Derby field set and post positions drawn, I finally printed a copy of the past performances for the Kentucky Derby. And you know what's missing? A maiden.
For the past 273 days, horsemen, turf writers, bettors, Steve Haskin, and Sister Leonard of St. Emily's Parish in Mt. Prospect, IL, have been sifting through reams of statistics and information - past performances, race replays, pedigree dosage, workouts, trainers' cocktail preferences - all to select The Derby Horse. And, it should be noted, The Derby Horse subsequently shoulders the responsibility of potentially being The Triple Crown Winner.
But reviewing the past performances for the 135th Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands, there appears to be a few horses that should instead be racing in n1x allowance conditions. Thoroughbred owner, Ted "Minnie Soda" Grevelis, so astutely observes, Why?
I miss Old Fashioned and Quality Road in the field, two talented and promising horses that are either retired due to injury or are having a serious relationship with Ian McKinlay. However, the recent scratch of Win Willy was hardly noticed; Win Willy wasn't my Derby horse. And Nowhere to Hide is definitely not my Derby horse.
Yes, there appears to be a number of horses that are overmatched, but I said the same thing about Giacomo back in 2005 and it is, after all, a horse race - with pace scenarios, traffic troubles, track conditions, infield rowdies, and a little bit of pixie dust - any of them could win.
Okay. Maybe there's a couple of 'em that will require just a pinch more of pixie dust that others.
2 comments:
Sister Leonard was my first grade teacher - one of a plethora of quotes - "Say, get your hands out of your pockets - what are you, a rich kid?" and my all time favorite - "Say, wipe that smile off your face or I'll give ya a crack across your face". She was 114 when she taught us, so, let's see - that makes her 162.
I digress. Let's talk Derby.
"Okay. Maybe there's a couple of 'em that will require just a pinch more of pixie dust that others."
Pixie dust indeed...let's hope that's all it was!
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