Gayego |
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| Barbara D. Livingston |
2008 Prep Recap
| Date | Trk | Race | Chart | Distance | Time | BSF | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/15 | SA | San Felipe Stakes (G2) | Chart | 1 1/16m | 1:42:1 | 96 |  |
| 4/12 | OP | Arkansas Derby (G1) | Chart | 1 1/8 m | 1:49:3 | 103 | |
Analysis (by Dennis Dodge)
Strengths: His combination of speed, versatility, and gameness reminds one of Hard Spun, who had much to like at distances up to nine furlongs. Gayego passed the dirt test with flying colors in the Arkansas Derby, and he worked very well over the Churchill surface while suggesting that a wet track won’t diminish his chances. His underappreciated connections are rock-solid, and he is in sharp and improving form.
Weaknesses: His pedigree doesn’t really support the 10-furlong distance, as juvenile champion Gilded Time was a middle-distance horse at most, and he has proven to be a middle distance sire at most. His damsire won the Preakness, but mom was untried beyond 1 1/16 miles. She did win at that distance, though, and her Tomlinson number for 1 1/4 miles was an impressive 421.
Strategy: He has terrific tactical speed, and jockey Mike Smith figures to make good use of that asset by sitting just off the leader if the pace is honest. If the fractions are very fast, he’ll be just as happy five or six lengths back, and if it is unexpectedly slow he can show the way. It’s great to have a heady veteran making the decisions.
Value: The odds may not drift high enough to overcome doubts about his distance ability, and that makes him a tough sell on the win end. He is too tough to completely fall apart through the stretch, though, so we’ll include him in all of the exotics.
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Owners: Cubanacan Stables |
Pedigree Profile (by Lauren Stich)
Sire Line: Gilded Time was a brilliant champion at 2, winning all four of his starts, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and off an 11-month layoff finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. He is strong speed influence and is by Timeless Moment, also a speed influence, whose best runner was Culture Vulture, a multiple champion in France. Damascus, a Horse of the Year and Hall of Fame member, won the 1967 Preakness and Belmont and was third in the Kentucky Derby. Two of Damascus’ sons placed in the Derby: Desert Wine was second in 1983 and Diabolo finished third in 1975.
Female Family: Devils Lake was a minor stakes winner, and Gayego is her only stakes winner from four foals of racing age. She is a half-sister to a Monmouth Oaks winner, Diamond Duo, who also finished third in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. Gayego’s second dam, Diamonds ‘n Dust, was stakes-placed, but the remainder of this female line is not noteworthy.
Pedigree Pattern: Bred to best as a mile, Gayego has a SPx2 pedigree (speed from his sire, Gilded Time and damsire, Lost Code) and will find the final quarter-mile of the Derby far beyond his best distance.