Trip Notes for May 2-4: Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and more...
Trip Notes for May 2-4: Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and more by Michael Hammersly.
Michael HammerslyMay 05, 2014
Trip Notes for May 2-4: Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and more by Michael Hammersly.
Thanks to frontrunning upsets Saturday by Cay to Pomeroy ($25) and Vicksburg Bluffs ($81.50), a pick six carryover of $19,394 awaits bettors for Sunday’s nine-race card. The sequence begins with race 4 at 2:53 p.m. Eastern.
For trainer Art Sherman, winning the Kentucky Derby Saturday with California Chrome still hadn’t sunk in yet Sunday morning.
The fast main track was in use for seven of the day’s 12 races, and most winners were on the lead or up close early, beginning with a good-looking allowance score by Pazolini (race 1, $4.20), a pricey ($875,000) Godolphin Racing colt who stalked two lengths off pacesetter Chapman and rolled by for a first-level allowance score.
There is no stakes on the lackluster nine-race card, which will conclude with an excellent Ontario-sired allowance sprint.
Longshots Silent Treat, Rootham Triple E’s, I’m a Kittyhawk, and Dance to the Moon swept the top four spots in the $126,600 Ballade Stakes, making up a superfecta that returned nearly $1,000 for 20 cents with “all” in the fourth position.
With near-perfect weather, 164,906 packed Churchill Downs for the 140th Kentucky Derby, the second-highest attendance in Derby history. And the large throng was treated to a decisive victory from California Chrome, who spurted away from the field to score by 1 3/4 lengths as the 5-2 favorite.
DRF Plus handicapping analysis for Santa Anita on Sunday, May 4.
DRF Plus handicapping analysis for Belmont Park on Sunday, May 4.
DRF Plus closer looks for Santa Anita on Sunday, May 4.