Track the Road to the Triple Crown

With the Derby prep races starting up and Pool 2 of Derby Future Wagering going on this weekend, I figured at least a few people might be interested in this.

Bad news this week too with Holy Bull winner and early Derby favorite Algorithms being pulled from the Fountain of Youth with an injury. Turns out the horse will require surgery and is being pulled off the path to the Derby. Bad luck for the horse and for Todd Pletcher, who just can't seem to keep them healthy.

One more month and we get that great stretch in early April of several huge races all bunched together. Great time.

Isn't the John Battaglia this weekend at Turfway?

^ Is that a graded stakes race? I don't think I know that one.

Algorithms scratches out of the Fountain of Youth, and another Pletcher trainee - Discreet Cat - goes off the 4/5 favorite. The race was dominated by Breeders Cup juvenile runner-up Union Rags. He won in hand by open lengths. Union Rags is clearly the derby favorite at this time.

Gothem is this weekend at Aqueduct. Hansen who won the Breeders Cup Juvenile and was second to Algorithm in his first start this year will be a big favorite to win.

Pletcher still has a couple of other monsters in the barn and on the derby trail. He has El Padrino, the winner last week of the Risen Star at Fair Grounds. Gemologist is 3 for 3 and pointing to the Rebel stakes at Oaklawn. Another Pletcher that I have been impressed with is Thunder Moccasin (2 for 2) with both wins being very easy.

Anyone catch the Louisiana and Florida Derbies last weekend? Great two days of racing thanks to those two.

Borel ran a flawless race on Take Charge Indy in the Florida. Is there any doubt at this point that he's probably the most talented jockey on the circuit these days?

Originally Posted by stinkyboy II

Algorithms scratches out of the Fountain of Youth, and another Pletcher trainee - Discreet Cat - goes off the 4/5 favorite. The race was dominated by Breeders Cup juvenile runner-up Union Rags. He won in hand by open lengths. Union Rags is clearly the derby favorite at this time.

Gothem is this weekend at Aqueduct. Hansen who won the Breeders Cup Juvenile and was second to Algorithm in his first start this year will be a big favorite to win.

Pletcher still has a couple of other monsters in the barn and on the derby trail. He has El Padrino, the winner last week of the Risen Star at Fair Grounds. Gemologist is 3 for 3 and pointing to the Rebel stakes at Oaklawn. Another Pletcher that I have been impressed with is Thunder Moccasin (2 for 2) with both wins being very easy.

Really looking forward to what Gemologist can do in the Wood Memorial this weekend.

Originally Posted by Getslow

Anyone catch the Louisiana and Florida Derbies last weekend? Great two days of racing thanks to those two.

Borel ran a flawless race on Take Charge Indy in the Florida. Is there any doubt at this point that he's probably the most talented jockey on the circuit these days?

Borel is not even one of the top ten jockeys on the East Coast let alone the entire country. He is a good second tier guy, but nowhere near the top.

Will be interesting to see how things work their way out over the next few weeks.

Gotta go with Castellano or Velasquez as the top jocks right now.

Originally Posted by Jack of all Trades

Borel is not even one of the top ten jockeys on the East Coast let alone the entire country. He is a good second tier guy, but nowhere near the top.

Will be interesting to see how things work their way out over the next few weeks.

That's fair. "Best" was definitely too simplistic. I'm more curious as to how a guy has so many big wins when those performances don't seem to mesh with his day-to-day performance. Heck, the guy started less than 800 races last year. The top guys -- Dominguez, Castellano, Velasquez, etc. -- started in nearly double the races.

Here's how little I pay attention to horse racing.

I read the title and the date the thread was started and thought "why are we worried about the triple crown when Opening Day just occurred?"

A couple of very nice performances yesterday in Grade I Derby prps.

Dullahan ran by Hansen in the Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland. Nice effort by both horses who will now point to the Ky Derby as their next start.

Bodemeister destroyed a nice field in the Grade I Arkansas Derby. Won by 9 lengths at the end. He led every step, even though he broke from the outside PP.

Derby wide open: favoritism could be between 5 horses - Gemologist, Bodemeister, Creative Cause, I'll Have Another, or Union Rags. In any case the favorite will be 5-1 or higher.

Hansen (the doctor) needs to stay out of the paddock. What a dope. Hanson (the horse) is a thing of beauty. Here is an idea....let's dye the tail blue... on race day. Hansen (the doctor) tried the blue tail idea originally at the Gotham Stakes. New York race officials quashed the idea. Undaunted (apparently a slow learner - owner, not horse), he comes back for a second bite of the apple on race day at the Bluegrass Stakes. It took about an hour to dye the tail. Kentucky race stewards step in.....time to un-dye the tail. Not exactly what the doctor would prescribe for a champion horse on race day. Hanson leads throughout but loses by a lunge in a photo finish. Hanson (the doctor) makes Curlin's owners look classy.

Will be interesting to see the speed figures from Saturday's races. Bodemeister looked impressive but it seems like his time and the splits were not as fast as the Bluegrass. I agree that it will be another great year for odds in the Derby.

Originally Posted by 75center

Will be interesting to see the speed figures from Saturday's races. Bodemeister looked impressive but it seems like his time and the splits were not as fast as the Bluegrass. I agree that it will be another great year for odds in the Derby.

108 for Bodemeister. That's through an intermediary and I have yet to see the actual figures.

Odds stacked against Bodemeister. Horses who have not raced as a 2 year old have only come away with one Derby victory and that was about 131 years ago.

Originally Posted by Getslow

108 for Bodemeister. That's through an intermediary and I have yet to see the actual figures.

That would be by far the top for the preps, wouldn't it? What was the Bluegrass?

Originally Posted by 75center

That would be by far the top for the preps, wouldn't it? What was the Bluegrass?

Yep, best number for any 3-year-old in 2012.

98 for Dullahan in the Bluegrass.

Trinniberg entering the Derby field makes things interesting... or at least more complicated from a betting standpoint.

He'll add more early speed for the first 6F but other than that I don't see him impacting the race.

Originally Posted by 75center

He'll add more early speed for the first 6F but other than that I don't see him impacting the race.

Agreed. My concern is that he'll run out so fast it'll throw the whole race off with him sprinting out in front of the greater distance horses and forcing an unfamiliar early pace. I feel like I remember it happening recently... 2005 maybe? The speed was incredible early and it really changed the results of that race.