As Little Mike waltzed through three-quarters of a mile in 1:12 and change while leading the field for the $500,000 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic Stakes (gr. I), I turned to those watching the race with me and said, "They'll never catch him."
They did not. Little Mike added another grade I win to his record when he burst clear of the field at the top of the Churchill Downs homestretch to win the nine-furlong turf race by about three or four lengths, stopping the clock in 1:48.81. Slim Shadey and Brilliant Speed rallied mildly to complete the trifecta, but once again, Little Mike proved that if he is left alone to set an uncontested pace, there are few horses in the country that can catch him in the homestretch.
Well, the next race up is the long-anticipated Kentucky Derby. Are few questions are going through my mind right now: Is Secretariat's track record of 1:59 2/5 in danger? We have seen two track records and a pair of stakes records fall over the last two days. Secondly, is there a speed bias? It's difficult to say for sure, but the track certainly isn't against speedsters.
Here is a list of the jockeys to have won races at Churchill today: (Jockeys with Derby mounts in bold)
Joe Johnson
Rajiv Maragh
John Velazquez
Jesus Castanon
Joel Rosario
Corey Nakatani (2 wins)
Victor Lebron
Julien Leparoux (2 wins)
-Keelerman
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