The mud has settled, it’s Derby hangover day – but racing at Woodbine and we will see which colt John Oxley will race in the WANDO STAKES today – UNCAPTURED or DYNAMIC SKY. The Queenston is next Saturday, 7 furlongs suiting Dynamic Sky better than Uncaptured. Meanwhile, both have been working hard all year and are trying to get to the Plate fresh and fit…should be fun to watch!
CINDY PIERSON DULAY (www.horse-races.net) captured the Derby finish
ORB – IT!
Orb circles, popular win for Phipps/ ‘Shug’
Canadian owned GOLDEN SOUL a flying 2nd
Stuart Janney III and Phipps Stable’s Orb rallied from far off the pace to take command in mid-stretch en route to a 2 ½-length victory over longshot Golden Soul to win the 139th running of the $2,174,800 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) before a crowd of 151,616 on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Churchill Downs.
Trained by Shug McGaughey and ridden by Joel Rosario, Orb covered the mile and a quarter on a sloppy main track in 2:02.89. It was the first Kentucky Derby victory for McGaughey and Rosario.
The victory was worth $1,414,800 and improved Orb’s career earnings to $2,335,850 with a record of 8-5-0-1.
Orb is a Kentucky-bred son of Malibu Moon out of the Unbridled mare Lady Liberty. The family is that of Janney’s top mare STEEL MAIDEN, who is out of LAUGHTER (Blue Ensign etc.).
Sadly for those of us who liked PALACE MALICE, the blinkers were put on that Curlin colt and he screamed through silly fractions of :22.57, :45.33 and 1:09.80 as Rosario kept Orb toward the back of the pack. Orb was some 20 lengths back.
On the far turn, the pack closed in on Palace Malice with Oxbow attacking from the inside and Normandy Invasion moving rapidly on the outside to take the lead. However, Rosario had Orb in the clear on the outside and he forged to the lead at the eighth pole and had more than enough to hold off Golden Soul.
Revolutionary closed strongly along the rail to finish third, a head in front of Normandy Invasion.
Sent off as the favorite in the field of 19, Orb returned $12.80, $7.40 and $5.40. Golden Soul, ridden by Robby Albarado, returned $38.60 and $19.40 in finishing a length in front of Revolutionary, who paid $5.40 to show under Calvin Borel.
Normandy Invasion was followed in order by Mylute, Oxbow, Lines of Battle, Will Take Charge, Charming Kitten, Giant Finish, Overanalyze, Palace Malice, Java’s War, Verrazano, Itsmyluckyday, Frac Daddy, Goldencents, Vyjack and Falling Sky.
The ever animated SHUG MCGUAGHEY is likely stunned that he has his Derby (blue jacket). Dinny Phipps (left) and Stuart Janney flank their trainer. Cindy Pierson Dulay photo
WOODBINE SATURDAY – FRIDAY
There’s Spring in the Air
Norm Files photo
She had to work very hard to do it, but champion 2yo filly of 2012, SPRING IN THE AIR got back on track with a win in the Fury Stakes for Canadian-bred 3yo fillies. The Fury is an early prep for the Woobine Oaks.
John Oxley’s daughter of Spring at Last pressed the pace while 3 wide early in the 7 furlong dash, took the lead turning for home and then held off a charging SMARTYFLY from Sam-Son Farms.
The filly posted an 87 Beyer Figure.
Smartlyfly got past front running Nadurra for 2nd. The top 3 finishers all had races this season while the week’s media darling AUNT ELS dueled early and faded.
Woodbine’s wagering on Saturday was #3.8 million, which was surprising down a lot from last year’s Derby day betting of $4.9 million.
More Woodbine Saturday…
THATS OUR PRINCESS is a well regarded filly from the Gus Schickedanz breeding program but when she was entered in a stakes race for her debut last year, she got hurt and never got to run.
Until yesterday.
The Curlin 3yo filly out of the old mare Princess Ruckus (dam of Vibank etc.) pressed and led throughout the 6 furlongs and won in 1:11 1/5 for a 76 Beyer Figure.
James Redekoip’s BURNUM, a Florida bred by Roar of the Tiger, dueled 3 wide to win the 3rd race, an allowance for non-winners of 1 ‘other than’. Trainer Sam DiPasquale had this colt ready to for for his first race since October when he won his maiden with an 81 Beyer. Yesterday he ran in 1:11 1/5 for a 71 Beyer.
The 5th race was a maiden allowance for Ontario sired rivals and it was a wild race with a faltering late pace and some longshots.
MR MCGREGOR, bred by Robert and Patricia Weber and owned by Dominion Bloodstock, won with a late, wide rally in his first race of the year. He had lost for maiden claiming last season and had a top Beyer of 44 but the Tap Day gelding won well from a charging ARTIC TUNDRA. The latter, a Vibank firster, was steadied early and last on the turn but finished like a freight train for the Mike Doyle stable.
That finish resulted in a whopping $1100 exactor payoff, scooped up only by the shrewdest of bettors (JUST NOT YOURS TRULY).
The Mike DePaulo barn got its first win when Bear’s Stables Ltd. BEAR’S PEARL won a $40K claiming race on the lead at 6 furlongs. She is a homebred by Seeking theDia out of Flame Song.
Soli Mehta and Carmen Attard celebrated a win with SEAWATCH in race 7, the 5yo’s first win since 2011. The Donver Stabl’s bred gelding was making his season debut and he rallied from off a perfedct trip un der Jesse Campbell. It was te first win of the season for trainer Kevin Attard.
The ROBERT GERL Stable has won 2 races in 2 days with QUICKLIME winning the 9th race from off the pace and wide. The Limehouse 5yo mare was making her season debut and her 11th career race. She was bred by Shirley Prosser’s Box Arrow Farm.
And ULTIMATE DESTINY flew to a big win in the last race of the day, an Ontario sired allowance, in only his 2nd race for new owner/trainer Alec Fehr. The son of Dance to Destiny, who was 2nd in the Prince of Wales Stakes last year and collected $221K in earnings, flew by from off the pace and wide under Eurico da Silva and beat 3 to 5 fave Honorable Guest.
The winner was bought privately by Fehr towards the end of last season.
FRIDAY WOODBINE
It was all LUIS all the time as Woodbine’s champion rider won 6 of the 10 races including 3 for Mike Doyle: CHARLIE’S FRIEND (C Scott Abbott); Celtic Spirit (Dura Racing and Doyle) and Harlan’s Panther (Windhaven).
There was some wild stuff on the day (Freaky Friday’s we tend to call the end of the week cards) as COASTAL FOREST won the 3rd race at 101 to 1 for Kool Kreek Farm and 1824782 Ontario Inc. and trainer Robert Derl.
Na Somsanith rode the Ontario bred by King Cugat, bred by Gord Colbourne.
The winner was drubbed in 3 races last year and was 2nd time with Lasix but with a lot of very slow works showing.
The winning Beyer was 28 on a track that seemed to be very, very slow.
That 3rd race was a bit troubled for Nicki’s A Cowgirl, who refused to go forward on the track or move forward towards the gate. The 3yo filly was peppered with whips and straps for several minutes but it was only when trainer Ricky Griffith came out and gave her some care, that she trotted off to the gate with her trainer at her head.
GIANNI DRAMA, the cleverly named gelding owned by Entourage Stable, won his maiden for $32K in his season debut in race 4. Robert Tiller was getting his 6th win of the seaosn already.
IAN BLACK got his first win of the year when TEN EASY PIECES’ COLINS NIGHTGALE won the 5th at 10 to 1 under Emma Jayne Wilson. She had won her finale of 2012 and is a homebred by Storm Fever.
QUEEN’S PLATE hopefules COUNTY LINEMAN (Silent Name) and SILENT ADMIRER (Silent Name) ran 1-2 in an allowance race with a 61 Beyer. Later, Perfect Sting Partnerhsip’s DOWNTOWN, rallied to be 4th in a maiden allowance and posted a 61 Beyer himself. He is by Street Sense.
Betting on Oaks day was $2.7 million.
BUSINESS SIDE…of the DERBY
It was a memorable and rainy 139th running of the $2 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands as 151,616 enthusiastic fans weathered the consistent, heavy rains at Churchill Downs to watch Kentucky-bred Orb cover a sloppy track and win the garland of roses that go to the winner of America’s greatest race.
Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby race card totaled $184.6 million, a decrease of 1 percent from 2012’s all-time record, which totaled $187.0 million. All-sources wagering on the Kentucky Derby race was down 2 percent from $133.1 million to $130.5 million. Both were the second-highest of all time.
On-track wagering on the Derby decreased 7 percent from $12.3 million to $11.5 million, a result of the steady, cold rain that continued throughout the day. On-track wagering on the Derby program decreased 11 percent from $23.7 million to $21.1 million.
Churchill Downs returned $150.6 million to bettors, which amounts to 81.6 percent of total wagering on the Derby Day race card. Additionally, purses earned from the Derby Day race card approximated $8.2 million that will be paid out to horsemen during the remainder of the 2013 racing meets.
Finally, pari-mutuel taxes in the amount of $0.7 million were generated from the Derby Day race card, which will be paid to the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Additionally, approximately $1.6 million of handle from separate pools on the Derby Race has already been reported. Total separate pool handle on the Derby Day race card during 2012 totaled $1.4 million.
