Isolating the chief contenders for the Kentucky Derby can be difficult even after post positions are drawn, let alone roughly four months before the race. But as challenging a task as handicapping the Derby this far out is, it remains fun to look at the race.
There are only two graded stakes Saturday, but they are at the tracks where you would expect to find them at this time of the year: the Grade 2, $150,000 San Fernando Stakes at Santa Anita, and the Grade 2, $150,000 Fort Lauderdale Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
There are a number of similarities between last year's Kentucky Derby-winning combination of I'll Have Another and Mario Gutierrez and current prospect Goldencents and low-profile rider Kevin Krigger.
Mark Streiff, a 56-year-old financial consultant from Mission Viejo, Calif., has been awarded $75,000 as the top points earner in the National Handicapping Championship Tour after distancing his rivals in the yearlong series.
Michael Hammersly's weekly round-up of graded stakes races, this week includes Santa Anita's Sham Stakes, San Pasqual Stakes, and Monrovia Stakes.
Depending on how you look at it, Sunday’s Grade 2 Monrovia, a 6 1/2-furlong turf race down the hill at Santa Anita for fillies and mares 4 years old and up, is either a slam dunk for Mizdirection, a match race with Kindle, or a chance to upset those favorites with Broken Dreams or Byrama. A victory by either of the other two, Givine or Curvy Cat, would be a surprise.
BreezeFigs Quick-Pix for Saturday, January 5th, 2012 by Bob Fierro & Jay Kilgore.
Trainer Todd Pletcher could have chosen one of any number of horses to run in the Jerome at Aqueduct on Saturday. Yet he chose the turf stakes winner Notacatbutallama.
The New Year may be only a few days old, but there will be a hint of May in the air Saturday with two graded stakes for 3-year-olds on the schedule. Those races are the Grade 2, $200,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct, which also happens to be the richest race of the day, and the Grade 3, $100,000 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita.
The Derby is becoming a bit like the NFL playoffs, with far more than 12 possibilities. The hot team, not necessarily the best team, has won the Super Bowl in recent years.
