Last weekend, Bodemeister and Dullahan stamped themselves as two of the best three-year-olds in the country when they turned in powerful performances to claim some of the biggest Kentucky Derby (gr. I) prep races of the year. Here are my recaps of their performances, as well as recaps of a few other notable races that were run last weekend. Enjoy!
Major Stakes Recaps
Arkansas Derby (gr. I)
A lot can be said about Bodemeister's decisive victory in this million-dollar Kentucky Derby prep, but here's the gist of it: He needed a good effort to guarantee himself a spot in the Derby, and came through with flying colors.
Some people were concerned that Bodemeister might get hung wide on the turns, seeing that he was breaking from post eleven in a race with a fair amount of early speed. But these worries were tossed aside when Bodemeister rushed to the lead under Mike Smith while setting a quick pace of :23.02 and :46.55. His stablemate, Secret Circle, and the Todd Pletcher-trained Stat made runs at him around the far turn, but Bodemeister turned them back with ease and drew off with unbelievable power in the homestretch, closing his final eighth in a blazing :11.97 seconds to win by 9 1/2 lengths. Furthermore, his final time of 1:48.71 was over a second quicker than older horses ran the same distance one race earlier in the $400,000 Oaklawn Handicap (gr. II).
What makes Bodemeister such an intriguing Derby contender is his ability to go fast early and go fast late. Not many horses that run the opening half mile in :46-and-change manage to close their final eighth in under twelve seconds. At least, not at nine furlongs. In a race like the Derby, the ability to run your rivals off their feet at the start, and kick away from them again in the homestretch, could prove to be a nearly unbeatable combination of talents.
Of course, if Bodemeister is to win the Derby, he will have to break 130 years of tradition, simply because he did not race as a juvenile. The last horse to win the Derby without racing at age two was, of course, the famed Apollo, who accomplished the feat in 1882.
One last thing I would like to mention is Bodemeister's pedigree, which is most certainly not a sprinter's pedigree. While Bodemeister certainly has blazing early speed, he is also a son of Empire Maker out of a Storm Cat mare, meaning that the Derby distance of a mile and a quarter should prove no challenge for him. Of course, we won't know for sure until he does it, but he has certainly shown no signs of stamina limitations thus far.
Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I)
I'll be the first to admit that I thought Dullahan was hopelessly beaten around the far turn. And not because I didn't want him to win -- on the contrary, he was my selection. But with Hansen still going strongly on the front end, and with Dullahan seemingly buried along the rail without really making up any ground, I thought for sure that Hansen would be the winner.
But then, when the field straightened into the homestretch, jockey Kent Desormeaux guided Dullahan to the outside and asked his mount for run. The response he got was simply explosive.
Running about as fast as a horse can run at the end of nine furlongs, Dullahan flew past the majority of the field and set his sights on Hansen. Although he still trailed by four lengths passing the eighth pole, and although Hansen was still finishing up strongly, Dullahan managed to close the gap with breathtaking speed and win with authority by 1 1/4 lengths. He ran his final eighth in roughly :11.68 seconds, a phenomenal time indeed.
Hansen also ran a very good race. After setting a fairly quick pace of :23.10, :46.64, and 1:11.32, he kicked on for home by running his fourth quarter in an excellent :24.14. This carried him to a 2 1/2 length lead passing the eighth pole, after which he was mowed down by Dullahan. But he defeated the rest of the field in decisive fashion, and seemed to still be running strong at the end, so although he did lose the race, there is no reason to suggest that he will not be a contender on the first Saturday in May.
Gung Ho finished a surprising third at odds of 31-1, challenging Hansen boldly around the far turn before tiring just a bit to finish 2 1/2 lengths behind Hansen. Holy Candy, a well-regarded maiden winner from California, rallied late for fourth after a poor start.
Also worth noting is Tampa Bay Derby (gr. II) winner Prospective, who finished an even sixth. He didn't really have an excuse, but he didn't appear to get over the Polytrack as well as he did the Tampa dirt, which could explain his dull performance. He'll head to Churchill Downs as one of the longshots, but it might be wise to forgive this dull effort and hope he runs back to his previous form.
Other Race of Note
Not a whole lot else went on last weekend in terms of major three-year-old racing action, but there were a few races that are worth mentioning, as you never know where a good horse will come from.
At Charles Town last Saturday, Flashy Dresser brought his record to a perfect 3-for-3 with an impressive victory in the seven-furlong Robert Hilton Memorial Stakes. Allowed to rate off of the early pace under Julien Leparoux, the colt was in serious need of racing room around the far turn, and appeared to be trapped with nowhere to go in the homestretch. But the colt split horses gamely and then the race was over just like that, as Flashy Dresser drew off strongly to win by a length in 1:25.12.
The Calder Derby at Calder Race Course also produced intriguing results. The 1 1/16th miles race was rained off of the turf, but this didn't really hurt the field size, for nine horses started. Longshot Late Night Action set the early pace, with Good Morning Diva tracking him in second and Big Screen rating in third. Late Night Action retreated with about five-sixteenths of a mile to run, leaving the other two alone on the lead to settle the race between them. Big Screen was the first to make a move, and maintained a narrow advantage past the eighth pole, but Good Morning Diva came back under strong urging to win by a neck in 1:46.96. It was another 7 1/4 lengths back to third-place finisher Musical Flair, proving that the top two were indeed much the best.
Another race worth noting occurred just yesterday at Santa Anita, where the nine-furlong La Puente Stakes was run over a mile on the turf. Blingo, coming off of a sixth-place finish in the San Felipe Stakes (gr. II) on the main track, was the odds-on favorite and ran to expectation. Third early on behind a slow pace of :48.24 and 1:12.14, the colt finished up strongly under Mike Smith, rallying into quick closing fractions to win by a half-length over fellow closer Vibrato Jazz in 1:47.58. Particularly impressive was the fact that Blingo ran his final three-eighths in about :34.94 seconds, a blazingly fast time indeed. But actually, Vibrato Jazz ran his even faster, finishing up in about :34.44 seconds. These two look like they could be serious turf horses in the future.
The last race we shall discuss actually occurred on April 11th at Oaklawn Park, but I forgot to mention it in last week's race recaps' post. The $300,000 Fantasy Stakes (gr. II), a major Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) prep race, was won in impressive fashion by trainer Bob Baffert's Mamma Kimbo, who brought her record to a perfect 2-for-2 when she held off the highly talented Amie's Dini to score by 1 1/4 lengths in the sharp time of 1:43.64 for a mile and a sixteenth. Like Bodemeister, she was able to set an excellent early pace (23.43 and :46.77) and still finish up fairly well, although not as quickly as her Derby-bound stablemate. Jemima's Pearl, also from Baffert's barn, closed well to finish third, and will join her stablemate Mamma Kimbo for a shot at the Kentucky Oaks.
-Keelerman
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