CHROME FINISH!
Flashy California Chrome wins 140th Kentucky Derby
QUOTE FROM TRAINER DALE ROMANS (his colt Medal Count finished 8th):
“I do want to say one thing on the record. I didn’t think that California Chrome had any chance going into this race and I was very, very wrong. Whether the crop’s a good crop or not, that’s a special horse. I was wrong. I was a very big skeptic; I threw him out of all my tickets in every spot. I didn’t think he fit the profile to win the Derby. I’m very impressed the way he came into it, the way he looked, the way he was prepared and the way he ran. Now he has a new fan.” –
Sometimes picking a winner really is that simple.
A little bit of reboarding perhaps since there were 19 horses in the gate on the Churchill Downs dirt at 1 1/4 miles and, in front of 165,000 fans (it was the 2nd largest crowd in Derby history yesterday).
So how could we bet/pick the 2 to 1 favourite, California Chrome?
Not many people did and that is not because most of us didn’t think he was the best horse coming in, it is because it is the Kentucky Derby, the wild horse race where anything can happen, and often does.
Except the 140th edition of the race played out almost like a every one of California Chrome’s last 2 stakes runs in California against smaller fields. The pace was not as frantic as may have been expected and Victor Espinoza had the colt parked outside of Uncle Sigh and Chitu, surfed to the lead just inside the quarter pole and quickly opened up 5 lengths. He had enough to win by 1 3/4 over 37 to 1 shot Commanding Curve, who came from 18th to get 2nd place money of $400,000 over Danza. The latter probably had the 2nd most troubled journey behind Candy Boy (13th) and was 3rd over Wicked Strong.
California Chrome’s 107 and 108 Beyer Speed Figures coming into the race had him at a large advantage over his 18 rivals. His time of 2:03.66 was not great and may not get a Beyer Figure anywhere near what he has been running. However he did enough to keep his winning streak going.
The colt’s story cannot be beaten either. His $8,000 momma Love The Chase being bred to a $2,500 stud, Lucky Pulpit. The partners, Coburn and Perry Martin, partnered on the colt with a handshake. They call themselves the Dumb Ass Stable and have a donkey on their silks.
This is their only racehorse. their trainer has 15 runners stabled at Los Alamitos. That trainer, Art Sherman, galloped the great SWAPS 50 years ago. Swaps won the Derby and is in the pedigree of California Chrome.
Wow, what a story.
Trainer ART SHERMAN – AGE 77, becomes oldest trainer to win the Derby – “Just awesome. I’m breathless. This is so cool. I think I rode the horse with Victor (Espinoza) the last 70 yards. It was a picture-perfect ride. He was right where he should have been all the way around. Coming down the stretch I was thinking: ‘Keep rollin’ big boy. Keep rollin’.’ This has to be the sweetest moment of my life. To be my age and have something like this happen, what can you say? For all my friends in California, this is for you. We did it!”
CALIFORNIA CHROME – his co-owner Steve Coburn celebrated his 61st birthday by watching his colt win the greatest race of them all. Now he says he will win the Triple Crown. CHURCHILL DOWNS PHOTO
WE MISS ARTIE – mild rally lands Canadian-bred 10th, beaten just 10 lengths
Pletcher says Plate is next start two months from now
WE MISS ARTIE leaving the paddock for the Derby – photo taken by Bernard McCormack who sold the colt for breeder Richard Lister.
WE MISS ARTIE went right to the rail out of the gate, was well off the pace and made a mild, wide move off the last turn to be about 10 lengths behind California Chrome at the end of the Kentucky Derby.
Javier Castellano -” My horse broke well out of the gate and I tried to take him back since we thought there was a lot of speed in the race. I saved all the ground when I took him all the way inside to the rail, and I had a beautiful trip, I didn’t have any trouble at all. Unfortunately, I just don’t think the horse is the real deal on the dirt. I think he will fare better on the turf.”
BY THE NUMBERS
On-track wagering on the Derby race totaled $11.9 million, an increase of 4 percent from the 2013 total. On-track wagering on the Derby program of $23.4 million was an 11 percent increase from 2013. Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby race card totaled $186.6 million, an increase of 1 percent over the 2013 total of $184.6 million and ties the all-time record set in 2012. All-sources wagering on the Kentucky Derby race declined 1 percent to $129.2 million.
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED – awesome story
by Tim Layden
This is what a horse can do on the first Saturday in May: He can make three grown men dance under a setting sun on a famous racetrack, spinning little circles in the dust, tears rolling down their cheeks. He can make a 77-year-old trainer think about dear friends who passed away long ago and embrace the improbable gift of such a success so late in life. He can make an injured jockey, his body and brain still bruised from a terrible spill, climb on a same-day flight to see his little brother ride in and win the most important horse race in the world; and then he can make that little brother cry just thinking about those less fortunate than he is. He can make two rookie owners — one a loquacious cowboy with a lucky 10-year-old hat and the other a reserved businessman who brought his 83-year-old mother to Churchill Downs for the race (and supported her fragile body from a spot on the rail) — smarter than all of racing’s sheikhs and barons, and all of its hedge fund heroes and hustlers, at half the cost of a Prius.
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/news/20140504/kentucky-derby-california-chrome/#ixzz30kEfLWDi
WOODBINE SATURDAY – WHAT A TREAT
SILENT TREAT zoomed up the rail to the lead early in the Ballade Stakes and won the 6 furlong Ontario sired stakes in her first race of the year. The Stablemates own and bred this gal by Silent Name (Jpn) and Scott Fairlie trains. Michelle Rainford rode. WEG/MICHAEL BURNS PHOTO
SILENT TREAT became the newest stakes winner for Adena Springs stallion SILENT NAME (JPN) when she surprised in the Ballade Stakes at Woodbine on Saturday. The day bay 4yo was only making her 3rd start in a stakes event and it was her first start of the year. The filly has now won 5 of her 11 races and over $250,000. She is out of the Bold ‘n Flashy mare Crumpet, who raced for owner/breeder Stablemates years ago. The time of 109 2/5 was good for a 77 Beyer Figure, the best number of Silent Treat’s career.
There were some troubled runners in the field: last year’s Ballade winner Bear’s Gem broke slowly and had too far to come, Strut the Course closed very well after falling too far back and Cafe Au Lait had nowhere to go in the late stages of the race.
More Woodbine on Saturday
A lot of runners these days are getting so far behind the early pace and not catching up in time. You have to be close to the pace right now or you simply have no chance at Woodbine.
Race 10 SEPTEMBER SQUARE is a tough 9-year-old who did not take long to get his racing legs underneath him.Making his 75th career start and 2nd start of the year, the son of Compadre won the $6,000 claiming race after pressing the slow, early pace in the 7 furlong race. he had raced just once this year – in an allowance race that he seemed to have been filling since there was only 5 horses in it. He was all set to go yesterday for All Day Racing, Cury Gonzalves and trainer Willie Armata. Davy Moran gave the old gelding a great ride.
Race 2 – CRISTALINO, owned by Rolph Davis and Robert Tiller, led all the way to win this $25,000 claiming event for fillies. She is 2 for 2 this year and is a Northern Afleet gal who was very eager early in the 7 furlong race but she looked like she was enjoying leading her field on a merry chase under jockey Luis Contreras.
Race 3- Owner/trainer Mike Wright got his first win of the season when the tough 6yo BINKS FOREST held on to win the starter allowance at 1 1/16 miles. This gelding had raced 6 times at Tampa Bay Downs during the winter and picked up a puse share almost every time but he did not win. Reuinited with jockey Jesse Campbell, the gelding opened up a huge lead in this race, looked like he was out of gas, but then pressed on for the win under heavy pressure. The gelding is 7 for 40 in his career. His 82 Beyer Figure was the best number of the day.
race 4- Maidens for $12,500 and John Oxley and Mark Casse had a firster in the race by Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos – MONARCH CITY. The long striding bay colt looked good winning this 6 furlong dash from just off the pace while 4 wide under Gary Boulanger.
race 5 – A lovely maiden allowance race for fillies (open) and the buzz word was AMETHEA, a homebred bay by Henny Hughes for Penny and Manfred Conard. She looks like a good one but she was in the back of the crowd early in the 6 furlong race, in traffic more than once, angled out very wide off the turn and then rallied for 2nd. The winner was beginner TRUE DARLING, a Yes It’s True Ontario bred that John Ross owns and trains and Dan Mooney has kept a part of her after breeding her. She is out of the ascot Knight mare Quiet a Knightmare. Emma-Jayne Wilson was the difference in this filly winning or losing. The Beyer Figure was 66.
race 6- David Bell owns and trains a lovely prospect in MARTEN LAKE, a gelding by Trajectory – Kain’s Deed, by Alydeed. This long striding fellow ran a 77 Beyer Figure in his maiden win off the layoff on April 13 and then came back with a big win yesterday in allowance company. The gelding stalked from the rail, waited for an opening and then drove on through in the 2 path. He is ridden by Gerry Olguin. His time of 1:10 2/5 was a 67 Beyer Figure.
Marten Lake won’t even turn 3 officially until May 13. He was bred by Katie and Alexis Ward and he was a $10,000 buy-back at auction.
Race 7 – SKY HIGH CLASS and Eurico da Silva stalked the from the rail and then angled out to the 2 path to drive to a win in this $20,000 claiming race for fillies and mares. The winner is a homebred for Bill Sorokolit (foaled in Kentucky. second win for Darwin Banach.
Race 9 – Kind of an odd race – just 5 horses so not very interesting for bettors. It was interesting for K5 Stables Inc. and trainer Katerina Vassileva, however, as HUMORUS DILEMMA led all the way through 6 furlongs to win her first race since last January. She won her debut in her only other race at Aqueduct. She is by Sharp Humor out of BIg tease by Gold Token. Her Beyer was 61.
race 10 – Claiming $8,000 and this was one wild race. A hectic pace battle actually set things up for a closer but it was interesting how the horse, TRY RUNNING, got the win. He was steadied early while in last place, then zoomed up the rail in tandem with MY SILVER BADGE just before the field got to the quarter pole. Both horses trying this move was a recipe for disaster, however, and it was MY SILVER BADGE who checked hard and lost tons of ground. He came back on to get a purse share while TRY RUNNING zipped through the 2 path and wore down Green Forester for the win. It was the first victory for jockey CAESAR MEJIA since he returned to riding after a 6 year hiatus. Nick DeToro owns and trains Try Running.
WOODBINE wagering on Derby day – virtually the same as 2013 with $3.8 million going through the windows.
WISE DAN WINS – BARELY
This is one tough dude. Wise Dan,two time Horse of the Year, had a messy trip in the Woodford Reserve on Derby day but he won by a nose while posting his first non-triple digit beyer Figure in years – 97. Jockey John Velasquez had this to say after the race:
He hasn’t been training as good as he was last year. He ran a great at Keeneland (Maker’s 46 Mile), ran a great race here today at 1 1 1/8 miles but he was definitely tired.”
STAKES LYNCHING – Brews up Turf Mile win, hole-in-one in Fort Marcy
Woodbine trainer BRIAN LYNCH had a memorable day on Saturday as he won graded stakes race in New York and Kentucky with FIVE IRON and COFFEE CLIQUE. He also had Clearly Now in the very fast Churchill Downs Handicap (he was 3rd beaten just over 1 length and earned a 103 Beyer Figure). FIVE IRON led all the way and won Belmont’s FORT MARCY in an absolute shocker. The speedster is very good on the pace and was one of Canada’s top 3yo’s last year but his season debut at Gulfstream when he was 9th beaten 15 lengths was poor. The 4yo by Sharp Humor is 5 for 14 in his career and he has earnings of over $480,000.
COFFEE CLIQUE may be headed to Woodbine for the turf series of mares. She won the Turf Mile at Churchill, a Grade 2 event, for her 5th win in 10 races.
FIVE IRON loves a less-than-firm green. The 4yo, a top sophomore last season and one of Canada’s best runners of 2013 came off a dreadful run in Florida and led all the way to win the Grade 3 Fort Marcy at Belmont yesterday for owner Fred Allor. NYRA PHOTO
