Has the cost of transporting horses increased? Did Creative Cause
perhaps not ship well to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November? Mike
Harrington finally made a decision on what to do with his top two Kentucky
Derby prospects: Creative Cause and Empire Way will run against each other
Saturday in the San Felipe (G2) at Santa Anita. Harrington’s excuse of timing is
a bit odd, as it will only be three weeks since Creative Cause’s last
race. The Rebel (G2) the following
week seemed like an ideal choice in terms of both timing and keeping the horses
separated. As Harrington readily
admits, if Creative Cause defeats Empire Way Saturday he very well could deny
the latter of much needed graded stakes earnings required to make the Kentucky
Derby// Creative Cause had the bullet work going 4-furlongs Tuesday at
Hollywood Park. Harrington said it
was quicker than he preferred// Blingo, a gelding and son of Artie Schiller,
has matured since his last effort in the CashCall Futurity (G1) in December
according to John Shirreffs. The Kentucky Derby winning trainer says the San
Felipe is a major test to see how Blingo takes to dirt// Jerry Hollendorfer
still believes in Rousing Sermon and hopes the colt doesn’t start too far
behind in the San Felipe// Delta Jackpot (G3) winner Sabercat is confirmed for
the Rebel Stakes. He was
originally pointed to the San Felipe but trainer Steve Asmussen said the son of
Bluegrass Cat needed another week of training// Several posts ago I mentioned
the absence of any official workouts from Peruvian import Fly Lexis Fly.
Tuesday it was revealed he will most likely miss the Derby and target the
Belmont Stakes instead. According
to trainer Arturo Morales the quarantine process has taken too long// Updated
Kentucky Derby future odds were released by Wynn Las Vegas. Gotham (G3) winner
Hansen is down to 12-1, still better than Churchill Downs’ Future Wager Pool #2
that ended Sunday. My Adonis, 2nd
in the Gotham (G3) dropped to 40-1// Speaking of Hansen, recaps and opinion
keep popping up seemingly by the minute.
An interesting backhanded compliment by Ed DeRosa on the TwinSpires blog
about Hansen being ideal for the second tier Summer and Fall Derbys. I doubt Hansen’s connections have the
Oklahoma Derby on their radar at this point…
Articles
Harrington
3YOs both expected for San Felipe (Bloodhorse)
Sabercat to
go in Rebel (DRF)
Hansen
and Union Rags: A Derby debate develops (Louisville.com)
Hansen
brings hope to retired racehorses (Forbes Online)
Triple
Crown Insider: Gotham recap (TwinSpires Blog)
Let’s
be Frank: Will the real Hansen please stand up? (Sports Network)
Vini,
vidi, vici (Hansen Blog via Courier Journal)
Guess
who’s back? (Horseracing Insider)
Point/Counterpoint:
Empire Way vs. Mark Valeski (Zipse at the Track/Derby Wars Blog)
Five
under the radar Derby hopefuls (Bloodhorse Blog)
As
Kentucky Derby rolls nearer everyone has story to share (Gaming Today)
Works
Optimizer- OP- 4F- 47:40
B- 2/17
Hierro- SA- 5F- 1.00:00- H- 5/14
Creative Cause- HOL- 4F- 46:40-
H- 1/34
Kentucky
Derby Future Odds
Rankings
AP
Top 10 (AP)
Paulick
Index 3/6 (Paulick Report)
Weekly
Top Speed Figures*
3yo winning Beyers last week: Hansen-95;
Flashy Dresser-89; Mile High Magic-94; State of Play-83; Steve's Adventures-87.
Top 3yo winning BRIS figs last week:
Hansen-108; Flashy Dresser-102; Mile High Magic-100; State of Play-96; Steve's
Adventures-96
*Source: DerbyContenders via Twitter
Notes
and bits from web and Twitter:
“23.20, 46.40 out 59.60 for Creative Cause.
As good as he has looked in the morning this year. Hopefully he cools out the
right way ...”- ClockerDH via Twitter
