Sid and Jenny Craig's homebred, Chocolate Candy, winner of the California Derby as well as the Real Quiet Stakes, is my current very early favorite to watch for the Kentucky Derby. I love his breeding - he's by first year sire Candy Ride out of the Seattle Slew mare Crownette - and the look of him in full flight is riveting. Each stride seems to float him in the air a beat longer than the other horses. His high front leg action gives him the look of a turf horse, but Barbaro and Secretariat, for two, ran the same way. His front leg action is wide as well, a worry in some people's eyes, but his way of going looks all of a piece. He reaches out to the very full exent of his front legs, and the length of that reach is especially eye-catching.

Continue reading "HOW SWEET I HOPE HE IS"

There's a lot to like about Old Fashioned, the precocious son of Unbridled's Song who won the Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct under a hand ride. He gives the impression of mental maturity, a confident and endearing intensity. He was all business. And unlike some of the promising California contenders, he won on dirt. (The trainers who don't intend to run their best three year olds over the dirt en route to the Kentucky Derby are nuts.)

It's hard not to root for his trainer, Larry Jones, or for this colt in his own right. It's always moving to see the innocence of a young three year old absorbed in his race, before it becomes a J-O-B (compare, for instance, Curlin as a three year old to his workmanlike efforts at four).

Against Old Fashioned, in my heart if not my mind, is his breeding. Like the late Eight Belles, also trained by Larry Jones, he's by Unbridled's Song. The Unbridled line has speed, heart, class, good minds and, it's suspected, fragile legs. The beautiful and game Eight Belles inexplicably fractured both ankles moments after her gallant second place finish in the 2008 Kentucky Derby and had to be euthanized on the track. Unbridled's Song himself had feet problems that doomed his chances in the 1990 Derby.

Continue reading "Maybe Old Fashioned Is Too Old Fashioned"

Big Brown has won the 2008 Eclipse Award for Three Year Old of the Year. No brainer, he won the Florida Derby, two out of three Triple Crown races, the Haskell Invitational and the Monmouth Stakes. The rest of the TC class of 2008 did very little. Which is why the honor feels a little bit ho hum.

I'll never forget the cluster of supposed contenders behind Big Brown and Eight Belles as the Derby field rounded Churchill's far turn - barely a one lifted a leg, and the few that mustered a pulse lacked the speed to make the effort pay off. Same story - minus the tragic Eight Belles - in the Preakness two weeks later. Three weeks after that, with Big Brown eased before reaching the stretch, the class of 2008 really showed their stuff as the Belmont Stakes was won by the front-running but slow moving Da Tara and only Dennis of Cork managed a mild rally behind him.

Continue reading "Big Brown is Three Year Old of the Year; Nicanor Carries the Expectations of the Friends of Barbaro"

This is a tough race for a fan like me.  In here are three potential Derby horses for whom I can feel a personal rooting interest:

Breakwater Edison, by Lemon Drop Kid:   Lemon Drop Kid was the first handicap division horse I followed back in 2000 when I became a serious fan of the game.  He gave me a lot of thrills, and helped raise my all time favorite jockey, Edgar Prado, to prominence.  Still, I consider him underappreciated. I'd love to see him get a breakout star among his offspring.

Hello Broadway:  Hello Broadway is half brother to NobizlikeShowbiz and is trained by Barclay Tagg of Funny Cide fame.  Tagg has remained in the spotlight with other top class horses such as Nobiz himself, the fleet and talented turf horse Showing Up, and last year's gritty Tale of Ekati.  The taciturn Tagg is not a cuddly personality, but his is a feel-good story.  His breakthrough as a big money trainer happened only after reaching his sixties, and for a man who grumbled about joining the Derby fray back in the days of Funny Cide, he sure got over it in a hurry.  Nobody needs to twist Tagg's arm anymore to get him to march along the Derby trail. 

Continue reading "Friday's G2 Hutcheson at Gulfstream Features Potential Kentucky Derby Contenders"

In yesterday's Hutcheson, Capt. Candyman Can showed he's got a learning curve when he was able to settle down, drop back off the pace, then come on easily in the lane to dispose of Hello Broadway.

I wonder if the connections really wanted Hello Broadway to run on the front end. He seemed to be pulling a bit, but then sort of treaded water as they neared the wire, without actually appearing spent. Capt. Candyman Can had more momentum, but neither jockey was all over their horse.

If Hello Broadway couldn't stay with the leader at this distance, as the Equibase chart reports, it doesn't seem as if stretching out further is only going to improve him, as some, including me, expected.  While it's hard to determine, with both jockeys seeming to conserve

Continue reading "Capt. Candyman Can Could in the Hutcheson at Gulfstream Park"

Today, three days after the second anniversary of Barbaro's death, Barbaro's full brother goes in a maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park.  Gulfstream's given this event a marquee spot, sandwiched between two important stakes races - the Holy Bull for three year olds on the Derby trail, and the Donn Handicap for top flight older horses.  I have a good feeling about Nicanor, who has come on in his training the past few weeks, but with Barbaro's own jockey, Edgar Prado, aboard for the occasion, the pressure is unbearable.  I can't even watch between my fingers. 

The Donn Handicap that follows Nicanor's outing will come as a relief.  Entered is the good-looking Breeders Cup Dirt Mile winner, Albertus Maximus.  Albert the Great was a favorite of mine in his heyday and a true New York horse, winning, among others, the Jockey Gold Cup (by nine), the Suburban and the Dwyer.  He earned $3 million before he was finished, and is underappreciated, in my humble opinion.  I was ridiculously touched when I learned that Tracey Farmer still owns him.  Albert the Great stands today at Pin Oak Lane Stud in Pennsylvania.  He's had some nice offspring - most notably the speedy but flaky NobizlikeShowbiz.  Albertus Maximus gave Albert his first Breeders Cup winner, and Albertus not only looks like his handsome daddy, he's honest like him.  Einstein is a terrific animal too, but I'll root for him next time, when he's back on the turf. 

Continue reading "Tell Me When It's Over - and Go Albertus Maximus"

I'm verklempt. Hurray for Albertus Maximus's win in the Donn Handicap. He ran just like his pop, a complete professional, and has really moved up in the world. He's now owned by Shadwell Stables (which paid a substantial sum for him), trained by Invasor's trainer, Kieran McLaughlin, and pointed towards the Dubai World Cup. I could listen to McLaughlin say nice things about Albertus Maximus all day. Congratulations also to the almost too-aptly-named runner-up, FinallyMadeIt, a horse who was partially paralyzed behind at birth, and who has successfully propelled himself from sprinting to going long. FinallyMadeIt runs his heart out and is a joy to watch.

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I didn't know what to expect from Nicanor's first start, but I never considered that he'd grab a quarter out of

Continue reading "My Baby! Albertus Maximus Wins the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park. Next Stop, Dubai."