Thoroughbred Beat

THOROUGHBRED BEAT

APRIL 27, 2006

by James Scully

Serpentine — When his tail begins swishing, GLITTERNMEPORRIDGE (With
Approval) starts weaving. He did it in his first three starts, running
erratically through the stretch with his tail wagging wildly, and had to settle
for a pair of seconds and a fourth. The Richard Dutrow runner put on a real show
Saturday at Aqueduct, reaching the lead in upper stretch with Edgar Prado before
zig-zagging to the wire. Prado may have feared for his life as the
three-year-old gelding veered hard toward both the inner and outer rails through
the lane, but he held on and Glitternmeporridge did not give up the lead,
turning what would’ve been a daylight win into a 1 1/4-length decision.

Indian bargain — She opened her career with four straight wins, three
over fellow New York-breds, but suffered a tough beat in her stakes bow,
finishing fifth by in the 2004 Alabama S. (G1). FLEET INDIAN (Indian Charlie)
didn’t recover right away, turning in two-straight disappointing performances,
and went to the sidelines for nearly a year. She returned last fall and captured
two of her four starts, including a five-length tally over restricted rivals in
the Montauk H. at Aqueduct, and wrapped up her 2005 campaign with an allowance
win at Philadelphia Park. Fleet Indian passed through the Keeneland sales ring
in January, bringing $290,000, and she’s already proven to be an outstanding
bargain for owner Paul Saylor. Making her first start back in the March 26 Next
Move H. (G3) for new trainer Todd Pletcher, the five-year-old mare drew off to
an easy one-length decision and earned a 109 BRIS Speed rating. In Saturday’s
$250,000 Sixty Sails H. (G3), she crushed seven rivals, winning by 12 1/2
lengths and netting a 111 Speed number. Even more impressively, she completed 1
1/8 miles over the fast Hawthorne track in 1:49 1/5, more than three seconds
faster than the final time (1:52 2/5) in the National Jockey Club H. (G3) for
males two races earlier. Fleet Indian has already earned $213,720 this year, and
she’s four-for-four at 1 1/8 miles in her career.

Baby races — Steve Asmussen has captured six two-year-old races at
Keeneland. Since 2000, he’s won at least 22 percent of his two-year-old starts,
with a 26 percent best in 2004, and has earned more than $7.45 million in
juvenile races during 2004 and 2005. Asmussen excels with the youngsters.

New agent time — Garrett Gomez has replaced the injured John
Velazquez as the first-call rider for Todd Pletcher. Gomez abruptly left his
West Coast base and is riding at Keeneland/Churchill Downs before heading to New
York after the Kentucky Derby (G1). He’ll ride first call until Velazquez
returns, but nobody knows when that will be or whether Gomez will return to
California at that point: the unusual arrangement has him picking up mounts from
Pletcher just for the time being. Gomez’s business is going to pick up steam and
he could be the leading rider at Saratoga when Velazquez returns — imagine if
that costs him the riding title in the final weeks of the meet. Gomez made
another move recently, canning his longtime agent Jim Pegram. Gomez was in jail
during 2003, battling alcohol and drug problems, and Pegram, who represented him
during that time, is credited with providing valuable support during the long
road back. Maybe I’m missing something, but does Gomez need to change agents? It
appears that he’s gotten rid of the individual who stood by him when he was at
his lowest. He’s now hired Jerry Bailey’s former agent, Ron Anderson. What kind
a message does that send?

Closers — How many horses in this year’s Kentucky Derby field like to
race near the front? SINISTER MINISTER (Old Trieste), SHARP HUMOR (Distorted
Humor) and KEYED ENTRY (Honour and Glory) may wind up dueling through the
fastest opening half-mile in Kentucky Derby (G1) history, but where does that
leave the probable top four betting choices, BROTHER DEREK (Benchmark), LAWYER
RON (Langfuhr), BARBARO (Dynaformer) and SWEETNORTHERNSAINT (Sweetsouthernsaint)?
They all like to show the way or sit very close to the pace with their natural
speed, and none have had to make up much ground in a race this year. Sure,
there’s been examples where all four of them have “rated,” but there’s a
difference between tracking the pace in second or third and actually having to
close ground from ninth or 10th. They’re all candidates to stumble, because they
either resist being taken back for the first time or get burnt chasing the
speed. Late runners have a big edge in the Kentucky Derby when the early pace is
hot.

Below are the four fastest opening half-miles in Kentucky Derby history and
the running positions of the top four finishers at that split:

Off-the-pace runners have dominated when speed-crazy sophomores run too fast
early in the Kentucky Derby. Every winner came from far back (at least 13th)
after the opening four furlongs, and at least three of the top four placings
have gone to horses ninth or worse at that point of the race. That doesn’t bode
well for the favorites this year. Perhaps one or more of them can overcome the
adverse circumstances, but the short-priced horses look vulnerable if they don’t
alter their running styles.