Just like the holiday lights that went up in my neighborhood a week and a half before Halloween, it seems as though the Derby hype has gotten under way, thus far this year in the form of American Lion. Almost all of the coverage of Hollywood Prevue has been focused almost exclusively on the winner, American Lion, while noticeably overlooking the second the place finisher Get My Fix. Was I watching the same race?
Sure, American Lionhandled the class jump, but did he really tame his foes? All of the articles do a good job of mentioning that he was a bit green/unfocused and that there’s time (before the Derby!) to get those issues ironed out, but isn’t it a little early to put all your eggs in one basket? I thought Get My Fix ran a much better race.
Get My Fix didn’t look green at all biding his time at the back of the back and then closing aggressively at the end. Why not ask Joe Talamo what he thought of the effort? I did! Although I doubt he’ll answer me… but if he does I’ll let you know!
But back to my point, I don’t mind the beginning of some Derby coverage at this time of the year. In fact, I think this is the first year where I’ve really started to pay attention to the Juvies with an eye towards next year. Along the same lines Davidowitz has a good DRF+ post on his end of the year observations about the current crop of 2yos. But if you read the news coverage of the Hollywood Prevue without watching race, you might get the impression that American Lion’s effort was more impressive than it really was… or at least than it seemed to me. Solid? Yes. Promising? Sure. Best in the race? Not in my opinion.
It could also be that American Lion is by Tiznow and Get My Fix is by Posse, even I know that means that Get My Fix is less likely to get the classic distance, or depending on how you look at it, be a “failed router” (aka sprinter/miler). And let’s not overlook American Lion’smaiden race at Keeneland, which was impressive, but how have the rest of them come out of that race? Oh, and Eoin Harty does seem to do well with a Tiznow from Winstar. But does the coverage have read like a Winstar press release?
In the end American Lion could turn out be the better horse, only time will tell. And only time will tell if Get My Fix can stretch out or not. If he doesn’t it wouldn’t be so horrible to have another Kodiak Kowboy to look forward to! Regardless of whether he’s “distance challenged” or not, and regardless of whether he ends up on the Derby trail, I’m looking forward to Get My Fix’s next out. If nothing else he’ll certainly be a better value than American Lion!
The 57-day schedule is highlighted by the return of Laurel’s marquee race, the $300,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G1), which was not carded in 2008 due to a purse account shortfall, on October 24.
You may remember his stunning return in the King’s Bishop a couple of months ago at Saratoga where he ran huge coming off an 8 month layoff but was rightfully DQ’d for pilot error.
He’s been working great and had a nice blow out today so it’s probably safe to assume that he’ll be sharp on Saturday. But let’s not forget the second choice in the morning line odds, Fleet Valid, son of 1993 De Francis Dash winner Montbrook.
In fact, Vineyard Haven has some family ties to the DeFrancis dash as his half brother On the Vineyard is by the 1996 De Francis Dash winner Lite the Fuse. Who are the previous De Francis Dash winners? Several have turned out to be champion sprinters (from Brisnet):
Introduced in 1990, the De Francis Dash is one of the elite six-furlong sprints in the country with four of the 18 winners — Housebuster (1991), Cherokee Run (1994), Smoke Glacken (1997) and Thor’s Echo (2006) — earning Eclipse Award honors for champion sprinter.
Update: As it turns out current entrant Peace Chant also has ties to the De Francis Dash! This was brought to my attention this morning in the comments by Val of Foolish Pleasure and Fillies First (thank you!):
Don’t forget that the mare Safely Kept, who was left in the gate and came from dead last to finish third in that 1991 De Francis (and had won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in 1990) is the dam of Peace Chant who drew post 6. He wasn’t bad for six furlongs in the G1 Forego last out.
Vineyard Haven won’t become this year’s champion sprinter but that doesn’t mean a strong win wouldn’t be impressive and probably a giant relief for whoever made all those Godophin purchases that are finally paying off! And perhaps this is a prep for the Cigar Mile at the Big A.
While I couldn’t dig up Thor’s Echo’s rendition, here are the rest of the champions mentioned above + Montbrook & Lite the Fuse’s (i.e., everything over at YouTube).
Let’s put aside any discussion about Horse of the Year or Rachel Alexandra vs. Zenyatta for a moment and just enjoy this incredible moment. 13-13 is nothing to sneeze at… thank you Zenyatta, we’re lucky to have you!
I won’t be making it out to Belmont today for “Super Saturday” but wanted to share this gem from Jockey Club Gold Cups past. It’s Exceller’s 1978 win, but what I found compelling about it was Seattle Slew’s performance. The race is run so crazily and fast and Slew holds for a photo finish, fighting back down the whole way down the lane. Truly impressive.
Slew is Ernie Munick’s favorite horse and he posted the link at Facebook along with this first hand account and thought about jinxes:
Marlboro, Woodward, Seattle Slew - the finest autumn of my lifetime. Best supporting actor to Exceller, classy, ambitious and brave. Dad stood behind me near the rail as I screamed, all Fall, Stick, Slew! Stick! He broke thru the gate before the JCGC; the ultimate hoodoo. Yet Six Perfections made us wait, and wait, and wait; Green Girl went happy-haywire at the Gulf; Rachel tossed Calvin. Jinxes’re getting soft on us.
Best of luck today and let’s hope that rain holds out!
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