Happy Handicapper: Triple Crown experience can pay off
ARCADIA, Calif. — Yes, sports fans, there is horse racing after the Triple Crown.
Over the years, the Happy Handicapper has cashed some nice tickets by playing runners from the Triple Crown races later in their careers.
Today, at the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita, 11 familiar faces from the past two Triple Crowns are competing in four of the eight races on Channel 7 (1 p.m.) and ESPN (3:30 p.m.).
Here are the Triple Crown alumni (with betting numbers, jockey and morning line odds).
Sprint (3:10 p.m. post)
• Gayego (No. 5, Garrett Gomez, 5-2): This 4-year-old trailed Big Brown by 36 lengths in the 2008 Derby and 26 lengths in the Preakness. Now he is the second betting choice in the Breeders' Cup's shortest race at 6 furlongs. Then he was acquired by the Godolphin operation of Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai and got an extreme makeover. He's 3 for 4, with a second, under new management andlast time out he won at today's distance over today's surface, taking the Ancient Title Stakes in 1:08 1/5.
Godolphin assistant trainer Rick Mettee said Gayego "is probably at his best as a closing sprinter, even though he was versatile enough to win the (2008) Arkansas Derby off the lead."
• Join in the Dance (No. 7, Velazquez, 30-1): Finished 14 lengths back after bumping Mine That Bird at the start, but still beat 12 horses in the Derby. ... After a layoff, trainer Todd Pletcher got him to pick up purse checks in the derbies of Pennsylvania (second) and Ohio (fourth), both at 1⅛ miles.
The H.H. was in Cleveland and saw his very troubled trip in traffic ("rank early, steadied," according to the Daily Racing Form) in the Ohio Derby and put him on his horses-to-watch list. No way did he think the horse would show up in California sprinting for a $2 million purse.
Does Pletcher know something? Even Pletcher said, "We're shooting for the moon. ... He's a hard-trying and consistent horse, but this is a pretty ambitious spot to run him in."
Dirt Mile (5:12 p.m.)
• Pyro (No. 7, John Velazquez,
10-1): This 4-year-old disappointed many when he finished eighth to Big Brown in the 2008
Derby at 5-1 odds. After running sixth in this race last year, he was sold to Goldophin, where
he has been reborn under trainer Saeed bin Suroor. Last time out, he became a Grade 1 winner
by coming from way off the pace to take the Forego Stakes at Saratoga. A caution: He's won 5
of 10 races on dry dirt tracks, but is 0 for 2 on artificial surfaces, such as the one at
Santa Anita.
"We know he's run a couple of sub-par races on synthetics before, but we just thought he deserved a chance," Mettee said. "We wouldn't have brought him out here if he wasn't doing really well. We're a little apprehensive with him, but we'll take a shot and see what happens."
• Chocolate Candy (No. 9, Joel Rosario, 15-1): California-based 3-year-old finished fifth behind Mine That Bird in the 2009 Derby at 10-1, then fizzled and ran ninth in the Belmont. Those were his only two career starts on real dirt. He's been in the money in 8 of 11 starts on synthetics and most recently ran fifth in the 1⅛-mile Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita.
• Ready's Echo (No. 10, Calvin Borel, 20-1): Ran third to Da' Tara in the 2008 Belmont while Big Brown's Triple Crown bid went down the drain. Since then he's run eight times with just one win, an allowance race at Keeneland, where he was the favorite. He's never won a stakes race, but the good news is he runs well on synthetics, on which he has finished first or second in all three starts. Trainer Pletcher said "He'll drop back and make one run."
Turf Mile (4:28 p.m.)
• Court Vision (No. 1, Robby
Albarado, 12-1): Was trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott when he finished 13th by 24
lengths to Big Brown in the 2008 Derby. Twelveraces later, he's making his second start for
Richard Dutrow Jr., Big Brown's trainer. He prepped impressively by winning the Grade 1
Shadwell Mile at Keeneland over soft turf. He's won $1.1 million in nine grass races and is 1
for 1 at the distance.
"He's just as good as a horse could be right now. ... If he gets the trip, he's gonna be right there.We think he's one of the horses to beat," trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. said.
• Cowboy Cal (No. 3, Velazquez, 6-1): His ninth-place finish by almost 16 lengths in the 2008 Derby was the worst race of his life. Since then he's been in the top three in eight of 10 starts, including a victory in his last race, the Oak Tree Mile, over today's surface and distance. He's unbeaten in three turf miles and trainer Pletcher says, "This is probably his ideal distance."
Classic (6:45 p.m.)
• Mine That Bird (No. 1, Calvin
Borel, 12-1): The 2009 Derby winner hasn't won since May, but finishing second in the
Preakness and third in the Belmont is nothing to sneeze at. The come-from-behind gelding
finished a close sixth in his first attempt at Santa Anita (in the 1⅛-mile Goodwood
Stakes on Oct. 10) and trainer Chip Woolley has had him training here for over a month. It
doesn't hurt that he drew the rail with the jockey known as "Bo-Rail."
"I'm just going to tell Calvin to ride him like he did in the Derby — to sit back and make one run," trainer Chip Woolley said. "I'd rather be too far back early and finish third than be too close [to the pace] and run fifth."
Woolley said, "He really needed that last race. He had gone flat on me and I trained him all I could, but it's not the same as a race. ... He has really blossomed. ... The Goodwood did what it was designed to do and it set him up great for this race."
• Colonel John (No. 2, Garrett Gomez, 12-1): The Happy Handicapper's 2008 Derby pick finished sixth in the Run for the Roses. Since then he's won the Travers and finished second, by a neck, in the Goodwood.
• Summer Bird (No. 3, Kent Desormeaux, 9-2): His sixth-place finish in the 2009 Derby apparently prompted a jockey switch to Desormeaux, under whom he's won the Belmont Stakes and two other Grade 1 races. The only horse to beat him since then was super filly Rachel Alexandra, who's sitting out the Breeders' Cup because her owner disdains what he calls the "plastic" track.This is his first start at Santa Anita and first start on a synthetic surface of any kind.
• Regal Ransom (No. 11, Richard Migliore, 20-1): Godolphin's so-far-fruitless hopes of winning the Derby rode with this colt, who tired in the slop and finished eighth to Mine That Bird. After a long vacation, he beat a bunch of no-names in the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs.Regal Ransom is in a tough spot, but trainer bin Suroor says "He's improving all the time. He's in good form and working well." and if he wins it will be a big surprise. But this is the day for big surprises.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments