HORSE RACING : PREAKNESS PICK? NOT GRINDSTONE UNBRIDLED'S SONG GETS THE CALL-IF HEALTHY.Byline: Kevin Modesti Daily News Staff Writer After Grindstone grindstone or grind common metaphor for industriousness. [Pop. Culture: Misc.] See : Industriousness rallied to defeat Cavonnier by inches in Saturday's 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. , which horse should be favored in the second Triple Crown race, the Preakness? Probably neither. Probably Unbridled's Song - if he is healthy enough to run in the May 18 race at Pimlico without the bar shoes that almost certainly cost him traction in the Derby. ``That's the horse to beat in Baltimore,'' Cavonnier trainer Bob Baffert Bob Baffert (born January 13, 1953 in Nogales, Arizona) is an American horse owner and trainer. He graduated from the University of Arizona's Racetrack Management Program with a Bachelor of Science degree. said Sunday morning Sunday Morning may refer to:
``He's a monster. If he hadn't had all those problems,'' Baffert said, referring to the colt's week-long battle with a left-forefoot injury and his far-outside post position, ``you wouldn't be talking to me. You don't talk to third-place finishers.'' Grindstone trainer D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935 in Antigo, Wisconsin) is a former educator who became one of the most successful horse trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing history and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. agreed that Unbridled's Song ``could go favored.'' That assumes he goes at all. It depends on how the foot heels, trainer Jim Ryerson said Sunday. ``He won't run in the bar shoes,'' Ryerson said just along a shedrow shed·row n. A row or double row of horse barns at a racetrack, having a separate stall for each horse and fronting a walkway. from Baffert. ``He did fine in that workout (Wednesday) with them on, but to run those sorts of distances (the Derby was 1-1/4 miles) with them, that's too much.'' But Ryerson said the Florida Derby and Wood Memorial winner couldn't have raced here safely without a bar shoe holding his cracked hoof hoof, horny epidermal casing at the end of the digits of an ungulate (hoofed) mammal. In the even-toed ungulates, such as swine, deer, and cattle, the hoof is cloven; in the odd-toed ungulates, such as the horse and the rhinoceros, it is solid. together. If he doesn't go in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness, Ryerson said, he could wait for next month's one-mile Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park. It didn't sound as if Grindstone will scare Ryerson away from Pimlico. ``I have a feeling there were better horses behind him (in the Derby),'' he said. ``Some horses handle this racetrack better than others, and maybe that's what happened with him.'' Grindstone, Cavonnier and Unbridled's Song are among eight Derby graduates considered possibilities for the Preakness, along with six new faces. The other Derby horses: Lukas-trained Prince of Thieves (third) and Editor's Note (sixth), Skip Away (12th), In Contention (15th) and Louis Quatorze (16th). The fresh horses: City By Night, who was scratched from the Derby with a foot abscess abscess, localized inflamation associated with tissue necrosis. Abscesses are characterized by inflamation, which is due to the accumulation of pus in the local tissues, and often painful swelling. ; Jim Beam Stakes winner Roar; Gotham winner Romano Gucci (who is 4 for 5); 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. winner Thundering Storm; Robert Perez-owned long shot Secreto de Estado; and Tour's Big Red, winner of the Federico Tesio, the local Preakness prep. Among the Derby horses not going on: Halo Sunshine (fourth at 28-1), Alyrob (eighth) and Lukas' other two, Victory Speech (10th) and Honour and Glory (18th). ``He (Halo Sunshine) has had a lot of races in a short time,'' said trainer Richard Cross, who is considering the July 21 Swaps at Hollywood Park. ``Unlike some of the connections that finished in front of us, we (he and owner Henry Pabst) only have him. We need to make him last.'' The only connections who beat Halo Sunshine's were Lukas, with Grindstone mega-breeder-owner William T. Young William T. Young (February 15, 1918 - January 12, 2004) was an American businessman and major owner of thoroughbred racehorses. William T. Young attended the University of Kentucky where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. , and Prince of Thieves owner Peter Mitchell; and Baffert, with successful California breeder-owners Robert and Barbara Walter. Coincidentally, the closest Derby finish in 37 years was between horses prepared by former quarterhorse trainers, who are used to tight margins. ``I've won and lost a lot of photos,'' Baffert said. ``But to lose a Kentucky Derby like this, that's the killer.'' In fact, Ryerson said he'd rather lose a Derby the way he did than the way Baffert did. So what did the major players do the day after? Baffert flew off to Phoenix to saddle a horse at Turf Paradise in a sprint called the Great Western Shootout Shootout Venture capital jargon. Refers to two or more venture capital firms fighting for the startup. . Lukas got to his barn at 4:15 a.m., but left for a 7:30 a.m. appointment with his dentist, who agreed to work unusual Sunday hours after the trainer got him a good seat for the Derby. Lukas needed repairs on three caps that were cracked when a stable pony threw his head recently. ``Hell of a way to celebrate the Derby,'' Lukas said. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Unbridled's Song may have lost the Kentucky Derby, b ut he could be favored in the Preakness. Associated Press |
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