War Pass IS NOT finished!
March 18, 2008
The Tampa Bay Derby provided quite a shocker on Saturday. Previously undefeated, but still champion War Pass didn’t fire and struggled to finish the race. My father suggested something was amiss when Nick Zito declined an interview with TVG prior to the race. Perhaps he knew War Pass wasn’t ready? While I consider Zito one of the best around, I must question the wisdom of bringing the 2 year old champion back in an allowance. This suggests to me that he wasn’t ready to throw him to the wolves, but had no choice Saturday. I hope I’m wrong about this because I am HUGE fan of War Pass.
We should consider a few things about the race. For starters I have heard from a few people that some horses don’t handle Tampa Bay Downs the first time they race over it. Another factor is that he was pinched at the break. This prevented him from running to the front and pouring it. Nick Zito was reported on NTRA.com saying that he sustained some cuts to his left leg. I have some sneaking suspicions that War Pass may have bled. Regardless, I believe and hope he will be fine and give ‘em hell when the first Saturday in May arrives!
On a brighter note I was very impressed by Sierra Sunset in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes. He raced three wide and ended up capturing the race by 3 lengths while earning a Beyer number of 99. He won’t have it easy in the Arkansas Derby when he races rival Denis of Cork for the second time. Denis of Cork defeated Sierra Sunset in the Southwest Stakes. The latter has obviously improved since then so it will be quite a race.
I’ll be heading up to Turfway Park this Saturday for the Grade 2 Lanes End Stakes. Last year’s edition produced Hard Spun the second place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, and Sedgefield the fifth place finisher. This will be my first time viewing the Lanes End live. If it’s as good as the Kentucky Cup I’m going to have a blast. I’ll try and take a camera and get some good pictures to post here. Check back for more, and as always thanks for reading!