HORSE RACING: BROTHER DEREK HAS PLAN ON BREAKING THROUGH.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI If anything except bad luck can stop Barbaro from winning the Triple Crown, it's 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 in the Preakness. I said ``if.'' The Brother Derek camp wasn't exactly demanding a rematch after Barbaro won 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. on Saturday. Brother Derek finished in a dead heat for fourth place, while Barbaro ran the fastest homestretch home·stretch n. 1. The portion of a racetrack from the last turn to the finish line. 2. Informal The final stages of an undertaking. Noun 1. since Secretariat to win by the widest margin since Assault, a dominating performance in what was supposed to be a contentious Derby. The morning after, Brother Derek trainer Dan Hendricks said the 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. winner probably lost about nine lengths in the Churchill Downs Churchill Downs, Ky.: see Louisville. race if you add up his traffic trouble and wide turns. ``And what did I get beat?'' Hendricks said with a laugh. ``Nine and a half.'' The joke is on anybody who seriously tries to quantify the trouble a horse encounters in the minefield between the starting gate starting gate n. Sports 1. A series of stalls with interconnected doors that open simultaneously at the beginning of a race. 2. and the wire. If the trouble is substantial, then there's no telling what would have happened if the horse had been allowed to run his or her race. Brother Derek's trouble line in the Daily Racing Form's Preakness past- performance charts reads, ``Steadied twice, 9w.'' That is, he and jockey Alex Solis Alex O. Solis (born March 25, 1964 in Panama City, Panama) is a jockey based in the United States. He currently lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California. He first gained national prominence when he won the 1986 Preakness Stakes with Snow Chief. were slowed by traffic twice, and were nine-wide turning for home. You don't often see a horse listed as going nine-wide, but then again, you don't see many 20-horse races. Other horses ran well in the Derby, including Bluegrass Cat Bluegrass Cat is a thoroughbred race horse. Born on January 23, 2003, he was a contender for the Triple Crown in 2006. However, he came up just short in the Kentucky Derby, finishing in second place, 6.5 lengths behind Barbaro. , who snapped back to his 2-year-old form to rally for second. But considering what he had to overcome as a result of breaking from post position 18, Brother Derek turned in the event's second-best performance. That makes him the leading hope to prevent Barbaro from adding the May 20 Preakness and June10 Belmont Stakes Belmont Stakes Oldest of the three U.S. horse races that constitute the Triple Crown. The Belmont originated in 1867 and is named after August Belmont (see Belmont family). The stakes is held in early June at Belmont Park, near Garden City, Long Island; the course is 1.5 mi (2,400 m). to his six-race winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" and completing the sport's first Triple Crown sweep since Affirmed in 1978. ``He bounced out of the race great, as good as any of his other races,'' Hendricks said Tuesday in a conference call with the nation's turf writers. ``This (Kentucky Derby) may have been the best race he's ever run, considering the post and the trip he had. ``This (Preakness) will be a different race. I'm just hoping that with a clean trip, I can outrun out·run tr.v. out·ran , out·run, out·run·ning, out·runs 1. a. To run faster than. b. To escape from: outrun one's creditors. 2. Barbaro, and if it comes to it, out-dogfight him. If we can't, then I hope he wins the Triple Crown.'' The probable lineup for the Preakness is likely to change constantly between now and entry time on Wednesday. The latest had Barbaro, Brother Derek, Sweetnorthernsaint (seventh in the Derby), Bernardini (the Withers Stakes winner), Like Now (the Gotham winner), Hemingway's Key (owned by George Steinbrenner) and Lewis Michael aiming for the 13/16-mile race at Pimlico. Lawyer Ron, 12th in the Kentucky Derby, was scheduled for an operation today to remove a bone chip from his right hind ankle and will miss the rest of the Triple Crown. The Derby's other top finishers -- Bluegrass Cat, Steppenwolfer (third) and Jazil (dead heat for fourth) -- were expected to pass up the Preakness and enter the Belmont. But if Barbaro is still unbeaten after the Preakness, it might be too late to stop him. The Preakness, two weeks after the Derby, will have already answered the question of whether such a lightly raced colt can withstand such a quick turnaround. The Belmont, at 1 1/2 miles, will look like a comfortable target for a horse with the stamina to cover the final quarter-mile of the Derby in 24.34 seconds and stretch a three-length lead to 6 1/2. For Brother Derek fans, the wish is that the California- bred had drawn a more comfortable post position for the Derby and had reached the second flight of horses alongside Barbaro early in the race. Then, maybe Solis could have given Barbaro rider Edgar Prado something to worry about -- as it was, all Prado had to do was wait for the front-runners to fall apart ahead of him. Maybe it will happen that way in Baltimore and we'll see the duel that might have been. --This weekend: It won't make up for his Kentucky Derby disappointment, but Alex Solis has a chance to ride the winners of all three Hollywood Park stakes on Saturday. Solis has Surf Cat in the Mervyn LeRoy Handicap The Mervyn LeRoy Handicap is a race for Thoroughbred horses run at Hollywood Park Racetrack each year. Open to horses, age three and up, willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt, the Mervyn LeRoy is a prep to the Hollywood Gold Cup. , where the Bruce Headley- trained 4-year-old will seek his fourth victory in a row while facing San Antonio winner Spellbinder spell·bind·er n. One that holds others spellbound, especially an enthralling speaker or a particularly interesting book. Noun 1. and fourothers. Solis also has Irish-bred Grey Swallow, an Irish-bred going for his first U.S. victory in the Jim Murray Memorial Handicap on turf, and Siren Lure, a minor-stakes winner trying to make the jump to a graded-stakes victory in the Los Angeles Handicap sprint. CAPTION(S): box Box: OUT OF THE GATE - Kevin Modesti |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion