February 8, 2012

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Will Hansen overcome his front running style?

January 11, 2012 By 2 Comments
Hansen

Hansen

Dr. Kendall Hansen has January 29 marked on his calender. You should too. That is when the Kentucky doctor’s champion namesake will compete in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

Hansen (Tapit x Storm Sunday by Sir Cat) is undefeated in three starts and has never been in any place except for first at every point of those three races. He isn’t the first colt to be in this situation, nor will he be the last. Names like Uncle Mo, War Pass and Johannesburg come to mind. They failed to live up to their three-year-old hype for various reasons. Will Hansen be the same?

Only time will tell. For now, he’s got one big obstacle to overcome and that is his running style. So far in his career he has been all speed, but the ability to rate is a skill he needs to gain; and fast.

If there was ever a time to try and get him to sit behind speed it would be in the Holy Bull Stakes. There isn’t much to lose as it’s the first race of the campaign and he has the luxury of more than enough graded stakes earnings to gain entry to the Kentucky Derby.

The ability to sit behind horses is of paramount importance if Hansen is going to wear roses in May. The break in the Kentucky Derby is like nothing else in all of horse racing and he very well might not be able to make it to the front. Personally, I’d rather find out how he will respond sooner rather than later.

All in all, I expect Hansen to continue to be a top contender for the Kentucky Derby regardless of whether or not he will relax behind horses. Hansen may end up being one of those horses that just throws down the gauntlet and never looks back.  Speed horses can and do win numerous races, but in the Kentucky Derby it will be a liability. If he is able to provide his jockey with tactical speed he comes all the more deadly. Hansen has speed, but it will take more than just that to win on the first Saturday in May.

Filed Under: Triple Crown Tagged With: , , , , ,

2011 Kentucky Cup review

September 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Meeting my favorite jockey, Patrick Valenzuela.

I had high expectations for the Kentucky Cup at Turfway Park and I was not disappointed.

My day started a little late as I have been under the weather, but I got to the track around 3:30 pm. There was a lot of traffic on I-75 which made the drive a bit longer, but I got there in one piece. That is in spite of the fact that I’m missing the passenger side mirror on my car due to a recent “slip up” behind the wheel. Hey, I made it three years without doing any damage in a car. I’ll say thats a small victory in and of itself.

Anyway, I arrived to the track to learn that my top pick in the Kentucky Cup Juvenile Fillies, Charming Vixen, had got the job done. She paid $8.20 to win for jockey Calvin Borel and trainer Tom Amoss. Not a bad way to start the day, right?

After that I watched the beautiful gray colt Hansen stride home to easily take the Kentucky Cup Juvenile by just over 13 lengths for trainer Mike Maker and jockey Victor Lebron. Visually, it couldn’t have been any more of an impressive win than it was. I don’t say this often so early in the season, but I fully expect to see Hansen become a top Kentucky Derby contender.

The next race, the Kentucky Cup Sprint, was my favorite of the day. Back in 2008 I got to stand in the paddock with TVG’s Nick Hines as he saddled Salute The Sarge and gave instructions to Corey Lanerie. That was pretty damn cool for me at the time as I had never been in the paddock for a stakes race. Nick, if you’re reading, thanks again!

This year’s edition of the Sprint was my best play of the day. If you read my preview for the days races then you know I liked Matthewsburg a lot. He finished behind a freak called Poseidon’s Warrior at Penn National last out and I expected him to get plenty of pace to chase in his move to a synthetic surface. I ended up being right and was rewarded with a $20 Win/Place bet on a horse that returned $20.60 and $9.60, respectively.

 A few people asked me who I was betting in the Sprint and one of them came up and high fived me after the race and showed me a $15 Win/Place/Show bet on the horse. That’s a good feeling. I usually hate telling people in person who I like because I feel bad when they lose, but the times they come through creates a nice feeling.

After the Sprint I had a chance to catch up with my friend and ESPN writer Claire Novak. We chatted about the races and I noted that La Gran Bailadora looked the best of all on the track. I knew she loved the surface and had a big shot.

Despite that, I went another direction. It ended up being a big mistake as La Gran Bailadora gunned them all down in the stretch to cap a 5 win day for trainer Mike Maker.

 That’s a Turfway Park record.

The big race of the day brought back memories of 2007 when I watched Hard Spun and Street Sense compete in the Kentucky Cup Classic. My pick was Strike Impact. He faded after battling with eventual winner and 18-1 shot Future Prospect. It was cool to see that one win for the eternally grateful and joyous owner/trainer Dodson Skaggs. He nursed the gelding back to health after he was forced to miss a long stint of racing. Hopefully he can maintain his winning ways. General Quarters finished second.

After the races I got a chance to catch up with my all time favorite jockey, Patrick Valenzeula. We chatted for all of 10 seconds and I got a picture taken. I was like a little kid and it was something that really made me happy. Minus the goofy look on my face, it capped a great day of racing at Turfway Park.

Thanks again to Win Star for allowing my favorite day of racing to return. See you at Keeneland in a few weeks!

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Lookin At Lucky in Indiana Derby heads big weekend at Hoosier Park

September 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Preakness winner Lookin At Lucky is far and away the best to have ever stepped on the track at Hoosier Park. His presence in the Indiana Derby is an excellent reward for a track that has done good things for racing recently. However, I digress.

Lookin At Lucky is clearly the best three-year-old in training. He crushed his foes by 4 lengths last out in the Haskell Invitational. Since that race he has missed a bit of training, but you can expect him to be as good as ever. Bob Baffert probably sees this race as a way to get him an easy win before the Breeders Cup Classic and pick up the winners check in a $500k race. He should be 1/5 here and for good reason.

The horse that leaps off the page when I look at the Indiana Derby is Uareoutlaw. He is a Brazilian bred and raced son of the Wild Again stallion Christine’s Outlaw. It’s not so much his form that impresses, but the fact that he is in the barn of Mike Maker and owned by Thomas Conway. You may recall that they hooked up at huge odds to win the Bluegrass Stakes earlier this year with Stately Victor. Maker has been known to pull big upsets, and this horse is working bullets. He could be any kind, but running past the Preakness winner is a huge task.

This race has the perfect setup for Steve Asmussen’s Thiskyhasnolimit. He ran very well  to win the $300k Smarty Jones when turning back in distance last out. Look for jockey Jamie Theriot to take back and make a big run late in the race. He is the only horse with even a marginal chance of beating Lucky.

The late running Seeking The Title looks like a contender in the Indiana Oaks, which is the race preceding the Indiana Derby. After just a quick glance at the PPs I think Ash Zee, and Always a Princess will hook up on the front end. This sets it up for Seeking The Title.

If you’re within driving distance I highly encourage making the trip to Hoosier Park. It’s worth it alone just to see Lookin At Lucky.

Who are your picks for these races?

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Maybesomaybenot wins Sanford for deserving connections

July 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

After starting two horses in the Kentucky Derby this year, trainer Mike Maker has emerged with yet another star racehorse. This time it is the gelded son of Sunday Break named Maybesomaybenot. He went wire to wire under jockey Julien Leparoux in the Grade 2 Sanford Stakes on Sunday at Saratoga. Prior to that win he took a maiden race at Churchill Downs. Maker said there are no plans for his next race at this point in time. The favored Bail Out the Cat missed the break.

Maybesomaybenot is owned by Arthellor and Carolyn Scisney. They have a daughter-in-law who is battling Lupus which is an autoimmune disorder. The disorder causes a persons immune system to mistakenly attack healthy tissue within the body. There is no cure for Lupus, but it can be effectively treated.

Their daughter-in-law, Karen, has been in and out of the hospital. Arthellor and Carolyn have given Karen a 25% stake in the horse and they are hoping the win will lift her spirits. Arthellor has stated that he wouldn’t take $400,000 for the gelding given the circumstances. I hope he continues to do well for the connections, and especially for Karen.

Celebrities such as Seal, Micheal Jackson, and Cindy Crawford all suffer or suffered from Lupus. I know the topic here on this website is horse racing, but I felt like this was a great opportunity to shed light on what  is relatively little known medical problem.

Click here to donate to the Lupus Foundation of America.

Filed Under: Horse Racing News Tagged With: , , ,