Summary:
D. Wayne Lukas’ best hope for a 2013 Kentucky Derby
starter was dashed with news that Hightail, winner of the Breeders’ Cup
Juvenile Sprint suffered a career ending injury. The colt fractured a sesamoid while training at Oaklawn. Although his two-turn ability was
questionable, Lukas believed the son of Mineshaft could have proven himself
during the upcoming prep season// I should have noted yesterday’s workout by the
much hyped Bob Baffert-trained Flashback, which was the first since his
stiffness scare last week. That
setback caused the colt to miss the Sham, while his next race still remains a
mystery// I was not blown away with any of the performances from this past
Saturday’s stakes races, but further proof lies in the speed figures. BRIS announced Vyjack, winner of the Jerome
(G2), and Sham (G3) victor Goldencents, received numbers in the “low
90’s”. On Sunday we learned their
Beyer figures were 90 and 93 respectively. All of these ratings keep the two contenders below the top
shelf for me// Oaklawn Park issued a press release for the impending opening of
their meet. It mentions their
preps offer a total of 289 Derby points, which is tied for second most of any
track. It still amazes me some
officials from there were complaining about the new format when it was first
announced// Brian Zipse writes of Todd Pletcher’s not-so-stellar record in the
Kentucky Derby. True, he’s only
won once with 31 starters, but when taking into account the fact the race
occurs only once a year, usually features a crowded field of 20, and the best
horse often does not win, it’s definitely not the proper measuring stick to use
when evaluating the skill of a trainer. Not to mention the likelihood it was the owners’ urging to
enter some of those inferior 30 horses// There have been countless critical
takes on the new Derby point system, including
one on this site months ago.
The latest is from the esteemed Mike Watchmaker who pokes a new hole. He’s
bothered by the fact qualifying races are set in stone in July, well before
most tracks set their stake schedules.
This year, the Jerome at Aqueduct was moved from its previous April spot
to January, making it a logical Derby points race. I would not be surprised to see this rectified next year,
along with assigning more points for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile// more…
Articles:
Will
it be a “Golden” 2013 Kentucky Derby? (Miami Herald)
Todd
Pletcher’s Kentucky Derby misery (Horse Racing Nation)
Problems
with the Kentucky Derby point system (DRF Blog)
Lucrative Oaklawn meet opens with fifth season (Brisnet)
Lucrative Oaklawn meet opens with fifth season (Brisnet)
Borel
briefly sidelined with fractured wrist (Bloodhorse)
Race
for Kentucky Derby begins to thin out (The Spectrum)
