This week, the Big Race Showdown panel of Candice Hare, Emily Gullikson, Brian Zipse, Dan Tordjman, Mike McCormick, Megan Devine, Dan Cronin, and I tackles a trio of high-stakes Kentucky Derby preps coming up on Saturday: the Wood Memorial, Blue Grass, and Santa Anita Derby.
Category: Aqueduct
Big Race Showdown: Week 6
This week, the Big Race Showdown panel tackles a trio of Derby preps: the Tampa Bay Derby (G2), the Gotham (G3), and the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3)!
Joining me on the panel are Candice Hare, Emily Gullikson, Brian Zipse, Dan Tordjman, Mike McCormick, Megan Devine, and Dan Cronin. Read on for our top picks, and who we think can run into the money for some nice exacta and trifecta payouts. See who we like, right here!
#3: the fifth annual Twelve Days of Curlin Babies
Welcome back to the Twelve Days of Curlin Babies, where we celebrate the twelve most memorable races from Curlin’s progeny throughout 2018. Through all the hundreds of races in which they ran this year, these are the ones to which my mind keeps wandering back.
#12: Timeless Curls Marks Herself a Rising Star
#11: Secret Passage Comes Into His Own
#10: Legit Proves Aptly Named in His Gulfstream Unveiling
#9: Bishop’s Pond Proves She Is a Dirt Horse, After All
#8: Good Magic Reasserts His Class in the Blue Grass
#7: Dixie Moon Never Quits in the Carotene
#6: Amiral Rallies, Stuns, and Begins a Banner Day for His Sire
#5: Dabster Gives His All Against Battle of Midway
#4: Campaign Wins Twice at Kentucky Downs
#3: Vino Rosso Rediscovers His Best in the Wood
Vino Rosso (Mythical Bride, by Street Cry) ran on a belated third behind Flameaway and Catholic Boy in the Sam F. Davis (G3), his first stakes attempt. It was the kind of run that ignited hope: not the usual mild rally that makes one thing that perhaps he just needed a little more racetrack, but the sort of run that exposes the lightbulb screwed between his ears, shows the filament flickering and finally beginning to burn just as he approached the wire.
The Tampa Bay Derby (G2) gave Vino Rosso the chance to prove his light had come well and truly on, but instead, he never made a move. He settled for fourth, well detached from Quip, Flameaway, and World of Trouble.
The more easily dissuaded decided that the Sam F. Davis was a tease, and some wondered whether he should be diverted from the Derby trail or set aside for a summer campaign. Instead, Vino Rosso ventured back to Aqueduct, the same place where he had broken his maiden so comfortably in his November debut.
Trainer Todd Pletcher and owners Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable chose well.
Old Time Revival hustled to a yawning lead, as race favourite Enticed and Bob Baffert shipper Restoring Hope tracked in the next flight. Vino Rosso, not rushed by rider John Velazquez, settled in two wide in the second-to-rear flight through the first turn. Down the backstretch Old Time Revival remained in command; Velazquez poked at Vino Rosso to gain on the outside, and he responded, inching along to the middle of the main field.
Into the far turn, Enticed and Restoring Hope launched twin bids. Vino Rosso wouldn’t be left behind; as they launched into Old Time Revival’s margin, the son of Curlin joined them three wide.
Into the final quarter, with Old Time Revival reeled in and Restoring Hope left flat-footed, Enticed tried to stay with Vino Rosso. Enticed dug in, remaining affixed to Vino Rosso’s inside, a head behind, to the furlong mark.
As so often happens in nine-furlong races, the final furlong told the tale of who could stay. Vino Rosso did; Enticed did not. Vino Rosso edged clear, crossing the wire three lengths clear of Enticed, alone in second.
That win in the Wood proved the high point of Vino Rosso’s season. He followed up his victory at Aqueduct with a late-running ninth behind Justify in a muddy Kentucky Derby (G1). He looked like he was making a threatening bid on the far turn in the Belmont, but flattened out to fourth, three and three quarters lengths behind Triple Crown winner Justify. A three-quarter-length third behind fellow Curlin son Tenfold in the Jim Dandy (G2) suggested he was perhaps coming back into his best, but a chasing fifth behind Catholic Boy in the Travers (G1) ended up being Vino Rosso’s final start of the year.
Vino Rosso is not back on the worktab, though hopefully he can return at four. After all, both sides of his pedigree suggest age will do him well.
Picks and Ponderings: 2018 Cigar Mile Preview and Stakes Selections
It’s the first big weekend of American racing after the Breeders’ Cup, and today I take a look at Aqueduct’s Cigar Mile Day action!
America’s Best Racing: Big Race Showdown, Wood Memorial, Blue Grass Stakes, and Santa Anita Derby
This is week ten of Big Race Showdown at America’s Best Racing: where I clash heads with six awesome handicappers (Emily Gullikson, Candice Hare, Dan Tordjman, Brian Zipse, Eric Bialek, and Mark DiLorenzo) to see who can stay the hottest through Derby prep season.
We tackle all three Kentucky Derby preps on Saturday: the Blue Grass (G2) at Keeneland, the Wood (G1) at Aqueduct, and the Santa Anita Derby (G1) at Santa Anita. Since the first half of this year’s Big Race Showdown is the Triple Crown trail, it’s a great week to make some moves…I’m holding my own so far, so let’s hope I can keep it going this week!
Picks and Ponderings: 2018 Wood Memorial and Gazelle Stakes Preview
This piece focuses specifically on the pair of Grade 2 races in New York: the Wood Memorial and the Gazelle.
The Wood Memorial is the final step down the New York spur of the Kentucky Derby trail. The race was inaugurated at Jamaica Racetrack in 1925, and was run there through 1959. In fact, the race’s name keeps a part of Jamaica Racetrack alive, as its namesake Eugene Wood founded that course. Though the race was downgraded to a Grade 2 last year, it has been a rich source of Kentucky Derby winners in the past. Eleven horses have carved Wood into roses, including four Triple Crown winners: Gallant Fox (1930), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), and Seattle Slew (1977).
Head over to Picks and Ponderings, read my preview of Saturday’s three-year-old preps at Aqueduct, and let me know your thoughts in the comments!
America’s Best Racing: Big Race Showdown, Gotham/San Felipe/Tampa Bay Derby
This is week six of Big Race Showdown at America’s Best Racing: where I clash heads with six awesome handicappers (Emily Gullikson, Candice Hare, Dan Tordjman, Brian Zipse, Eric Bialek, and Mark DiLorenzo) to see who can stay the hottest through Derby prep season.
This week is a huge one, with three stateside Kentucky Derby preps: the Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct, the San Felipe (G2) at Santa Anita, and the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) at Tampa Bay Downs. Come see what we all think…and let’s see if I can add to my win, exacta, and trifecta tallies!
Picks and Ponderings: 2018 Gotham Stakes Preview
This year, the Gotham Stakes will be run for the 67th time, offering a $300,000 purse as well as Kentucky Derby points (50-20-10-5) to its top four finishers. The race, which takes its name from an old nickname for New York City, was inaugurated at Jamaica Racetrack in 1953 before being moved to New York City in 1960. Long a one-turn mile on the Aqueduct main, it was moved to a mile and a sixteenth on the inner starting in 2006, and moved back to its historic one-turn mile trip for this year.
In its history, one Triple Crown winner counts the Gotham among his triumphs; the immortal Secretariat won it in 1973.
Read more at Picks and Ponderings, and sound off with your thoughts on the Gotham in the comments!
Picks and Ponderings: a busy week on the Oaks trail
This Saturday features four different three-year-old preps at three different tracks: three Kentucky Oaks prep, and a Kentucky Derby prep as well.
Over at Picks and Ponderings, I preview all four of the points races: the Fountain of Youth (G2) and the Davona Dale (G2) at Gulfstream, the Busher Stakes at Aqueduct, and the Santa Ysabel (G3) at Santa Anita.
Read my previews, and let me know your thoughts in the comments. Good luck this weekend!
Picks and Ponderings: 2018 Withers Stakes Preview
After visits to Gulfstream (for the Holy Bull and the Forward Gal) and Santa Anita (for the Robert B. Lewis), Picks and Ponderings heads to New York for a look at the Withers Stakes, Aqueduct’s Derby prep for the weekend. Though the race only drew six horses to vie for shares of a $250,000 purse and Kentucky Derby points (10-4-2-1), the race drew a strong mix of proven runners and sophomores looking for their breakthroughs.
A New York fixture, the Withers Stakes has been run in since 1874 in honour of David D. Withers (1821-92), an early personage in American horse racing. An original investor in Monmouth Park, he was also the first president of the Board of Control, a forerunner to the Jockey Club. Inaugurated at Jerome Park, the race has also been run at Morris Park Racecourse, Jamaica Racetrack, Belmont Park, and most recently Aqueduct.
Read more about the Withers Stakes and see my in-depth analysis at Picks and Ponderings, and let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Picks and Ponderings: 2018 Busanda Stakes Preview
This year marks the 45th running of the Busanda Stakes. The races’s namesake was a mare who excelled both on the track and in the breeding shed. A 1947 daughter of Triple Crown winner War Admiral, bred by Ogden Phipps, her female line was just as regal….
This year’s edition of the Busanda was originally scheduled for January 21, but was postponed because it did not originally fill. Rescheduled for Thursday, January 25, the race drew six entries to vie for a $100,000 purse, plus Road to the Kentucky Oaks points (10-4-2-1) for the top four finishers.
Head over to Picks and Ponderings, read my preview of the Busanda Stakes, and let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Picks and Ponderings: 2018 Jerome Stakes Preview
Originally scheduled for January 1st, the Jerome Stakes — like much of the northeast and midwest — has been stuck in a deep freeze. As New York will have hopefully become warm enough to safely race, the Jerome has been released from its suspended state, and scheduled for January 13.
The race had been a Grade 2 as recently as 2014, but was downgraded to a Grade 3 starting with the 2015 running, and was downgraded to listed status for the 2018 running. This year’s edition drew seven runners to contest for a $150,000 purse, as well as Road to the Kentucky Derby points (10-4-2-1) for the top four finishers.
Head over to Picks and Ponderings, read my preview of the Jerome Stakes, and let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Picks and Ponderings: 2017 Wood Memorial and Gazelle Stakes Preview
The New York spur of the Kentucky Derby trail winds down this Saturday with the Wood Memorial (G2); Oaks-bound fillies from the Big Apple can likewise punch their tickets in the Gazelle (G2). I preview both over at Picks and Ponderings.
In the Wood, Curlin baby Irish War Cry hopes to redeem himself, as does Remsen winner Mo Town. But, they face a field of tough newcomers, including Cloud Computing and Battalion Runner. Coming into the Gazelle, Miss Sky Warrior and Yorkiepoo Princess have been the ones piling up win pictures in stakes races…but the likes of Lockdown and North End may have something to say about that.
Head over to Picks and Ponderings, read my preview of Saturday’s three-year-old preps at Aqueduct, and let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Picks and Ponderings: 2017 Busanda Stakes Preview
The Oaks prep season continues this Saturday with the Busanda Stakes at Aqueduct.
The race drew a field of just five. Most of its entrants are new faces: four of the five fillies are last-out maiden winners who have never faced winners, much less stakes company. The only exception is Libby’s Tail, who broke her maiden last summer and finished second in the Frizette (GI) last year.
Will her experience prevail? Will one of the new faces make their mark?
Head over to Picks and Ponderings, read my preview of Sunday’s Busanda Stakes, and let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Picks and Ponderings: 2016 Cigar Mile Preview
Saturday’s Cigar Mile (GI) at Aqueduct drew a field of ten, and I preview the race over at Picks and Ponderings. Watch how the track plays…if it’s heavily for speed, it may chalk out. But, should the track be playing at least somewhat fairly, a price play has a good shot to break through at the Grade I level.
Head over to Picks and Ponderings, read my preview of the Cigar Mile, and let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Blinkers Off 