1st-GP, $84K, Msw, 3yof, 1mT, 11:30 p.m.
Gulfstream Park's packed Florida Derby Day card includes a pair of turf events for 3-year-old runners that are worth a look.
Hinkle Farms homebred OGEMA BAY (Medaglia d'Oro) debuts for Shug McGaughey with Luca Panici in the irons. Her dam Madame Du Lac (Lemon Drop Kid) produced two-time GI Woodford Reserve Turf Classic victor Divisidero (Kitten's Joy). Also prepped for a rookie start is GLORIA'S PRINCESS (Cairo Prince) from the stable of Brendan Walsh. Ridden by Luis Saez, the Harvey Clarke-owned filly is a half-sister to GISW Harvey's Lil Goil (American Pharoah).
First-timer and Godolphin homebred MAY FANE (Uncle Mo), who hails from a family that includes MGSW Frosted (Tapit), draws to the outside for Bill Mott with Irad Ortiz aboard. TJCIS PPS
6th-GP, $84K, Msw, 3yof, 1mT, 1:56 p.m. THE ARCHANGEL (Medaglia d'Oro), a half-sister to Derby hero I'll Have Another (Flower Alley) and MGSW Golden Award (Medaglia d'Oro), is out of mare Arch's Girl Edith (Arch) who also produced Gloria S (Tapit), the dam of Race 1's Gloria's Princess. The first-time starter for trainer Roger Attfield will break from post nine with Shaun Bridgmohan in the irons. TJCIS PPS
4th-SA, $67K, Msw, 3-5yo, 1m, 5:31 p.m. ULTIMATE GAMBLE (Medaglia d'Oro) flashed speed on debut as a juvenile at Del Mar Aug. 13, but ended up seventh in a vain attempt to catch MGISW Cave Rock (Arrogate) and MGSW Practical Move (Practical Joke) who will be seen next week in the GI Santa Anita Derby. Out of Eltimaas (Ghostzapper), the $1.75million '22 OBSAPR purchase by Red Baron's Barn or Rancho Temescal LLC. was back in-training after a break for Mark Glatt in the new year. This time around he will get the services of Frankie Dettori. The dark bay colt who initially went for $325,000 Ylg KEESEP to De Meric Sales has a yearling half-sister by Curlin that fetched $525,000 KEESEP last fall. TJCIS PPS
Coming from a culture where most wagering stipulates a fixed dividend, in the startling event that your horse happens to see through his part of the deal, I tend to view the morning line on American races as named for the hangover evidently being suffered by its compiler. Certainly by the time the market has been soberly hydrated with dollars and cents, I won't be expecting anything as close to an even play as the 4-5 listed about Forte (Violence) overcoming the wide draw that appears to introduce his only real jeopardy in the GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream on Saturday.
We all know that anything can happen in a horse race, but some imaginative contortions are required to see any of his rivals bridging the abyss dividing them from the champion juvenile. After all, the most competent among them are keeping him company out wide anyway. There has to be every chance, then, that the GI Kentucky Derby favorite will arrive at Churchill without having been put under any meaningful pressure in five months since having to deal with Cave Rock (Arrogate) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Keeneland in November.
This, as we know, is the modern way. If his Hall of Fame trainer is satisfied that Forte's best shot of winning the Derby is not even to run until March, and then only to outclass two fields of inferiors in his backyard, then we must respectfully stand aside. It's a different race, nowadays, and contested by a different kind of horse; and it is hardly Forte's fault that so few credible contenders have been tempted to slipstream their way to 40 starting points for the runner-up.
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Nor is he vulnerable to the way a similarly light schedule has backfired for Instant Coffee (Bolt d'Oro), who was deliberately kept under wraps between Jan. 21 and last weekend. It looked a safe enough gamble, in that the starting points awarded down to fifth place in the GII Louisiana Derby gave the hot favorite plenty of margin for error. In the event, however, he missed out altogether after trying to make up ground into a quickening pace and running a tepid finish.
There may be dozens of different reasons for that, so we can't assume that another race in between might have sustained him better through that mile and three-sixteenths. But what I do know is that horsemen of the old school, finding themselves in this kind of pickle, would certainly not be panicking. And that's because they would know that there are still 40 points available in the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. on Apr. 15.
Now obviously if you decide that the model Derby prep today comprises races on Jan. 21 and Mar. 25, then I can't imagine that you'll suddenly be willing to salvage the situation with a race at the modern equivalent of five to midnight. That's a shame, because a lot of people involved in this talented colt deserve their shot at an experience that owes much of its mystique precisely to the fact that a) no horse gets a second chance; and b) as a result, nor do very many horsemen.
I can think of one man who wouldn't be squeamish about a three-week interval between the Lexington S. and the Derby. In fact, D. Wayne Lukas was probably disappointed in 1982 when Churchill moved the old Derby Trial from the Tuesday before the race back to the Saturday. The couple of Trial winners he had that decade were doubtless a little rusty by the time they ran midfield in the Derby, a full week later.
At 87, and 40 years after his first winner in Hot Springs, Lukas is already enjoying the most lucrative Oaklawn meet of his career and he's a long way from finished. Besides upcoming engagements for barn leaders Secret Oath (Arrogate) and Last Samurai (Malibu Moon), Lukas has seven declared on Saturday's card including 'TDN Rising Star'Caddo River (Hard Spun) in the GIII Oaklawn Mile.
Until recently a barnmate of Instant Coffee, Caddo River ran second in the GI Arkansas Derby two years ago. And actually Lukas has a candidate for the latest running with, I suspect, a rather better chance than odds that may yet extend past the 20-1 of the “hangover” line. Bourbon Bash (City of Light) broke his maiden by eight lengths at Saratoga last summer but then bombed out in consecutive Grade Is and was then given a chance to start piecing things quietly back together in sprints. He hadn't quite learned to settle when runner-up to a talented rival around a second turn last month, but then caught the eye with the way he handled a poor trip when fifth as rank outsider for the GII Rebel S.
Lukas evidently believes that Bourbon Bash can stretch out effectively and, if he's right, his revival could yet open up a final fairytale. But we must note that this colt is out of a sister to Volatile (Violence), who has helped to make the sire of Forte primarily, to this point at least, a speed brand. That duly also remains a caveat about the crop leader, who will probably be depending heavily on damsire Blame on the first Saturday in May, when he'll be facing a 10th furlong in much more exacting company.
Ironically this will actually be only Bourbon Bash's third sophomore start, scarcely the standard Lukas treatment. Lukas has said that the horse doesn't need mental seasoning, but has needed time to strengthen. He's certainly fired some bullet works over the past month or so but, who knows, maybe he'll end up having to complete his preparations in the Lexington S.- the last port of call now that the old race-week Trial has been absorbed into the Derby undercard as the GII Pat Day Mile.
Tim Tam, the last horse to double up the Trial and the Derby, had previously won both the races chosen for Forte's own road to Churchill: the Fountain Of Youth S. and Florida Derby. In fact, the Kentucky Derby was his 10th sophomore start. So where would Jimmy Jones have learned a fool thing like that, running a future Hall of Famer four days before the Derby? Well, I can't quote chapter and verse–but I can give you a Citation.
It's that time of the year, when Todd Pletcher is in the headlines virtually every weekend. He won last Saturday's GII Louisiana Derby with Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo), has the favorite in Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby in Forte (Violence) and the following week will head to Keeneland for the GI Toyota Blue Grass, where Tapit Trice (Tapit) could be the horse to beat. To get Pletcher's latest thoughts on his wealth of 3-year-old talent we had him join us on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. Pletcher was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week.
A key topic was the draw for the Florida Derby. A small field was expected, but when the entries came out, the Florida Derby had a field of 12 and Forte drew the 11 post. That's a big disadvantage, which Pletcher was quick to acknowledge. The 11 post is just 2-for-49 at a mile-and-an-eighth on the dirt at Gulfstream.
“There's no bones about it. I don't like it,” he said. “It wouldn't have been one of my first five choices. I read the other day that since 2006, post 11 is 2-for-49 at Gulfstream going a mile-and-an-eighth. The one thing I will say, you'd have to go back and look at all 49 horses who broke from that post. But I would doubt that too many of them have the credentials that Forte does.”
He said that when the new Gulfstream was being built the Stronach team asked him his opinion as to whether or not they should build a mile-and-an-eighth main track. He told them he was against it.
“If you could go back 20 years, they actually did ask me when they were looking at the blueprints,” he said. “They asked me 'What do you think of a mile-and-an-eighth track?' I told them that I didn't care for it at all. It compromises your race and potentially could compromise anyone who draws an outside post. I've always felt it's not really a fair race for everyone. Between the Florida Derby and the Pegasus, you just hate to see the two most significant races of the meet potentially affected by post position.”
In the Louisiana Derby, Kingsbarns benefitted from a heady ride by Flavien Prat, who got his mount to the lead and slowed the pace down to a crawl. Pletcher said the plan was to be aggressive from the gate.
“Flavien and I spoke about the race,” he said. “We wanted to make sure we were kind of seeing the pace scenario the same way and that we both agreed. There didn't appear to be a lot of pace on paper. We felt like we would come out running, try to establish some position. We felt like the horse was versatile enough that if he made the lead the right way we'd be fine with that. And if someone else was ambitious and wanted to take it, then we could put ourselves in a good stalking position. At the elbow of the first turn, we were a length in front and it was pretty much all good from there.”
Scouting the competition, Pletcher admitted he was impressed with Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits), the winner of the G2 UAE Derby, who will now be headed to the GI Kentucky Derby.
“I thought it was a very impressive performance,” he said. “I think the track might have been a little bit speed favoring, but I didn't get to watch the whole card. The Japanese horses have just been performing phenomenally everywhere that their horses run. So, yes, I'm concerned. They're certainly improving by leaps and bounds in the way that their horses are performing globally.”
Bidding on the 33 entries in the Fasig-Tipton April Digital Sale is now open and will close next Tuesday at 2 p.m. The catalogue, which can be viewed at digital.fasigtipton.com, features horses of racing age, breeding stock, 2-year-olds, and yearlings. There are offerings located throughout the United States, including Arkansas, California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
“There is something for everyone in this catalogue,” said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales. “We expect significant interest and a very active market.”
Among the entries in the digital auction are stakes-placed Buckey's Charm (Kantharos), who was covered by Mandaloun Feb. 20; recent GIII Royal Delta S. third-place finisher Don't Get Khozy (Khozan); multiple stakes-placed K P Slickem (Include), a half-sister to the dam of champion Forte (Violence), who sells in foal to Raging Bull (Fr); stakes-placed Regal Retort (Jimmy Creed), who was covered by Early Voting Feb. 23; stakes-winner Vilao (Grave Digger), who was covered by Omaha Beach Feb. 11; multiple graded stakes-placed Heavenly Hill (City Zip), who sells in foal to Not This Time; Athena's War (Kor) (New Year's Day), a full-sister to Maximum Security who sells in foal to Charlatan; multiple stakes-placed Queens Up (Classic Empire), who sells as a racing/broodmare prospect; graded stakes-placed Danessa Deluxe (Summer Bird), who was covered by Speaker's Corner Feb. 12; and multiple stakes-placed broodmare prospect Tyler's Dream (Carpe Diem).
