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Okay, it’s bitterly cold with flurries in southern Ontario – not yet spring. Better weather to come and WOODBINE opens next Saturday, the day after the SOVEREIGN AWARDS GALA (have your ticket yet?)

We are going to keep warm today with another awesome day of furious racing action – with 9 GRADED STAKES peppered all over the United States. Arguably the most intriguing race is the WOOD MEMORIAL, featuring THREE undefeated colts hoping to continue on to the Kentucky Derby.

 

Field and analysis below:

Saturday, Aqueduct, post time: 5:40 p.m. EDT
TWINSPIRES.COM WOOD MEMORIAL S.-G1, $1,000,000, 3yo, 1 1/8m
PP HORSE OWNER BREEDER TRAINER/JOCKEY ML

1 Kid Cruz K Vina Del Mar T’breds LLC & Black Swan Machmer Hall-KY SCRATCHED SCR
(c, 3, Lemon Drop Kid–Layreebelle, by Tale of the Cat) Franco

2 Wicked Strong K Centennial Farms William F. Lynn-KY Jerkens 15-1
(c, 3, Hard Spun–Moyne Abbey, by Charismatic ) Maragh

3 Noble Moon K Treadway Racing Stable Estate of Edward P Evans-VA Gyarmati 12-1
(c, 3, Malibu Moon–Mambo Bell, by Kingmambo ) Ortiz Jr.

4 Harpoon K Lets Go Stable Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC-KY Pletcher 8-1
(c, 3, Tapit–Christmas Star, by Star de Naskra ) Velazquez Jr.

5 Los Borrachos Wachtel, Brous & Silver Ranch Stable Preston Madden-KY Mott 30-1
(c, 3, Pulpit–Champagne Taste, by Distorted Humor) Velasquez

6 Kristo K Hronis Racing LLC Whisper Hill Farm LLC-KY Sadler 6-1
(c, 3, Distorted Humor–Capote’s Crown, by Capote ) Garcia

7 Schivarelli Pike Place Racing & Homewrecker Racing Ocala Stud, Ebert Vans & Ed Weist-FL Kenneally 15-1
(c, 3, Montbrook–Alotofappeal, by Trippi) Castellano

8 Samraat My Meadowview Farm My Meadowview LLC-NY Violette 8-2
(c, 3, Noble Causeway–Little Indian Girl, by Indian Charlie) Ortiz

9 Effinex Tri-Bone Stables Dr. Russell S Cohen-NY Smith 50-1
(c, 3, Mineshaft–What a Pear, by E Dubai ) Montanez.

10 Uncle Sigh Wounded Warrior Stable & A. Robertson Milfer Farm Inc-NY Contessa 5-1
(c, 3, Indian Charlie–Cradlesong, by Pine Bluff) Nakatani

11 Social Inclusion K Rontos Racing Stable Corp. Tillyer, Keogh & Blackley-KY Azpurua 2-1
(c, 3, Pioneerof the Nile–Saint Bernadette,by Saint Ballado) Contreras

 

THORUGHBLOG’S PREVIEW

SCHIVARELLI, SAMRAAT and SOCIAL INCLUSION, the three ‘S’s’ are unbeaten and their competition is very good too. SOCIAL INCLUSION is the cover boy thanks to that allowance win in track record time at GUlfstream (1 1/16 miles in 1:40 4/5) and the matching 111 Beyer Figure. He is fast and strong but now he is in New York, from the outside post – how thrilling to wait and see if he is long gone on the lead or overwhelmed.

SAMRAAT is a very cool colt, son of Noble Causeway and a New York bred for owner/breeder My Meadowview Farm. He was not feeling the whip when he edged Uncle Sigh in the Gotham on Mar. 1 – take a look at how the race went:

 

 

SCHIVARELLI is 2 for 2 at Aqueduct for trainer Eddie Kenneally: he won by 12 lengths last time on the lead in the mud.

If you liked the Gotham race, then you will likely select one of those horses. If you like CONSTITUTION, the Florida Derby winner, you might be interested in WICKED STRONG, who returns to New York for James Jerkens. The colt was better last time when  4th to the latter in an allowance race.

THOROUGHBLOG is interested in California shipper KRISTO, who figures to be up close to the pace, stalking Social Inclusion, under Matt Garcia. He is a Distorted Humor colt who cost $500,000 and he has something to prove at 1 1/8 miles. However, if you believe that CALIFORNIA CHROME is a really strong Kentucky Derby contender (he heads the Santa Anita Derby today), then this colt may be getter than these guys. He is 6 to 1.

 SANTA ANITA DERBY – 6;30 post – If California-bred CALIFORNIA CHROME runs anywhere close to the San Felipe win (108 Beyer), the race is for 2nd. HOPPERTUNITY was in a real bumper cars stretch drive in the Rebel at Oaklawn and beat a couple of good ones and CANDY BOY could give jockey Gary Stevens his 10th Santa Anita Derby win.

Thoroughblog picks for SA Derby – California Chrome, Candy Boy – Hoppertunity
Saturday, Santa Anita Park, post time: 6:30 p.m. EDT
SANTA ANITA DERBY-GI, $1,000,000, 3yo, 1 1/8m
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML

1 Rprettyboyfloyd K Bluegrass Cat Bejarano Breuer 20-1
2 Friendswith Mill K Flashy Bull Baze O’Neill 20-1
3 Hoppertunity K Any Given Saturday Smith Baffert 3-1
4 Big Tire Candy Ride (Arg) Maldonado Glatt 20-1
5 California Chrome Lucky Pulpit Espinoza Sherman 6-5
6 Candy Boy Candy Ride (Arg) Stevens Sadler 9-5
7 Schoolofhardrocks Rock Hard Ten Talamo Hofmans 10-1
8 Dublin Up K Unbridled’s Song Desormeaux Miller 30-1

 

WOODBINE A WEEK AWAY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Main track (Polytrack) opened at Woodbine yesterday and 21 horses had workouts on the surface. The Fieldstone pair of MY BID and SYNERGIST worked 3 furlongs in a bullet 35.

There were 62 workers on the dirt training track.

The draw for entries is Wednesday. The first stakes race is Sunday – the Jacques Cartier Stakes.

Gary Barber’s SOVEREIGN AWARD nominee DELEGATION will be in the Cartier field along with champion ESSENCE HIT MAN and SOMETHING EXTRA.

Mark Casse, who trains Delegation, also reported that he does not train stakes winner PASO DOBLE anymore: the Bold n’ Flashy gelding is nominated to the Jacques Cartier.

Casse started off the Keeneland meeting with flair yestday, winning 2 races. One of the winners was Sovereign award nominee SISTERLY LOVE, who led all the way under Stewart Elliott to win an allowance event.

 

 

KEENELAND’S ABOUT-FACE ON POLYTRACK – DIRT TO BE INSTALLED IN MAY

Opinions were fast and flying on social media when Keeneland issued its press note that the track would take out the Polytrack surface and install a ‘state of the art’ dirt track.

It was Keeneland that owned a share of the company that installed the reolutionary Polytrack half a dozen years ago. Other tracks followed suit (like Woodbine).

The surface has not been as easy to maintain as originally advertised, but the statistics issued by the Jockey Club do tell us that less horses breakdown, fatally, on the track.

There are tons of complaints about track surfaces, whether it be dirt, Poly, grass; it is the nature of the game. When you are dealing with delicate Thoroughbreds, anything can happen. Polytrack has led to many more different injuries and reports from horsemen about the effect of it on other parts of the animal (throat, such as after a new load of oil has been added) are certainly concerning.

However the dirt track at Santa Anita sees small fields, too many breakdowns. Keeneland’s old dirt track was very speed biased. And Woodbine’s old dirt track was not good. And what about when it rains and washes away the dirt track?

Keeneland is switching back for politics only: it wants the Breeders’ Cup and it wants it’s big races to hold the Grade 1 status. The goal is to have people come to the track and watch and wager on this great sport and now have to soo horses breakdown in front of them. Hopefully Keeneland will spare no expense in making the best dirt track it can.

NEW YORK TIMES:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/04/sports/in-a-tracks-decision-horses-are-the-losers.html?_r=0