(Taking entries until August 6 at 11:59pm EST) In honor of Shackleford’s run today at the Spa (he just HAD to run today instead of yesterday) in the Vanderbilt, I’m giving one lucky random person FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD a Shack Attack sticker! I know some people are nuts for the colt, maybe some more than others, but do leave a comment answering this question: which race of Shack’s is your favorite?
As promised, there will be a giveaway of Belmont Park goodies! Feel like you were at the Belmont Stakes this past Saturday without the buttache and hangover!
To Enter:
Make a text or video post— anyone can just grab an image to post off of Google— about anything to do with horse racing tagged with #worshipunionrags. Winner is selected at random from the pool of timely, accepted entries received, so be as creative or obnoxious as you’d like as I will not be judging based on content. This way, I know a legit horse racing fan will win.
Rules:
One (1) winner will receive a prize pack that includes:
Yeah I know right, it’s a Monday…
A quick hello to the 4 or so brand-new followers! HAY!
I’m pushing steadily toward achieving my goal of having all my school crap settled within the next week or two should all go well, but since I have a super-mega scholarship to work on among other things, don’t be too too surprised if I’m not as sharp with updating. Of course, knowing my obsessive need to update and be in-the-know at all times, I will probably still be posting feverishly… but in case I don’t, ya’ll know why.
And with round 9 of 12 coming up this Saturday (the Spiral Stakes), I’m happy to report the very last item has been ordered for each of the three prizes. It was the first prize I hoped to distribute, and I think it’s pretty perfect considering this is Tumblr:
Fox Hill Farm is the owner of champions such as Havre de Grace, Eight Belles, Rockport Harbor, and Old Fashioned to name just a few. All three winners will snag one of these puppies, so be sure to stay on your toes in these final weeks of handicapping! Really smart picks could mean the difference between finishing last and first— no really!
Have a wonderful week everyone. Once things calm down I hope to do another interview with a new horse racing industry person and then next month starts the “Derby Dozen” profiles!
High hoof!
Dawna
***DERBY HANDICAP CONTEST Week 8 of 12! - Email or message me your trifecta pick to earn points towards winning the Derby Handicap Contest. You have until 1 hour before post time to send/edit picks. See details in the Contest tab!*
The road to the Arkansas Derby (I) and the Kentucky Derby (I) has been a trail of awesome contenders in recent years, and this year’s edition looks to keep that trend going. Saturday’s Rebel Stakes (II) welcomes fresh faces as well as usual Oaklawn haunts and improvers. Back on track and ready for another big win is Bob Baffert’s speedster Secret Circle as well as several Southwest divisional top runners who hope to topple him. Last year’s Rebel was won by the speedy The Factor, also Baffert-trained, so can this be a repeat win?
I’m not too heavy on my analysis here… thanks Oaklawn for posting the entries a day later than expected…
$500,000 Rebel Stakes (II) - 3-Year-Olds. 1 1/16 miles on dirt at Oaklawn Park. Post Time: Saturday, March 17 at 5:48pm CST.
[Post Position, Horse - Jockey, Impost, Trainer - Summary, Opinion in italics]
1) Unbridled’s Note - Channing Hill, 115 lbs, Steve Asmussen - The Unbridled’s Song colt bounced from a first-time-out maiden break to the Southwest Stakes (II) probably a bit too fast, placing 9th in the quieter division won by Castaway. He’s been breezing pretty steadily leading up to the race, but with the rail spot I think he’s going to get pinched out of contention quicker than usual.
2) Scatman - Luis Quinonez, 117 lbs, Michael Lauer - This Scat Daddy colt captured my attention, particularly seeing as how well Scat Daddy progeny are doing so far this year. He ran a good second behind Secret Circle in the Southwest Stakes (II) in his first stakes appearance. This guy’s got some bulldog tenacity, and I expect him to improve nicely here. Must watch list for me, but he might need another race to give him time to stretch out to the distance.
3) Cyber Secret - Robby Albarado, 117 lbs, Lynn Whiting - A closer that did not show up in the Southwest Stakes (II) against Secret Circle, the Broken Vow colt was a bit of a disappointment. He upgrades jockeys to Robby Albarado coupled with a bullet 5-furlong work in :59 2/5. He either wants to win or he doesn’t looking at his record, so it’s really hard to say where he’ll go without mind reading abilities. The jockey switch *ought* to help.
4) Optimizer - Jon Court, 115 lbs, D. Wayne Lukas - A good two-year-old turned sour three-year-old, the English Channel colt failed to impress running a bumpy 9th in the Risen Star (II) and an uninvolved 6th in the Smarty Jones before that. For god’s sake, Lukas, what are you doing?
5) Jake Mo - M. Clifton Berry, 117 lbs, Allen Milligan - The Giacomo colt appeared to be in full bounce-back mode with a strong 2nd place finish to Castaway last out in the Southwest. He retains that same jockey and went a slick 1:00 3/5 in his most recent 5-furlonger. Is he ready to keep on improving as a three-year-old? He makes a decent case to land on the board again.
6) Sabercat - Corey Nakatani, 119 lbs, Steve Asmussen - The big Delta Downs Jackpot (III) winner has returned for his three-year-old debut, and boy am I excited. He threw in a quiet 4-furlong breeze in :50 4/5 upon arriving at Oaklawn a few days ago. Because of his earnings and this being his first time back in months, I am not expecting a win out of Sabercat here. Asmussen’s going to want to just tune him up for the Derby here, I’m thinking.
7) Secret Circle - Rafael Bejarano, 122 lbs, Bob Baffert - The high-weight and likely favorite here can be contributed to the Eddington colt’s recent Southwest Stakes (II) divisional win paired with the rabid success of Baffert trainees causing chaos every weekend. Logged a nice 6-furlong work at Santa Anita and despite shipping, he’ll probably fare okay. Never finishing off the board, expect more chaos from the speedy Secret Circle despite a loaded field and an extra sixteenth. He’s going to need every ounce judging by last time.
8) Atigun - Terry Thompson, 117 lbs, Ken McPeek - Another promising Istan colt (sire of Mr. Bowling), he laid it all on the line in a large January allowance-op claimer against other colts in this field, winning in dramatic closing fashion at the distance at Oaklawn. A sharp 1:00 breeze over 5 furlongs recently shows Atigun’s ready to move up the ranks. Should the conditions favor closers, Atigun’s worth a good long look.
9) Reckless Jerry - Joe Rocco Jr, 115 lbs, Kenny Smith - The Smarty Jones runner-up returns to fight another day after a decent 3rd in Castaway’s Southwest win. He’s never been off the board in all 7 starts, winning twice, and is breezing very well. He gets a jockey change, however, and was slow to gain ground on the field last out so it’s hard to give him reasonable cause to win here.
10) Ring It Up - Lindey Wade, 115 lbs, Chris Richard - Just one win in 8 starts makes this Toccet colt a tough gamble. He didn’t have much left at the finish while 4th in Castaway’s Southwest win. Meh. I’ll pass.
11) Pee H Dee - Israel Ocampo, 117 lbs, Chris Richard - I’m going out on a limb here to say this Tale of the Cat baby is Chris Richard’s better entry. He was a modest 4th in Castaway’s Southwest victory and before that a gutsy allowance winner. He’s been working pretty well, too, with a very sharp 4 furlongs in :47 3/5. Maybe he has hope with that nice work, but nonetheless this is still a pretty steep challenge for him to master. Longshot, but not a terrible longshot.
12) Najjaar - Calvin Borel, 117 lbs, Daniel Peitz - Look, a baby Jazil! He broke his maiden at Oaklawn back in January, but has been a very game runner every step on the way to that moment. He’s looking to make it three wins in a row while being undefeated as a three-year-old here with a first-time step up to stakes competition. A ballsy proposition to suggest Najjaar can make the cut, but that’s what this horse has. He can already nail the distance and do well despite flawed trips, so this closer ought to be one to watch.
13) Adirondack King - Stewart Elliott, 117 lbs, John Servis - The trainer of Smarty Jones thinks he’s potentially got a Derby horse lurking in this Lawyer Ron colt, who ran a pretty good third in the Southwest Stakes (II) division won by Secret Circle. In that race, he ran a pretty wide trip— 6 positions out into the stretch— so there’s evidence he could improve a good deal here. Works are as consistent as ever. I like this horse a good deal and I think he could do pretty well here should the Lawyer Ron curse of late skip over him.
Predicted Trifecta: 1) Atigun 2) Secret Circle 3) Jake Mo (Yup, taking a chance here… I’m on the bench that says Secret Circle was all out and is a miler at heart)
Value Pick(s): Atigun, Adirondack King
Derby Handicap entries (god I must be tired/hungry, I nearly wrote “entrees”) for the round 7 Tampa Bay Derby (II) are due in by 4:28pm EST. Take Charge Indy is currently scratched, and I’ll update this post should anymore follow suit.
Today’s already been good… Master of Hounds won a G1 in Dubai!
When you’re stuck with someone in a small box for a couple days, you can’t help but develop some sexual chemistry… right? The “win” and “place” winners for the Derby Handicap Contest are getting Street Sense and this little gray Kentucky Derby plush respectively. Hope you two, whomever you are, can live with being homewreckers.
Want to help retired racehorses and look cool in the process? I started up a RedBubble account recently and have finished up the Derby Hopeful tee for anyone to buy anytime. The design features Hansen and Union Rags on a backdrop containing OVER 100 colts nominated for the Triple Crown. It took me a great deal of care and time, and all proceeds will benefit New Vocations. I hope to raise $100 for them over the next several months.
The winner of the Derby Handicap Contest will receive this shirt in their choice of size and color, as well!
Please reblog and or share on social networks if you’d like to help a great cause!
A three-day weekend for me with all three days hosting good stakes races? Dream cometh true…
Hey ya’ll, hope you have a lovely Presidents’ Day weekend (international peeps, disregard our flimsy bank holiday) full of Animal Kingdom’s return at 2:25pm EST today at Gulfstream and some more nice stakes races lining up the schedule.
Don’t forget, if you haven’t done so already, to send in your trifecta pick for the San Vicente by Sunday at 2:36pm PST (6:36pm EST) for the contest. Shackleford paid a visit to my house to show off one of the magnets we’re giving away to any or all of the three Derby Handicap champs.
Speaking of the contest, I’ve updated the prize list if you want to scroll down to “What Can I Win?” ;) Pics will happen soon as they ship in, as I ordered most of the items off Amazon yesterday. Hopefully by then I can buy a SD card reader for my camera so they can be beautiful.
COOL NEWS THAT ISN’T ABOUT THE CONTEST? Yes! The first of (hopefully) many horse racing industry interviews will be posted on Tuesday! It’s super interesting and comes from one of my favorite people you may not know too much about, so don’t go outside on Tuesday!
High hoof,
Dawna
***DERBY HANDICAP CONTEST Week 3 of 12! - Email or message me your trifecta pick to earn points towards winning the Derby Handicap Contest. You have until 1 hour before post time to send/edit picks. See details in the Contest tab!*
While it’s not much of a success predictor when it comes to winning a blanket of classic flowers, the Hutcheson Stakes (III) is nonetheless a solid prep race for determining one aspect of winning a race like the Kentucky Derby: tactical speed. The one-turn Hutcheson at Gulfstream Park may only go 7 furlongs, but it’s still graded cash its entries could use toward a trip to Churchill Downs.
$150,000 Hutcheson Stakes (II) - 3-Year-Olds. 7 furlongs on dirt at Gulfstream Park. Post Time: Saturday, February 11 at 3:49pm EST.
[Post Position, Horse - Jockey, Impost, Trainer - Summary, Opinion in italics]
1) Tarpy’s Goal - Javier Castellano, 116 lbs, Dale Romans - A bump up in class for this op-claimer running High Cotton colt, he also gets a rider switch back to Castellano. I have to wonder about him though, as he finished well off the board in two-year-old stakes such as the Sanford last year and chooses to rally selectively. Is this Romans colt just here to pace Quick Wit?
2) Wildcat Creek - Angel Serpa, 116 lbs, Edward Plesa - Pegging this local Wildcat Heir colt as the longshot here, with no really remarkable recent works and others catching him at the wire. He’s made some good recent efforts in stakes races, but often winds up missing. The 7-furlong treatment, however, seems to be a strong distance for him.
3) Thunder Moccasin - John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher - A bay son of A.P. Warrior jumps up to stakes competition following a healthy maiden score his first time out at Gulfstream on Christmas Eve. His final blowout for the Hutcheson was a blazing :47 4/5 over 4 furlongs, so we know this boy can run. Todd Pletcher and Johnny V both have the most wins in this race’s history for trainers and jockeys respectively, and have proven to be a fearsome duo in the past. Add in a pretty promising colt, and this one is worth a bet.
4) Quick Wit - Ramon Dominguez, 116 lbs, Dale Romans - I had the pleasure of watching this Sharp Humor colt’s last race— and out of all the ones I watched, I do remember this one— and he has a very nice turn of foot where it counts, breaking his maiden on his second try at Gulfstream by an easy 3 lengths. Classy colt that rates well with Dominguez in the irons, I expect him to make a good case in his first stakes race.
5) Il Villano - Elvis Trujillo, 118 lbs, Susan Crowell - Never off the board in all six of his career starts— including three stakes— this Pollard’s Vision son has become well known for his early speed that pushed Alpha to a pressured win in the Count Fleet Stakes. He’s been shown to run ahead early to control the pace, so with the right circumstances, he could easily run off with the race.
6) Ever So Lucky [pictured] - Julien Leparoux, Jonathan Sheppard - A colt whose been catching some attention with his works lately, he’s a son of Indian Charlie so you know already he has that high cruising speed. He ran a strong second to the undefeated Gemologist last out in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (II) and shows lots of promise. Will likely be a key favorite to win here and not surprisingly so the way he has been moving so effortlessly.
Predicted Trifecta: 1) Ever So Lucky 2) Quick Wit 3) Thunder Moccasin
Value Picks: Quick Wit
Tracks visited: Calder, Saratoga, Belmont, Suffolk.
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