Kentucky Derby Radar – Chapter 6

By Jude T. Feld

Eskendereya’s huge Wood Memorial (G1) victory makes it a strong possibilty that we could see the Zayat Stable silks in the Churchill Downs winners’ circle on the first Saturday in May.

Last weekend’s racing underlined the fact that Lookin At Lucky and Eskendereya are probably the best three-year-old colts in the country. It legitimized the quality of Awesome Act and indicated that the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) was a rather weak Kentucky Derby (G1) prep this year, which has been our thought all along. This weekend, Interactif will be out to prove he belongs as he takes on Odysseus in the Toyota Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland, and Noble Promise and Dublin will duke it out in the Arkansas Derby (G2) at Oaklawn Park, hoping to punch their tickets to Louisville.

LOOKIN AT LUCKY ($1,480,000 TOPS GRADED EARNINGS LIST) had more problems than Charlie Sheen in the Santa Anita Derby (G1). It is always easier to see the unfolding of a race through binoculars or on television than it is when you are riding in it, but heralded jockey Garrett Gomez never seemed to have this talented colt in a position to win at any time during the running. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert was quite critical of his rider after the race, suggesting a remedial review of Jerry Bailey’s horseracing DVD, oft hawked on TVG, was in order. Watching the son of Smart Strike make two runs and still finish with something left did little to shake Baffert’s confidence in his charge and we have been on the bandwagon all season long. Gomez will reportedly keep the mount for the Kentucky Derby (G1) and in his defense and to his credit, he did not abuse LOOKIN AT LUCKY after the trouble encountered around the 5/16 pole, choosing wisely to save him for the first Saturday in May.

ESKENDEREYA ($600,000) followed up his resounding Fountain of Youth (G2) victory with another trouncing of his foes in the Wood Memorial (G1). There is no doubt that the son of Giant’s Causeway is the real deal as the field assembled in New York was the best of Derby season and he made mincemeat of them. Trainer Todd Pletcher has been close in the Kentucky Derby (G1) but a win still eludes him. This colt certainly looks like his best chance ever to break the jinx.

INTERACTIF ($270,450) showed his mettle with a nice closing effort behind “lone f” winner Sydney’s Candy in the San Felipe (G2). That one came back to win the Santa Anita Derby (G1) in wire-to-wire fashion, validating his legitimacy. This son of Broken Vow, from the Todd Pletcher stable, acts on any surface and should be the horse to beat in the Toyota Blue Grass (G1) on Saturday. A handsome colt with a ton of talent, he could follow Street Sense in parlaying Blue Grass into red roses.

AWESOME ACT ($285,000) missed some training going into the Wood Memorial (G1) and then blew a shoe at the start. He still managed to run decently after all that, so it is evident that the son of Awesome Again has some grit. You hate to see a colt have anything but a perfect path leading up to the Derby but you’ve gotta give him an “A” for effort. He certainly has the talent to be part of the mix on the First Saturday in May if the rest of April is good to him.

NOBLE’S PROMISE ($708,000) has never finished out of the money. His excellent second-place finish behind Lookin At Lucky in the Rebel (G2) at Oaklawn Park was the third time he was edged by that rival, but it was the closest margin of defeat yet. He is as game as they come and certainly has the look of a major contender. Could he be the new Sham?

MISSION IMPAZIBLE ($473,434), a son of top sire Unbridled’s Song, put it all together in the Louisiana Derby (G2) after only four starts and one race around two turns. Lightly raced and improving colts are highly sought after this time of year, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to think another leap forward in the Kentucky Derby (G1) could find the Todd Pletcher trainee posing for pictures.

ENDORSEMENT ($400,000) got just that from rival trainer Bob Baffert who said after the Sunland Derby (G3) loss by his previously unbeaten Conveyance, “I think the horse that beat us, of all the others I’ve seen lately, that was pretty impressive. I think we saw a star born today.” Shannon Ritter trains the talented son of Distorted Humor, who has made steady improvement in each of his four starts and seems destined for more.

DUBLIN ($273,208) bounced a little in the Rebel (G2) after a corker of a comeback behind Conveyance in the Southwest (G3), both at Oaklawn Park. The two bullet works between starts might have taken a little of the starch out of the D. Wayne Lukas trainee, but they will help to have him fit for the Arkansas Derby (G2) Saturday. A patient ride from Terry Thompson and a half-way decent trip will give him a shot “when the whole world is watching.”

This entry was posted on Monday, April 5th, 2010 at 3:30 pm and is filed under Featured Articles. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.