©2020 Calvin L.
Carter. All rights reserved.
The
consequence of the Coronavirus pandemic has resulted in the cancellation of
numerous sporting events.
However,
Horse Racing is still in operation at some tracks, minus racing fans. And
Bloodhorse Magazine has an update
on the status of racetracks. Keeneland cancelled its entire spring meet
and Aqueduct suspended live racing until
further notice. The UAE Derby was scheduled for Saturday, but the United Arab
Emirates cancelled its race meet.
Churchill
Downs has moved the date of Kentucky Derby to September 5 and also reported
that soon they will add additional points races to Derby trail to fill the gap
from May to September.
And,
of the existing races left on the Derby trail, the Florida Derby (G1), Santa
Anita Derby (G1) and Arkansas Derby (G1) are still yet to be run.
This
Saturday, the Road to the Kentucky Derby
takes us Gulfstream Park in
Hallandale Beach, Florida where TIZ THE LAW has been tabbed the 6-5 morning line favorite in
the 69th running of the $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1). Post
time is 6:36 p.m. ET.
Tiz
the Law comes into this race with a 3-0-1 record in four starts for trainer
Barclay Tagg including a win in the Holy Bull Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park.
Here’s the video and chart call of that race:
TIZ
THE LAW broke to the lead in the three-path, moved inside getting wrangled back
midway on the first turn, steadied along losing more position going by the
six-furlong pole, moved out for clear sailing and began to get rolling into the
far turn, tackled ETE INDIAN from outside and gained command after six
furlongs, lugged in while clear in the stretch and was kept busy to the finish.
Tiz
the Law showed a lot of poise when he was checked on the backstretch but moved
to the outside and took the lead on the far turn to pull away and win by three
lengths.
Constitution,
the sire of Tiz the Law, didn’t race until he was three years old but was a
competitive runner that compiled a 4 -0-1 record in eight starts with
$1,031,596 in career earnings.
Despite the late start,
Constitution showed promise and was undefeated in three starts including a win
the Florida Derby (G1). But a hairline fracture
kept him out of the 2014 Kentucky Derby (G1). He came back eight months later
to close the season with a third-place finish in the Clark Handicap (G1).
At the age of four, Constitution
was 1-0-0 in three starts with a win in the Donn Handicap (G1).
As a stallion, Constitution’s
first runners are two years old in 2019 and, in addition to Tiz the Law, a
couple of his best runners on the Kentucky Derby Trail are Independence
Hall, By Your Side
and Gouverneur
Morris.
Tiz the Law has a D Classic
Champion Thoroughbred Profile® but his Behavior
Index makes him competitive in this
herd.
AS SEEN ON TV (12-1) comes into this race with a 2-2-1 record in
five starts for trainer Kelly Breen including a third-place finish in the
Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park. Here’s the video and chart call of that race:
AS
SEEN ON TV veered out at the start then raced in range along the inside through
early stages, ridden along to maintain tempo going by the half mile marker then
put to a drive around the final turn, ran on under steady pressure into the
lane, shifted out wider in late stages and got edged for the runner up spot.
As
See On Tv tracked the leaders to the far turn but did not have enough to catch
the winner Ete Indien and settled for third place, a
neck shy of second-place.
Lookin at
Lucky, the sire of As Seen On Tv, was
a multiple graded-stakes winner that compiled a 9-1-1 record in 13 starts with
$3,307,278 in career earnings.
Undefeated in four starts, Lookin
at Lucky scored impressive stakes victories as a two year old in the Best Pal
Stakes (G2), Del Mar Futurity (G1) and Norfolk Stakes (G1), before suffering
his first loss
by a neck to Vale
of York in the 2009 Grey Goose Breeders’
Cup Juvenile Stakes (G1). He came back from that loss to close the season with
a win in the CashCall Futurity Stakes (G1).
As a three year old, Lookin at
Lucky won the Rebel Stakes (G2) and he finished third in the Santa Anita Derby
(G1) en route to a sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1). Lookin at
Lucky went on to earn Classic Champion Thoroughbred honors with a three-quarter
length victory in the Preakness Stakes (G1).
As
Seen On Tv has an A+ Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile®. He has room to
improve in his third start of the season and I look for him to be competitive.
A
long shot I like is MY FIRST GRAMMY (50-1) who comes into this race
with a 0-1-1 record in three starts including a second-place finish last out
for trainer Amador Sanchez. Here’s the chart call of that race:
MY
FIRST GRAMMY matched strides for the lead in opening stages, continued to duel
inside of EXTRAORDINARY down the backstretch, could not move on with eventual
winner at five sixteenths pole but continued a steady bid through the lane and
edged out foe for place.
My First Grammy took the lead and
set the pace to the far turn where he relinquished the lead to Extraordinary
who won by 6¼ lengths.
Curlin, the sire of My First Grammy, was an outstanding
racehorse that compiled an 11-2-2 record in 16 career starts with $10,501,800
in career earnings.
Curlin did not
start as a two-year-old. But, at the age of three, Curlin was 6-1-2 in nine
starts with $5,102,800 in earnings including wins in the Rebel Stakes (G3) and
Arkansas Derby (G2) en route to a third-place finish in the 2007 Kentucky Derby
(G1). He went on to win the Preakness Stakes (G1) and he finished second in the
Belmont Stakes (G1).
Other important
stakes wins include the Breeders'
Cup Classic (G1), Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), twice, Dubai World Cup (G1),
Stephen Foster Handicap (G1), Woodward Stakes (G1), and the UAE Jaguar Trophy
Handicap.
As
a stallion, Curlin has sired the 2013 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Palace Malice and the 2016 Preakness Stakes
(G1) winner Exaggerator. In addition, Curlin produced
the classic-placed runners Good Magic (second, 2018 Kentucky Derby), Tenfold (third, 2018 Preakness), Ride On Curlin (second, 2014 Preakness), Keen Ice (third, 2015 Belmont) and Irish
War Cry
(second, 2017 Belmont).
My
First Grammy has an A+ Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile® and he’s a colt
we profiled as a yearling (Hip 3650) at the 2018 Keeneland September
Yearling Sale. My First Grammy is taking a big step up in class but he’s an
improving colt and he has the breeding to win this race.
INDEPENDENCE HALL (9-2) comes into this race with
a 3-1-0 record on four starts for trainer Michael Trombetta including a
second-place finish in the Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs. Here’s
the video and chart call:
INDEPENDENCE
HALL broke readily to gain the advantage along the rail in the opening
sixteenth, conceded the lead racing into the first turn to track just off the
leaders into the backstretch, was prompted to advance three deep racing into
the far turn, shifted inwards while moving to gain the advantage nearing upper
stretch, briefly resisted the winner's challenge but proved no match late.
Independence
Hall settled nicely about two lengths off the leaders and was comfortable running
in that spot to the far turn when he took the lead but grudgingly gave it up in
the final sixteenth to Sole Volante who won by 2 ½ lengths.
Constitution, the sire of Independence Hall, didn’t race until
he was three years old but was a competitive runner that compiled a 4 -0-1
record in eight starts with $1,031,596 in career earnings.
Despite
the late start, Constitution showed promise and was undefeated in three starts
including a win the Florida Derby (G1). But a hairline fracture kept him out of the 2014
Kentucky Derby (G1). He came back eight months later to close the season with a
third-place finish in the Clark Handicap (G1).
At
the age of four, Constitution was 1-0-0 in three starts with a win in the Donn
Handicap (G1).
As
a stallion, Constitution’s first runners were two years old in 2019 and his
best runners on the Kentucky Derby Trail are Tiz
the Law, Independence Hall, By Your Side and Gouverneur Morris.
Independence
Hall has a C Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile® which, in addition to his
Behavior Index, makes him competitive in this race.
*****
A
total of 35 races comprise the Road to the Kentucky Derby. In addition, there
are seven races on the European road to the Kentucky Derby and there three
races on the Japan road to Derby glory.
2020 KENTUCKY DERBY LEADERBOARD
Ranking, total points, Trainer, Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings
1. Wells
Bayou, 104, Brad Cox, $750,000
2. Modernist, 70,
Bill Mott, $340,000
3. Authentic,
60, Bob Baffert, $300,000
4. Ete Indien, 54,
Patrick Biancone, $288,156
5. Nadal,
50, Bob Baffert, $720,000
6. Mischievous
Alex, 50, John Servis, $308,410
7. Ny Traffic, 50,
Saffie Joseph, Jr., $244,320
8. King Guillermo,
50, Juan Carlos Avila, $217,050
9. +Enforceable, 33, Mark
Casse, $344,550
10. Storm the Court, 32, Peter Eurton, $1,196,351
11. Sole Volante, 30, Patrick Biancone, $243,510
12. Major Fed, 30, Greg Foley, $120,000
13. Thousand Words, 25, Bob Baffert, $205,000
14. Tiz the Law,
22, Barclay Tagg, $456,000
15. Silver Prospector, 21, Steve Asmussen, $661,518
** . Field Pass, 20, Mike Maker, $229,960
16. Excession, 20, Steve Asmussen, $206,000
17. Honor A.P., 20, John Shirreffs, $80,000
18. Candy Tycoon, 20, Todd Pletcher, $76,000
19. Untitled, 20, Mark Casse, $67,275
20. Shotski, 19, Jeremiah O’Dwyer, $212,466
23. +Azul Coast, 14, Bob Baffert, $80,000
31. +Max Player, 10, Linda Rice, $137,500
35. +Invader, 8, Wesley Ward, $107,140
37. +Scabbard, 6, Eddie Kenneally, $178,000
+ Wells Bayou (Hip 3281),
Nadal (Hip 1279), Enforceable (Hip 76), Excession (Hip
855),
Azul
Coast (Hip
1177),
Max Player (Hip
929),
Invader (Hip 371) and Scabbard (Hip
802) were colts we profiled at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Unlike other companies that provide automatic computer-generated
pedigree analysis of yearlings at auction, Classic Champion Thoroughbreds LLC
personally handpicks from the sales catalog all yearlings to
be profiled at auction based upon their breeding.
* Mr.
Monomoy, with 52 Derby points, is off the Kentucky Derby Trail due to a minor
ankle injury. S-King Guillermo was supplemented to
the Triple Crown. ** Field Pass, with 20 Derby points, is not nominated to the
Triple Crown.
EUROPEAN
ROAD LEADERBOARD
Ranking,
total points, Trainer, Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings
1.
Chares (GER), 20, Jane Chapple-Hyam, $80,819
2.
Crossfirehurricane, 20, Joseph O’Brien, $49,507
3.
Kameko, 14, Andrew Balding, $192,894
4.
Innisfree (IRE), 14, Aidan O’Brien, $127,856
5.
Victor Ludorum, 10, Andre Fabre, $250,958
6.
Royal Donarch (IRE), 10, Aidan O’Brien, $115,813
7.
Alson (GER), 4, J.P. Carvalho, $135,572
8.
Shekhem (IRE), 4, Dermot Weld, $24,068
9.
Year of the Tiger (IRE), 3, Aidan O’Brien $36,086
10.
Armory (IRE), 2, Aidan O’Brien, $258,793
11.
Iberia (IRE), 2, Aidan O’Brien, $25,389
12.
Gold Maze (GB), 2, Jessica Harrington, $12,034
13.
Mogul (GB), 1, Aidan O’Brien, $111,879
14.
Ecrivain (FR), 1, Carlos Laffon-Parias, $69.202
15.
Camorra (IRE), 1, Ger Lyons, $3,610
JAPAN ROAD LEADERBOARD
Ranking, total points, Trainer,
Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings
1.
Café Pharoah, 30, Noriyuki Hori, $234,290
2.
Vacation (JPN), 20, Kenichi Takatsuki, $499,874
3.
Tango Beauty (JPN), 12, Masato Nishizono, $329,346
4.
Dieu du Vin (JPN), 10, Yukihiro Kato, $159,609
5.
Yaugau (JPN), 6, Naosuke Sugai, $182,385
6.
Longonot (JPN), 3, Mizuki Takayanagi, $158,202
7.
Daimei Corrida (JPN), 2, Naoyuki Morita, $107,736
