BIG BROWN STILL HAS PYRO TO WORRY ABOUT.Byline: ART WILSON Arthur Earl "Dutch" Wilson (December 11, 1885 in Macon, Illinois; died June 12, 1960 in Chicago, Illinois) was a catcher in Major League Baseball. Art Wilson was the catcher for Cubs pitcher Hippo Vaughn during the "double no-hitter" game in 1917. HORSE RACING horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with Excuse me if I'm not ready to jump on the Big Brown bandwagon quite yet. Three races, won by a combined margin of 29 lengths, is enough for some people to make the son of Boundary the 3-1 favorite in the third pool of the Kentucky Derby Kentucky Derby One of the classic U.S. Thoroughbred horse races. It was established in 1875 and run annually on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs track in Louisville, Ky. With the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, it makes up U.S. racing's coveted Triple Crown. Future Wager, but it says here Pyro py·ro n. pl. py·ros Slang A person who has a compulsion to set fires; a pyromaniac. still is the horse to beat May 3. Yes, Big Brown looked impressive while running away from 11 rivals in the Florida Derby The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida on the Saturday closest to the end of March or the first of April. on March 29 and winning by five lengths. This, after he'd won his career debut by 11 1/4 lengths last September at Saratoga before taking the rest of the year off because of foot problems. Big Brown won his 2008 debut, an allowance race at Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino is a racetrack and county-approved racino in Hallandale Beach, Florida, in the United States. During its annual meet, which spans January through March, it is one of the most important venues for horse racing in America. in early March, by 12 3/4 lengths and that's when onlookers sat up and began to take notice. They left their seats and ran to the future book windows after the Richard Dutrow- trained dynamo cruised gate-to-wire in the FloridaDerby through splits of 22.76, 45.83 and 1:10.08. "I don't see any 3-year-old that can beat him anywhere in the world, and I've watched them all," Dutrow said after the Florida Derby, a race in which he beat very little but still emerged as the second coming of Secretariat. Let's step back, take a deep breath and exhale exhale /ex·hale/ (eks´hal) to breathe out. ex·hale v. 1. To breathe out. 2. To emit a gas, vapor, or odor. slowly. There are still two major Derby preps to be run -- Saturday's Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently sponsored by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is an American Grade 1 horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in mid April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. at Keeneland and the Arkansas Derby The Arkansas Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Arkansas Derby is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on the dirt. at Oaklawn Park -- and if a horse happens to run off and win either by 17 1/2 lengths like Bellamy Road did in the 2005 Wood Memorial, suddenly we'll have another super horse and Big Brown will be yesterday's news. Yes, Big Brown can run fast. So can War Pass and a few other colts Big Brown didn't see in the Florida Derby. He'll also be running against 19 other horses, not 11 like at Gulfstream. And wait till he gets a load of those 100,000-plus fans at Churchill Downs who like to make a lot of noise, which tends to disrupt a lot of young, inexperienced horses. I urge you to watch a replay of the Risen Star Stakes The Risen Star Stakes is a race for thoroughbred horses run at the Fair Grounds Race Course each year. The race is open to three year olds willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt. A Grade III, it offers a purse of $300,000. at Fair Grounds when Pyro, last at the head of the stretch, unleashed one of the most powerful closing surges in memory once jockey Shaun Bridgmohan got the son of Pulpit out at the eighth pole and asked him to do his thing. Pyro came charging home that last eighth of a mile like a hungry lion in full chase of his prey. When Pyro resurfaced in the Louisiana Derby on March 8, he showed he can sit closer to the lead when Bridgmohan had him fourth through much of the race before moving up between horses in the stretch and drawing off to win by three lengths under little urging from his jockey. Pyro is entered to run in the Blue Grass, and it will be no walk in the park. Derby hopefuls Cool Coal Man, Visionaire, Big Truck and Monba are scheduled to run in the 11/8-mile test on Polytrack. About 30 minutes later, Derby contenders Gayego, Z Fortune, Blackberry Road, Liberty Bull and MyPal Charlie will square off in the Arkansas Derby. Here's a look at our Derby top five just three weeks away from the big day: Pyro -- The colt has seasoning, an extraordinary closing punch and a trainer in Steve Asmussen who knows how to win the big races. Asmussen came up short in last year's Run for the Roses with the lightly raced Curlin, who later proved his greatness with a powerful victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade 1 Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 years old and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles (2012 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. on his way to being named Horse of the Year. But Pyro looks talented enough to give Asmussen that first Derby victory. Colonel John -- Trainer Eoin Harty has never trained a Derby winner on his own, but he assisted Bob Baffert with Silver Charm in 1997 and Real Quiet in '98. He knows the recipe for success at Churchill Downs and he has handled the son of Tiznow brilliantly. Big Brown -- His sire, Boundary, was best at sprints, but his grandsire grandsire sire of an animal's dam or sire. , Danzig, could win at longer distances. The knock against this guy is not his pedigree, but the fact he's so lightly raced. Big Brown, if he breaks alertly, should be on or near the lead and avoid any traffic problems, but he won't be in front by himself, and a swift early pace is going to set up matters perfectly for Pyro. War Pass -- The son of Cherokee Run's runner-up effort in last Saturday's Wood was better than his dismal showing in the Tampa Bay Derby The Tampa Bay Derby is a race for Thoroughbred race horses held in March at Tampa Bay Downs. A Grade III event, the race is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles (8.5 furlongs) on the dirt. , but the fact he faded in the final eighth does not bode well for his ability to go the Derby distance of a mile and one quarter. Tale of Ekati -- Trainer Barclay Tagg will be trying to duplicate his Derby success with Funny Cide when he saddles the Wood Memorial winner in the Derby. Scheduled to be ridden by Edgar Prado, Tale of Ekati has the stalking style that is perfect for Derby day, but he might be a cut below the elite sophomores of 2008. art.wilson@sgvn.com CAPTION(S): box Box: OUT OF THE GATE |
|
|||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion