This week in the Derbyologist Triple Crown fantasy league was a relatively light week as far as points went; the only points race this weekend was the Gotham Stakes.  I didn’t have any of my horses running in that race, though I was still a bundle of nerves about Noble Cornerstone, since he had been in my stable until the claiming date on Thursday.  I’m glad I overruled whatever side of me was saying to try and keep him because of the blinkers going back on in the Gotham, because Noble Cornerstone just didn’t run well.  He acted up in the gate, he faded badly, and he crossed the wire dead last beaten 25 3/4 lengths.  I hope he finds his stride somewhere, but it became more than obvious in the Gotham (if it wasn’t already) that the Triple Crown trail won’t be that place.

Even without races, there has been some news about a few members of my stable…though, for the first time this Derby season, there are more horses in my stable with no real updates than there are with updates.  Let’s dive in!

• Conquest Titan – Conquest Titan is still on track for the Tampa Bay Derby.  He returned to the worktab yesterday at Palm Meadows, working five furlongs in 1:02.25.  It’s not the fastest work in the world, but it’s plenty to keep him sharp for the race without risking tiring him out.  It will be interesting to see who ends up being confirmed for the Tampa Bay Derby, to see whether the pace will set up well for Conquest Titan’s closing run.  At this point Surfing U S A and Coltimus Prime are both in the mix, though there’s not a whole lot of early speed other than those two who are generally considered as candidates for this run.  No matter what, though, this is a smarter move for Casse to make than racing him at Gulfstream again.  It’s the same amount of points as the Florida Derby, probably a bit lighter field, and not the same speed bias as that Gulfstream track.
• Please Explain – I claimed her last week without having any good information on where she was pointing, just because she looked likely to contend assuming she did eventually point to one.  It would make sense to see her in a race soon, since her sparkling Suncoast win was back on February 1, but I didn’t know for sure.  The news is as good as possible: based on the scuttlebutt I’ve been seeing today, she’s pointing to the Honeybee, this coming Saturday at Oaklawn.  Between that and her nice five furlong work on Saturday in 1:01.00, things are looking promising for the newest addition to my stable.
• Tamarando – Tamarando returned to the tab today at Golden Gate, working five furlongs in 1:01.80.  It was his second work since the El Camino Real Derby win.  That’s the only update from him, which is just fine.  He’s still working, nothing seems to be pointing him away from the goal of a big synthetic prep like the Spiral.  He looks good to me right now.
• General a Rod – There’s nothing new from him this week.  He hasn’t returned to the worktab yet since last week’s Fountain of Youth, though I would be surprised not to see him return over this coming week.  He’s still pointing toward the Florida Derby.
• Ride On Curlin – He hasn’t posted a work since the Southwest Stakes.  It seems a bit strange, but judging from his work patterns, he generally doesn’t seem to do a lot in the way of published works.  I haven’t seen anything to contradict previous reports that he is pointing toward the Rebel two Saturdays from now.
• Shared Belief – He is still off the published worktab, though he’s training up at Golden Gate.  Dan Ward, an assistant to Jerry Hollendorfer, gave what can really only be described as a non-update update yesterday on his condition, which said he was doing well but was short on specifics.  There’s nothing new here.
• She’s a Tiger – From what I hear she’s still galloping at Santa Anita, but she has no new published works since her one back on February 22nd, and there’s no clear information as to where she is pointing.  Hopefully there will be an update soon, but there really isn’t one this week.
• Stopchargingmaria – There is no news about her, and she hasn’t come back to the worktab.  The Davona Dale was just last weekend, though, so that isn’t a huge issue.  I am looking forward to some information about where she’s pointing next, though I still maintain it ought to be the Gazelle.

That is where things stand now.  Hopefully Conquest Titan and Please Explain will run big on Saturday, and next week’s report will be a bit more exciting.