s Derby day bad behavior, reports TDN. Post positions will be drawn on Wednesday.
– No flattery here for an unseasonably tanned and gelled master of the universe: “The spirit of Gordon Gekko is alive and well … in the suddenly public persona of thoroughbred horse racing’s entrepreneur du jour, Michael Iavarone.”
– “When Bob Baffert shows up at Lone Star, a good horse race can’t be far behind.”
– Colonel John, apparently unscathed by his sixth-place Derby finish, could start next in the Swaps at Hollywood.

Posted in Triple Crown on May 9, 2008

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