Spiral Stakes 2012 Recap – Went The Day Well rolls home

The lone graded Kentucky Derby 2012 prep at Turfway Park was run on Saturday and Went The Day Well emerged as a contender on the first Saturday in May after cruising home in the G3 Spiral Stakes for Graham Motion and Team Valor.

G3 Spiral (3-24-12): 92 BSF (Went The Day Well)

Is Went The Day Well the next Animal Kingdom? - photo by Eclipse Sportswire

Heavy Breathing carved out the early splits for Todd Pletcher, with Went The Day Well positioned perfectly behind the speed along the rail under John Velazquez.

Pletcher’s other colt Holiday Promise was sitting midpack at almost 26-1 and expected early runner Handsome Mike broke 12th and last after losing his footing and getting bumped at the start.

Heavy Breathing put away overmatched pace rivals Ill Conceived and Coach Royal but Went The Day Well was always traveling smoothly and passed the front runner after six furlongs.

Holiday Promise made a wide move and tried to gain on the new leader but got a bit weary in late stretch while settling for runner-up honors.

Heavy Breathing was a comfortable 3rd and was followed across the line by Handsome Mike, Stealcase, All Squared Away, Ill Conceived, Russian Greek, Tizanexpense, Red Jack, Mr. Prankster, and Coach Royal.

Went The Day Well picked up $282,000 in graded earnings on March 24, which should be more than enough to make the Derby gate. The promising son of Proud Citizen handles dirt, turf, and synthetic, and Motion/Team Valor have plenty of options with the versatile sort this year. He was green in the Turfway stretch before kicking away to win by 3-1/2 lengths. He has some catching up to do and seems a cut or two below the best at this stage. The G3 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 21 could be next.

It should be noted that Animal Kingdom won the Spiral Stakes and Kentucky Derby for Graham Motion, Team Valor, and John Velazquez last year…deja vu all over again?

Spiral Stakes Grade: C+ (78 out of 100)

 

 

Belmont Stakes 2011 Recap: The Iceman Cometh

Ruler On Ice continued the three-year-old graded stakes upset trend with a surprising tally over Stay Thirsty and Brilliant Speed in the 2011 Belmont Stakes.

Belmont Stakes hero Ruler On Ice - photo by Eclipse Sportswire

The sloppy Belmont Park oval was favoring early-pressing speed throughout the day and the top two Belmont Stakes finishers made their presence felt throughout.

Ruler On Ice has returned to his Monmouth Park base with the Haskell a logical target. His stablemate Pants On Fire goes in Saturday’s Pegasus at the Jersey Shore and also has an eye on the Haskell.

Stay Thirsty and Brilliant Speed will likely spend the summer at Saratoga with the Jim Dandy and Travers on their radar screens.

Belmont Stakes 4th place finisher Nehro came out of the race with a small bone chip in his right front ankle and will have surgery on June 15.

Shackleford set the Belmont pace but came up empty late in a 5th place finish. He could not quite handle the marathon distance and should be much more effective in a race like the Haskell.

Animal Kingdom clipped heels and jockey John Velazquez lost his irons in a disastrous beginning. The Derby hero ended up a better than appears 6th and will target the big summer races (Haskell, Travers).

The rest were far back including the disappointing Master of Hounds, Mucho Macho Man, and Santiva. The latter reportedly did not handle the wet going.

This year’s Triple Crown series was a wild ride of upsets and the 3-year-old title is up for grabs. What surprises are in store for the second half of the year? I can’t wait to find out…stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

 

2011 Belmont Stakes Profile: Animal Kingdom

It is time to begin looking at the hopefuls for the 2011 Belmont Stakes and my contenders countdown begins with Kentucky Derby hero Animal Kingdom.

photo by Eclipse Sportswire

The aforementioned Derby winner has been an exacta player in all six lifetime starts and the 2-time graded hero was hardly disgraced in a rallying Preakness place finish. Graham Motion’s talented son of Leroidesanimaux paired-up top figures in the first two legs of the Triple Crown and is bred to handle the marathon distance of the Belmont Stakes.

Animal Kingdom owns a long distance turf-oriented pedigree and is capable of producing a strong late kick under the right pace circumstances. He seems best closing into moderate fractions but the odd Preakness race shape (fast early/slow middle) proved his undoing, especially with eventual winner Shackleford in the hunt throughout.

Team Valor International’s 3-year-old colt should make his presence felt at Big Sandy if the Derby and Preakness did not take too much out of him.

2011 Preakness Wrap + Early Belmont Stakes Preview

The Triple Crown trail upsets continued as the 2011 Preakness went to Kentucky Derby 4th place finisher Shackleford. You can read the entire story at Horse Racing Nation.

Will Shackleford run in the Belmont Stakes? - photo by Eclipse Sportswire

Shackleford pressed solid fractions and was waiting for someone to go by but there were no takers so he happily took down top honors. Animal Kingdom rallied to land the place and Astrology finished a respectable 3rd. Dialed In clunked up for 4th and disappointing 6th place finisher Mucho Macho Man had early trouble, raced wide, and reportedly threw a shoe again.

As of now, it appears as though 14-horses are under consideration for the2011 Belmont Stakes. This evenly matched group of 3-year-olds take turns beating each other and we will probably see another upset in the Test of Champions.

Pedigree means everything in the Belmont Stakes and a horse like Shackleford could be in deep water because he does his best work on or near a fast pace and that strategy won’t work at twelve furlongs.

Likely Belmont starter Santiva has the right grinding style for Big Sandy and Stay Thirsty is bred to run all day.

Master of Hounds and Nehro are logical Belmont Stakes contenders. The former has the pedigree power but has been in Dubai, Ireland, the United States and back this year and could have serious jet lag if he returns to the US. The latter remains eligible for an entry level spot and has a case of seconditis.

Animal Kingdom will probably get the trip and has a strong kick when the pace is slow. How much energy does he have in reserve following back-to-back strong efforts in Kentucky and Maryland?

I will be posting profiles of all Belmont Stakes contenders in the coming weeks…stay tuned!

2011 Preakness Profile – Animal Kingdom

In this first in a series of 2011 Preakness contender profiles, I will look at the chances of Animal Kingdom in the second jewel of the Triple Crown.

Animal Kingdom, owned by Team Valor and trained by Graham Motion, has not missed a beat in five career starts. He rallied through traffic to land the place behind subsequent Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf show finisher Willcox Inn in his off the turf Polytrack debut at Arlington Park last September. He easily graduated in a Keeneland synthetic route second time out for Wayne Catalano and that effort concluded his juvenile campaign.

Do you like Animal Kingdom in the Preakness? - photo by Eclipse Sportswire

He returned under the care of Graham Motion and just missed in a flat mile turf route at Gulfstream Park on March 3. The March 26 Spiral Stakes was his breakthrough performance and his lone dirt work prior to the first Saturday in May was strong.

His rally from 12th place in the Derby was exceptional and the consistent performer handles any ground and has been part the exacta in all five lifetime starts.

How will he react to returning in two weeks at Pimlico? The $100,000 Keeneland sales graduate is obviously on the upswing but the Derby pace was slow and a quicker pace in Baltimore could dull his late kick.

Animal Kingdom has the pedigree to run all day and things could get exciting if he wins the Preakness but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. He has a realistic shot at winning in Baltimore but gamblers might want to look elsewhere for more value.

Derby winner Animal Kingdom Preakness Bound

Animal Kingdom, the upset winner of the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby, came out of that race in good order and is on his way to Maryland to begin preparations for the 2011 Preakness Stakes.

Trainer Graham Motion will get Animal Kingdom ready for his next test at his Fair Hill Training Center base not far from Pimlico Race Course.

2011 Kentucky Derby show finisher Mucho Macho Man is expected to return in the Preakness, along with Shackleford, Santiva, and beaten Derby favorite Dialed In.

Speaking of Dialed In, the Nick Zito trainee is eligible for Frank Stronach’s $5.5 million bonus if he wins the second jewel of the Triple Crown. He qualified for the bonus by winning the Holy Bull Stakes and Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.

Numerous new shooters are expected in Baltimore, including Jerome runner-up Astrology, Arkansas Derby show finisher Dance City, and Sway Away. The latter was 21st on the Kentucky Derby graded earnings list and just missed qualifying for the big dance on the first Saturday in May.