Handicapping the Kentucky Derby isn’t an easy task, especially this year when the 138th renewal is fairly wide open with quite a few contenders. You must have a battle plan. I start by eliminating runners, based on credentials and recent form, plus some variables each year. The Pretenders include runners that have not won a […]
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 […]
Here’s my updated ranking of the Top 10 Kentucky Derby contenders from bottom to top Dave Letterman’s style: My Adonis: One of the most experienced sophomores has hit the board seven of eight times. The son of Pleasantly Perfect was runner-up to Hansen in the Gotham at Aqueduct. He needs to step up because his […]
Here’s my updated ranking of the Top 10 Kentucky Derby contenders from bottom to top Dave Letterman’s style: Gemologist: One of the colts in the Todd Pletcher stable that has scored twice at Churchill Downs. The son of Tiznow shares the same connections as Super Saver who captured the 2010 Kentucky Derby. Next start: Oaklawn […]
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 […]
Hansen, who has been training in South Florida since late last year, will attempt to become only the second Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champion to capture the Run for the Roses. Street Sense, the 2006 BC Juvenile champ that won the ’07 Kentucky Derby, began his sophomore season with a victory in the Hutcheson Stakes at […]