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The Daily Derby News Blitz – April 14, 2012

April 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

  • It was Bodemeister (Empire Maker x Untouched Talent by Storm Cat) in the $1 million Grade 1 Arkansas Derby for winning connections Zayat Stables, Bob Baffert and Mike Smith. The bay colt delivered a tour de force effort, drawing away by 9 ½ lengths when all was said and done. It was just his fourth career race and an incredibly encouraging victory. The sky appears to be his limit. Look for Bodemeister to be among the first five betting choices at Churchill Downs on May 5 after earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 105. Stablemate Secret Circle (Eddington x Ragtime Hope by Dixieland Band), getting out in the stretch, was good enough to stay on for second. Delta Jackpot winner Sabercat (Bluegrass Cat x Miner’s Blessing by Forty Niner) rallied for third.
  • Dullahan (Even The Score x Mining My Own by Smart Strike) stole the show in the $750k Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes from Keeneland. The half-brother to 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird thundered down the lane to pass Hansen in the final stages of the race for a one length win. Trainer Dale Romans noted in the paddock that his charge was the one to beat and the colt proved him right with Kent Desormeaux in the irons. Hansen, fractious before the race, stayed on nicely after setting hot fractions of :46.64 for a half mile and 1:11.32 for three-quarters. Hansen’s stablemate, Gung Ho (Kitten’s Joy x Glory Dancer by Honour and Glory) was good enough to be third. The final time was 1:47.94 making it the fastest in the Poly Track era.
  • On a separate note, owner Kendall Hansen was called into the stewards office prior to the running of the Blue Grass due to rumors that Hansen’s tail had been dyed blue. It turned out that the rumors were true, but the stewards put the kibosh on it before the horse entered the paddock as Hansen’s tail was was washed clean. It is the opinion of this blog that the stewards, and most everyone else, should lighten up.
  • Grade 3 Spiral Stakes winner Went The Day Well (Proud Citizen x Tiz Maie’s Day by Tiznow) had his first move since the biggest win of his career when going 1:02 in company for five furlongs at Keeneland. He will have two more works before the Kentucky Derby on May 5.


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Kendall Hansen: I’m not sure there is a horse out there that could beat Hansen.

March 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Hansen runs away in the Gotham Stakes

Hansen runs away in the Gotham Stakes

Northern Kentucky doctor Kendall Hansen isn’t worried about his Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champion Hansen. He thinks it’s the opposition that should be worried.

“He’s ready to run right now. At this point in time I’m not sure there is a horse out there that could beat him,” Hansen said. “Mike Maker wishes the Kentucky Derby was tomorrow. He isn’t worried about anyone else and that’s a great sign.”

The connections of the nearly white colt received an interesting invitation earlier this week. Gulfstream Park offered to send a private plane to pick up Hansen if the connections would be willing to run in the Florida Derby; a spot where he would have met rival Union Rags.

“That was unexpected, but definitely a great idea on their part,” said Hansen, who turned down the offer anyway. “Fans won’t have to wait long, though. If all goes to plan, then these colts are going to do battle again on May 5 at Churchill Downs.”

Hansen was last seen working five furlongs in 1:01.20 B over the training track at Churchill Downs. His Louisville base is just a hop, skip and a jump away from Keeneland where his next start will come in the Blue Grass Stakes. The original plan was to race in the Florida Derby and then the Wood Memorial before winding up on Kentucky’s premier preparatory race.

“In the end, we thought it was best to stay close to home,” Hansen said. “Things can go wrong when you ship long distances and it could take something out of him that might cause him to run less than his best race. Plus, we would like to race in front our hometown crowd before chasing the Roses.”

While the Kentucky Derby is the crown jewel of racing, it isn’t the end for Hansen — neither the horse nor his namesake owner — regardless of the outcome.

“There are so many possibilities with a horse like Hansen. He has the breeding to compete at the top level on the grass and I’ve definitely thought about a race like the Breeders’ Cup Mile or Turf for this year or even next,” the owner noted.

Jockey Ramon Dominguez suffered a collarbone injury on March 18, but is expected to be ready to ride Hansen in his next start in Keeneland’s Blue Grass Stakes on April 14. Dr. Hansen gave the highest of praise to his rider and noted that the horse is so sharp Dominguez couldn’t pull Hansen up after his last-out win in the Gotham Stakes.

“Ramon’s one of the best in the game. He has won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in each of the last two years and also earned more money than any other jockey in that span. That sort of thing speaks for itself,” Hansen said.

“One of the reason’s why he is so good is his mental clock. Ramon can really sense when the pace is too slow or too fast and act accordingly. That could be a factor with our horse in the Kentucky Derby.”

Hansen indicated that if Dominguez suffers a setback, the most likely rider for Hansen would become John Velazquez.

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Unusual Suspects Train Top Kentucky Derby Contenders

March 29, 2012 By 1 Comment
Mike Maker trains Kentucky Derby contender Hansen.

Mike Maker trains Kentucky Derby contender Hansen.

by Robert Boswell

Matz. Maker. Harrington. All named Michael, yes, but more importantly they train this year’s top three Kentucky Derby (Gr. I) prospects. Notice anyone—or two—missing? That’s right, we’re on the verge of April and none of the first three colts in both graded stakes earnings and the NTRA poll is trained by either Todd Pletcher or Bob Baffert. This year there is no Lookin At Lucky, no Eskendereya, no Uncle Mo, and no Silver Charm.  In recent memory you would be hard pressed to find a year in which neither of these superstar trainers had a 3-year-old among the division leaders.

Matz, who trains the undisputed top 3-year-old in the country in Union Rags, will be trying to recreate the Derby Day magic he enjoyed with Barbaro in 2006. Since then he has had only one starter race for the Roses—Visionaire in 2008. Maker, trainer of Champion 2-Year-Old Hansen, is a regular in the field of 20 but is normally getting in with second-tier contenders, as he did last year when Derby Kitten snuck in at the last moment.  Harrington currently has the West Coast’s top performer in Creative Cause, who took the San Felipe (Gr. II) last out.

One of the most promising contenders, Algorithms, who was trained by Pletcher, was sidelined prior to the Fountain of Youth (Gr. II). Normally, you expect Pletcher to be right there with another talented colt ready to spearhead his stable.  However, you have to go all the way to 14th on the graded earnings list to find Pletcher’s name, next to El Padrino, winner of a thrilling edition of the Risen Star (Gr. II).  Some would argue his best chance is with the undefeated Gemologist all the way down at 29.  That’s not to say El Padrino and Gemologist are 14th and 29th in the people’s eyes as eventual winners of the Derby, as they rank 4th and 6th respectively in the most recent NTRA poll.

Baffert, on the other hand, has two in the top-10 in graded earnings, Secret Circle, losing only one of six career starts and winner of the second division of the Southwest (Gr. II) and Liaison, a star at 2 winning the CashCall futurity (Gr. I), but an underachiever thus far at 3. Baffert also trains San Felipe Stakes runner up Bodemeister. He is the only sophomore to pop two 100+ Beyer number this year.

There is still over a month left until the first Saturday in May, with the Florida Derby (Gr. I), the Wood Memorial (Gr. I), the Santa Anita Derby (Gr. I), and the Arkansas Derby (Gr. I) all left to run, so opinions and graded earnings will evolve. It certainly is conceivable that a Pletcher or a Baffert colt could be the favorite in a few weeks, but  they will have to step up to the Mikes if they want to make it that way.

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Hansen ready for Aqueduct’s Gotham Stakes

February 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Breeders' Cup winner Hansen

Breeders' Cup winner Hansen

It took just one race for Hansen (Tapit x Stormy Sunday by Sir Cat) to go from undefeated champion and Kentucky Derby favorite to a horse near the bottom or off of most Kentucky Derby contender lists. Now, after losing the Holy Bull, he will try to make amends in the $400k Grade 3 Gotham Stakes from Aqueduct.

The gray colt deserves to be forgiven for his Holy Bull defeat. It came at the hands of a very good horse, Algorithms, and over a very sloppy track. Throw in a stumble at the start and we surely didn’t see his best effort. Let’s not forget that he did stay on for second after setting a brutal pace and not having raced recently.

If trainer Mike Maker and owner Kendall Hansen intend to win the Kentucky Derby, they must implore jockey Ramon Dominguez to relax Hansen on the front end. That second quarter in the Holy Bull went in 22.03 seconds after an opening clip of 23.64; that’s simply too fast for Hansen to be going in the early stages of the race. He wont make it much further than five furlongs in the Kentucky Derby if he goes anywhere near that fast in the early stages. This race provides what could be a final opportunity to try to mix the strategy up.

The time to make a change is now, and Maker has already decided to remove Hansen’s blinkers. This should certainly help the colt to relax. We are going to see what he’s really made of in the Gotham. Tune in Saturday to find out!

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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.

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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!

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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.

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