Leftovers from Brunch

Yesterday, I spent an enjoyable Mother’s Day with my daughters at the racetrack. So imagine my surprise when I sat down at the computer this morning to get caught up on the weekend action only discover that every turf writer and horse racing blogger in America ditched their mothers in order to report on a half-baked scheme concocted by some doofus to exclude Rachel Alexandra from Preakness.

Mother Paulick: Where are you going? Brunch hasn’t even been served!
Ray: I’ve got to leave. There appears to be a conspiracy brewing to keep Rachel Alexandra out of the Preakness next weekend. So please, enjoy the unlimited mimosas. And here’s a ticket to see Star Trek.
Mother Paulick: You’re such a good son, Boo-Boo Bear!

Of course, at this writing, the whole Mark Allen /Ahmed Zayat collusion has flamed out faster than a Dan Quayle presidential campaign. As Bob Baffert said [courtesy of a Churchill Downs / John Asher email ... check you Inbox because he probably sent it to you, too],

"That’s no issue – that was something that was just being mulled around and never really got any legs. I think it stems from Calvin Borel – I’ve never seen a jockey take-off a Derby winner. So that’s where it all started. But it’s dead – it’s a dead issue."

And to think I blinked and missed the whole thing.

Speaking of Bob Baffert, he swooped into Lone Star Park this weekend for his annual sojourn to North Texas where he snags a graded stakes race and a couple of Whataburgers. On Saturday, Mythical Power won the $400,000 Lone Star Derby (gr. III) by 7 ½ lengths. An interesting note: Mythical Power previously came in second in the Sunland Derby, the same race that Mine That Bird finished fourth. Another interesting note: Lone Star Park’s leading trainer and Home-Boy, Steve Asmussen, has never saddled a winner in the Lone Star Derby. Next time I see him sitting on a picnic table at the top of the stretch I’ll ask him if it bugs him.

Which brings up another non-Rachel Alexandra point: Sunland Park in Wherever-it-is, New Mexico, might deserve a little more respect. Bill Finley at The Rail briefly wrote of "horses that ran in the [Sunland Derby] continue to turn in big performances in their next starts." However, I suspect that many horses from Sunland Park / New Mexico are racing well and should receive notice. Yesterday at Lone Star, Summer in Dixie, a winner of three consecutive races at Sunland Park, easily won a one mile claiming affair, wiring the field and winning by 2 ¾ length, while stepping up in class and/or dropping in altitude.