ACROSS THE POND - IT'S DERBY TIME!
WHILE the five-day Royal meeting at Ascot later in the month may be seen as the pinnacle of the Flat season, Epsom’s meeting at the start of June features arguably the most prestigious race in the world, the Derby.
First run in 1780, the race takes its name from Edward Smith Stanley, the 12th Earl of Derby, who won the coin toss between himself and Sir Charles Bunbury over who the new race would be named after. Although his name never earned the same place in racing history, Bunbury got some compensation when his horse Diomed won the first running. Internationally, 140 other countries now hold a Derby.
The Derby attracts a huge one-day sporting crowd with in excess of more than 125,000 people descending on the Downs on Derby Day every year. Read more at source
Thoroughbred racing around the world: The historic Epsom Derby and an ambitious new stakes program in Pennsylvania take center stage on the weekend racing schedule.
With a week to go before the Belmont Stakes, Belmont Park has an important festival Saturday for New York-breds. Hollywood Park has graded stakes both Saturday and Sunday, as does Woodbine in Canada.
In Japan, sprinters tackle 1,000 meters in Sunday's Group 1 Yasuda Kinen in Tokyo. And French 3-year-olds will be tested at 2,100 meters in Saturday's Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly.
The early bird gets the worm -- and also gets to see the big race at Epsom. Read more at source
HRTV plans to cover all of the races from the UK
for both days. TwinSpires will also carry the meet. There should be several
YouTube sites that will upload the race replays. All of the race replays will
also be available in the following day's TDN. RacingUK's YouTube channel Direct link to RacingUK to watch free replays of races: RacingUK web site - free replay videos
Following are links for the races for the two days, along with background information. The focus of the two-day festival is on the Epsom Derby, however, there are important races over the two days, and links for all the races and horse profiles are included below.
SUMMERTIME:Memorial Day traditionally marks
not only the start of summer, but it launches the "second season" of Thoroughbred
racing.
Arlington Park, Belmont Park,
Hollywood Park, and Churchill Downs, all will see lots of turf action. Some of
the nation's top horses will be on display in the Grade I Met Mile at
Belmont.
Races for fillies and mares are in action from coast to coast with a
couple of sprint races added to the mix.
Handicap horses run Monday in Texas
in the Group III Lone Star Park Handicap. Overseas, Group 1 action at the
Curragh in Ireland and Longchamp in Paris. The Group 1 Japanese Derby
runs Sunday in Tokyo and Hong Kong has an important race at Sha Tin on Sunday
as its season winds down.
Monday's $750,000, GRADE I
METROPOLITAN HANDICAP at Belmont Park has graded stakes winners Fed Biz,
and Sahara Sky from California. Others could include Fort Loudon,
Mark Valeski, and Swagger Jack, and Handsome Mike.
On Saturday the $150,000, GRADE
III HANSHIN CUP will feature 10 contenders on the all-weather course,
including Nate's Mineshaft, making his first start since finishing third
behind Ron the Greek and Wise Dan last June in the Grade I Stephen Foster at
Churchill Downs. Also scheduled will be Mister Mardi Gras also bears
watching. Nates Mineshaft using Hanshin Cup comeback vehicle
Monday's holiday card includes the $300,000,
GRADE III LONE STAR PARK HANDICAP at 1 1/16 miles and the $100,000,
GRADE III ALL AMERICAN at Golden Gate Fields, also at 1 1/16 miles.
Fillies and mares:Belmont Park has
two grade 1 events for fillies and mares:The $400,000, GRADE I OGDEN PHIPPS HANDICAP is expected to
include Disposablepleasure, Centring, Joyful Victory and Tiz Miz Sue.
Run at 1 1/16 mile on the main track.The one-mile $300,000, GRADE I ACORN for 3-year-old fillies will
include Kauai Katie, Cue the Moon, Let Me Entertain U, Midnight Lucky,
Manuka Honey and Momentary Magic.
Saturday will include, the $150,000,
GRADE III ARLINGTON MATRON at 9 furlongs on the main track. Signed up is Lotta
Lovin, who has recorded six of her seven career wins over all-weather
surfaces. Ice Cream Silence and Hooh Why also are proven stakes
performers. TURF: A field of 9 will be in the longest
race on the grass in Saturday's $150,000, GRADE III LOUISVILLE HANDICAP
at Churchill Downs: Dark Cove, the morning-line favorite is back after a
victory in the Grade II Elkhorn Stakes at Keeneland.Others include Ioya Bigtime, Atigun, Heathcote and Harrod's
Creek -- any of them capable of a winning effort in the 1 1/2 mile event.
A full field of 12 is expected in
Saturday's $150,000, GRADE III ARLINGTON CLASSIC at 1 1/16 miles
including, including Fordubai, who ran second to Departing in the Grade
III Illinois Derby in his last outing. Admiral Kitten was second in the
Grade II American Turf at Churchill Downs on Oaks Day. Brown Almighty,
General Election and California invader Procurement also are in the
deep field of 12.
Turf milers get their chance in
Saturday's $150,000, GRADE II AMERICAN HANDICAP at Hollywood Park. Obviously
appears an obvious contender in a field of six.Included in the rest of the field will be Grade 1 winneLucayan making his first U.S. start
for trainer Neil Drysdale after racing in his native France last year. Barocci
is a Japanese-bred who raced in France earlier. Bob Baffert has two -- Drill
and Racing Aptitude.
Woodbine:The grass sprint is Sunday's $200,000 (Canadian), GRADE II
CONNAUGHT CUP at Woodbine, at 7 furlongs.
FILLIES AND MARES ON
THE GRASS: Saturday's $200,000 (CANADIAN),
GRADE II NASSAU STAKES at 1 mile at Woodbine drew a field of seven with
morning-line favoritism divided among Irish Mission, Dancing to Town and
Solid Appeal. Irish Mission, the narrow choice at 5-2, was second in
last year's Queen's Plate and won the Breeders' Stakes. She was third in the
Grade III Orchid at Gulfstream before shipping back north.
Saturday's $200,000, GRADE II
SHEEPSHEAD BAY STAKES at Belmont Park is 11 furlongs on the grass. Hessonite,
who took her first graded stakes win last time out in the Grade III Beaugay,
will try to repeat. Six of her rivals have European races on their resume,
including Starformer, Strathnaver and Julie's Love.
Three-year-old fillies will go 1
1/16 miles on the Belmont Park turf in SUNDAY'S $200,000, GRADE II SANDS
POINT STAKES with Carolina Thomas, Unbelievable Dream, Watsdachances
and Wave Theory on tap.
Monday at Hollywood Park includes
the $250,000, GRADE I GAMELY STAKES at 9 furlongs. Sprint - Two Grade 3 events on Memorial Day:The $100,000, GRADE III LOS ANGELES HANDICAP at Hollywood Park
and the $100,000, GRADE III WINNING COLORS for fillies and mares at
Churchill Downs both are run at 6 furlongs.
INTERNATIONAL
France:Planteur and Beauty Parlor
are among the entries for Sunday's GROUP 1 PRIX D'ISPAHAN at Longchamp.
Eleven are expected in the GROUP 1 PRIX SAINT-ALARY on the same card.
Ireland: Sunday, Aidan O'Brien has 5 of the field of 9 in GROUP 1 TATTERSALLS
GOLD CUP at the Curragh, including Camelot, the 2012 Derby winner.
O'Brien also has Windsor Palace, El Salvador, Ernest Hemingway and the
4-year-old filly Was.Eighteen
are in for Sunday's Group 1 Etihad Airways Irish 1,000 Guineas. England:Sole Power and Reckless Abandon are favorites among 12 left for Saturday's
GROUP 2 BETFRED TEMPLE STAKES AT HAYDOCK, a 1,000-meters event included in
the British Champions Series. Sole Power is a veteran world traveler
with a fourth-place showing in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint earlier this year on
his resume. Reckless Abandon, a 3-year-old Exchange Rate colt making his
first start of the year, was undefeated in five starts in 2012, topped by the
Group 1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket in October and is one to watch.
Japan:Sunday's GROUP 1 TOKYO YUSHUN,
OR JAPANESE DERBY, is the second leg of the Triple Crown and set to have a
huge field including Logotype. The son of Lohengrin was the victor in
the first leg of the series, the Group 1 Satsuki Sho, or Japanese 1,000
Guineas. Others expected to includeCodino,
Epiphaneia, Kizuna and Meiner Ho O.
Hong Kong:Two-time Group 1 Hong Kong Cup winner, California
Memory tops the field for Sunday's HK-GROUP 1 STANDARD CHARTERED
CHAMPIONS & CHARTER CUP.He is
expected to face some significant competition in the final top-level event of
the Sha Tin racing season. Dominant, from the barn of red-hot trainer
John Moore.Recent triumphs include the
Audemars Piguet QE II Cup and the Champions Mile at Sha Tin and the Singapore
Airlines International Cup at Kranji -- all international Group 1 events and
all within a month's time. Thumbs Up and Fay Fay also are familiar names in the field.
Races listed below in time ordered format with cards. Come back after the race is run, click on the Card link and watch the replay at BloodHorse's results and video page.
IS ORB "THE ONE"!
Watch all of Orb's races and judge for yourself -- KY Derby, Fountain of Youth, and Florida Derby, as well as his allowance race....slow pace, no pace, fast pace....doesn't seem to matter with this horse. He has started from the rail position to the far outside position (KY Derby - post 16) and from the middle of the field. He's usually mid- to back of the pack for 3/4 of the race, and he makes his move on the back side nearing the turn and he just marches on regardless of who is close to him. He nearly always goes to the outside, which means he is packing plenty of reserves to get the job done. I don't think I have felt as confident about any horse's ability to do whatever it takes to win! He always runs his own race! No one dictates to this horse, and he has never gotten boxed in at the rail or had to fight for position. He makes his own "trip"....he's tough, he has the heart, and he sure has figured out how to win! GO ORB!! He will be carrying the hopes and dreams of millions who have been waiting for "the one"! ORB past performances - scroll down to "Past Performances" & click on video
Jon and Joel review the line up for the Preakness:
PIMLICO Friday's program features the $500,000, Grade II BLACK-EYED SUSAN with nine
3-year-old fillies set to try 9 furlongs on the main track. Emollient is the
9-5 morning-line favorite off her gate-to-wire victory in the Grade I Ashland
Stakes at Keeneland over the all-weather surface. Fiftyshadesofhay comes east
after a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks for trainer Bob
Baffert. Friday's $300,000, Grade III
PIMLICO SPECIAL will have a variety of running styles in the seven-horse
field. Eighttofasttocatch has been well in front in his last two starts with
one win to show for it. Last Gunfighter has rolled from off the pace to win
five straight at Aqueduct and Belmont. The $100,000 THE VERY ONE STAKES,
a 5-furlongs turf dash for fillies and mares, drew an overflow field of 14 with
two also-eligibles. Sweet Cassiopeia is the morning-line favorite off five
straight wins but drew gate No. 13. The $100,000 JIM MCKAY TURF
SPRINT has eight starters with Bridgetown and local favorite Ben's Cat the
morning-line picks. Saturday's racing in
support of the 138th Preakness includes four graded stakes and three others. The $300,000, Grade II LONGINES
DIXIE STAKES at 9 furlongs on the turf has a jam-packed field of 13, many
of them with credentials. Optimizer, Willcox Inn, Imagining, Doubles Partner
and Swift Warrior all are posted at single-digit odds in the morning line. The $150,000, Grade III MARYLAND
SPRINT HANDICAP drew 10. The morning-line choice, Sage Warrior, drew the
outside gate as he steps up in company while trying to win his fourth in a row. Samitar is the 5-2
favorite in the $150,000, Grade III GALLORETTE HANDICAP, a 1 1/16-miles
turf test for fillies and mares. Samitar, one of two in for trainer Chad Brown,
won the Grade I Garden City Stakes at Belmont last fall in her first U.S. start
but hasn't visited the winner's circle in three intervening trips.
Fillies and mares go 1 1/16 miles on the main
track in the $150,000, Grade III ALLAIRE DUPONT DISTAFF STAKES with
seven set to face the starter. Summer Applause, Brushed by a Star and Moon
Philly are the favorites.
GRADE 1 PREAKNESS STAKES with a purse of $1,000,000. Orb's rivals on Saturday include Mylute,
fifth in the Kentucky Derby, Oxbow, who finished sixth in the Run for the
Roses, Will Take Charge (8th), Itsmyluckyday (15th) and Goldencents (17th).
Each of them had an excuse -- or two -- in the Derby and could run much better
against a smaller field. The weatherman is calling for sunny skies at Pimlico
on Friday and no more than a few showers on Saturday so track condition is unlikely
to be an issue.
It is noteworthy that none of the top
finishers in the KY Derby will run in the Preakness.Clearly, most expect Orb to rise to the occasion and bring home
the Black-Eyed Susans on Preakness Day!The entire racing community is pulling for the magic of a Triple Crown
to happen this year, with this horse, with these connections.
The sport is overdue for some good news, and the
journey with Orb, for me anyway, has been very satisfying.If this is all there is, I'm prepared to
accept it and consider myself lucky to have had the glimpse into what big-time
racing used to be about.The
connections and the trainer, and the horse, are all worthy of admiration and
appreciation for what they bring to the sport.Icing on the cake will be for Orb to win the Preakness and to
participate in the last leg of the Triple Crown at Belmont.Can Orb win it all?I think so, but if he falls short, it will
not diminish the experience we have had with this horse and connections.No matter the outcome, this has been a
season of pure joy! HOLLYWOOD PARK Seven are set for Saturday's $150,000, Grade II MARJORIE L. EVERETT HANDICAP for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the all-weather track. More Chocolate runs right back after a fifth-place finish in the Grade II LA TROIENNE at Churchill Downs on Derby Day. Before that, she won the Grade II La Canada and finished second in the Grade I Santa Margarita. This is her first time on the all-weather surface. Lady of Fifty has been competitive in local graded stakes. The race is named for the former owner of Hollywood Park, who died last year at age 90. Hollywood Park is set to die at the end of this year, to be redeveloped into commercial and residential properties.
Races listed below in time ordered format with cards. Come back after the race is run, click on the Card link and watch the replay at BloodHorse's results and video page.
ACROSS THE POND - IT'S DERBY TIME!
HRTV plans to cover all of the races from the UK
for both days. TwinSpires will also carry the meet. There should be several
YouTube sites that will upload the race replays. All of the race replays will
also be available in the following day's TDN. RacingUK's YouTube channel Direct link to RacingUK to watch free replays of races: RacingUK web site - free replay videos
