Here are some quick recaps of last weekend’s racing action. I’ll be posting my thoughts on the Wood Memorial, Santa Anita Derby, Illinois Derby, and all of the other great upcoming races soon. Enjoy!
FEATURE RACE RECAP ---- Florida Derby (gr. I)
The $1,000,000 Florida Derby provided some truly stunning results. No, it wasn’t that the winner was a huge longshot – on the contrary, 2.90-1-shot Dialed In proved victorious. It was the remainder of the results that were shocking.
In a field of eight horses, favored Soldat broke quickest from the inside post position. To Honor and Serve, Arch Traveler, and Shackleford were also out quickly. Breaking slowest was Dialed In, who dropped back to last right after the start and remained there for the opening part of the race.
After an opening quarter mile in a quick :23.30, 68.90-1 shot Shackleford was leading the way by a half-length. To Honor and Serve was right there in second, with Flashpoint tracking the pace in third while three wide. Arch Traveler, Stay Thirsty, and Soldat were back in fourth, fifth, and sixth respectively, all very close together. Then came Bowman’s Causeway, who was only three lengths from the front. Dialed In? He was six lengths behind Bowman’s Causewaw — in last.
The positions remained virtually unchanged through a half-mile in :46.35, with Shackleford still going strong on the lead with To Honor and Serve pushing him along. But things began to change quickly after that. Flashpoint and Soldat began to inch closer to the lead. Arch Traveler, Stay Thirsty, and Bowman’s Causeway began to drop back. And Dialed In was starting a tremendous run on the far outside.
Rounding the far turn, Dialed In swept into contention under rider Julien Leparoux. Giant strides carried him closer and closer to the lead.
And who was on the lead? It was not To Honor and Serve. He was beginning to tire. Soldat? No, he never reached contention. Flashpoint? He was tiring too.
Instead, it was Shackleford who found another gear at the top of the stretch and kicked clear from the field. A tremendous upset loomed as the eight sophomores charged down the Gulfstream Park homestretch.
But Dialed In kept closing. Every stride brought him closer to the tremendous longshot Shackleford; closer and closer to victory. But Shackleford, despite drifting in the stretch, was clinging tenaciously to the lead.
It took Dialed In just about every foot of the Gulfstream homestretch to catch Shackleford. But he did so in the final strides, hitting the wire a head in front in one of the most remarkable efforts of the year.
Give credit to Shackleford, who rebounded off of his poor showing in the Fountain of Youth (gr. II) to run the race of his life. To Honor and Serve tired in the stretch to finish a distant third, with Flashpoint coming home eight lengths behind Dialed In for fourth.
Very disappointing was Soldat, who never got into contention while finishing fifth. A number of things may have brought on this poor performance; perhaps he didn’t like having dirt being kicked in his face. But it’s never good to run that poorly in your final Derby prep.
Stay Thirsty was also disappointing, showing nothing while finishing seventh of eighth. Like Soldat, he probably had a very legitimate excuse for running so poorly, but it’s hard to like him in the Kentucky Derby off of a performance like that.
The complete results were:
1 Dialed In
2 Shackleford
3 To Honor and Serve
4 Flashpoint
5 Soldat
6 Arch Traveler
7 Stay Thirsty
8 Bowman’s Causeway
My picks were:
1 Dialed In
2 To Honor and Serve
3 Stay Thirsty
4 Soldat
5 Bowman’s Causeway
6 Flashpoint
7 Shackleford
8 Arch Traveler
J.R.’s picks were:
1 Stay Thirsty
2 Bowman’s Causeway
3 Soldat
4 To Honor and Serve
5 Dialed In
6 Arch Traveler
7 Flashpoint
8 Shackleford
Neither of us did very well, but at least I picked the winner!
OTHER RACE RESULTS
April 3rd
• The Swale Stakes (gr. II) on the undercard of the Florida Derby went as expected, with odds-on favorite Travelin Man drawing away to win the seven-furlong event by two lengths. Ridden by John Velazquez, Travelin Man rated just off of the early pace before taking the lead passing the eighth pole to easily win the race. Indiano came on well to finish second, just nosing out Little Drama. The final time was 1:21.94.
• The third race at Aqueduct yielded surprising results. In a four-horse field, longshot Joe Corrigan pulled away in the stretch to win by a neck over 1-4 favorite Break Up the Game. The latter, only three-years-old compared to six-year-old Joe Corrigan, closed strongly but was unable to make up the necessary ground. The final time in the one-mile allowance race as 1:39.66.
• The third race at Santa Anita Park was equally intriguing. A one-mile allowance optional claiming event, second choice Uncle Sam won the race by a neck in wire-to-wire fashion. 30-1 shot Clarke Lane closed from last – and 7 ¾ lengths behind at the eighth pole – to finish second. Chiloquin finished third, while odds-on favorite Wilburn finished a disappointing fifth. The final time was 1:36.28.
April 8th
• On opening day at Keeneland, in the grade III Transylvania Stakes, Air Support closed from way, way back to win by a nose over Great Mills. Ridden by Rajiv Maragh, he closed from about fifteen lengths behind to upset at 10.60-1. Great Mills set a very fast pace of :22.71 and :46.35 before tiring just a bit in the final strides. Adirondack Summer closed from six lengths behind at the eighth pole to be beaten just a neck. Pluck, winner of the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. II), never got involved while finishing seventh. The final time in the mile and a sixteenth event was 1:41.99.
• Also on opening day at Keeneland, the very promising Casper’s Touch won a seven furlong allowance race by three lengths. Under Alan Garcia, he sat just a few lengths off of the early pace before drawing away to win impressively. The Man Uptown ran second, followed by Humble and Hungry. Favored Elusive Action finished seventh.
-Keelerman
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