THOROUGHBRED BEAT
APRIL 6, 2006
by James Scully
Wood — The Wood Memorial (G1) is the first of three major preps Saturday and
the 1 1/8-mile contest established Bellamy Road (Concerto) as the Kentucky Derby
(G1) favorite last year when he romped by 17 1/2 lengths. This year’s event
looks much more wide open with four main contenders in BOB AND JOHN (Seeking the
Gold), DEPUTY GLITTERS (Deputy Commander), KEYED ENTRY (Honour and Glory)
and SHOWING UP (Strategic Mission). The first three are all graded stakes
winners this year, and the unbeaten Showing Up will make his stakes bow off a
smashing 2 1/2-length allowance score at Gulfstream Park that netted him a 107
BRIS Speed rating. Despite winning the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) in impressive
fashion last out, Deputy Glitters figures to be overlooked versus more highly
regarded rivals on Saturday. He earned a 106 Speed rating last time and has been
a different horse since stretching out to two turns.
Great Race Place — BROTHER DEREK (Benchmark) has scared off the
opposition in Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby (G1). Only five rivals will show up
to face the early Kentucky Derby favorite, and the California-bred looks like
the lone speed. He will at least have a couple of nice three-year-olds chasing
him in A. P. WARRIOR (A.P. Indy) and POINT DETERMINED (Point Given), and I’ll be
looking for strong showings from the probable also-rans. The Santa Anita Derby
has produced 14 Kentucky Derby winners, and the last four — Giacomo,
Charismatic, Real Quiet and Silver Charm — all got beat.
Illinois — CAUSE TO BELIEVE (Maria’s Mon) is the only graded winner in the
nine-furlong Illinois Derby (G2) lineup but has yet to be seriously tested. The
El Camino Real Derby (G3) winner is bred to handle longer distances, but he
thrived in sprints at two and opened his 2006 campaign in the six-furlong San
Miguel S. Cause to Believe has never been past 1 1/16 miles, and I’ll let the
one-run closer beat me at Hawthorne. California invaders RACKETEER (Awesome
Again) and MISTER TRIESTER (Old Trieste) are both interesting candidates.
Racketeer made his stakes bow with a close fourth in the San Felipe S. (G2) and
appears to own a big upside for trainer Bobby Frankel. Mister Triester, who
finished fourth to Brother Derek in the Santa Catalina S. (G2) after breaking
his maiden two back, is a speed threat for trainer Warren Stute.
Strategy — Michael Matz’s strategy to keep BARBARO (Dynaformer) fresh in
preparation for the Kentucky Derby makes sense because the conditioner has
options. He wasn’t sure if the dirt would work out for his superb turf
performer and probably didn’t want to jeopardize the colt’s chances of returning
to the grass this summer. If Barbaro wins the Kentucky Derby, Matz will be hailed
for doing the seemingly impossible (one prep race in 13 weeks). If Barbaro
doesn’t fire at Churchill Downs, we can chalk it up to him being a turf horse
and may never see him race on the main track again. Matz doesn’t lose either way
if Barbaro remains healthy.
Ridiculous — Why did John Servis raise a stink regarding weights in
Saturday’s Apple Blossom H. (G1)? He didn’t just state his unhappiness, he
slammed Oaklawn Park officials. If Servis couldn’t live with ROUND POND’s (Awesome
Again) assignment (a whopping 119 pounds), he could’ve bypassed the event without
insult and everybody would’ve dealt with the situation. Instead, Servis went
into a ridiculous diatribe about how STAR PARADE (Arg) (Parade Marshal) (who
received 117 pounds) deserved more weight than Round Pond. That’s fine if he
believes it, but it doesn’t make any sense to the rest of us because Star Parade isn’t in the same class with
Round Pond or HAPPY TICKET (Anet). Star Parade ended a nine-race losing streak
recently, the other two are top contenders for this year’s Eclipse Award.
Oaklawn’s racing secretary would’ve looked like an imbecile making Star
Parade the highweight. Happy Ticket had to give Round Pond six pounds last
time in the Azeri Breeders’ Cup S. (G3). Did trainer Andrew Leggio
Jr. ever complain or threaten not to run Happy Ticket? No, he handled the situation with class,
much to the delight of Thoroughbred racing fans everywhere. Servis acted in a different manner this week,
and we’ll all feel cheated if Round Pond doesn’t run Saturday.