The images of Victor Espinoza’s 2014 Derby victory aboard California Chrome remain vivid, and the colt’s exploits since then have done little to erase the glow. Now the page has turned, though, and Espinoza is right back in Louisville firmly attached to a second straight Derby favorite.
With the $300,000 Evaangeline Downs Turf Sprint moved up on the calendar to May 30 this year, Saturday night’s Need for Speed has become the definitive prep for Evangeline’s signature event. Trainer Karl Broberg will again be well represented as he sends out the morning-line favorite, Quick Dagger.
If things had gone differently for Competitive Edge and Peace and War, they might be looking to add to the lore of Churchill Downs’s most storied race this weekend. Instead, both will be in the starting gate early Saturday afternoon at the Louisville oval to help another historic race turn the page to a new chapter. The two Grade 1 winners highlight the lineup for the Grade 3, $200,000 Pat Day Mile, formerly the Derby Trial, on the Kentucky Derby undercard.
Rivers Run Deep, 4 for 4 sprinting against Ohio-bred stakes company last season, towers over his competition when he returns to the statebred ranks following a solid early-season campaign in Arkansas for Saturday’s $75,000 Edward Babst/Albert Palacios Memorial Handicap at Belterra Park.
When the United Arab Emirates Derby was run at Meydan Racecourse on March 28, racing fans on both sides of the Atlantic had the chance to watch it live because it was part of the telecast of the rich Dubai World Cup. Most viewers were impressed by the performance of Mubtaahij, who ran away with the $2 million event by eight lengths.
I came to town with the intention of trying to beat the favorite, but after watching AMERICAN PHAROAH work and train subsequent to that work, it’s hard to side against the smooth-moving 3-year-old, even in such a talented field as the one set to contest this year’s Derby. He has enough natural speed to put himself in perfect striking position from his outside post and perhaps even get the lead if his rider so chooses, and he gives the impression that he’s a cut above the rest of these at his best.
Just like his sire, Big Brown, DORTMUND comes into the Kentucky Derby undefeated, and it is difficult to find any chinks in his armor. While it’s true that the big-framed horse needs to avoid getting stopped in traffic, he has gained valuable seasoning through a number of different situations and has proven capable of making his own luck.
A closer look at the pedigrees of the entrants for the 141st running of the $2 million Kentucky Derby, to be contested Saturday at Churchill Downs.
UPSTART enters with a long list of attributes. He is battle-hardened against the cream of the crop, having placed in the Champagne, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and Florida Derby. He is fast, one of just three entrants who earned triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures three times. Upstart is versatile; he can press the pace or rally from behind. Post 19 is fine. Upstart has run well on four surfaces (Saratoga, Belmont Park, Santa Anita, and Gulfstream Park).
I find it impossible to draw the very fine lines needed to separate American Pharoah from Dortmund and the other top contenders, so I’ll take the one who could be just as good as the two favorites and at a much bigger price.
