With Bodemeister‘s spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate secured, trainer Bob Baffert is looking to add Castaway to his Derby roster, should he put up a big race this Saturday at Keeneland. Castaway hopes to follow in his sire Street Sense’s hoofsteps, but his road to the Kentucky Derby has been a bumpy one after the lackluster seventh place finish in the Sunland Derby his last […]
Hansen and Street Sense have several things in common, including victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs. Street Sense did it five years ago while Hansen triumphed in 2011. Both horses boasted experience on synthetic surfaces. Street Sense finished third in Keeneland’s Breeders’ Futurity as a juvenile and was runner-up in the Blue […]
Two runners from the Gotham Stakes return to Aqueduct with their eye on Saturday’s $1 million Wood Memorial. The Grade 1 appears fairly wide open since Hansen opted for the Blue Grass at Keeneland on April 14. Gotham runner-up My Adonis, beaten three lengths, enters the 1 1/8-mile contest with only one off-the-board finish, while […]
It is hard to believe that the big day has arrived in Florida. There are many questions to be answered, and the weekend officially begins the final furlong of finding that Derby runner. There will be letdowns, surprises, and runners that have delivered the goods with every effort. Be sure to check your weather report […]
Union Rags on Saturday attempts to become the sixth Fountain of Youth winner to take the Florida Derby since Fly So Free in 1991. The colt, with the only blemish on his record of four victories a neck loss to Hansen in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, breezed four furlongs in 49 seconds at the […]
Bob Baffert loves traveling west when it comes to stakes races, particular those of late at Oaklawn Park. The California-based trainer has saddled all but one winner of the Southwest and Rebel Stakes since 2010. Baffert’s Conveyance captured the Southwest two years ago. When the race was divided into two divisions this year for the […]
Saturday’s $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby has lured Sam F. Davis winner Battle Hardened and most likely four of the top five other finishers that chased him at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 4. Battle Hardened and Davis runner-up Prospective showed their readiness with recent solid workouts at the Palm Meadows training facility in South Florida. […]
The 59th Gotham Stakes on Saturday has attracted a full field of 3-year-olds, including stakes winners Hansen, King and Crusader, Battle Hardened and Pretension. Hansen, the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champ, will attempt to rebound from his runner-up performance in Gulfstream Park’s Holy Bull during which he almost fell breaking from the gate. The son […]
I was reading a little ditty about the Breeders’ Cup winner Hansen. It is a feel good story for horse owners. His owner is Dr. Kendall Hansen, and he has a big barn of two runners. His stark white colt by Tapit is eye-catching. When he won by a scary 1/2 length at Churchill Downs in […]
This weekend many eyes will be on Florida. There will be some questions that get answered one way or the other, and horseplayers will have a better glimpse of who goes on and who falls behind a bit. But, in the meantime we can buckle down and take our shot this weekend. Gulfstream Park […]