SABERCAT
**Learn about ALL of the 2012 contenders by getting our Kentucky Derby Guide**
Sabercat
(Starts: 8 Win: 3 Place: 0 Show: 2 Earnings: $782,849)
Trainer: Steve Asmussen (23.5%)
Jockey: Corey Nakatani (19.9%)
THE CONNECTIONS: Steve Asmussen has one of the largest stables in the country and saddles the most starters just about every year. He has trained two Horses of the Year, in Curlin and Rachel Alexandra, and won almost every Graded Stakes race an East Coast trainer could hope to win, except the one they all dream about. He’s had solid chances in the past with Curlin in 2007 who finished third, Pyro who disappointed in eighth in 2008, and last year he sent Nehro to a runner-up finish behind Animal Kingdom. He trains Sabercat for Winchell Thoroughbreds, LLC, who have had five previous chances to win the roses, coming closest in 1981 when Classic Go Go ran fourth and the most recent being Pyro.
Corey Nakatani, like Asmussen and probably even more so, has won just about every major Stakes race a jockey could hope for. He has won over 3,400 races lifetime but does not yet have the Kentucky Derby (GI) on his resume, or any of the Triple Crown jewels, though he has won the Kentucky Oaks (GI) twice. He was bridesmaid aboard Nehro, but nobody was beating the winner that day. He migrated to Mexico to begin his career and get his first win, but has spent most of his time in the ultra-competitive jockey colony in Southern California. He ventures east more and more these days to ride horses for Asmussen and others, and even won six races in one day at Belmont last fall.
THE HORSE: In his fourth start last year Sabercat finally broke his maiden going a mile at Monmouth, and in his next he took the listed Garden City Stakes. The colt rounded out his freshman campaign with a win in the $1M Delta Jackpot (GIII), the richest 2-year-old race in the country. He got bottled up and had to completely stop his momentum on the final turn, but when running room became available he shot through like a rocket and drew away from the field on the bullring. This secured him enough graded earnings to get a spot in the starting gate come the first Saturday in May, so 2012 became all about keeping him healthy and fit while getting him some experience against the best talent. He was eighth in the Rebel (GII) and came back to finish third in the Arkansas Derby (GI) in his only two starts this year. The running line doesn’t necessarily indicate it because Bodemeister ran away and hid from his rivals that day, but Sabercat improved and closed nicely in that race.
THE PEDIGREE: Sabercat’s pedigree suggests he is one of the most likely to relish in the ten furlong distance of the Kentucky Derby. The sire, Bluegrass Cat, stands at Vinery’s New York operation for $17,500. The son of Storm Cat finished second behind Barbaro in the 2006 Derby and second to Jazil in the Belmont (GI), and came back to win the Haskell Invitational (GI) that same year. The dam, Miner’s Blessing, was unraced but all seven of her starters are winners. She is by another Kentucky Derby runner-up, Forty Niner, who was beaten by the filly Winning Colors in 1988. Forty Niner has thrown high-profile routers such as 1996 Belmont winner Editor’s Note, Coronado’s Quest, and Distorted Humor. Clearly the stamina and the class are in the bloodlines to carry this colt the distance on Saturday.
CONCLUSION: Sabercat’s running style will suit him well behind what figures to be a hotly-contested pace. He was making ground up on everyone in his last start besides the winner. He also has the pedigree and the conditioner to give him every right to put himself in the mix late in the Churchill Downs stretch, and at a long price most likely.
PEDIGREE GRADE: A
OVERALL GRADE: B-
FAIR ODDS: 25-1
**Learn about ALL of the 2012 contenders by getting our Kentucky Derby Guide**
