Post Time: Coasting along the Derby trail
By Gene Kershner
Last weekend saw the Breeders’ Cup 2-year old champion Hansen falter in his sophomore debut in the Holy Bull to Todd Pletcher-trained Algorithms. This weekend’s action shifts back and forth from coast to coast as the Grade 3 Withers Stakes will be run in New York at Aqueduct Racetrack and the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes will be run in Arcadia, Calif., at Santa Anita Park.
The $200,000 Withers features Kiaran McLaughlin’s Derby hopeful Alpha, who won the Count Fleet in early January on the winterized inner track at the Big A. The even money favorite won impressively, after bobbling at the break, by 2 1/2 lengths. McLaughlin has his eyes on the big prize. “When you look at the schedule, you start with the first Saturday in May, and work back from there. We are taking the Withers as an important step, and maybe, maybe, afterward we’ll talk about what we’re going to do.”
McLaughlin didn’t have as much luck with his other Derby hopeful last weekend in the Holy Bull and hopes that Alpha will turn the tables in the Big Apple this weekend. “We’re excited to be running him, to be in this position,” said McLaughlin of Alpha, who drew post position 7 with Ramon Dominguez aboard. “Our stomachs were upset last weekend when Consortium didn’t run well in the slop at Gulfstream [sixth in the Holy Bull to Algorithms] so we’re thankful for Alpha. But we have to do it day by day, race by race.”
Alpha is clearly the class of the field, but if you are searching for a long shot, Swag Daddy (10-1) may be your answer. The steadily improving Scat Daddy colt is 2 for 2 on the inner track (including the $75K Restrainor) and his daddy won the Florida Derby and Fountain of Youth at 9 furlongs so the 1 1/16 mile distance shouldn’t be an issue. [UPDATE 2/4/12: Swag Daddy scratched on Saturday morning]
In California, in the Lewis, the big name is Liaison. The Indian Charlie colt returns to the track where he broke his maiden starting a three-race win streak. Highly ranked in most early Derby polls, this colt has dream connections in trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Rafael Bejarano, arguably the most talented tandem the west coast has to offer. He followed up the maiden win at the Great Race Place with two wins on the Cushion Track at Hollywood, including the Grade 1 Cash Call Futurity.
Those last two wins at Hollywood were by a neck and a half-length over arch-rival Rousing Sermon, who is the main threat to derail Liasion’s winning streak. Trained by the most recent inductee into the Hall of Fame, Jerry Hollendorfer, and ridden by uber-jockey Joe Talamo, the Sermon has never missed the board in six starts. Both horses are sporting excellent workouts and Hollendorfer sports an incredible 32 percent winning percentage taking horses from synthetic surfaces to dirt.
Baffert also sends another colt, Sky Kingdom in the Lewis, who finished fourth in the Cash Call, who won impressively in an allowance at Santa Anita in early January in his first effort on dirt. With the solid run on dirt versus his efforts on the synthetic surfaces of Hollywood and Del Mar, the chance he improves again second time at Santa Anita is definitely a possibility.
The longshot possibility that intrigues me is the shipper Isn’t He Clever, who will have Corey Nakatani in the irons and stretches out for the first time after a commanding 11 3/4-length win at Sunland Park in his last outing. The Smarty Jones colt shouldn’t be dismissed and should be a part of your exotics plays.
It should be an exciting weekend of racing, and if last year is any indication of what will happen, some element of unpredictability will show it’s head on one of the two big prep races this weekend.
Good luck this weekend and let’s go cash some tickets!
Gene Kershner is a Buffalo-based turf writer and handicapper who blogs at equispace.blogspot.com and tweets @EquiSpace.
