Isn’t He Clever rolled out new tactics Saturday for the $150,000 Borderland Derby at Sunland Park, and after rallying for a 1 3/4-length win over favorite Zackn’mat, his connections said he would target next month’s Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Derby. Major Hope finished third in the Borderland Derby, 10 lengths behind Zackn’mat.
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DRF Past Performances
Sat, 02/25/2012 - 18:19
NEW ORLEANS – El Padrino has been described as extremely laid-back by his trainer, Todd Pletcher, but he showed Saturday in the Grade 2, $300,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds that he can be a street fighter, too.
El Padrino outdueled Mark Valeski by a nose following a furious stretch drive, then had to survive a claim of foul by Rosie Napravnik, the rider of Mark Valeski, before being declared the official winner of this prep for the Louisiana Derby on April 1.
On a February weekend unusually chock full of appearances by 2011 Eclipse Award winners and contenders – Amazombie, Awesome Maria, Perfect Shirl, Royal Delta, and The Factor are all making their 2012 debuts – the unveiling of greatest interest will come Sunday when Union Rags makes his first start as a 3-year-old in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – In college basketball, midseason meetings between the number one- and number two-ranked teams are well-hyped, often meaningless, and usually long forgotten by the time the Big Dance rolls around. On the Kentucky Derby trail, confrontations between the number one and two prospects 10 weeks in advance of the main event are rare, highly anticipated, and a bit more relevant – but perhaps no real harbinger of what to expect on the first Saturday of May.
Editor’s Note: Countdown to the Crown returns for a seventh season online as one of the most comprehensive handicapper’s scouting reports of the 3-year-old scene. Posted each Friday at DRF.com from Jan. 6 through the Belmont Stakes, Countdown keeps you apprised of the rising stars of the 3-year-old class from the maiden ranks through the Grade 1 stakes. You can access daily updates and interactive features at Countdowntothecrown.com as well.
3 things you won’t read anywhere else
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – In college basketball, midseason meetings between the number one- and number two-ranked teams are well-hyped, often meaningless, and usually long forgotten by the time the Big Dance rolls around. On the Kentucky Derby trail, confrontations between the number one and two prospects 10 weeks in advance of the main event are rare, highly anticipated, and a bit more relevant – but perhaps no real harbinger of what to expect on the first Saturday of May.
NEW ORLEANS – Mardi Gras may have ended Tuesday, but in this city, the rallying cry is always “laissez les bons temps rouler.” At Fair Grounds on Saturday, the good times roll with a stakes-packed Louisiana Derby preview card, highlighted by a Grade 2, $300,000 Risen Star Stakes in which the locals will try to defend their honor against a visitor.
Fed Biz, winner of a maiden race and an optional claimer at this meeting, will make his stakes debut in the $300,000 San Felipe Stakes over 1 1/16 miles on March 10, trainer Bob Baffert said Wednesday.
Owned by Kaleem Shah, Fed Biz won an optional claimer over a mile by 5 3/4 lengths on Feb. 9. On Wednesday, the colt by Giant’s Causeway worked six furlongs in 1:16.
“He was just cruising around,” Bafffert said. “He switched leads and did everything right.”
In his Feb. 9 race, Fed Biz did not switch leads until deep stretch.
NEW ORLEANS – Like gunslingers inexorably moving toward one another for an old-fashioned shootout, Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher have been dominating the 3-year-old preps this year. As a result, each trainer has four runners on this week’s top 20 list of Derby Watch, Baffert doubling his total from a week ago because of subsequent victories by Castaway and Secret Circle in divisions of the Southwest Stakes.
WHO’S HOT
Bob Baffert, that’s who. He swept divisions of the Southwest Stakes on Monday with Castaway and Secret Circle, both of whom earned berths on the Derby Watch top 20 list this week as a result. Secret Circle ran the faster time, a large reason why Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form’s national handicapper, has him at 20-1 on his future book line for the May 5 Kentucky Derby. Watchmaker made Castaway 30-1. Baffert also won the San Vicente with Drill, but since he is not being considered for the Derby, he was kept off the list.