If you didn’t have the winner in the Kentucky Derby then you must have missed our huge seminar at the Palace Station last Thursday.
If you didn’t have the exacta you must have missed our hugely successful seminar at Palace Station this past Thursday.
If you didn’t have the trifecta you must have missed the best seminar we have had the pleasure of giving this past Thursday at Palace Station.
If you were at the seminar and didn’t have the trifecta you must not have been taking notes on Vic Vivio’s selections as he gave it out as three of his selections. As for my selections I ran first, second and fifth.
Vic ran first second, third and fifth as we got another horrible ride from jockey Garret Gomez in the Derby.
I really thought this year he would give the great ride he is capable of, especially after what he did to Lookin At Lucky in last year’s Kentucky Derby. But in defense of Gomez as I just may be a little blinded, here’s what I saw.
The pace of the race came up a little on the slow side when Shackleford got an easy lead getting the half in :48.3 and the six furlongs in 1:13.2. I really thought we would see a much faster pace.
I also thought Master of Hounds would make his move with Animal Kingdom, but AK got the perfect ride from Velasquez as he moved at the perfect time, JR kept him four wide as he moved up from 10th to fifth in one fatal swoop.
He then went six wide into the lane and drew away despite drifting out late, which may have been a sign of fatigue. Gomez was still back sitting 12th when he came four wide and looked to be in a good spot. But he decided to go inside and that cost him a length or so when he angled to the rail instead of keeping his straight path on the outside.
I am really hoping trainer Aidan O’Brien keeps Master of Hounds in the states for the Belmont and maybe puts a jockey like Dominguez or Castellano on him. If so I will be firing big time.
If you were at our Kentucky Derby seminar you would have known a day in advance that Uncle Mo was not going to run. With no “Mo” it looked like Velazquez was going to be out once again with one of the top choices. Two days earlier jockey Robby Albarado took a tumble, broke his nose and was replaced by JR.
Robby was not a happy guy about the move as he did ride on Friday winning a big race for the same owners. But all came out well for Velazquez and it was just a little change in the name. Instead of winning with Uncle Mo he won the day before mother’s day.
Also if you were at Palace Station on Thursday before the Kentucky Derby and you talked to Paul who is not only a race ticket writer (one of the top jockey agents around for years and past winner of the Santa Anita Derby), he gave anyone who listened Animal Kingdom.
I know he was still out celebrating on Sunday.
The final analysis is you still need to have raced as a 2yo to get the foundation. You need to get this grueling 1¼ distance and it still cannot be done by a Euro shipping over the pond; the “curse of Apollo” still continues.
Next week I will be covering the Preakness Stakes, the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Hopefully the weather will be good and there will be a lot of new shooters taking their shot.
As for most of the also rans in the Derby, they will never be heard from again. Here are a few names from last year’s Kentucky Derby – Ice Box, Noble’s Promise, Line Of David, Stately Victor, American Lion, Dean’s Kitten, Devil May Care, Conveyance, Backtalk, Homeboykris. Not exactly household racing names as was Super Saver.
Two years ago a horse by the name of Mine That Bird won and he never won another race.