Three races take us to Louisiana, New York and Kentucky to help define the field for the 140th Run for the Roses!
DELTA DOWNS JACKPOT - Delta Downs 1 1/16m
DELTA DOWNS JACKPOT - Delta Downs 1 1/16m
TRIP NOTES: Breaking from the extreme outside post, Gerard Melancon had little option but to send RISE UP to the front of the pack and the bay colt out of Rockport Harbor never looked back, setting fast fractions before comfortably pulling away in the short stretch run at Delta Downs.
GOING FORWARD: You can count the number of Derby winners who wired the field on twenty two fingers or roughly 15% of winners, Winning Colors being the most recent in memory, 25 years ago. This horse took to the Churchill Downs surface well in the Iroquois, despite finishing sixth. RISE UP should be a pace setter come the first Saturday in May.
LAST YEAR'S WINNER: Goldencents similarly won the Jackpot on the front end before taking down the Sham and Santa Anita Derby on the derby trail. He was eased in the Kentucky Derby, finishing 17th. However, he is in contention for three year old of the year after winning the Breeder's Cup Mile. I'm sure the owners of Rise Up would snatch your hand for that kind of resume.
REMSEN STAKES - Aqueduct 1 1/8m
TRIP NOTES: Tom Durkin accurately described the pace as "dawdling," and so the eventual winner, HONOR CODE, found himself in an unusual position. A deep closer needs a fast pace to close into. And in this instance, HONOR CODE, the deep closer, found himself pressing the pace before taking the lead in the stretch, only to lose it to the impressive winner of the Nashua, CAIRO PRINCE. Showing the heart of a champion HONOR CODE fought back before winning a photo finish in a head bob at the wire.
GOING FORWARD: No horse on the derby trail has yet shown the grit and determination HONOR CODE displayed in the stretch, retaking the lead from a graded stakes winner in the final few jumps. He's the Future Wagering favorite and this is a perfect display of his talent and that third and fourth gear which most horses can only dream about. However, as HAVANA demonstrated in the Champagne, he can be caught, but his heart is unquestionable.
LAST YEAR'S WINNER: OVERANALYZE wowed horse players, splitting horses before nosing out a victory in last year's edition, before taking down the Arkansas Derby. However, despite breaking from the much coveted nine hole in the Derby, he finished 13 and a half lengths behind the winner and was no real threat. He last raced over the summer at the Spa and hasn't touched dirt since, instead going out to stud at WinStar farms.
KENTUCKY JOCKEY CLUB STAKES - CHURCHILL DOWNS 1 1/16m
The National Racing Report - December 4, 2013 from NYRA on Vimeo.
TRIP NOTES: second choice, TAPITURE, breaks his maiden and earns points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby in good fashion. This race was most effected when the scratches came out, as likely heavy favorite, ALMOST FAMOUS, scratched out. The break was not favorable for Ricardo Santana Jr and this Tapit colt, in fact you see many maidens check out from between two horses and finish up the track. However, TAPITURE, got sandwiched between two horses and didn't flinch, sitting between horses for most of the first half mile, before looking long shot leader, LADDIE BOY, in the eye and going right on by in the stretch, winning by a comfortable 4 lengths.
GOING FORWARD: An impressive way to break your maiden, you couldn't ask much more from a horse on the derby trail, getting a tough break, persevering, drawing away and finishing with a nice time over the track on which the 140th Run for the Roses. You have to imagine this would be a different race with ALMOST FAMOUS, but... shoulda, coulda, woulda! Going forward you have to like the effort this colt gave, even if it wasn't spectacular.
LAST YEAR'S WINNER: never made it to the gate on the first Saturday in May, but UNCAPTURED did tear up Woodbine before shipping down to Churchill and taking down the Iroquois and this race. This year the Ontario-bred has only taken down a leg of the Canadian triple crown, but is a tough customer that has been collecting steady pay checks, most recently finishing third in the Delta Downs Mile on Jackpot Day.
