***Arkansas Derby***

The Arkansas Derby is one of the most prestigous races Kentucky Derby prep races on the schedule each year. This year again the Arkansas Derby will have a large field of very accomplished 3 year olds that will go to the post looking for the winner's share of the $1Million purse. This year the prohibitive favorite is Old Fashioned, the charge trained by Larry Jones and owned by Fox Hill Farm, owner Rick Porter has a great deal of confidence in his horse even after losing the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in March. Win Willy the 56-1 upset winner of the Rebel is back to give an indication as to wheather that race was a fluke or if he is a true contender looking to go forward after that career best Grade II stakes win. Papa Clem a southern California shipper is looking to upset this field and show that the west coast horses are legitimate. Danger to Society is a Rick Dutrow horse that is coming in to try to steal some of the thunder from the other horses that have been on the grounds. 2008 Horse of the Year Curlin won this race in 2007 as a 3-year-old. This is the Post Position Draw for the Running of the Arkansas Derby 2009.

Arkansas Derby
Grade: II Purse: $1 million Distance: 9 Furlongs Age: 3-Year-Olds
Track: Oaklawn Park TV: Click to view image Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ 6:00 PM ET
1. Captain Cherokee 20/1
2. Papa Clem 6/1
3. Flat Out 10/1
4. Poltergeist 20/1
5. Ziegfield 12/1
6. Flying Private 6/1
7. Summer Bird 30/1
8. Old Fashioned 9/5
9. Win Willy 7/2
10. Danger to Society 6/1

AAF Update - 3.8.2009

Proud Spell the Winner of the Kentucky Oaks, and the Alabama Stakes has been pointed to a 1 1/16 allowance optional claiming race on March 12, 2009 @ Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Owned by ex Kentucky Governor Breton Jones, Proud Spell a 4 year old filly out of Proud Citizen has been putting in impressive works since starting to be cranked up by her trainer Larry Jones early in February. The last official workout was timed at 1:00.00 flat on March 5th, Jones had previously stated that she would work up to the Apple Blossom Stakes or possibly have a simulated race in the morning has opted for an actual race that will tighten the screws for the champion filly. According to the Daily Racing Form, Proud Spell will break from the 6 hole and face 6 other fillies. 1. Superior Storm, 2. Kathleens Reel, 3. Holistic, 4. Day of Victory, 5. Devil House, and 7. Grace Happens.
Another in Larry Jones' barn Old Fashioned a top Kentucky Derby contender put in his final prep for a running in the 2nd leg of the Arkansas Kentucky Derby Prep Schedule when he was put through a 5 panel work with Terry Thompson aboard. Old Fashioned was given the bullet designation for his work this morning going in splits of 11.60 and 23.20 for the opening quarter and then 35.60 for 3 panels and 47.20 for the half mile before finishing the work in .59 flat. He galloped out 6 panels in 1:12. Ramon Dominguez will be aboard Old Fashioned in the 1 1/16 Rebel to be run at Oaklawn Park on Saturday March 14th. The race will feature the 1-2 finishers from the Southwest stakes a race that Old Fashioned won by almost 4 lengths over Silver City who will ship back from Fair Grounds Race course in New Orleans to contest the Grade II Race.

Top 5 Derby Contenders

When I look at my Top 5 Derby horses I am looking for the pedigree that tells me that the horse can get the Classic Distance, and then on top of that the past performance for the horse that shows he can negotiate two turns. I need to see connections that will allow for the horse to develop as the horse needs to without being pushed too much in his preps and a trainer who’s not going to burn the shoes off the horse in the morning for no reason. The last thing I look at is the way the horse is handled in his preps and where he is prepping, I agree that some horses out west are really good, but none would or will ever be on my list without a dirt prep to see if they can handle the kickback and way that dirt racing is handled. All of these things are taken into consideration; I will start with my top choice.
1. Old Fashioned – This horse is by Unbridled Song, this tells me that the distance is not going to be an issue what so ever. He’s won at 6 panels up to 9 panels, all within himself. He’s shown the ability to blow out fields when he is fully cranked and still win with daylight when he’s not cranked at all as he did in the Southwest Stakes. He took the 1 1/8 mile Remsen with so much in reserve that it looked like he could have run another mile. I enjoyed the fact that this horse was acting as if he had jogged around the Oaklawn oval as they led him into the Winner’s Circle on President’s Day. This horse is in a position to do nothing but advance and move forward.
2. I want Revenge – This horse has been knocking heads with the best out west and incredibly and to the credit of the connections they have decided to put him in a dirt race to see what he’s able to do on the real surface. He’s been in the money in both graded stakes that he’s performed in both at 1 1/16 mile. So distance should not be an issue. He’s out of an A.P. Indy colt Stephen Got Even. He’s got a good up and coming jockey in Joe Talamo, who if patient can allow the horse to run his race every time.
3. Friesan Fire – This horse has done nothing wrong but be a stable mate to Old Fashioned, he is experienced and seasoned and if there is anything that you want in a Derby horse this horse should be your cup of tea. He’s won the two big Derby preps at Fairgrounds impressively and his pedigree shows that as the races get longer, well you know the old saying he’s going to Love the added distance. The only thing that is a detractor for this horse is that he’s going to need a slight break before the Derby which should help him but we’ll have to wait and see if Jones can let him down and get him cranked for the Derby.
4. Desert Party – This colt made Vineyard’s Haven look like an allowance horse last time out over in Dubai, as the way it was described by many is that he thrashed V.H. Desert Party sat chilly on the rail for Frankie Dettori and pounced and kept going as he won by almost 5 lengths. The pedigree of this horse says that he’s not going to have a problem dealing with the Classic distance and he seems to be nice and content doing just what the jockey asks of him at all calls.
5. Dunkirk – Well there’s not much to be said about this horse, just like his half brother everyone knows who he is, the only difference is that people seem to see a wow factor about this horse and how he’s devastated his overmatched foes. His pedigree is impeccable, and he’s bred to stay for as long as the race is run. We’ll see how it turns out but you can’t leave him out of your top five.

*111 Days until the 2009 Kentucky Derby*

111 Days until the 2009 Kentucky Derby.

This is part 1 in a 5 part series!

With just 111 days left until we experience “The most exciting two minutes in sports”, there are a few questions that need to be asked. What is interesting is that the answers will not come from humans, (well there will be some that come from humans) but most of the legitimate answers will come from the actions of the upcoming equine superstars of tomorrow. The new generation of thoroughbreds will have some large shoes to fill, but after watching the 2 year old races at the end of 2008 and seeing the few races that have kicked off during the beginning of 2009 there may be some that stand up and give indication that they are ready to fill those shoes.
We will start with a question that a human can actually answer. The question is “Where will you Prep”? There are a number of options, and there are no rules that state that if you start with a prep race at one track that you have to stay at that track. For example, many may remember the trouble that Hard Spun had at Oaklawn, he labored through a 4 panel workout, many may remember that Larry Jones stated that Hard Spun came back breathing pretty hard after that workout. There is more to read into this statement and the subsequent 4th place finish in the Southwest Stakes. Some may remember the ice storm that hit the Hot Springs, Arkansas area where Oaklawn Park is located. This caused a number of issues with track maintenance which caused the track to play deep for the early part of the season. After the running of the Southwest in which he was a beaten favorite Hard Spun was sent to Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky. There on March 24th, Hard Spun scored his fifth win in six starts with an impressive 3¼-length victory in the Lane's End Stakes in a strong time of 1:49 2/5 for the 1⅛-mile event. At that point it was thought that Hard Spun would run in the Blue Grass Stakes which would give him 3 preps but Larry Jones decided to skip that race and go directly to the Derby where Hard Spun finished 2nd to Street Sense.
When thinking about the different routes that are available to a Trainer when prepping for the Kentucky Derby there are a number of routes available. The most prominent are:
California, Santa Anita – San Rafael, Sham, Santa Anita Derby
Kentucky, Turfway & Lexington– John Battaglia,Lane’s End, Bluegrass Stakes
New York, Aqueduct – Count Fleet, Gotham, Wood Memorial
Arkansas, Oaklawn – Southwest, Rebel, Arkansas Derby
Florida, Gulfstream – Holy Bull, Fountain of Youth, Florida Derby
Louisiana, Fair Grounds – Lecomte, Risen Star, Louisiana Derby
So what exactly would you do, when you think back to the last few winners of the Kentucky Derby, Big Brown prepped in Florida, Street Sense prepped in Florida and then in Kentucky, Barbaro prepped in Florida, 2005 Giacomo prepped in California and 2004 Smarty Jones prepped in Arkansas. The thing to remember is that the best horse doesn’t always win the Kentucky Derby. When you go forward and consider that some trainers do very well getting their horse ready for 1 race especially, that gives indication that it may have been the horse that was best managed coming up to the Derby. So the location where a horse preps maybe more important that anyone would even think. If a horse is going to prep in Florida or New York, you can imagine that the top ranked three year olds will be there and your horse will have to be ready to give his best in these races. This is important because a horse has to have enough graded earnings to get a spot in the Derby starting gate. You do not want to have the best horse sitting in his stall at post time on the first Saturday in May.
The connections of the top Derby candidates: Vineyard Haven, Midshipman, Old Fashioned, Square Eddie, Pioneer of the Nile, all have decisions to make, the connections of Old Fashioned have made the decision to send him to Arkansas’s Oaklawn park at the end of January to start his trek to the Derby in the Southwest Stakes. This race which is run this year on February 16th at 1 mile. If things work out he’ll move forward to the Rebel Stakes and then the Arkansas Derby. The other connections have intriguing decisions to make. Vineyard’s Haven and Midshipman will prep in Dubai, which most feel will put them at a considerable disadvantage. Square Eddie and Pioneer of the Nile’s connections also have very intriguing decisions to make also, that decision is to prep on the synthetics or to travel to find some Dirt. The Kentucky Derby is a race that is still held on conventional Dirt, and most trainers realize that they need to get their horse a prep race on dirt. The example of Colonel John gives an indication that a horse was put at a substantial disadvantage because his connections did not give him the Derby “Dirt” prep before walking him over to the starting gate at the Kentucky Derby. Eoin Harty decided that he would send his horse to Kentucky a few weeks before the Derby the horse had a difficult time during the first part of the race and then came on to finish a credible 6th. In most opinion had the horse had a conventional Dirt prep, he possibly would have fared better. This can be validated by his hard fought win in the Travers Stakes later in the year. It is quite possible that this year could see a different attitude in the way that horses will prep going forward coming out of California. The synthetics put the horse in a position where he may or may not be comfortable in his first start on dirt being the most difficult race in the world to win. Sometimes the questions that are asked should truthfully be asked of the horse and not the trainer. Sadly the horse can’t tell you what he needs; he has to show by the way that he trains over the surface how he will respond during a race. Sometimes the way that the horse trains still doesn’t give you enough feedback on how he will do during the race. For the benefit of the horse it would seem that it would be best to bring the horse east to let him get a taste of Dirt racing, but some feel there is no need for that. It can at times have an effect on how the horse performs, so the question is: With 111 days left to Kentucky Derby 135, which route will you take, and will it be the synthetics or Dirt.
There are more questions that need to be asked in the 2nd installment of this topic we will discuss whether the distance of the prep races has any affect on how a horse moves forward.

The Sport of Kings – This weekend summed up

The Ups & Downs of Horse Racing

The weekend of racing started at Churchill downs as Einstein bested the field in the Clark Handicap, a race that the connections of Curlin most likely should have run him in. Never second guessing Jess Jackson, but the feeling I get in my heart of hearts is that either they felt it was too soon for him to come back from his last start in the Breeders’ Cup Classic or they felt it would be an incredibly daunting task to ask him to run down Commentator. Either way, I would have sent him to the Clark, but Curlin comes out looking ever so much better due to Einstein’s win against the speedy Commentator. As expected Commentator went straight to the lead and set legitimate fractions, 1st ¼ - 24.57 the ½ in 48.58 and he got ¾ in 1:12.64, if you know Commentator like I know Commentator you know one of two things is going to happen as they begin to turn for home. One, he’s going to turn it on and begin to bury his competition by 8, 10, or even 14 or 15 lengths. The second option is that he doesnt run his race and fades in the stretch. Basically, Commentator is an all or nothing horse, there is nothing wrong with that but he’s and older horse and he’s run the same way his whole career, for 2 or maybe 3 races he can hold his incredible form, putting down 119, 120, 121, or 122 beyers, but then there comes the inevitable bounce. Nick Zito knows it, Tracy Farmer (the horse’s owner) knows it, but that’s what makes Horse Racing so incredible, they still love Commentator for going out and trying hard every time. He shows the heart of a champion every time he steps out onto the track.
Einstein’s dominating victory against the Clark field adds even more validity to Curlin’s chances to garner 2008 Horse of the Year honors, as Einstein raced against Curlin earlier this year in the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill and dispatched of that field easily. Its was a great ride that Julien R. Leparoux, he sat comfortably off the pace that Commentator set and flew by him in the stretch easily dispatching Commentator and holding off Delightful Kiss. This was a quality win in a Grade II race against a Grade I field.
On Saturday the focus of Horse racing was thrust on New York as Aqueduct became the center of the horse racing world with 2 races being run that would push the two victors forward towards the Kentucky Derby. The Demoiselle Stakes is a 1 1/8 mile race for 2 year old fillies, this race normally sets up the winner as one to consider come Kentucky Oaks day. And the winner Springside didn’t disappoint her connections, turning what seemed to be a hotly contested race into a romp. Springside broke slowly and was in the back of the pack as the favorite Sky Diva sat chilly through fractions of 24 & 48, which is a moderate pace, Sky Diva and Aint Love Grand hooked up at the top of the stretch, but as they turned for home Springside ran to the lead and absolutely had things her way winning with daylight. Sadly as Springside changed leads while galloping out Garrett Gomez said that he heard a pop, and at that point pulled her up as quickly as possible. Springside was shipped to the New Bolton Center the same location that Barbaro was treated. I am sure they will take good care of this beautiful girl and hopefully one day soon she will be able to get back onto the track.
The Grade II Remsen was to be a race that pointed one of the top 2 year old colts towards the Kentucky Derby next year. Quickly though Old Fashioned, the same connections of Hard Spun, and Eight Belles, took control of the race and galloped to a very impressive 7 ¼ length victory. Old Fashioned, a song of Unbridled Song, went straight to the lead while ridden by Ramon Dominguez. He was under a hard hold throughout the race, and with about a furlong to go Dominguez let him out a notch and allowed him to finish up strong. Dominguez is quoted as saying: “Once he made the lead, I took a peek back, hit him one time, and he took off,” Dominguez said. “It was pretty impressive. Judging by today, there is no telling how far he can go.” Thus far the undefeated 2 year old is 3 for 3 with a maiden win by a nose in his first start, and a 15 ½ length win in an allowance race at Delaware, and now his first black type win against a field that was well aware of his capabilities. To be able to win a race with a target on your back with ease like that says something about the horse and the training job that Larry Jones has done thus far with the horse. With the win Old Fashioned pushed his career earnings to $173,280 and with the $120,000 In graded earnings from this race he looks primed to move forward patiently towards the derby.
The big race on the Aqueduct race card was the Hill ‘n’ Dale Cigar Mile. A nice field was assembled for this race, with the likes of Visionaire, Monterey Jazz, Arson Squad, Kodiak Kowboy Harlem Rocker and Tale of Ekati. With Monterey Jazz setting suicidal fractions of 22.87 for the 1st ¼ mile and the ½ mile @ 45, and ¾ in 1:09.42, Tale of Ekati sat patiently 4th in the field rating, as the field began to turn for home Tale of Ekati and Harlem Rocker hooked up but Harlem Rocker came over on Edgar Prado and Tale of Ekati. Prado changed course and Tale of Ekati made another run at Harlem Rocker, but it seemed at the line that he came up a nose short. Immediately after the race there was an inquiry and although the stewards took a few minutes to make a decision Harlem Rocker was DQ’d and put in second position giving the win to what looked like the best horse in the race. The euphoria that was felt by Barclay Tagg and Charles Fipke was absolutely tempered by the news that the ever so consistent Wanderin Boy, trained by Nick Zito suffered a fracture of the sesamoids in his left front leg and unfortunately the decision was made to euthanize Wanderin Boy. The news that he was put down was sickening due to the fact that he ran against the best older horses in his career, including Curlin, Lawyer Ron, Bernardini and Invasor. This horse had overcome so much in getting back to the track after sustaining a number of injuries early in his career. I for one will miss the presence of Wanderin Boy, he gave it his all every time he stepped out on the track. You will be missed Wanderin Boy. RIP..