The Jerome

JEROME STAKES - Aqueduct 1m 70y

A likely winner, notches his second victory in three races.

TRIP NOTES: The brown colt, NOBLE MOON, broke sharply from the rail, took over at the half mile mark and never looked back.  Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr knows the rail on the inner track at Aqueduct is typically gold and this day was no different.  The Virginia bred skimmed the rail, only angling off slightly in the stretch, saved all the ground and had that extra energy to fend off hard chargers down the stretch.  I'm not sure he faced that much, as this field looked pretty soft on paper.

GOING FORWARD:  Earning an 85 Beyer while skimming the rail won't make your eyes pop out, but this colt did it with relative ease.  It looks like this son of Malibu Moon will like a bit more distance than the mile seventy at the Big A.  Keep an eye on this horse stretching out down the road, as he's two for three.  Only finishing behind fellow Derby trail-er CAIRO PRINCE and FINANCIAL MOGUL in the Nashua.

LAST YEARS WINNER:  The last rendition of the Jerome was two years ago and the winner is one of my personal favorites, the New York bred sprinter, THE LUMBER GUY.  A need-the-lead type who went on win the Vosburgh and ran second to TRINNIBERG in the Breeder's Cup Sprint.  I'm sure owner Barry Schwartz is expecting a bit more from his Virginia-bred colt.

Three for the Road...to the Kentucky Derby

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

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.

BC Juvenile

BREEDER'S CUP JUVENILE - Santa Anita 1 1/16m
The 8th race on Breeder's Cup Saturday witnessed an unlikely champion.

TRIP NOTES: A tale as old as time, a rail skimming trip followed by a strong burst to the finish earned this third time starter for Bob Baffert a cool $1.8 million.  Breaking from the 4 post this colt from Street Cry allowed the fast breaking horses to zoom on by, where Martin Garcia settled into a nice pocket on the rail between the front runners and the trailing pack, until he angled out into the 2 or 3 path to find some room on the turn before returning to the rail at the top of the stretch and picking off the tiring pack of front runners.

GOING FORWARD:  This horse showed the kind of tactical speed crucial in winning events of a classic distance and similarly displayed this late kick in breaking his maiden in late August at Del Mar.  Keep an eye on this one.  Last year's winner of this event Shanghai Bobby looked a world beater but has since been retired.  However, previous winners include Hansen, Uncle Mo, Street Sense, Macho Uno, Unbridled's Song, Arazi.  Some decent company, if I do say so, however only Street Sense, this horse's half brother, has gone on to win the Kentucky Derby.