BROTHER DEREK HAS PLENTY OF COMPETITION: PACING KEY IN DERBY PREPARATION.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI 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 The search for a 3-year-old to challenge Brother Derek Brother Derek is a thoroughbred horse. A foal of 2003, he was thought to be a contender for the Triple Crown in 2006. He was an early favorite in the Kentucky Derby. However, after starting in post position #18, he fell short in the "Run for the Roses," finishing in a dead heat for at the top 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. contender rankings will keep horseplayers close to television sets on Saturday to watch the contenders in prep races at Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . Bob and John (one of Bob Baffert's three entrants in the San Felipe Stakes The San Felipe Stakes is a race for Thoroughbred horses run each year at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The race is normally held in mid-March and is open to horses, age three, willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles (8.5 furlongs) on the dirt. ), Lawyer Ron (Rebel Stakes), Bluegrass Cat (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. ) and Keyed Entry, Achilles of Troy Achilles of Troy is a thoroughbred horse. As a foal of 2003, he was a possible contender for the Triple Crown in 2006 but on April 5, 2006 it was announced that soreness will sideline Achilles of Troy from the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown. and Sweetnorthernsaint (Gotham) all have something that Brother Derek does not. Conventional wisdom holds that a horse should have run prep races after Jan. 1 to get fit but not tired before the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. Brother Derek is going to abide by To stand to; to adhere; to maintain. See also: Abide that rule of thumb by running three preps, with San Rafael and Santa Catalina stakes victories behind him and the April 9 Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $750,000. on his schedule. But a look at recent Kentucky Derby winners' past performances shows that all of them had their last three preps within 15 weeks of the big race and most of them did it within 10 to 12 weeks. Brother Derek would be trying to stretch the edge of that pattern by spreading his last three preps over 16 weeks after starting his 3-year-old season with a win over Stevie Wonderboy in the San Rafael on Jan. 14. Sometimes stats like this are useful, sometimes they aren't. Horseplayers who pore over racing history, occasionally thinking they've found magic formulas for picking winners, are constantly reminded that trends tend to turn around immediately upon being discovered. It's impossible to question anything trainer Dan Hendricks has done with Brother Derek, a winner of five of seven starts and a deserving No. 1 in almost everybody's Derby ratings right now, precisely 50 days before the May 6 race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Hendricks can hardly be accused of taking it too easy on Brother Derek, since the California-bred colt really didn't get a winter break following his Hollywood Futurity win on Dec. 17. Yet Brother Derek's schedule this year has been on the leisurely side. Assuming he makes it to the Kentucky Derby in good order, he might be vulnerable to horses with harder prep campaigns under their cinches. Which describes all of the favorites in this weekend's races, horses making their second-to-last starts before the Derby. --Bob and John is in line to run four preps - the last three since Feb. 4 - as he prepares for Saturday's $250,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita and then, presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. , the Santa Anita Derby. Bob and John (with Victor Espinoza riding) has improved since finishing third in the Hollywood Futurity. He'll have seven opponents in the San Felipe, including Baffert barnmates Point Determined (Garrett Gomez) and Sky Diving (David Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the ). Others include A.P. Warrior (Corey Nakatani), making his first start since moving from Eoin Harty to John Shirreffs, trainer of 2005 Derby winner Giacomo, and Refinery (Tyler Baze), stepping up to the stakes level after a strong allowance victory. --Lawyer Ron also is in line for four preps - three since Feb. 25 - as he goes into Saturday's $300,000 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., and then the Arkansas Derby. With John McKee riding for trainer Bob Holthus, the son of Langfuhr comes off a front-running victory in the Southwest Stakes, his fifth consecutive win on dirt. Lawyer Ron is the hero of those of us who wish Derby hopefuls competed more often, having started 10 times as a 2-year-old, mostly on forgiving turf courses. His rivals in the Rebel include Steppenwolfer, the Southwest runner-up already competing for the fourth time this year, and Private Vow, a two-time stakes winner making his 3-year-old debut. --Bluegrass Cat is going to pack his three preps into 11 weeks, the second in Saturday's $250,000 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs is a horse track in Tampa, Florida. History The track opened in 1926. The track has operated under many names the most famous being Florida Downs. In 1943, the Army used the track as a training facility. and the third to be determined. Having won the Remsen Stakes in New York in November for jockey John Velazquez and trainer Todd Pletcher, Bluegrass Cat may emerge from this weekend as the top East Coast 3-year-old. The Tampa Bay field includes Deputy Glitters and Nick Zito-trained Little Cliff, second and fourth to Bluegrass Cat in the Sam F. Davis in February. --Keyed Entry makes the third of what Pletcher hopes will be four preps when he starts in Saturday's $200,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. With Edgar Prado riding while Velazquez goes with Bluegrass Cat to Tampa, Keyed Entry gets his first test beyond sprint distances in the 1 1/16-mile Gotham. The home-track advantage belongs to Achilles of Troy, dominating a pair of minor stakes at Aqueduct, and Sweetnorthernsaint, who broke his maiden at Aqueduct before winning a small stakes at Laurel for first-year trainer Michael Trombetta. Other things being equal, horses with three preps close to the Derby have the edge on horses with less rigorous work schedules. CAPTION(S): box Box: OUT OF THE GATE BY KEVIN MODESTI |
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