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The Derby 20 Presented By NYRA Bets: 18 Will Go Forward In Rescheduled Run For The Roses

The defection of Art Collector early Tuesday morning and late addition of several other entrants this week have left an interesting field of 18 for Saturday's rescheduled Kentucky Derby.

For the first time since the introduction of the Derby points system in 2013, there will be two horses in the field with no points at all. Those are the Todd Pletcher-trained Money Moves, a lightly-raced son of Candy Ride, and the Bret Calhoun-trained Mr. Big News, an upset winner of the Oaklawn Stakes two starts back. Neither has the credentials to compete with this field on paper, but the first Saturday in (September) is for dreamers!

Tiz the Law is definitely a deserving favorite, but the large field could make him vulnerable. Honor A. P. should be ready to roll for trainer John Shirreffs, and its hard to leave a Bob Baffert trainee out of the Kentucky Derby.

My longshot picks, or a few horses that I expect to outrun their odds, include: King Guillermo (20-1 morning line), Ny Traffic (20-1 morning line), and Enforceable (30-1 morning line).

Where did your favorite Derby horse end up? Be sure to click on the expandable boxes for each Derby candidate to get all the latest information in this edition of The Derby 20!

Tiz the Law

Connections

Pedigree

372

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

1st

Paulick Report Ranking

Honor A. P.

Connections

Pedigree

140

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

2nd

Paulick Report Ranking

King Guillermo

Connections

Pedigree

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

3rd

Paulick Report Ranking

Ny Traffic

Connections

Pedigree

110

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

4th

Paulick Report Ranking

Enforceable

Connections

Pedigree

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

5th

Paulick Report Ranking

Major Fed

Connections

Pedigree

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

6th

Paulick Report Ranking

Thousand Words

Connections

Pedigree

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

7th

Paulick Report Ranking

Sole Volante

Connections

Pedigree

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

8th

Paulick Report Ranking

Max Player

Connections

Pedigree

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

9th

Paulick Report Ranking

Authentic

Connections

Pedigree

200

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

10th

Paulick Report Ranking

Money Moves

Connections

Pedigree

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

11th

Paulick Report Ranking

South Bend

Connections

Pedigree

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

12th

Paulick Report Ranking

Winning Impression

Connections

Pedigree

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

13th

Paulick Report Ranking

Finnick the Fierce

Connections

Pedigree

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

14th

Paulick Report Ranking

Necker Island

Connections

Pedigree

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

15th

Paulick Report Ranking

Attachment Rate

Connections

Pedigree

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

16th

Paulick Report Ranking

Mr. Big News

Connections

Pedigree

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

17th

Paulick Report Ranking

Storm the Court

Connections

Pedigree

Derby Points

Derby Post & Odds

18th

Paulick Report Ranking

The post The Derby 20 Presented By NYRA Bets: 18 Will Go Forward In Rescheduled Run For The Roses appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Hernandez Not Worried About Inside Post With One-Eyed Finnick The Fierce

For most trainers, getting the inside-most gate in the Kentucky Derby is like a punch in the gut. It would be easy to think the trainer of a horse missing his right eye — blind to a wall of horses on his outside — would be verklempt. Not Rey Hernandez. Hernandez, who conditions and co-owns Finnick the Fierce, points out the chestnut has finished well from the first post position before, including his third-place performance in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby and his second-place effort (which was later converted to a win via disqualification) in an allowance/optional claimer at Oaklawn. “You know, he's been running really good with the one position,” said Hernandez. “His best races have been from the one position. He might like to be there.”

Hernandez said for as long as he's had Finnick the Fierce in the barn, he has been missing his right eye, which was removed when the son of Dialed In was a weanling. Finnick the Fierce was born with a congenital cataract in that eye, and was sold to veterinarian Dr. Arnaldo Monge for $3,000. After the eye was removed, Monge said the oversized colt was a different animal, leading Monge to suspect the eye had been painful for some time. Monge sold a half interest in the horse to Hernandez, charging the same $3,000 he originally paid. Now, Finnick has raked in $191,290 in earnings and is headed to the Derby. Hernandez said it's a dream come true. “It's amazing,” he said. 'It's a dream we've all got. I'm very excited to have gotten this far.” Hernandez was the one to break Finnick the Fierce as a yearling, so he has only ever known him as a one-eyed horse. He admits it took a little bit of patience as the horse began to train. It also required gelding him early on to reduce misplaced hormonal exuberance that could get him hurt. “It is challenging,” said Hernandez. “In the early stages he was a little more careful with the blind eye because he was trying to see everything with the one good eye. But he's learning how to progress with the one eye. “In the early stage, he'd look around with the good eye everywhere. When he ran in the Kentucky Jockey Club, he was running with the head cocked, trying to see the crowd. He still ran a big race but you could see he was not focused completely.” Hernandez said his partnership with Monge is a good one. For the most part, he's left to manage the horse as he sees fit. Monge told the Louisville Courier-Journal he knew early on the horse was something special–even before he hit the racetrack, thanks to his size and excellent conformation. For Hernandez, it was his performance in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill that sealed it. “He always showed a lot of talent, and he was very smart, but we didn't know he was that good until he ran first time out,” he said. “I really liked how he ran. That was a five furlong race and he was flying the last 1/16th of a mile. At that point I had a good feeling he was a good horse. “Once he ran second in the Jockey Club, it was pretty much the top 3-year-olds in that race. I was really impressed and running second in the same track they run the Derby, that's pretty good.” Finnick the Fierce beat Kentucky Derby favorite Tiz the Law, who ran third in that race. Tiz the Law has been undefeated since then, meaning Finnick the Fierce and Silver Prospector are the only two 3-year-olds ever to get the better of him, and they've done it on this track. In a Derby year unlike any other, Hernandez is a little relieved Finnick the Fierce will not have to content with the swarms of people normally present on the backstretch or leaning over the rail during the walkover. “The way I look at it, it's a plus,” he said. “It's a plus because I think the less noise for him, noise is a little annoying for him. He's a little concerned by noises, but now that it's going to be quiet I think he'll probably have a better performance.”

Thanks to the National Turfwriters and Broadcasters Association (NTWAB), which has assembled a group of pool reporters providing independent reporting to members unable to be on the Churchill Downs grounds this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The post Hernandez Not Worried About Inside Post With One-Eyed Finnick The Fierce appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘Here’s To Longshots!’ Mott-Trained Derby Entrant South Bend ‘Tries Hard Every Time’

With his Kentucky Derby gear still being constructed, South Bend took to the track with his usual Bill Mott saddle towel as he galloped during the special 7:30 a.m. training session for Oaks and Derby horses at Churchill Downs.

A late entrant to the Derby fray, South Bend heads into Saturday's test off a fourth-place finish in the Travers Stakes (GI) at Saratoga on Aug. 8. Though he is winless in eight starts this year, the bay colt has flashed potential, most notably running second in the Ohio Derby (GIII) June 27 while still in the barn of his prior trainer Stanley Hough.

“He's a very consistent horse, if you look at all his races and he tries hard every time,” said Kenny McCarthy, Mott's assistant. “His Travers race was certainly not a bad race. He obviously needs to move forward off of that race but he seems to like this track here. We've seen over the years that some horses look like a cinch coming in but they couldn't get it done.”

Campaigned by Sagamore Farm through his first 11 starts, including a victory in the Street Sense last fall at Churchill Downs, South Bend was acquired prior to the Travers by a partnership group that includes Gary Barber, Adam Wachtel, Peter Deutsch and Leonard Schleifer of Pantofel Stable.

“He was previously with Stanley so he's trained over this track (Churchill Downs) many times,” McCarthy added. “This horse, it was a bit of a last-minute decision to go into the race but having said that, I think initially when the horse was purchased, that might have been in the back of their minds to try and get themselves a Derby horse. Obviously with the defection of Art Collector, they figured let's take a shot. Here's to longshots!”

South Bend is listed at 50-1 on the Kentucky Derby morning line, and will break from post position eight.

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‘We Just Have To Be The Best On One Day’: Ny Traffic Should Improve Off Haskell Performance

Haskell Invitational (GI) runner-up Ny Traffic had his first gallop over a wet Churchill Downs track at 7:30 a.m. and then visited the starting gate with trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and co-owner John Fanelli looking on. The gray Cross Traffic colt, who also is owned by Cash is King and Paul Braverman, arrived on a flight from New York Tuesday shortly before he drew post 15 of 18.

“I thought he went well,” Joseph said. “The track was a little sloppy, so I was undecided if we were going to gallop or jog today, but looking at the weather, there's more rain on the way, so we may jog tomorrow and I decided to go on and gallop. He went well. He was nice and relaxed. He showed good energy. He stood in the gate. So far, all is well.”

Ny Traffic, who has not been worse than third in five starts in 2020, has shown improvement in each of his races and his connections are hopeful he can perform well in the Kentucky Derby and are pleased with how he has trained since the Haskell July 18.

“He's done well. He's trained forwardly. He has a good series of breezes in,” Joseph said. “Our preparation as far as a race horse coming into a race has gone as well as we could have asked. The Haskell was his best race as far as handicapping figures. He's going to need to improve to compete with horses like Tiz the Law and Honor A. P., but we feel with the spacing of his races he should have improvement again. You never know for sure. Each race he's made a little jump and if he makes another little jump again, he's right there among the leaders.

“All we need is one more improvement in him. If he can make that improvement, he's a horse who is going to make his name on Saturday.”

Co-owner John Fanelli agreed, saying Ny Traffic looked like a horse who could step up on the big day.

“I've always looked for a horse who would progress and progress and progress when I would be betting the Derby,” Fanelli said. “That's what his line looks like. It's just constantly a little better each race. Hopefully we can get better one more time and make history.”

Ny Traffic's morning line odds were set at 20-1 by Mike Battaglia, but Joseph isn't afraid to take on the top contenders this Saturday.

“There are three or four horses that are better than us on paper,” Joseph said. “But we just have to be the best on one day.”

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