Man, that stretch seemed awful short when Hard Spun came off the final turn in the lead, and Street Sense caught and blew right by! Where the hell were the closers? I really thought there would be five or six horses coming off that final turn, battling it out with probably a photo finish. If the track had remained muddy, maybe that would have happened, but it dried to fast by post time.
The best horse definitely won, though. I could not have been more impressed with Street Sense, and good for Calvin Borel! You know, on Kentucky Oaks day, he was on a roll, and the number 7 came up again and again (3 wins, 3 places). I had a feeling, and had him in both $1 trifectas I played (but I didn’t bet him just to win)…unfortunately, neither Nobiz Like Shobiz or Any Given Saturday stepped up to complete the tri, so all I got for my $40 investment in tickets was $9.80 for a $2 place bet on the PA-bred Hard Spun.
Fortunately, I don’t feel so bad losing that much money, though, because yesterday, by adopting a tip by Michael over at Curb Your Enthusiasm, I put Don’t Fret in race 3 in a $1 tri box bet with True Competitor and Pennant Contender, and hit for $799.60! That’s the largest amount I’ve ever won. Even had to fill out the tax form thingie! Thank you again, Michael!
And talk about the 7 post being hot at Churchill…today, the $2 Pick Six (races 5-10) paid $231,225.40 on the numbers 7-7-3-7-7-7 (six winning tickets…how many people do you think played all 7s and just lost?)
Circular Quay, Tiago and Any Given Saturday finished 6th, 7th, and 8th respectively, and looked to be victims of the early pace set by Hard Spun, and the traffic jam of horses that Calvin “Railon” Borel slid right past on the inside in beautiful fashion. Garrett Gomez later said he got knocked around a bit aboard Any Given Saturday. "Then Street Sense came blowing through there and it was like a big old wave," Gomez said. "He knocked my horse out from under me and knocked him off his feet again. But that's the Kentucky Derby."
Associated Press racing writer Richard Rosenblatt is reporting that Todd Pletcher has said he doubted any of his five would move on to the Preakness Stakes in two weeks, but another of his 3-year-olds, King of the Roxy, could be headed to the second leg of the Triple Crown. If that's true, I'm really sorry to hear that, as Any Given Saturday has been one of my favorites.
My biggest Derby surprise was Imawildandcrazyguy closing from dead last to finish fourth. I’m still looking over his PP’s to figure that one out. His sire Wild Event sired Brazil champion (and now Godolphin runner) Eu Tambem…and that’s about it. But, good for Mark Guidry who was up his last Kentucky Derby runner, as he has announced his retirement following the Arlington Park spring season. He got his 5,000 (and 5,001) win on Friday at Churchill.
Sedgefield surprisingly held his own too in always being among the leaders before fading to finish fifth. Curlin’s third place finish bodes well for his future, now that he has experienced a “real” race.
Most disappointing? Nobiz Like Shobiz and Scat Daddy, who didn’t have to deal with the horrible posts Dominican and Great Hunter had, and still didn't fire. Scat Daddy…well, maybe it is his hooves, but Nobiz Like Shobiz in 10th place? That one hurt. I had him in both of my trifectas.
The big question now is how many horses did Street Sense and Hard Spun scare off the Preakness? How many new contenders will there be?
And, how much does this raise Street Cry’s stud fee? At Darley, his 2007 fee is $50,000, but he has not only produced in his first crop Street Sense, but also Whirlaway winner Summer Doldrums, Aventura Stakes winner Street Magician and G2 Stonerside Beaumont Stakes winner Street Sounds.
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