© 2013, Calvin L. Carter
A
field of fourteen Thoroughbreds has been drawn for the 145th running
of the $1 million Belmont Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park. Kentucky Derby champion Orb, trying to rebound from his
disappointing fourth-place finish in the Preakness Stakes (G1), will go to the starting
gate Saturday as the 3-1 morning-line favorite.
Derby
runner up Golden Soul (10-1) and third-place
finisher Revolutionary (9-2) are also entered and they
will try to earn Classic Champion Thoroughbred honors. Incognito (20-1) and Freedom
Child (8-1)
are new competitors on the Triple Crown Trail and round out the top five.
Like
an intricate puzzle, the pedigree contains many secrets of what champions are
made of and the proprietary key puzzle
pieces, the Tesio Index and Ancestral Herd Index, comprise the Classic Champion
Thoroughbred Profile. The Ancestral Herd Index is a new feature I recently
added to calculate the profile and that was included because of my study of the
late Federico Tesio, a world renowned owner, breeder and trainer of
Thoroughbred racehorses who bred closely to the Ancestral Herd. During his
lifetime, Tesio bred an incredible 21 Italiano Derby winners.
The profile is tool I use to measure potential and
it does not take into account other factors such as the horse’s will to win.
Another thing to keep in mind is that horses, for many different reasons,
sometimes fail to live up to their potential.
*****
Since
the 1970’s, the Bold Ruler and Mr. Prospector Ancestral Herds have produced the most Belmont
Stakes winners.
Overall,
the Ancestral Herd of Bold Ruler has produced eight Belmont Stakes (G1)
winners: Secretariat (Triple Crown winner, 1973), Bold
Forbes (1976),
Seattle Slew (Triple Crown winner, 1977), Caveat (1983), Swale, (1984), Risen
Star (1988), A.P.
Indy (1992)
and Rags to Riches (2007).
Runners
in this year’s Belmont that are descendants of the Bold Ruler Ancestral Herd
include: Orb, Freedom Child and Incognito.
The
Mr. Prospector Ancestral Herd has dominated the Belmont Stakes since 1990 and
has produced a total of 15 winners: Conquistador Cielo (1982), Hansel (1991), Thunder Gulch (1995),
Editor’s Note (1996), Victory Gallop (1998), Lemon Drop Kid (1999), Commendable (2000), Point
Given (2001), Empire
Maker
(2003), Birdstone (2004), Afleet
Alex (2005), Jazil (2006), Summer
Bird (2009), Drosselmeyer (2010) and Ruler
On Ice
(2012).
Runners
in this year’s Belmont that are descendants of the Mr. Prospector Ancestral
Herd include: Unlimited Budget (8-1), Palace Malice (15-1) and Will Take Charge (20-1).
*****
I
liked Orb in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1) and I like him
in the Belmont, too. With wins in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2), Florida
Derby (G1) and Kentucky Derby, Orb is the class of this race and a return to
his previous form will make him tough in the Belmont.
A.P.
Indy, the grandsire of Orb, won the 1992 Belmont Stakes and sired the 2007
Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches. Orb’s great grandsire is the 1977 Triple
Crown winner Seattle Slew.
Unbridled, the damsire of Orb, won the
1990 Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic and he’s a descendant of the Fappiano branch of the Mr. Prospector
Ancestral Herd which is a powerful influence in the pedigree.
Classic
Champion Thoroughbred descendants of the Unbridled Ancestral Herd include: Grindstone (1996 Kentucky Derby), Red Bullet (2000 Preakness), Empire Maker
(2003 Belmont), Birdstone (2004 Belmont), Mine That Bird (2009 Kentucky Derby) and Summer Bird (2009
Belmont).
Orb’s
victory in the Kentucky Derby smashed a 29-year draught since Swale won the
Kentucky Derby in 1984. However, in recent years the Bold Ruler Ancestral Herd
has had better success in producing Belmont Stakes winners and I look for Orb
to run a good race.
*****
Revolutionary was my Kentucky Derby pick. I profiled him last
December in my 2013
Kentucky Derby Outlook,
and his pedigree indicates that he may have classic potential. However, he’s
yet to live up to that potential.
Revolutionary
is a descendant of the Cherokee
Run Ancestral
Herd and in my July 3 blog of 2009 I noted the importance
of keeping track of colts from that line when they stretch out to route racing.
Over
the years, the Cherokee Run line has produced a lot of good middle- distance
runners such as War Pass, the sire of Revolutionary.
Other good runners from that line include: Yonaguska, Kafwain, Sir
Cherokee, During, Chelokee, Zanjero, Recapturetheglory, Musket
Man and The Pamplemousse.
In
addition, the distaff pedigree of Revolutionary is very strong and the
tail-female line is reinforced with the stallions A.P.
Indy, Hoist The Flag, Herbager and Court Martial.
Revolutionary’s
dam, Runup The Colors, was a graded-stakes winner of
the 10-furlong Alabama Stakes (G1). Up The Flagpole, the second dam of Revolutionary, won the
9-furlong Delaware Oaks (G2) and was a Reine-de-Course mare and second dam of
2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft and Tomisue’s Delight.
Revolutionary’s
third dam, The Garden Club, also was a Reine-de-Course
mare. His tail-female line descends from the outstanding foundation mare La
Troienne
(Family 1-x) and her line has produced eight Classic Champion Thoroughbreds: Super
Saver (2010), Smarty
Jones (2004), Go
For Gin
(1994), Sea Hero (1993), Prairie Bayou (1993), Easy
Goer (1989), Personality (1970) and Bimelech (1940).
Revolutionary
is a versatile, tough colt who possesses the will to win – he’s demonstrated
that in his come-from-behind victories in the Withers Stakes (G3) and Louisiana
Derby (G2). In the stretch of the Louisiana Derby (G2), Mylute briefly took the
lead from Revolutionary who dug in and fought back to win by a neck in the
final strides.
His
maiden win last December was also a key race as it highlighted the talent and
versatility of Revolutionary. In that race, unlike his last two races,
Revolutionary ran just off the pace, tracking the early leaders until the
stretch, then he drew away to an easy 8½-length romp.
The
ability of a young colt to win coming home from dead last or just off the pace
is the kind of versatility and talent I like to see in a young horse I believe
may have classic potential.
Javier
Castellano regains the mount on Revolutionary and in previous races they are a
perfect two wins in two starts.
*****
Freedom
Child and Orb were both sired by Malibu Moon and are
descendants of the Bold Ruler Ancestral Herd. Unlike Orb who races off the pace,
Freedom Child’s best success has been when he raced on the lead.
In
his fourth start, Freedom Child led from gate to wire and finally broke his
maiden by an easy 5¼ lengths. In his next race, he was declared a non-starter
in the Wood Memorial when he became tangled in the hands of a gate crew worker.
Freedom Child followed up on that fiasco with another gate-to-wire romp in the
slop to win the Peter Pan Stakes by 13¼ lengths.
I
like it that Freedom Child is engaged early in the race and if he can carry
that speed for 12-furlongs, then he could be tough to beat in the Belmont
Stakes (G1). His pedigree indicates that 12-furlongs should not be a problem.
His
grandsire, A.P. Indy, also won the Peter Pan Stakes en route to victory in the
1992 Belmont Stakes. Deputy
Minister, the damsire of Freedom Child, sired the 1997 Belmont Stakes
winner Touch Gold and he’s
also the damsire of the Belmont winners Sarava (2002), Jazil (2006) and
Rags to Riches (2007).
It
looks like Freedom Child is improving at the right time of year and another
move forward will make him competitive in the Belmont Stakes.
*****
Like
Orb, Incognito is descendant of the Bold Ruler Ancestral Herd and he has
similar breeding to Orb and Freedom Child. Incognito is the best-bred horse in
the Belmont field. However, he’s yet to live up to his breeding.
His
sire is the Classic Champion Thoroughbred A.P. Indy and his grandsire is the
1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. In the distaff pedigree, Incognito’s second
damsire is the previously mentioned Classic Champion Thoroughbred, Unbridled,
and his damsire, Unbridled’s Song, finished fifth in the 1996
Kentucky Derby – just 3½ lengths shy of victory.
A horse like Incognito is difficult to handicap in
classic races. Even though he’s yet to live up to his breeding, his pedigree indicates
that, on a given day, he could run a good race. That’s how I picked Da’ Tara to upset Big Brown in the 2008 Belmont Stakes (G1) for a $79 payday on
a $2 wager. So, if you’re feeling lucky, you may want to include Incognito in a
few small wagers.
*****
Honorable mention goes to Golden Soul
and Unlimited Budget. I don’t like
either of them for the win but they could, perhaps, be a factor in the bottom
of the exotic wagers.
*****
Belmont Stakes 145
Post Position, Horse, Odds,
Jockey, Trainer
1.
Frac Daddy, 30-1, Alan Garcia, Ken McPeek
2.
Freedom Child, 8-1, Luis Saez, Tom Albertrani
3.
Overanalyze, 12-1, John Valazquez, Todd Pletcher
4.
Giant Finish, 30-1, Edgar Prado, Tony Dutrow
5.
Orb, 3-1, Joel Rosario, Shug McGaughey
6.
Incognito, 20-1, Irad Ortiz, Jr., Kiaran McLaughlin
7.
Oxbow, 5-1, Gary Stevens, D. Wayne Lukas
8.
Midnight Taboo, 30-1, Garrett Gomez, Todd Pletcher
9.
Revolutionary, 9-2, Javier Castellano, Todd Pletcher
10.
Will Take Charge, 20-1, Jon Court, D. Wayne Lukas
11.
Vyjack, 20-1, Julien Leparoux, Rudy Rodriquez
12.
Palace Malice, 15-1, Mike Smith, Todd Pletcher
13.
Unlimited Budget, 8-1, Rosie Napravnik, Todd Pletcher
14.
Golden Soul, 10-1, Robby Albarado, Dallas Stewart
*****
Anyone
who’s followed my blog for any length of time knows that my study of
Thoroughbred pedigrees and the late Federico Tesio, a world-renowned owner,
breeder and trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses, has had a tremendous impact on
my analysis of classic champion prospects. The result of that research is what I call the Classic Champion
Thoroughbred Profile and it is a powerful tool I use to determine if a young
colt has to potential to become a Classic Champion Thoroughbred.
In addition, the behavior of the horse or Emotional
Conformation is the final piece of the breeding puzzle. Behavior was the key
puzzle piece Tesio relied on to breed his numerous champion Thoroughbreds and,
during his lifetime, he bred an incredible 21 Italiano Derby winners.
The Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile and the
Emotional Conformation of the horse are important tools that have enabled me to
pick the classic
champions Orb, I’ll Have Another, Animal Kingdom, Pour Moi, Super Saver, Lookin At Lucky, and Summer Bird.
*****
If
you would like to get involved in horseracing, please check out my website:
Classic
Champion Thoroughbreds is a unique, innovative bloodstock
consulting firm, dedicated to helping clients make informed decisions,
eliminating doubt and guesswork, in buying and breeding Thoroughbreds.
Classic
Champion Thoroughbreds provides its clients with the important information
necessary to achieve their goals and realize their dreams of competing at the
highest level. Every evaluation includes a detailed pedigree analysis and a
Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile of young horses that may be classic
racing prospects. Each analysis and profile draws upon the time-tested breeding
theories of great Thoroughbred breeders as well as those of Classic Champion
Thoroughbreds owner Calvin L. Carter.
(Upon
request, clients can receive an Emotional
Conformation Profile behavioral analysis of the horses they plan
to buy or breed from Kerry Thomas, Founder of the Thomas Herding Technique.)
In
the spirit of Federico Tesio, Classic Champion Thoroughbreds serves the needs
of its clients – helping them to eliminate the doubt and guesswork in buying
and breeding Thoroughbred Champions. Whatever your need, if you already own
horses or if you are new and want to get established, please
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