Looking For Some Preakness Drama?

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One of the horses I have been keeping an eye on (and foolishly made a pool #1 future wager on at 48-1) is Big Drama. He unfortunately went off the Derby trail right as Pool #2 was released (he was scratched before the pool opened i believe) due to a bone bruise that required minor surgery that occurred prior to the Holy Bull Stakes. Well, he's back already returning in the 7 furlong Swale Stakes (G2) this weekend on the Florida Derby undercard. That's good news.

The Thoroughbred Times reports that trainer David Fawkes said Drama could start in “possibly one of the Triple Crown races” which is even better news. The Swale will feature Dutrow speedball This One's for Phil and Nick Zito's Brave Victory, both of whom should be solid tests for Drama. The layoff certainly won't make Drama the favorite here, but he's 5 for 6 and the Montbrook colt has won at both sprint and route distances during his 2yo campaign. I look forward to seeing how he does in this one and hoping he can get to the third Saturday in May.

On the Not Paying Attention to Details front, I totally missed the R2R contest supplemental draft and I'll be paying for it this weekend without some of the main horses going in the Florida Derby. Oh well, that gives me 5 horses to go with in the next draft slated for early April. I thought I had a throw away in my stable in Square Eddie, but there seems to be a glimmer of hope that he may be in the gate on 02May at CD, regardless if he preps in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes on April 18th.

I'm off to the Joisey shore for a big family reunion/wedding tomorrow...so the Gone Fishin' sign is up for the next few days. Enjoy the Fla Derby and Dubai races this weekend....

What Now?

Tweet Oh no, the Sheikh's taking our stars away to train them in Dubai!?! Curlin is retiring without a farewell race!?! The Euros are winning our championship races!?! I can't tell which horse it is because the cloths are purple!?! More and more retirements announced every day!?! We can't bet on our favorite tracks!?! Everyone's got their hand out for a bailout?!? Ford and GM are both below $3/share?!? Tina Fey's looking for work (not really). Sounds like time to call the Wambulance.

OK, so things aren't that bad. Hey, get your chin up, the Derby is just a mere twenty four Saturdays away! All is not lost, I say! It's not like pirates have ravished the women and children and stole all of our worldly treasures...the Big A is alive and running. NYRA's on Facebook and MySpace. The TBA continues to grow (43 blogs and counting) and prosper (check out the super cool free PP's from all the tracks!!!!). New stars will emerge. Our mainstream network, ESPN, just picked up the BCS, a year after grabbing the Breeders Cup.

So let's take a quick look at some 2009 Derby hopefuls as we've probably seen the 09 winner somewhere along the line. Never has a horse won the Derby after skipping a 2yo campaign.

My Early Picks...

1 - Midshipman. Winner of the Bessemer Trust Breeders Cup Juvenile at Oak Tree. Will have the graded stakes to be in on that win alone. Acquired in September by Sheikh Mohammed, trained by Bob Baffert (to date).....he has to be the early pick based on his win, his other two wins coming on the poly at Del Mar and a placing at Santa Anita. The big question will be can he handle the dirt at Churchill.

2 - Vineyard Haven. Skipped the Juvenile after winning the Hopeful at the Spa and the Champagne at Belmont this Fall, both in rather convincing fashion. Purchased by Sheikh Mo Money for $12M large. Personally, I think he's the horse to beat at the moment, but lots can happen between now and the FSIM. The Sheikh is due to win it one of these days, maybe if you consider the Law of Truly Large Numbers, though he really hasn't had a contendah since Street Cry, who succumbed to an injury just before the Derby.

3 - Street Hero. Speaking of Street Cry, his offspring out of Squall Linda, finished a solid third in the Juvie and has been a bridesmaid to Midshipman three times in his career. A threat as he matures and tries the dirt.

4 - Terrain. This Sky Mesa gelding has won twice on dirt, in the money twice on poly, and finished fourth in the Juvie, after encountering some bad traffic. His pedigree suggests he can get the distance and with maturity could best the poly-specialists at Churchill.

My Hopefuls.

5 - West Side Bernie. Was looking for him to upset them in the Juvie, but it just wasn't his day. Lightly raced (only 3 races), he finished a disappointing sixth, but shows two solid dirt wins on his resume, keep an eye on him during the prep races.

6 - Break Water Edison. Lemon Drop Kid's have been on fire as of late. This one won the G3 Nashua and placed in the G2 Saratoga Special this summer after rough trips in both the Hopeful and Champagne in his two G1 starts. Sure would be great to see John Kimmel in the winner's circle on Derby Day.

7 - Stardom Bound. Gotta get the talk goin' early. If there is something exciting Derby-wise brewing, this might be it. Will the Juvenile Fillies champ take on the colts? How about IEAH repeating? Oh boy, this could get really interesting.

Keeping a Close Watch On.

8 - Square Eddie. Runnerup in the BC, this Smart Strike colt came over from England to capture the G1 Breeders Futurity at Keeneland. Not sure if he'll take to the dirt, as he's only run on poly three times (once in GB) and on the turf for his first three races abroad. Didn't disappoint at Santa Anita, but will they test him on the real stuff before Churchill?

9 - Charitable Man. I like this horse a lot also. He won the G2 Futurity Stakes at Belmont in September after a huge debut at the Spa winning by 11 1/4 lengths. Another Lemon Drop Kid offspring who is currently sidelined by injury, but trainer McLaughlin was quoted as saying: "It's not a long time. It's just bad timing. Hopefully, we'll bring him back at the first of the year and he can make the Triple Crown trail one way or the other.''

10 - Fill in the blank hoss!

So don't get down folks, there's lots to look forward to and a nice crop of 2yo's ready to capture our imagination and wow us right up until the big day!

Hot Tip: BC Juvie is Munnings Baby

Tweet I received a couple of those hot tips one receives every now and again, this morning. The Puma passed on a tip that included the word "unbeatable." Hmm. Do I pass it on, do I keep it to myself. Well, as we all know, there's a reason they run the race. Dutrow's horse in the 8th is a lock. Came in second. Beatable. If it looks like a duck....
[update and full apology to the Puma: i just re-looked at the entries and there were 2 (!) Dutrow horses in the race and I played the wrong one in By The Light as his entries weren't coupled and I was rushing to make the bet (text message was silent)...WTF...so I missed a $25 winner and played a $7W ticket...would have been a cool $90].

When will I learn? The second tip was Galluscio's horse in the 10th [maybe he meant in the 5th/Maid of the Mist (a Western NY gem btw), where 75-1 Stormy's Smile paid $153.00], as he had won three of the last four Empire Classics. Where did Raffie's Treasure finish? Still running. Must be a duck.

Had a great time last night up at Casino Niagara, where fellow blogger Winston and I played a few races together and tipped a few lagers. Hat tip to him for giving me Petite Cherie (IRE) underneath in a winning trifecta score in the 5th at Oak Tree.

The BC Juvenile is a race that has only produced one Derby winner (Street Sense in 2007) and this year's race is shaping up to be a good one. The painting above is by Alfred Munnings, one of England's "famous painters of horses." Why is this relevant? Well, his namesake, Munnings, is one of the top juvies entered, and will be testing the synth for the first time on 25Oct at OSA. I'm hoping Johnny V retakes the mount. He finished behind Vineyard Haven in the Champagne (G1) two weeks ago, and behind VH and Cribnote in the Hopeful (G1) at the Spa on closing weekend. The Speightstown colt's dam is La Comete who never raced, his sire was a champion sprinter winning ten times and hitting the board fourteen times in sixteen lifetime races. I like this colt and although their is some serious competition in this race (Street Hero, Square Eddie), I'm sticking with him.

Cheap Buffalo Sports Interruption

Ok, I just finished watching the Sabres lose in a shootout after four straight wins picking up a well-earned point with a late Pominville goal. Welcome to Pominville, population two (his second goal of the year). Heading out to the big game at Rich Stadium tomorrow versus the Chargers and LDT's bad toe. Coming off the bye, our beloved Bills are looking to go to 5-1 and two games up on the hated Pats. Go Bills.

We will now return you to the regularly scheduled horse racing blog.

The TBA continues to blog away at the Blood-Horse, and with Breeders Cup week starting tomorrow, be sure to check out the group's blogging efforts over there. Have a great Sunday.