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30 years ago, maybe. Now, the poor horse would have to be put down carrying that much weight. -
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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
The first Saturdays in February, March and April are stacked with points-awarding prep races for the GI Kentucky Derby. It's unusual, though, for all of the coast-to-coast stakes on any one of those weekends to yield three emphatic or impactful performances. But the trio of preps on Feb. 1 produced three intriguing winners who all figure to be “horses of interest” moving forward. The victories Saturday by Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) in the GIII Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita, 'TDN Rising Star' Captain Cook (Practical Joke) in the ungraded Withers Stakes at Aqueduct, and Burnham Square (Liam's Map) in the GIII Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream were also a not-so-common case of assigned Beyer Speed Figures aligning with how visually impressive each of those efforts were. Citizen Bull's wiring despite a stutter-step out of the gate earned a 98 Beyer in his first race back since winning the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Captain Cook stalked and pounced in what was both his first two-turn try and first race outside the maiden ranks, good for a 94 Beyer. Burnham Square got a 90, winning his second consecutive race since the addition of blinkers and doing it the hard way, breaking from the outside post and rallying from last over a short-stretch configuration. Champ, Not Chump Did you need a little convincing that the 2-year-old Eclipse Award champ might not advance his form at age three? I did. Citizen Bull won the Juvenile by establishing a speed-in-hand lead while coasting along at a moderate tempo after the 9-5 favorite who was expected to set the pace stumbled out of stall one and was eliminated from contention. After a three-month break, trainer Bob Baffert opted to cut this big, heavy colt back to a flat mile after two straight Grade I stakes wins at 1 1/16 miles last autumn. But when Citizen Bull bobbled leaving post two, it was almost as if the same circumstances that disadvantaged his rival in the Juvenile were going to cost Citizen Bull in the Lewis. Not so. Citizen Bull more or less recovered on his own under a patient Martin Garcia, and it was by the colt's own accord that he asserted himself at the head of affairs nearest the rail into the first turn. Garcia said post-win that the 9-10 favorite was “waiting around for company” and “just messing around” without being fully focused. Yet Citizen Bull sure looked the part of a keen but controllable pacesetter, taking legit pressure while maintaining a length lead down the backstretch. Three-eighths out, Citizen Bull opened the throttle to double his leading margin, and although he was gamely chased home by two Baffert-trained stablemates in the five-horse field, he drew away under steady handling to score by 3 ¾ lengths. So where and when will we see the champ race next? Baffert generally does not publicly disclose next-race plans for his A-list sophomore prospects until very close to entry time. But the Mar. 1 GII San Felipe S. is as good a guess as any. Baffert has won the Lewis (or its predecessor, the Santa Catalina Stakes) 13 times total. Seven of those Lewis winners next started in the San Felipe. Will that be a productive prep path? The best two Derby performances by Baffert trainees who took the Lewis-San Felipe route were by Medina Spirit, who won the 2021 Lewis, then ran second in both the San Felipe and GI Santa Anita Derby before crossing the finish wire first in the Kentucky Derby (but subsequently getting DQ'd for a drug positive). In 2009, Pioneerof the Nile won all three of those Santa Anita preps for Baffert, then ran second in Louisville. Front-end speed with staying power is a hallmark of Baffert's sophomore program, and that proven commodity is what gives Citizen Bull an edge moving forward. Even though horses on the lead have not captured the last three Derbies-Rich Strike in 2022 and Mage in 2023 were off-the-pace winners, while Mystik Dan (Goldencents) in 2024 was an inside stalker-speed-centric horses who raced either on the front end or just off it crossed the finish wire first in every Derby between 2014 and 2021. New York State of Mind… The Withers Stakes, which dates to 1874 but has been all over the calendar and run at different distances and tracks throughout its history, took a haircut in terms of grading this year, dropping from Grade III to listed. But in the 21st Century, it's yielded two winners of Triple Crown races, with Bernardini in 2006 and Early Voting in 2022 both using it as a springboard to the GI Preakness Stakes. After a trip-troubled debut at Churchill, Captain Cook uncorked a blow-'em-away 9 1/4-length shellacking at Aqueduct Dec. 28. The stretch-out from seven to nine furlongs in the Withers wasn't viewed as an impediment to the betting public, who knocked down this Rick Dutrow, Jr. trainee to 7-5 in the wagering. Captain Cook broke a beat tardily, but Manny Franco effectively settled him into stalk mode about two lengths off the top. Three wide on both turns, the colt ratcheted up the pressure when cued to quicken on the far bend, getting second run after another stalker had put away the early leader. With an all-business, locked-in drive Captain Cook then swatted back a late challenge from a 33-1 closer who was outrunning those odds, prevailing by a measured 2 ¼ lengths. Dutrow said Sunday that he likes the two-month spacing of the Apr. 5 GII Wood Memorial Stakes for this moderate-framed colt, adding that having two wins over the Aqueduct dirt (with one of them at the Wood's nine-furlong distance) is an obvious advantage. Last To First In Florida… The Holy Bull Stakes has evolved into a trap for betting favorites, who have gone down in defeat in every edition but one since 2017, with the lone exception being Tiz the Law in 2020. Burnham Square had flashed speed when breaking his maiden by nine lengths from post one in a 1 1/16-miles race Dec. 28 at Gulfstream, but he drew the outermost gate on Saturday. Even though post seven is not a “way out there” start point, Gulfstream's main-track races at that distance begin close to the first turn and end at the sixteenth pole, so coming from way off the tailgate while conceding ground isn't generally the optimal strategy. Burnham Square got “a little worked up” and “nervous” prior to the start, jockey Edgard Zayas later said, and it cost the gelding in terms of getting away slowly. After dropping back to last and negotiating the first turn four deep, Zayas dropped him to the rail. Burnham Square looked like he was churning and yearning to do more work, so about 5 ½ furlongs out, Zayas let him roll up the inside, and within the span of a quarter mile, he pulled his way from six lengths last to within one length of dueling pacemakers, all while being covered up and with minimal urging. When one of the speedsters conked out and dropped back, Burnham Square was briefly in danger of being bottled up with nowhere to go behind that fading rival. After a light bump at the entrance to the far bend while negotiating traffic and coming off the inside, Burnham Square again gave up four paths of real estate on the turn. By this time four different horses had taken a crack at the lead, and the move by favorite Tappan Street (Into Mischief) had the look of a winning one based on how quickly he accelerated away from the pack. But Burnham Square came at Tappan Street with gusto, and even though it took him the better part of the stretch to reel him in, he did so with purpose before coming over the top at the sixteenth pole. He was kept to task late for a 1 ¾-length tally at 4.3-1 odds. Trainer Ian Wilkes said post-win that the GII Fountain of Youth Stakes Mar. 1 is “a strong possibility” for Burnham Square's next start. The post All Three Weekend Derby Preps Yield ‘Horses of Interest’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Chief Stipe · Posted
He would have been competitive. At least he had already won a Listed race before winning on Saturday. The winner at Sandown was a maiden - winning the G3 Chairmans! Actually they were all maidens in that race! I guess @Wingman , @Doomed , and @Jim Green all think that Group 3 two year old race at Sandown was a JOKE! -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Whitham Thoroughbreds' Burnham Square, last-to-first winner of the $250,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) Feb. 1, exited the Triple Crown prep "bright and alert" and could return in Gulfstream Park's next Triple Crown prep in four weeks.View the full article
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