Quality Road holds off Musket Man in the 2010 Met Mile (Jason Moran)

In an unusual and welcome turn of events, we’re having a year that’s not dominated by the 3-year-olds. Shy of Blind Luck, Evening Jewel and Lookin’ at Lucky you’d be hard pressed to find a consensus of fans jazzed about the youngins (sidebar: I’m still interested in Tapitsfly, Bickersons and Maximus Ruler). Too bad all the purse money is still showered on the 3-year-olds.

This is the first time since I’ve started paying attention (mid-2006) where the real interest, both with fans and the media, is with older horses. Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra, Quality Road, Blame, Rail Trip, General Quarters, Life at Ten, St. Trinians, Goldikova, Gio Ponti, Musket Man, Warrior’s Reward and Bribon are currently running and in good form (and health!). I Want Revenge, Mine That Bird and Careless Jewel look likely to get back to business in the near future. And Arson Squad, Bullsbay, Macho Again and Munnings could all get back to form at any moment.

That’s a helluva lot of nice horses and I feel like I’m missing a few! While I’m not entirely sure how it happened, I hope this trend of nice older horses staying in training is not a fluke.

Posted by dana on Jun 14 2010    
Filed Under: I Want Revenge, General Quarters, Mine That Bird, 2010, Rachel Alexandra, Quality Road, Let Horses Race, :), Zenyatta, Jason Moran, Racing

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Whether you geek out or not, here’s hoping you cash a ticket or two (KumamotoMark)

It’s that time of year… time to geek out! There are a million angles and data points to obsess over and consider when selecting your Derby date, and the fun is just beginning!

Over at DRF Crist puts together a couple of interesting Google docs comparing last year’s crop to this years in terms of number of repeat wins and BSFs. Kennedy has been looking at speed and home court advantage. DRF has compiled a fantastic resource for all things Derby Prep (thanks Kevin!), and these are just a few instances of stuff to geek out on!

No time to obsess over data or compile that giant spreadsheet? I think I can help.

I made a smart ass tweet about my inner 12yo wanting Parade Clown to win the Derby, which elicited this reply from Miss Railbird.

The inner 12YO trifecta: Parade Clown, Desert Party, Chocolate Candy. All that’s needed is a hot dog to make day complete.

Naturally, this took me down the rabbit hole of silly name combos:

Spiteful Diva Exacta Box:
Big Drama / I Want Revenge
(ok, Big Drama is pointed to the Preakness, you may have to hold that one for a few weeks)

Military Heritage Exacta Box:
Musket Man / General Quarters

Booty Call Exacta Box (NSFW):
Mr. Hot Stuff / Giant Oak

Air Force One Exacta Box:
Flying Private / General Quarters

Too Hot to Handle Exacta Box:
Friesan Fire / Mr. Hotstuff

Daddy was a Landscaper Exacta Box:
Papa Clem / Giant Oak

Neighborhoodies Exacta Box:
Quality Road / West Side Bernie

WWII Exacta Box:
General Quarters / Dunkirk

Oompa-Loompa Exacta Box:
Win Willy / Chocolate Candy

Royal Bondage Exacta Box:
Regal Ransom / Hold Me Back

Vegas Frat Boy Exacta Box:
Desert Party / General Quarters

Around the Way Degenerates Exacta Box:
Papa Clem / West Side Bernie

No doubt there are plenty of other possibilities, especially as the field of 2009 Kentucky Derby contenders comes into focus!

Posted by dana on Apr 17 2009    
Filed Under: Desert Party, Dunkirk, Quality Road, I Want Revenge, General Quarters, Papa Clem, Twitter, Giant Oak, Kentucky Derby, Derby Trail, Exacta, Churchill Downs, Friesan Fire, 2009, Racing

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I Want Revenge’s seemingly disastrous start in the Wood (Sarah K. Andrew)

With just under 3 weeks left and most of the major preps out of the way, it seems like one should have their Derby horse picked out by now. However, I haven’t really seen a lot, if any, of people bangin’ the Derby drum for one horse or another.

I think this sentiment shared by Kevin of Colin’s Ghost over at the horse player teen party chat line (Twitter) sums it up:

Really looking forward to this years Derby. No clear favorite - should be a good one.

As for my Derby pick, I agree with o_crunk when he says the winner is likely to come from Friesan Fire, Quality Road or I Want Revenge. Three colts I like a lot, have rated 1-2-3 over at PDI and just like last week, I’m not willing to pick any of them as “the one” just yet.

After this weekend though I think Papa Clem looks he might have a shot too after showing off a new trick (sitting further off the pace) and definitely stepping up his game. While I loved General Quarters in the Blue Grass, I think he might do his best running over the fake stuff, although he’s no slouch on the dirt and if he looks anything like he did in the parade for the Bluegrass, look out!

And then there’s Dunkirk and PoTN… I’m with Kevin on this one too when he hopes they take a ton of money!

But who what do you think, do you have your Derby date picked out yet?

Posted by dana on Apr 12 2009    
Filed Under: Quality Road, Dunkirk, I Want Revenge, Papa Clem, Pioneerof the Nile, General Quarters, Friesan Fire, 2009, Kentucky Derby, Derby Trail, 3yo, Sarah K. Andrew, Poll, Racing

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