HAPPY DERBY DAY
gettin' an early start here, lotta crunching to do ... more to come during the day as we see how track is playing, weather, etc
couple thoughts of note:
speaking to
@Quint's point re: OFF TRACK possibilities
... if you already love the favorite, then off track should put you on
Justy even more:
second career start, and booted home in :35.3 - watching Smiff in the post race chat is evidence enough that he knows he's piloting a beast out there ... check it.
MBJ in one of my top five rated prep runs of the season - came outta nowhere to skim that rail in
the Southwest (a la Mine That Bird in '09 Derby, announcer (Staufer) didn't even notice the inside move 'til he was in the clear) -
Combatant up in that mutha as well, but, man, did
MBJ romp home. still don't see him with a chance to win today, but very live underneath, regardless of conditions. tri-super filler.
FF in the worst ranked prep, slogging home in
the Jerome - sure, he showed a ton of balls bagging that stretch duel ... but they sure as #### aren't going in :50.2 pace today.
Flamey/Enticed will both be forwardly placed today, with the former a decent bet to hang around much longer in adverse conditions - biggest heart in the game atm ... the latter is a stone miler. would take some insane bouncing from at least 8-10 others to get him up today.
Top 5 Prep Performances, imo:
1.
Audible - Holy Bull (cruised, then unleashed that kick home - comfortably. we could very well see this kinda pace today - and, hello
Free Drop)
2.
Good Magic - BC Juvey (two year old champ,
with authority! today will be his third off the bench since - that is Chad's sweet spot. also notice the horrible trip for
Bolty, who ran a huge one to get third).
3.
Bolt d'Oro - San Felipe (after a four month sit, and against
McKinzie, who was second in futures at that point).
4.
My Boy Jack - Southwest (as alluded to above, perhaps my favorite move of the season, courtesy of Kent D)
5. dead heat with -
Mendelssohn - UAE Derby or is it DAR-by? (because 18 lengths, even on a souped up surface vs. tomato cans, is still 18 lengths) and
Justify - S.A. Derby (won for fun).
going through the thread this morning, shouts to
@Evilgrin 72 and
@wikkidpissah who have been wif me the whole way since New Year's Day ...
now, but
later, fellas