Kentucky Derby hopefuls ready for final prep races
Horse racing will put its best foot forward Saturday with the $1 million Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby and the $500,000 Illinois Derby at Hawthorne. This will be the final Kentucky Derby prep for those who run well and the likely end of the trail for the rest.
The Wood could be a two-horse race between Gemologist (8-5) and Alpha (5-2).
Gemologist is unbeaten in four starts. He has stamina influence by his sire, Tiznow, and the tactical speed to suit any kind of trip. The one thing he doesn’t have is enough graded earnings ($103,855). Thus, a top-two finish is needed to guarantee a spot in the Derby field.
With the Derby graded earnings cutoff potentially as high as $250,000, Alpha ($180,000) is sitting better than Gemologist. The only poor race in his five-start career was in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile when he acted badly pre-race. He appears to have matured since with two sharp wins in 2012.
Two price horses that could outrun their odds are My Adonis (8-1) and The Lumber Guy (8-1).
My Adonis has run a step behind two of the best in the division in Hansen and Algorithms. He is a gritty, hard-trying horse.
The Lumber Guy has won both career starts by a combined 14 lengths. In racing, you don’t know if a horse like this is a freak or just beating up on tomato cans. The Wood will be his test for class.
The Santa Anita Derby looks like Creative Cause’s race to lose. Last out in the San Felipe, Creative Cause beat Bodemeister from the Bob Baffert barn. Baffert saw enough to send his colt to Oaklawn Park for the Arkansas Derby and avoid a rematch.
Baffert still will have three long shots in the race: Liaison, Paynter and Blueskiesnrainbow. It’s usually a mistake to overlook Baffert in a big-money race.
The most logical contender to Creative Cause is I’ll Have Another. Doug O’Neill has not started him since winning the Robert B. Lewis nine weeks ago.
A long shot I like a lot is Midnight Transfer from Carla Gaines. He is a Hard Spun colt who is improving by leaps and bounds.
A 15-horse Illinois Derby field makes up for quality with quantity. Currency Swap for Terri Pompay is clearly the class of the race.
■ NATIONAL HANDICAPPING CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER — Treasure Island on Saturday will host the first of three qualifiers for the 2013 DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship. Entry fee is $300, and the top three finishers will receive a berth into the NHC.
Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick.
