Teach
05-16-2015, 08:19 AM
My look at today’s Preakness.
The Preakness field is commented on in post position order:
:1: American Pharoah is king until dethroned. Five-straight Grade I and II Stakes wins is hard to argue against. My only question. My major concern. What price was exacted from this hard-used colt in The Kentucky Derby, just two weeks ago? The Triple Crown quest is a punishing pursuit of thoroughbred excellence. Yet, in my opinion, this is a special horse. And he moves up - Pioneerof the Nile (Empire Maker), Unbridled lineage – on a wet track. Late afternoon showers are a possibility in the Baltimore area. If Keen Pauline’s win in yesterday’s Black-Eyed Susan is any indication, the track favors front-running speed. Keen Pauline went wire-to-wire. Do any of you remember the 1972 Preakness, that was one year before Secretariat. A horse named Bee Bee Bee went wire-to-wire beating Riva Ridge and Key To The Mint. The track was muddy that day. My only other concern in today’s race is the fact that there’s a good deal of early speed in this eight-horse field. What part will that play? Will it pave the way for a closer?
:2: Dortmund, named for a German soccer club, was a game, begrudging third in “The Derby”. He’s the other Bob Baffert trainee. It’s hard to argue with a horse that won six straight races before finishing third in “The Derby.” He easily won the Grade I Santa Anita Derby about a month before his visit to Louisville. He also has the lineage to benefit from any wetness on the race track. I’m sure jockey Martin Garcia would like nothing better than to turn the tables on the horse that beat him by three lengths in Louisville two weeks ago.
:3: Mr Z would appear to be “an outsider” in today’s Preakness. Yes, he did draw a difficult starting post in the Derby as a 36-1 shot and yes, he was checked several times; yet, that having been said, I’m just not sure he fits in this caliber of company. D. Wayne Lukas has brought Corey Nakatani in to ride today. Nakatani is an aggressive rider and he may be able to get more out of this colt than was shown in “The Derby”. This Malibu Moon-bred would move up on a wet surface. In fact, he was the betting choice in a Grade III Stakes at Oaklawn Park back in February on a sloppy track, a race in which he finished third. I see him as an also ran who might possibly pick up the pieces in an exotic.
:4: Danzig Moon is a horse that I mentioned two weeks ago when I was posting my Derby possibilities. If this aptly named son of Malibu Moon stays at his morning-line odds I would be most interested in wagering a bob or two on his nose. Yes, I’ll say it. I think he’s an overlay. That doesn’t mean I’m mortgaging the house. It’s just that I’m always looking for value. Always! This horse was bumped and steadied repeatedly in The Derby. He looked like one of those pinballs being tossed about by the flippers. I think he did well to finish fifth at 22-1. A chance. You bet your dupa! If a speed duel develops and some of the favorites get hooked, oh, I’ll be frothing at the mouth. Yes, I consider him “The Sleeper”. Nota Bene.
:5: Tale of Verve looks like a rank outsider. I mean this colt breaks his maiden after six tries. I find this Dallas Stewart-trainee very hard to recommend. I suppose the only thing I can say for his chances are that he has “El Dominicano,” Joel Rosario, in the irons. Oh, he would move up on a wet track.
:6: Bodhisattva, in Buddhism, "an enlightened being," skipped The Derby and ran in the ungraded Frederico Tesio at Pimlico, a race which he won. So, if anything, he will likely be fresher than those who ran in The Derby. He has, as cited, a recent race over the track. Yet, that doesn’t deductively equate with this colt winning The Preakness, or even hitting the tote, for that matter. This colt has never won a graded stakes. In his only appearance in a graded race, the Grade II Remsen at Aqueduct late last November, he finished fifth. I find the horse hard to recommend. Yet he does have one of the Maryland thoroughbred circuit’s leading riders, Trevor McCarthy, in the irons and yes, he’s another horse who would move up on a wet surface.
:7: Divining Rod is, in my opinion. the big question mark in today’s Preakness. This colt has the pedigree to contend. He also has the services of the red-hot, veteran reinsman, Javier Castellano. Castellano is one the best jockeys in today’s field, Castellano proved it by not only winning The Black-Eyed Susan, but he followed that up with a win aboard Coimmissioner in the Pimlico Special. Does he get “the hat trick”? This colt has hit the board in every try. My only caveat: Can he get the distance? Is that extra panel: “a bridge too far”?
:8: Firing Line was a game second in The Kentucky Derby. Was that effort “a flash in the pan”? Or, is he the real deal? Did this Simon Callaghan-trainee over-achieve? This Gary Stevens-piloted colt was as game as they come in Louisville. Can he reprise that effort? He’s been either first or second in all his races. Yet, will a speed duel develop that will compromise his chances of being there at the wire? The slight turn-back at Pimlico from The Derby may help. Stevens must ration out this horse’s speed so that in deep stretch there’s still something left in the tank for that final push.
Good Luck! I'll be back with my Belmont picks in a few hours.
The Preakness field is commented on in post position order:
:1: American Pharoah is king until dethroned. Five-straight Grade I and II Stakes wins is hard to argue against. My only question. My major concern. What price was exacted from this hard-used colt in The Kentucky Derby, just two weeks ago? The Triple Crown quest is a punishing pursuit of thoroughbred excellence. Yet, in my opinion, this is a special horse. And he moves up - Pioneerof the Nile (Empire Maker), Unbridled lineage – on a wet track. Late afternoon showers are a possibility in the Baltimore area. If Keen Pauline’s win in yesterday’s Black-Eyed Susan is any indication, the track favors front-running speed. Keen Pauline went wire-to-wire. Do any of you remember the 1972 Preakness, that was one year before Secretariat. A horse named Bee Bee Bee went wire-to-wire beating Riva Ridge and Key To The Mint. The track was muddy that day. My only other concern in today’s race is the fact that there’s a good deal of early speed in this eight-horse field. What part will that play? Will it pave the way for a closer?
:2: Dortmund, named for a German soccer club, was a game, begrudging third in “The Derby”. He’s the other Bob Baffert trainee. It’s hard to argue with a horse that won six straight races before finishing third in “The Derby.” He easily won the Grade I Santa Anita Derby about a month before his visit to Louisville. He also has the lineage to benefit from any wetness on the race track. I’m sure jockey Martin Garcia would like nothing better than to turn the tables on the horse that beat him by three lengths in Louisville two weeks ago.
:3: Mr Z would appear to be “an outsider” in today’s Preakness. Yes, he did draw a difficult starting post in the Derby as a 36-1 shot and yes, he was checked several times; yet, that having been said, I’m just not sure he fits in this caliber of company. D. Wayne Lukas has brought Corey Nakatani in to ride today. Nakatani is an aggressive rider and he may be able to get more out of this colt than was shown in “The Derby”. This Malibu Moon-bred would move up on a wet surface. In fact, he was the betting choice in a Grade III Stakes at Oaklawn Park back in February on a sloppy track, a race in which he finished third. I see him as an also ran who might possibly pick up the pieces in an exotic.
:4: Danzig Moon is a horse that I mentioned two weeks ago when I was posting my Derby possibilities. If this aptly named son of Malibu Moon stays at his morning-line odds I would be most interested in wagering a bob or two on his nose. Yes, I’ll say it. I think he’s an overlay. That doesn’t mean I’m mortgaging the house. It’s just that I’m always looking for value. Always! This horse was bumped and steadied repeatedly in The Derby. He looked like one of those pinballs being tossed about by the flippers. I think he did well to finish fifth at 22-1. A chance. You bet your dupa! If a speed duel develops and some of the favorites get hooked, oh, I’ll be frothing at the mouth. Yes, I consider him “The Sleeper”. Nota Bene.
:5: Tale of Verve looks like a rank outsider. I mean this colt breaks his maiden after six tries. I find this Dallas Stewart-trainee very hard to recommend. I suppose the only thing I can say for his chances are that he has “El Dominicano,” Joel Rosario, in the irons. Oh, he would move up on a wet track.
:6: Bodhisattva, in Buddhism, "an enlightened being," skipped The Derby and ran in the ungraded Frederico Tesio at Pimlico, a race which he won. So, if anything, he will likely be fresher than those who ran in The Derby. He has, as cited, a recent race over the track. Yet, that doesn’t deductively equate with this colt winning The Preakness, or even hitting the tote, for that matter. This colt has never won a graded stakes. In his only appearance in a graded race, the Grade II Remsen at Aqueduct late last November, he finished fifth. I find the horse hard to recommend. Yet he does have one of the Maryland thoroughbred circuit’s leading riders, Trevor McCarthy, in the irons and yes, he’s another horse who would move up on a wet surface.
:7: Divining Rod is, in my opinion. the big question mark in today’s Preakness. This colt has the pedigree to contend. He also has the services of the red-hot, veteran reinsman, Javier Castellano. Castellano is one the best jockeys in today’s field, Castellano proved it by not only winning The Black-Eyed Susan, but he followed that up with a win aboard Coimmissioner in the Pimlico Special. Does he get “the hat trick”? This colt has hit the board in every try. My only caveat: Can he get the distance? Is that extra panel: “a bridge too far”?
:8: Firing Line was a game second in The Kentucky Derby. Was that effort “a flash in the pan”? Or, is he the real deal? Did this Simon Callaghan-trainee over-achieve? This Gary Stevens-piloted colt was as game as they come in Louisville. Can he reprise that effort? He’s been either first or second in all his races. Yet, will a speed duel develop that will compromise his chances of being there at the wire? The slight turn-back at Pimlico from The Derby may help. Stevens must ration out this horse’s speed so that in deep stretch there’s still something left in the tank for that final push.
Good Luck! I'll be back with my Belmont picks in a few hours.