In the three graded stakes races run last weekend for
three-year-olds, there were a number of horses that struck me as particularly
promising prospects for the Kentucky Derby -- and they didn't necessarily win
their races.
A new facet of this year's Triple Crown Countdown shall be
the naming of a "Performance of the Week" following each weekend's
major prep races. The Performance of the Week award shall be given to whichever
colt (or filly, as the case may be!) impressed me the most, whether in winning
a prep race in decisive fashion, or by finishing second or third with a
troubled trip.
So without further ado, our inaugural Performance of the
Week winner is . . .
Performance of the Week: Harpoon
As you can see, the Performance of the Week was -- in my
opinion -- Harpoon's nose defeat to stablemate Vinceremos in the Sam F. Davis Stakes (gr. III) at Tampa Bay Downs. Everything about Harpoon's
effort was remarkable -- the way he settled along the rail, the way he handled
the dirt getting kicked back in his face, and most importantly, the way he made
up 4 1/2 lengths in the final furlong after being forced to take back and
circle the field. If he had gotten clear sooner, I have little doubt that he
could have won by open lengths, and I can't wait to see if he can take another
step forward in his next start.
But all that said, once mustn't overlook the merits of Vinceremos'
victory. The colt showed great tractability in settling into second place early
on, and allowing two other horses to go past him rounding the final turn. When
the time came to drive for the wire, the son of Pioneerof the Nile accelerated
strongly to claim the advantage, then held on well late to deny the rally of
Harpoon in the time of 1:47.34 for a mile and a sixteenth. As both colts are
trained by Todd Pletcher, it will be interesting to see if they both come back
for the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. II) over the same track in March, or if Pletcher
separates them and sends one to a different race.
Cousin Stephen and Matador, the third- and
fourth-place finishers, also turned in impressive performances. Cousin Stephen
showed good speed in setting the early pace, then battled back well after being
passed in the stretch and was beaten just three-quarters of a length for
everything. Matador, making his first start on dirt, finished just a neck
further back after racing a bit wide throughout the race. I believe that both
colts deserve another shot at a major Derby prep, with the most logical being
the Tampa Bay Derby.
One colt that didn't run to expectations was the favorite, Noble
Cornerstone, who broke very poorly, dropped back to trail the field by an
extremely large margin, and rallied only mildly late to defeat just one horse.
In my opinion, this effort is a complete throw-out, and like Cousin Stephen and
Matador, Noble Cornerstone probably deserves a chance to rebound in another
major Derby prep.
In New York, the race of note over the weekend was the WithersStakes (gr. III) at Aqueduct, where bettors could barely separate the
chances of Samraat and Uncle Sigh, a pair of New York-breds that
both went off at odds of 1.15-1. In the end, those two proved vastly superior
to the four other starters, racing as a pair throughout the race to eventual
finish 10 1/4 lengths clear of the third-place finisher. It was a shame that
one of the two colts had to lose, as both ran win-worthy races, but Samraat
proved one length better at the finish, edging his rival after a long stretch
duel while stopping the clock for 8.5 furlongs in 1:46.31. The winner is
currently expected to make his next start in the Wood Memorial Stakes (gr. I)
in April, while the runner-up is targeting the Gotham Stakes (gr. III) in
March, where he could potentially meet up with Remsen Stakes (gr. II) winner
Honor Code.
On the first day of 2014, we saw a colt named Wildcat Red
lose the one-mile Gulfstream Park Derby by just a head after a prolonged
stretch duel. That colt re-affirmed his talent on Saturday in winning the
seven-furlong Hutcheson Stakes (gr. III) at Gulfstream Park by nearly five
lengths while stopping the clock in a quick 1:22.21 seconds. What was
especially impressive was the way that Wildcat Red settled into fourth-place
early on before bursting clear of his rivals approaching the homestretch. This
was a top-notch performance by every account, and while only time will tell if
Wildcat Red can be as good around two turns as he is around one, there's no
doubt that this son of D'wildcat -- at the very least -- has the potential to
be a top-notch sprinter.
While the three above-mentioned graded stakes races drew by
far the most attention from racing fans, there were a number of other
intriguing races run over the course of Thursday through Sunday, and here are a
few thoughts on some of the most prominent . . .
* Time will tell if Discipline has what it takes to
be a serious Triple Crown candidate, but the lightly-raced colt could not have
been any more impressive in breaking his maiden at Oaklawn on January 31st.
Facing six rivals in a six-furlong maiden special weight, Discipline broke
alertly but calmly settled into second place early on as Fudge E opened
up a commanding 3 1/2-length advantage through an opening quarter mile in a
blazing :21.97 seconds. This was followed by an equally impressive half-mile
split of :45.45, which gave Fudge E a six-length lead with a quarter mile to
run. But that was when Discipline unleashed his run, and with jockey David
Mello urging him on, the colt swallowed
up Fudge E within an eighth of a mile, then powered clearly to win by ten
and a half lengths in the time of 1:11.67. Rough calculations indicate that
Discipline ran his personal final quarter mile in about :25 flat, which is
absolutely flying at Oaklawn Park. Trained by Chris Richard, this son of Sky
Mesa out of the Coronado's Quest mare Spread surely has his connections
dreaming of the Derby.
* Another notable winner at Oaklawn was Street Strategy,
a three-year-old facing his elders in a one-mile maiden special weight. With
Calvin Borel aboard, the son of Street Sense led the way through an opening
quarter in :24.21, relinquished the lead to Late Night Lu through a half
in :48.88, reclaimed the advantage after three-quarters in 1:14.77, then opened
up down the lane to score by 6 1/2 lengths in 1:42.05. The time was by no means
fast, but this was a very professional effort from a colt making just his
second start, and this Randy Morse-trainee could be one to watch out for during
the coming months.
* The Phipps Stable and Shug McGaughey may have another
talented three-year-old in their stable, as Ragtime was very impressive
winning a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
Sent off at 9-2 off a third-place finish in his debut, Ragtime showed speed
from the start in tracking Madd Exchange through an opening quarter in
:22.50, then took the lead around the turn and drew off in the stretch to win
by 3 1/4 lengths in the time of 1:16.77. Finishing second was Strong
Stipulation, a 19.40-1 shot from the barn of Graham Motion that turned in
an impressively rally to win a five-way battle for the runner-up position.
While the wagering suggested Strong Stipulation was nothing special, I had my
eye on the son of Lemon Drop Kid for the reason that Motion had nominated him
to the CashCall Futurity (gr. I) last year, which suggested to me that Strong Stipulation
was a colt of above-average caliber. I look forward to seeing how he fares when
stretched out in distance.
* While Hoppertunity could only manage a fifth-place
finish in his debut on January 4th, the half-brother to grade I winner
Executiveprivilege showed that he is well en route to emulating his star sibling when he scored by three lengths
in a one-mile maiden special weight at Santa Anita on Thursday. With Martin Garcia aboard for trainer Bob Baffert,
the son of Any Given Saturday was just a bit rank in the early stages of the
race, but soon settled into third place along the rail, a position he retained
until the turn for home, when he snuck through an opening along the rail to
defeat his nine rivals in workmanlike fashion, completing the mile in 1:36.94.
Two other Baffert-trainees, Day of Fury and Icy Ride, finished
third and fourth, the latter being the only one to make up any ground late in a
race where the top three finishers occupied the top three positions throughout
the entire race.
* Last year, Casiguapo quietly compiled a strong
record as a two-year-old, placing second in both the Hopeful Stakes (gr. I) and
Delta Downs Jackpot Stakes (gr. III), as well as fourth in the Champagne Stakes
(gr. I). On Sunday, he returned to the races in a six-furlong allowance race at
Gulfstream Park, but was outrun early and could only pass tired rivals in the
stretch en route to finishing fifth. That said, it was a decent performance
from a colt that had recorded just three workouts in preparation for his
return, and I believe he can build upon this performance in a big way. In the
meantime, Can't Stop the Kid stamped himself as a colt to watch with a
powerful victory, in which he blitzed a half-mile in :44.75, opened up a 4
1/2-length lead passing the eighth pole, and held off a late run from Myositis
Dan to win by 1 1/2 lengths in the time of 1:10.18. The latter colt was
also very impressive, closing six lengths in the final furlong and finishing
full of run.
-Keelerman
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