Nowhere to Hide

2009 Prep Recap

Date	Trk	Race	Chart	Distance	Time	BSF	Video
2/7	FG	Risen Star (G3)	Chart	1 1/16m	1:45	90
3/14	TAM	Tampa Bay Derby (G3)	Chart	1 1/16 m	1:43	84
4/4	HAW	Illinois Derby (G2)	Chart	1 1/8 m	1:49	80

Profile by Kenny Peck

Strengths: He's proven at two turns as his maiden win came in a mile race at Calder, and though he's failed in three starts since, he was less than four lengths behind Friesan Fire in the Risen Star Stakes, and that one is a viable candidate to win. He figures to move forward off his last race. He has a hint of speed, so he should be able to work out a forward trip, and that could be a plus if the pace is on the slow side.

Weaknesses: He has yet to post a Beyer good enough to get him into the superfecta, and it's probably no coincidence that his latest, the Illinois Derby, resulted in his weakest figure since his debut, as it was also the first time he went farther than 1 1/16 miles. That was a weak field. The winner, Musket Man, was the only other Derby starter in the field. That runner is an outsider here, and this colt was more than 11 lengths behind him.

Strategy: He was well off the pace in his last couple, but he showed some early zip in his prior starts. Given the relative lack of pace in the Derby he'd do well to utilize his early speed to get position. He figures to stalk the leaders and try to make a run at the top of the lane.

Value: He'll be a huge price thanks to the fact that he has only a maiden win, and that his Beyers aren't nearly as good as the top contenders. Hard to like.

Pedigree Analysis By Dan Illman

Dosage Profile:  8-0-12-0-0
Dosage Index: 2.33
Center of Distribution:  0.80
Auction:  $200,000 weanling, $250,000 yearling

Sire: Vindication, the champion 2-year-old colt of 2002, capped off an undefeated season with a 102 Beyer victory in the nine-furlong Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Arlington Park. An injury ended his career before the start of his three-year-old campaign.
His sire, the legendary Seattle Slew, won the Triple Crown in 1977.  Seattle Slew's son, Swale, won the 1984 Kentucky Derby. 

Dam: The unraced dam is a half-sister to Handpainted, a multiple stakes-winner between five furlongs and one mile.  Another half-sibling, Serenading, is a stakes-winner at 1 1/16 miles over Woodbine's polytrack.
Nowhere to Hide's second dam, Daijin, was a multiple stakes-winner between six furlongs and 1 1/16 miles.  Daijin is a full sister to Belmont Stakes winner Touch Gold, and is a half-sibling to Canadian Triple Crown hero With Approval.
The third and fourth dam were stakes-winners in Canada. The fifth dam, Happy Mood, won the Acorn Stakes in 1954. 

Outlook:  Nowhere to Hide has a very classy pedigree.  The Derby distance is a demanding one, but Nowhere to Hide should last the trip.