This was one of the strangest Kentucky Derby preps in years, with Frosted looking like he couldn’t lose at the quarter pole only to finish fourth, Upstart crossing the wire first, and then the stewards making a much-debated decision to disqualify Upstart in favor of runner-up Iitaknockout.
All hail International Star, who with this win became the first horse to win three Kentucky Derby scoring races.
Where’s The Moon put himself in the picture for next month’s Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Park Derby with his Saturday win in the track’s $100,000 Mine That Bird Derby.
Todd Pletcher called it “a jump ball.” And he won. Rick Violette Jr. was less hospitable. “That’s a terrible call,” he said. Both trainers were reacting on the track to a decision announced just seconds before by track announcer Larry Collmus, that stewards had disqualified the Violette-trained Upstart for interference, placing Pletcher’s Itsaknockout first, after an extremely odd running of the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
Chad Brown may have learned from Bobby Frankel that patience is a supreme virtue for a horseman, but this is not necessarily so in the Triple Crown. In fact, he may find that the best strategy is closer to the aggressiveness of a trainer like Wayne Lukas than to the prudence of his mentor Frankel.
The manner in which each of the 11 horses in Sunday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn has handled the race’s six-day delay surely has varied, but there is one constant for handicappers. All the entrants have been stabled on the grounds, and as such, all have had to negotiate disrupted training schedules brought about by a winter storm that forced the cancellation of the Southwest last Monday.
When looking for the winner of the Risen Star Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds in Louisiana, casting an eye toward Florida has been a wise play in recent years.
Upstart is the first winner from two starters out of his dam, the unraced Touch Gold mare Party Silks, so one must go back an additional generation for clues to his distance prowess.
If you’re looking for future classic winners, a good place to start is the Fountain of Youth Stakes, which was first run in 1945 and will be renewed Saturday at Gulfstream Park. The 1945 and 1947 editions of the race were for 2-year-olds in December, but all the other runnings – 61 of them including three years when the race split – have been for 3-year-olds in February or March, and the roll of winners is a strong one.
The Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds is anything but clear-cut. This race could play out in too many ways to feel confident of much. In the Fountain of Youth, unless something dramatic changes, Upstart is supposed to win. It will be interesting to see if he can improve his Beyer again or settle into the 106 comfort zone.
