Breeders Cup Chat : Kentucky Derby

It's Never Too Early to Start Thinking Derby

jshandler — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:07:00 GMT

Get over your Breeders' Cup hangover by focusing on 2-year-olds. The first Las Vegas future books are already available......(read more)

Old Fashioned Has the Look of a Genuine Derby Contender

jshandler — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:05:00 GMT

Technically, this blog is still called Breeders' Cup Chat, with Triple Crown Talk not officially returning until the start of the New Year. But in my mind it is never too early to start talking about the Kentucky Derby, especially after the performance we saw from Old Fashioned last weekend in the Remsen.

If you missed it or haven't gotten around to watching Old Fashioned's eye-popping 7 1/4-length score at Aqueduct, do yourself a favor and check it out. What you will see is your early Kentucky Derby favorite. That's right. I'm saying it now. Forget about Vineyard Haven, Midshipman or the other impressive 2-year-olds we've seen so far; Old Fashioned is the one to watch when the Triple Crown trail begins in a couple months.

It is impossible not to be impressed with Old Fashioned so far. After breaking his maiden at first asking, the son of Unbridled's Song caught everyone's attention next out when he devoured first-level allowance company at Delaware Park, winning by more than 15 lengths on Nov. 3.

In the Remsen, Old Fashioned flashed early speed, was under a Ramon Dominguez stranglehold until inside the eighth-pole and still destroyed the field without being asked. When Dominguez peeked back at the quarter-pole and drew away with ease, I had flashbacks of Kent Desormeaux doing the same thing on Big Brown in his allowance race at Gulfstream. It was an awesome sight to watch.

For people who were not overly impressed, I know what you're saying: Old Fashioned had things his own way on the lead and the fractions (:24.41, :49.44, 1:14.18) were very soft. But I'll counter that by telling you he ran the final 3/8th of a mile in :36 and final eighth of a mile in :12 1/5^th, all without ever being asked! I don't care how slow you go early, if you come home in those splits, you're something special. Plus, in his allowance race he ran a :47 1/5 half and 1:12 for six furlongs while being pressed.

When I spoke with trainer Larry Jones on Thursday, he was also shocked by Old Fashioned's closing time in the Remsen.

"That surprised me more than anything else," Jones said. "We knew he had had good speed and turn of foot, but when I saw he got that last three-eighths in a little over 36 seconds and was still galloping, that impressed me.

"He had it pretty easy up front, but couldn't rate. He went :49 for a half, how much slower can he go? Why go :54 if you don't have to? I think he already proved he could rate at Delaware."

Jones went on to compare Old Fashioned to Eight Belles, who had the same ability to draw away from the field without being asked. When pressed, he admitted Old Fashioned is probably the most talented 2-year-old he has ever trained, including Eight Belles, Proud Spell and Hard Spun.

"I would have to say he's probably the best I've had at this point," Jones said. "Eight Belles didn't have that same early lick. Hard Spun was really fast, but he had to work a little more at the end. This colt is the whole package. We're very pleased right now, especially to get that mile and an eighth win under his belt. I've never had one do that this early. He acts like he just wants to go, go, go."

Jones said Old Fashioned arrived in New Orleans on Wednesday in great shape and they will begin mapping out a plan for him. He will keep him separated from his two other Derby hopefuls - Friesen Fire and It Happened Again.

"I have three good ones here," Jones said. "Old Fashioned won't go in the LeComte; maybe the Risen Star, but I think they cut the purse in that one. So he might go to the Southwest and stay out there with my string at Oaklawn. We'll see."

Wherever he goes, watch out. Old Fashioned, who is owned by Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms, is not just a speed burner like War Pass. He is much more than that. Granted, it is still very early and I am by no means calling him your Derby winner yet. But this colt is special. We'll be talking about him all spring long.

Win and You're In - Derby Style

jshandler — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:58:00 GMT

Last week it was announced that Churchill Downs and Great Britain's Kempton Park created a new 3-year-old race that will provide the winner a berth in the 2009 Kentucky Derby. The race, named the Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes, not only guarantees the winner a spot in the starting gate next May, but will earn the connections a $100,000 bonus if the horse does in fact go to post. It is a groundbreaking move by Churchill Downs in an attempt to create more of an international presence in the Derby.

Following in the footsteps of the Breeders' Cup, who a couple of years ago introduced the "Win and You're In" series, Churchill Downs is clearly attempting to create more international excitement in their event. It is also an attempt to create more marketing opportunities overseas. With no international starters in the Derby for the past six years and only one winner in the race's history (Canonero II in 1971), the time has apparently come for America's premier Thoroughbred event to become more global.

My initial reaction when I heard the news was positive. I am always excited when American horses face Europeans in the Breeders' Cup and other stakes events throughout the season, and this move will create that same kind of feel. It should also make the handicapping element that much more challenging and fun. In a period of rapidly declining popularity in our industry, the timing of this move makes a lot of sense.

Before making up my mind in finality, however, I wanted to clear up a few questions. Churchill Downs Inc. senior vice president Kevin Flanery answered them for me.

JS: Is this something that has been in the works for a while?

KF: The idea for an international presence has been talked about for several years. We haven't had a European starter for a number of years. Our hope is that it will create more excitement in the Kentucky Derby around the world. It seems like a natural fit.

JS: Will there be more races created like this in the future, perhaps in other countries?

KF: We'll see how this goes. We'll learn from it and reevaluate it next year. We're going to talk to people in the U.S. and other counties to see if it was successful. Did it work? How much excitement did it create? We'll answer those questions before we make any other decisions.

JS: The only problem I can foresee is that some owners and trainers over here could get upset if they are knocked out of the Derby by this new race. There is always a lot of jockeying for that 20^th and final position. Now there are only 19 spots available over here. Do you think this will be an issue?

KF: Whenever you have an exciting event people want to participate. Whether it's the 15^th Breeders' Cup horse or the 21^st Kentucky Derby horse left out, someone is going to be disappointed. We think people will understand that were trying to create more excitement to the Derby. Everything we've heard so far has been positive.

JS: Did you get this idea from the Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" series?

KF: There is a lot of synergy between the Breeders' Cup and the Kentucky Derby. People want to follow the Derby winner all the way to the Breeders' Cup. We're trying to create a way where the two events can feed off each other.

JS: Will there be any kind of change to the current format in which the other 19 Derby starters qualify by graded earnings?

KF: No. The existing system is still in place. We haven't discussed changing that.

It will be interesting to see how well this change is received over here and if there are any additional races added in the future. Potentially, this could be just the first of several newly-created international races. For now, I'm curious to see what everyone else thinks about this. I think it's a good thing.

** For the record, bookmakers in England have installed the European starter at early odds of 20-1 to win the Kentucky Derby. It's never too early to start thinking about the wagering angles.