Kentucky Derby mount a dream come true for Gutierrez
Mario Gutierrez's winning ride aboard I'll Have Another in the Santa Anita Derby has earned him his first mount in the Kentucky Derby.
Steve AndersenApr 12, 2012
Mario Gutierrez's winning ride aboard I'll Have Another in the Santa Anita Derby has earned him his first mount in the Kentucky Derby.
Trainer Jonathan Sheppard sent out Ever So Lucky for a 57-second, five-furlong drill Tuesday at Keeneland in preparation for the Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday in a move prompted partly by the way Ever So Lucky, an Indian Charlie colt, has played catch-up all winter.
Even though Secret Circle will be going for a sweep of Oaklawn Park’s series for 3-year-olds on Saturday in the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby, it is a stablemate of his, Bodemeister, who has been grabbing a good deal of attention after being made the morning-line favorite for the race.
With the big race now only three weeks away, the last two major Kentucky Derby preps will be contested Saturday. But while the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby and the Grade 1, $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes are certainly the undisputed headliners at Oaklawn and Keeneland, there are noteworthy stakes on each undercard. Get Mike Watchmaker's picks for the Blue Grass, Oaklawn Handicap, and Arkansas Derby.
Union Rags had the first of his final three works leading up to the Kentucky Derby, and his last before departing his winter home at Palm Meadows, when breezing an easy but visually impressive half-mile in 48.32 seconds shortly after dawn Thursday.
Done Talking, the winner of the Illinois Derby, and Rousing Sermon, third most recently in the Louisiana Derby, are the newest additions to the Derby Watch top 20.
For the first time since winning the Gotham six weeks ago, Hansen will be in the spotlight among 3-year-olds when he heads the field for Saturday's Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. “I think that Hansen will get a lot of publicity after this weekend,” Dr. Kendall Hansen, the co-owner of his namesake, said on a national teleconference earlier this week.
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It is no big deal to win the Kentucky Derby with your first mount. Check that – it’s a very big deal. It just won’t get you a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records.
I am voting for Housebuster for the Hall of Fame, but it is really my way of voting for Bob Levy.
Bodemeister drew post 11 in a field of 11 for the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on Saturday and was made the 9-5 morning line favorite. The Arkansas Derby is the final $1 million prep for the Kentucky Derby, and most in Saturday's 1 1/8-mile race will need a significant finish to advance on the road to Louisville.