King: Two overachievers worth a look in Kentucky Derby
Both Materiality and International Star will have a chance to outperform expectations once again in the Kentucky Derby.
Byron KingApr 16, 2015
Both Materiality and International Star will have a chance to outperform expectations once again in the Kentucky Derby.
The end of the Kentucky Derby prep season this past week marked the third year where Derby berths have been secured under the new points system announced in 2012. On the whole, it has worked well, providing a clearer and more cohesive path to Louisville than the graded-stakes earnings plan it replaced. Some tweaking , however, still needs to be done.
Two of the leading candidates for this year’s Kentucky Derby, Frosted and Upstart, had a very good morning Thursday at Palm Meadows.
Jockey Martin Garcia is in the unique position of having ridden both American Pharoah and Dortmund, so he, more than anyone, can compare and contrast the differences between the top two choices for this year’s Kentucky Derby on May 2.
Fresh off a record-setting season, leading sire Tapit will look to add another feather in his cap with his first Kentucky Derby winner, and he has a strong shot to do so in Wood Memorial winner Frosted. The Godolphin color-bearer has classic influences on both sides of the family that place him in good stead moving forward.
Churchill Downs on Wednesday unveiled its renovated section for the owners of Kentucky Derby and Oaks horses, a ground-floor section comprising 20 private, open-air, all-inclusive suites between the sixteenth pole and finish line.
Trainer Rick Violette said Wednesday that his Kentucky Derby contender, Upstart, continues to progress nicely after having a scheduled breeze canceled last Saturday at Palm Meadows.
Perhaps this category should be renamed “Who’s Lukewarm” this week, as the only newcomer to the Derby Watch top 20 is rated a 50-1 shot on the Kentucky Derby future line of Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form’s national handicapper.
After 35 races in which horses could earn points toward a berth in the Kentucky Derby on May 2, the prospective field is largely set, though the final composition of the maximum 20-horse field could undergo a few tweaks over the next 2 1/2 weeks, since there are a handful of horses currently in the body of the race whose status is cloudy.
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American Pharoah will fly to Churchill Downs on Monday to begin final preparations for the Kentucky Derby, his trainer, Bob Baffert, said on Sunday, the day after the champion’s eight-length win in the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby. Baffert said American Pharoah will probably have one work in advance of the Kentucky Derby on May 2.