Kentucky Derby 136 J

A muddy Super Saver saved all the ground in the 136th Kentucky Derby (Jim Tyrrell/Horsephotos.com)

WinStar Farm’s homebred SUPER SAVER (Maria’s Mon) benefited from a classic
Calvin Borel ride to give trainer Todd Pletcher his first
Kentucky Derby (G1)
win at Churchill Downs on Saturday. Saving ground along the rail all the way
around, the bay colt ran the 1 1/4-mile classic over a sloppy, sealed track in
2:04 2/5.

“It never gets old,” said an emotional Borel, who became the first jockey to
win three Derbies in four years.

“It’s a joy,” Pletcher agreed. “People said we had one with our name written
on it. I didn’t take anything for granted. It feels awfully good.”

On a rainy, dreary day, the sun broke through the clouds minutes before the
Derby field took to the track, shining brightly off Super Saver’s white WinStar
silks. The bay colt broke well from his 4 post and Borel immediately steered him
over to the rail as Conveyance (Indian Charlie) moved up to lead the massive
field through splits of :22 3/5, :46 and 1:10 2/5. Sidney’s Candy (Candy Ride [Arg])
was drafting off the pacesetter’s flank and Line of David (Lion Heart) tracked in third.

Noble’s Promise (Cuvee) moved up to take over third from Line of
David, and was in the perfect spot to grab the lead from Conveyance as
he began backing up. Posting the mile in 1:37 3/5, the bay wasn’t
allowed to hold the advantage for long, as Super Saver was moving up to
his inside.

Borel celebrated his second straight Derby win aboard Super Saver (Debra Kral/Horsephotos.com)

“I had him where I wanted,” Borel said. “I got him off the pace and he
relaxed good. I learned a lot the last time I rode him (in the Arkansas Derby).
The first time I rode him, I won on the lead, but in the last race, I took him
back and learned a lot about him.

Sent off the 8-1 second choice in the full 20-horse field, Super Saver earned
his first victory since taking the Kentucky Jockey Club S. (G2) under the Twin
Spires as a two-year-old. Borel was aboard for that ride as well, and this win
rewarded supporters with payouts of $18, $8.80 and $6. Sent off at 11-1, Ice Box (Pulpit)
rallied to take second over Paddy O’Prado (El Prado [Ire]), returning $11.20 and
$8 while keying the $152.40 exacta. Paddy O’Prado was worth $7.40 at 12-1 and
ended the $2,337.40 trifecta.

Make Music for Me (Bernstein), who just got into the Run for the Roses at the
last minute, took fourth over Noble’s Promise and completed the stellar
$202,569.20 superfecta (4-2-10-9). Following the top five under the wire was an
unlucky Lookin at Lucky (Smart Strike), who was bumped and forced to check
repeatedly as the 6-1 favorite.

Dublin (Afleet Alex), Stately Victor (Ghostzapper), Mission Impazible (Unbridled’s Song), Devil May Care (Malibu Moon), American Lion (Tiznow), Jackson Bend (Hear No Evil), Discreetly Mine (Mineshaft), Dean’s Kitten (Kitten’s Joy),
Conveyance, Homeboykris (Roman Ruler), Sidney’s Candy, Line of David, Awesome Act (Awesome Again)
and Backtalk (Smarty Jones) completed the order under the wire.

Super Saver’s trip was reminiscent of Mine That Bird’s in last year’s Derby (Melissa Wirth/Horsephotos.com)

Super Saver ended 2009 on a high note when winning the Kentucky Jockey Club
and returned off a near four-month break to just miss by a half-length when
third in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3). The sophomore reunited with Borel to make his
final Run for the for Roses prep in the Arkansas Derby (G1), where a neck was
all that separated him and victor Line of David on the line. The winner’s share
of the $2,185,200 purse shot Super Saver’s earnings to $1,826,432 and his mark now stands at 7-3-2-1.

The Kentucky-bred, whose stablemates Eskendereya (Giant’s Causeway) and
fellow WinStar homebred Rule (Roman Ruler) were withdrawn from Derby
consideration earlier in the week, is out of the winning A.P. Indy mare
Supercharger. The 15-year-old mare has since produced an unraced juvenile colt
named Brethren (Distorted Humor), an unnamed Awesome Again yearling filly and a
2010 colt by Medaglia d’Oro.

This is a stellar black-type family as Supercharger is a full sister to Grade
2 scorers Daydreaming and Girolamo as well as a Grade 3 hero and Grade 1-placed
Accelerator. She is also a full sister to the unraced She’s a Winner, herself
the dam of 2006 Haskell Invitational (G1) winner Bluegrass Cat (Storm Cat), who
ran second in that year’s Kentucky Derby and Belmont S. (G1), and Grade 2 victor
Lord of the Game (Saint Ballado).

Super Saver’s second dam is Grade 3 winner Get Lucky (Mr. Prospector), a full
sister to 1989 champion two-year-old colt and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) victor
Rhythm as well as successful stakes-placed sire Not for Love. The trio’s
half-sister Oscillate (Seattle Slew) is the dam of another well-known sire,
Group 2-placed listed winner Mutakddim (Seeking the Gold), and Grade 1 runner-up
Smooth Charmer (Easy Goer).