The first Saturday of May can always help drive away the memory of nasty winter cold, politics, wars, terrorism and all the other distractions of life when the Kentucky Derby, the most famous horse race in the world, takes place.
It is the first step in the American Triple Crown for Thoroughbred horses and the beginning of reaching for that dream of all horse breeders and a place in history.
For 141 years horses have gone to the gate in the Kentucky Derby at the legendary Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, in hopes of winning the Triple Crown.
The Triple Crown has three races of over a mile against the best horses in the world during a five week period and is the true test of champions. In the 141 years since the Kentucky Derby began only 11 horses have won the coveted Triple Crown. It has been 37 years since the last Triple Crown champion, Affirmed in 1978, the longest drought ever between Triple Crown champions.
Since Affirmed won in 1978 twelve horses have won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes but none
won the Belmont Stakes to claim the Triple Crown. The closest was Real Quiet in
1998 who lost by a nose in the Belmont
Now no horse will ever be
the champion like Secretariat in 1973 who blazed to glory winning the three
races by a record total of 36 lengths. It had been 25 years since the previous
Triple Crown winner and to this day Secretariat holds the records in the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont
As for the last winner, Affirmed, his legendary races against Alydar rank as the best competition of all time. Alydar was the only horse to ever finish 2nd in all three races and in the Belmont when Affirmed was going for the Triple Crown they were nose to nose at the finish line with Affirmed winning in a photo finish by a nose. In all three races the two horses finished just two lengths apart.
The Kentucky Derby is the most amazing two minutes in sports and this year has one of the strongest fields in years. Here are the top five favorites with five days to go before the race.
1. American Pharoah
2. Dortmund
3. Carpe Diem
4. Frosted
5. Mubtaahij
2. Dortmund
3. Carpe Diem
4. Frosted
5. Mubtaahij
Wednesday, April 29 will be the day the final horses are selected to run in the Derby and the draw for post positions will take place. Here are profiles of the favorites this year.
American
Pharoah
Bloodhorse.com
The
Pharoah Show Gets Rave Reviews
By Steve Haskin,
Not many people who watched American Pharoah breeze five
furlongs this morning could believe it when they were told he had worked in :58
2/5. The likely Kentucky Derby favorite looked as if he was on cruise control
all the way, and the final time and gallop-out seemed to contradict what
everyone was seeing.
“He looked like he was just loping out there,” said veteran trainer Phil Thomas. “I really didn’t think he was working that fast. I’ll tell you, Bob’s taking no prisoners this year.”
Bob, of course is trainer Bob Baffert, who has been seeing American Pharoah work like this the past two years.
But for Justin Zayat, racing manager for Zayat Stables, a work like this was a reality check in realizing just what kind of horse they will be sending into the Kentucky Derby.
“Unbelievable,” he said. “It gave me chills.”
“He looked like he was just loping out there,” said veteran trainer Phil Thomas. “I really didn’t think he was working that fast. I’ll tell you, Bob’s taking no prisoners this year.”
Bob, of course is trainer Bob Baffert, who has been seeing American Pharoah work like this the past two years.
But for Justin Zayat, racing manager for Zayat Stables, a work like this was a reality check in realizing just what kind of horse they will be sending into the Kentucky Derby.
“Unbelievable,” he said. “It gave me chills.”
Gary Young, one of the most respected clockers and bloodstock agents in the business, could not contain his enthusiasm. “I have been doing this for 35 years and he might be the best horse I’ve ever seen,” Young said. “He’s simply like Michael Jordan and stays in the air like he did in his rookie year. He stays in the air longer than any horse and you get the feeling that there’s not one gear left, but he may have two, three or four gears.”
As for yours truly, if you had asked what he worked in, I probably would have said around two full seconds slower than he actually did. With that long, fluid, and (as Young noted) airborne stride, he just popped off the eighths in :11 2/5, :11 3/5, :11 3/5, and :11 4/5 before coming home another eighth in :12 flat without even the slightest urging by jockey Martin Garcia, who barely moved on him. He then galloped out six furlongs in 1:11 2/5 and pulled up seven panels in 1:27. He galloped back still prancing along, and wasn’t blowing at all coming off the track. In other words this was a freaky good work, but it’s certainly not the first time the word ‘freak’ has been associated with American Pharoah, who was full of himself being washed down.
“It’s pins and needles and lots of anxiety from now on,” Baffert said. “The hard part will be containing (Ahmed Zayat). He’ll be a nervous wreck. The draw will be the next stressful moment.”
The Zayats have experienced a good deal of frustration, not only in the Kentucky Derby, in which they have finished second in 2009, 2010, and 2011, but in all three Triple Crown events, losing the Preakness with Bodemeister in a heartbreaker, and getting beat right on the wire in the Belmont Stakes with Paynter, who led every step of the way except the final two jumps. Ahmed Zayat considers the latter their toughest defeat. In 2012, they had the distinction, both impressive and dubious, of finishing second in all three Triple Crown races with two different horses.
In their three seconds in the Derby, they were beaten by 50-1 Mine That Bird in one of the biggest shockers in Derby history; were beaten by the first horse (Animal Kingdom) ever to win the Derby in his first start on dirt; and were beaten by as lightly raced horse who became the first horse ever to win the Derby from post 19.
Will this year be the payback from the
For Baffert, his day was completed when his other stud,
In addition to
Read more on BloodHorse.com: http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2015/04/26/the-pharoah-show-gets-rave-reviews.aspx#ixzz3YWKyZ1pd
The New
York Times
His name is Dortmund
About two previous Kentucky Derby victors, to be exact: Smarty Jones (2004)
and Seattle Slew (1977).
“I was looking to do what Seattle Slew did when he went to the Derby 6 for
6, Smarty Jones went there 6 for 6,” Shah said. “It was critically important
that he move forward, not regress.”
He finished strong, covering a mile and an eighth in 1:48.73. His rider,
Martin Garcia, looked as if he were out for a pleasure ride as Dortmund
“I didn’t do anything,” Garcia said. “He just dragged me around there.”
How Dortmund San
Gabriel Mountains , for the past six months. In Dortmund
American Pharaoh, last year’s 2-year-old champion, is the favorite to win
the Arkansas Derby
next week at Oaklawn
Park
Don’t forget about Firing Line, either. Twice previously, he has dueled
down the stretch with Dortmund New Mexico
But there will be 16 other horses lined up against
Dortmund and the California
Among them will be Frosted, who won the Wood Memorial on Saturday by going
a mile and an eighth in 1:50.31. He had shown more potential than results,
finishing fourth in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park
“We know he has a ton of ability, and the last
race really made us scratch our heads, asking why he would go to the lead and
throw his head up and stop,” McLaughlin said. “We did everything we could to
change everything we possibly could.”
It worked.
In the Bluegrass Stakes in Kentucky
“There wasn’t much speed in the race,” Velazquez said. “It was a nice slow
pace, and I didn’t want to fight him very much. Down the lane, I asked him, and
he responded right away.”
There is little doubt, however, that Dortmund Derby winner, Big Brown, Dortmund
“The feeling is like we’ve been here before,” Baffert said. “Just enjoy the
moment because the next race is going to be the one.”
Carpe Diem
Horse Racing Nation
by Brian Zipse
Carpe Diem
Overview -
Owned by WinStar Farm and Stonestreet Stables, and trained by Todd Pletcher, Carpe
Diem currently stands as the 20-1, third choice, on the most recent 2015 Kentucky Derby future odds from Wynn Las Vegas.
With three very good juvenile performances under his belt, the good looking son
of Giant’s Causeway was one of the top two-year-olds in the nation, and his prospects to progress as a three-year-old are promising. Following his trip West, and subsequent second place run in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Carpe Diem will get a short break and winter at
Pletcher’s winter base at Palm Meadows in South Florida .
His most likely path to get to the Derby will begin at Gulfstream Park
Race
Record (3-2-1-0) - Carpe Diem began his
racing career solidly, taking a 5 1/2 furlong maiden special weight race at Saratoga
From there, he stepped right up in both distance and class. On paper, the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity, with a field of 12, running 8 ½ furlongs, looked like a tough spot for his second career start. Carpe Diem made it look easy, though, as he stalked the early pace and grabbed control of the race on the far turn. He left the large field in his wake, after that, rolling to an eye catching 6 ¼-length romp at Keeneland.
Carpe Diem’s final start of the year came at Santa Anita in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, where he was on the other end of a 6-length plus victory, finishing second to the impressive winner, Texas Red. He uncharacteristically fell well behind early, and had to race well wide on the turn, and into the stretch, but rallied strongly down the middle of the track to get up for place money over Upstart in the final stride.
Pedigree -
Carpe Diem was purchased for $1.6 million for more than just his looks and a fast workout in front of sales watchers. Out of the graded stakes placed Unbridled’s Song mare, Rebridled Dreams, he is a half-brother to stakes winners on both sides of the Atlantic .
Grade 1 winner J.B.’s Thunder in the U.S. , and Doncaster Rover, a durable multiple stakes winner in England
His sire Giant’s Causeway remains one of the world’s top sires, and on the track he displayed his class and versatility by running a strong second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in his dirt debut at the same distance and track as the Kentucky Derby. Combined with the female side of his pedigree, the ten furlongs of the Kentucky Derby would seem to be within
the scope of Carpe Diem.
Strengths - Besides the excellent racing record and pedigree already mentioned, Carpe Diem has already accomplished a few things that most juveniles never do. He has run well from three different early race positions; on the lead, close to the pace, and way back early. This tactical nature, and ability to adapt, should suit him well on the trail, as well as in a difficult race like the Kentucky Derby.
He also has already proven to travel well, having gone from New York , to Kentucky , to California
Weaknesses - Not much to say here, but despite being as successful as any American trainer in the 21st century, Todd Pletcher, has had several top youngsters not hold up on the Kentucky Derby trail, and if they did make it to the first Saturday in May, the Hall of Fame trainer sports only a 2.5% winning percentage.
Frosted
Frosted earns spot in Kentucky Derby
Sunday, April 5, 2015
After tiring to fourth in the Feb. 21 Fountain of Youth Stakes, Frosted underwent a minor procedure on the soft palate of his throat to help clear his air path and it paid off.
“This has been a top, special project for my team, my brother, the grooms, etc.,” said trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, who has never saddled a Kentucky Derby winner. “We know he has a ton of ability, and the last race really made us scratch our heads, asking ‘why?’
“He would go to the lead and throw his head up and stop. . . . We did everything we could to change everything that we thought went wrong, including the jockey. It all worked out and it’s just a special win for our team.”
Racing in sixth under jockey Joel Rosario early in the seven-horse field, Frosted began his winning move on the turn for home, drawing even with longshot Tencendur at the top of the stretch before pulling away late to win for just the second time from seven starts. Frosted earned 100
“He didn’t break that sharp and I didn’t really want to send him out of there and be on the lead,”
Frosted returned $6.40, $4.50, and $3 after running the mile and an eighth in 1:50.31 over a track rated fast. Tencendur, sent off at 21-1, paid $15.40 and $5.60. El Kabeir was third and paid $2.70.
Tencendur may join Frosted at the Run for the Roses, with his 40 points likely qualifying him to go.
“I’m from
Daredevil, the 2-1 post-time
favorite, pressed the early pace before tiring to fourth.
Mubtaahij
Bloodhorse.com
Mubtaahij
the X Factor in Kentucky Derby
By Steve Haskin,
"A variable in a given situation
that could have the most significant impact on the outcome...a noteworthy
special talent or quality... an indescribable quality; something about a person
that you cannot put your finger on."
Those are all definitions of the term
"X factor," and they all could describe Mubtaahij
in this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) run May 2.
Perhaps the most relevant of those
definitions in describingMubtaahij and his chances at Churchill Downs
is the last..."something that you cannot put your finger on."
Yes, he could have a "significant
impact on the outcome," and, yes, he definitely could be "a special
talent," But if only we could put our finger on just how talented he is
and where he fits with a group of Derby horses people are calling the deepest
and most gifted in many years.
Americans, both fans and horsemen,
seem to be pretty much split down the middle on whether we have a potential
superstar on our hands who has a big shot to knock off this year's illustrious
group of 3-year-olds or whether he simply has been beating up on a slow bunch
of horses at Meydan and will not be able to match the speed of the Americans,
while competing in unfamiliar surroundings in a 20-horse field with a French
jockey on his back.
And that is why no one can really put
their finger on how he is going to perform in the Derby
The son of Dubawi currently is stabled
at Arlington Park
Just look at some of the intangibles
we are dealing with:
* He will be the only horse in the Derby
* In Dubai
* He trains without shoes and will not
be shod until race day.
* He is the only horse other than 1971
winner Canonero II to come into the Derby having already raced twice at a
distance farther than 1 1/8 miles, winning the last two legs of the United Arab
Emirates Triple Crown (the Al Bastakiya and grade II UAE Derby), both at 1 3/16
miles.
* He has already competed in a Triple
Crown series and has twice defeated a Triple Crown winner, the Southern
Hemisphere-bred 4-year-old Sir
Fever, winner of the Uruguayan Triple Crown.
* When he broke his maiden on the dirt
at Meydan as a 2-year-old, he defeated 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds, something
unheard of in this country.
* Unlike the majority of the American
horses, he has raced five times in the past four months, and keeps improving.
* In the UAE Derby, Mubtaahij
displayed a spectacular turn of foot and burst clear of his opponents, winning
by eight lengths, with jockey Christophe Soumillon looking back twice in the
final furlong. In winning the UAE Derby, he defeated horses from England , Japan ,
Saudi Arabia , Uruguay , U.S. ,
and Dubai
In summation, we have an Irish-bred
horse, owned by an Arab sheikh (Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum),
trained by a South African, and ridden by a Belgian. And you're surprised you
can't put your finger on this horse?
One thing you can depend on, a lot of
people will be putting their finger on his number when they punch out their
tickets, either at the track or on their computers. And many will be doing so
because of that intangible called the unknown.
And that unknown also includes how the
colt will perform without his regular (and special) feed that is not registered
by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be permitted in the U.S.
"I think that's the most
significant thing with all the traveling," de Kock said on a national
teleconference April 21. "It's something that's out of our control, and I
understand where they're coming from. But no trainer would like to change a
regular diet going into any sort of event. The diet I've changed to is
something I do know a little bit about and have used before. But the fact is,
it's not what he's used to regularly. How much bearing that would have on his
performance, quite frankly, I'm not that sure. But from a trainer's psyche it's
not ideal, let's put it that way."
As for the decision not to use Lasix,
de Kock said. "It's purely about bleeding. As I understand things, Lasix
is there to assist known bleeders and there has not even been a suspicion of
this horse ever bleeding. I'm not sure what he'll do if given Lasix, and
because he's never bled, I'm not prepared to gamble on his performance being
altered with Lasix."
In discussing his decision to use
Christophe Soumillon instead of looking for an American jockey, de Kock said, "I
believe he will have a game plan in his mind and I don't like to interfere too
much with jockeys because I don't want to hold them to any tactics. I believe
if one employs a jockey, you can sit down and have a game plan, but there's no
race ever run on paper. So you have to really have faith in your man, and if
the game plan changes in the first 400 meters (quarter mile) of the race,
well, so be it. One just has to accept that. The reason why I have Christophe
Soumillon riding the horse is because I trust the man, I think he's a very good
jockey, and I'm going to live by the decision he makes."
What makes this story all the more
fascinating is that Mubtaahij's career on dirt nearly never happened, and most
likely only did because he was such a disappointment in his first two starts on
grass at Newmarket and de Kock had no idea what to do with him.
"He was showing us a fair bit at
home, so we were quite disappointed with his first two starts in England Dubai
"When he got to Dubai
De Kock said he is confident Mubtaahij
can handle all that is being asked of him because of his temperament.
"With his demeanor and the fact
that he's an easy horse to travel and won so well in the UAE Derby, it gave
confidence to take a crack at it," De Kock said. "But I probably
picked the worst year when it comes to the opposition, but at the end of the
day you never know.
It's a sporting event and there are never any
guarantees."
Some people in America
"In South
Africa , we train in Johannesburg
and we race in Cape Town , which would roughly be
18 to 20 hours by van, and it's something we do very regularly during the Cape Town Hong Kong to win multiple group I races there, which is
about 12 hours door to door. It's not something that's actually foreign to us.
I've put horses on a van for eight hours and race the next day and have been
successful.
"I think the key to transporting
horses is, a) the horse has got an appetite, and b) the horse has got to take
in fluids. If you can get the balance of the two right, you've got half the
battle won," de Kock said. "An 18-hour or even 24-hour journey to a destination
to race is something that does not put us off."
As for Mubtaahij as a traveler, de
Kock said the trip to Arlington Park was about 24 hours door to door (with a
stopover in Amsterdam), and when the colt arrived he just didn't look quite the
same as when he left Dubai, according to assistant trainer Trevor Brown.
"Trevor just felt that he looked
a little bit tucked up, so I decided not to travel him down to the (Skylight) Training Center
near Louisville Chicago Arlington
"So we switched plan in midstride
and I think we did the right thing, because within two or three days the horse
was just bursting out of his skin and he hasn't stopped eating and drinking,
and whatever weight he lost he put back on really quickly. As horsemen, we have
to be flexible when it comes to these kinds of things. I think the horses talk
to us."
In looking at the Derby and how
Mubtaahij's running style would fit the likely pace scenario, de Kock said,
"Given the little I know about the horses that are in there, the emphasis
in America does seem to be on speed, and he's a horse who can relax fairly well
off a hot pace and has a big kick and will be doing his best running toward the
end. Certainly I'm not there to match the American horses for speed; I don't
think we have that ability. But I do know we have the ability to get the 10
furlongs and we have the ability to come home strong the last three or four
furlongs."
De Kock feels Mubtaahij has all the
attributes to handle anything that is thrown at him in the course of the race.
"I think he needs the speed to be
on and he's a horse who has courage enough to deal with the kickback, although
I probably wouldn't want him down on the rail. We might just want to give
ourselves the easiest passage sitting a little off the gallop, maybe a little
wide away from all the trouble. In Dubai
De Kock, however, admits the UAE Derby
set up perfectly for Mubtaahij because of the hot pace.
"They went a little too quick
early on with four horses taking each other on at a suicidal pace," de
Kock said. "It was a little crazy up front and that's why his acceleration
possibly could be a little flattering. The two Japanese horses really took each
other on and he was able to relax behind them and get the perfect trip. He does
have acceleration, though, and he does get the 10 furlongs and runs hard to the
(finish) line.
"He has the ability to sit off a
lot of speed and accelerate off that, and that's probably in his favor.
However, in America
Even coming from South Africa
"It doesn't matter what country
you come from, they Kentucky Derby has proven it's the greatest, and if it
isn't, you tell me which one is. To be part of that is something very special
to us. We're not going with a 100-1 shot, and it would be fantastic if he ran
well. It is mind-boggling to think about it and I don't believe it will all
settle in until we're actually there and see the real scenario and all the
spirit around it all.
The name Mubtaahij translates to
"elated," which is most appropriate, considering what de Kock feels
having a horse like this and being able to embark on such a special journey.
"I don't think I'll be
disappointed and I hope to gain everything out of it that I expect," he
said. "It's something that has been an ambition and a dream since I was a
very young man in this industry, and I'm really honored and privileged to
realize that dream."
Read more on BloodHorse.com: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/91418/mubtaahij-the-x-factor-in-kentucky-derby#ixzz3YWK868XB
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